Scarlett's Light

Chapter 3

Reynold stops in front of the guarded gates and sees a familiar face, Harrison Reinhart. Harrison was Reynold’s roommate and partner until he got married. After that, Harrison requested to be tasked with training the younger Revenants and Reynold kept on his goal of finding the man that fueled the fire for his revenge.

“I’m surprised that took you as long as it did, I was expecting it to be a three maybe four-hour job for you. What took you so long?” Harrison asks as the guards open the gates for both.

“The thing was a bit more elusive than I expected. It got me good on the shoulder before I killed it.” Reynold answers as he slowly drives forward down the road toward the castle. Harrison catches up to Reynold just as he is putting down the kick stand for his bike and pats him on the back. “Well at least you lived, like we all usually expect you to. Good news though, some of us can take a break that was really the only concerning thing that involved Werewolves.” Harrison mentions but Reynold shakes his head in disagreement and begins to walk away.

“I have a personal matter to attend to. I don’t get to relax.”

“Oh god, I forgot about your crazy ex-girlfriend.” Harrison answers with a chuckle.

“She was never my girlfriend, I told her what we were doing had no string attached, whatever fantasy she's created is all her.”

“Speaking of fantasies, the wife has volun-Told me to pick up several bouquets of flowers from Skarsguard tomorrow morning and I could use some help, do you mind?” Harrison askes just as they reach the huge door that led into the castle.

“Not at all, given that oddly enough you’ve never been there, and I know where the flower shop is.”

“Perfect, see you bright and early in the morning!” Harrison says loudly as Reynold turns his back and ascends the same staircase as the morning, he came home two days prior.

Elsewhere another small town, nestled deep within the forest of the Black Mountains, things were not as calm and bright as Demir. Tensions were rising as the arrival of an important guest was approaching.

“What do you mean she gone?!” Greyson yells at the guard he sent to retrieve his daughter.

“Your Majesty, Her Highness wasn’t in her room, and no one has seen her nor has her friends heard from her in days.” Says the guard, terrified of what Greyson’s rage will bring.

“This is unbelievable.” Greyson says, rubbing his temples from his irritation. “Go find her! Search as far as Demir and Atheium if you must!” He commands and the few guards standing in front of his throne just stared at him in fear. “Now!” He yells, making his voice boom and it echoes throughout the hall. He sits down on his throne, resting his head in his hand. He takes his phone out of his pocket to make a phone call. “This is Scarlett, I’ll call you back eventually.” He hears only reaching her voicemail, there was no rings, her phone was off or dead. “Dammit” Greyson mumbles under his breath.

“Your Majesty, Alpha Lucas and his son are here to see you.” Arthur, Greyson’s Adviser says just before two guards escort Lucas and his son, Warren into the throne room. For the first time in a while, Greyson’s heart started to race, and he felt like he was going to panic. He kept his composure and sat up straight. As usual to show their respect for their King, Alpha Lucas and his son bow to Greyson.

“Good morning Your Majesty, it is a pleasure and privilege to see you once again after so long. Warren is very excited to meet Her Highness.” Alpha Lucas says smiling almost too much. Greyson hesitated to speak; he couldn’t find a reasonable excuse for why Scarlett wasn’t there. Arthur could tell he was panicking and thought quickly. “His Majesty, sent Her Highness on a small vacation and she should be back later tonight.” He says quickly.

“But this meeting has been set for months and pushed back twice, Warren was promised her hand in marriage as they are both mateless.”

“With the increased activity of revenants and human military around the lower half of the mountain, her and I have both been stressed I thought she deserved a vacation to be at her best for meeting Warren.” Greyson says confidently as he stands.

“With all due respect Your Majesty, a call to let us know would have been nice.” Lucas responds in an increasingly rude tone.

“Alpha Lucas, as I said before she will be back later tonight, you both are more than welcome to stay, and the meeting will commence in the morning.” Arthur states again. Lucas huffs in disbelief and his anger becomes visible. “I feel as though I shouldn’t have to wait since Scarlett and Warren have been betrothed to each since Scarlett was eighteen. Yet, he’s been forced to wait until now to finally meet her!” He says raising his voice.

“Do not dare raise your voice to me Lucas! I do as I see fit with my daughter and throne.” Greyson response, his voice penetrating the now thick air in the hall. Warren shivered almost as if he was frightened of Greyson, Lucas on the other hand stood his ground in defiance but kept his gaze to the royal family crest just behind his King. “If Scarlett and Warren are not mated come next winter, I will rebel Greyson and my army is greater than yours and Raul’s pack combined.” Lucas says now calmer and somewhat collected. He relaxes his shoulders putting his hands behind his back, it was clear now to both Greyson and Arthur that Lucas was threatening them. “Very bold of you to threaten the man you wish to have him give his daughter and throne to your son.” Arthur says as he gestures for the few guards in the hall to slowly surround Lucas and his son.

“Not a threat, just a suggestion from an old man to a pup…” He says slowly before clearing his throat, Lucas looks Greyson in the eyes, “I will be back for the Winter Solstice Festival, I hope Scarlett is back and well by then.” He adds before turning to leave, his son nervously falling in line behind him.

Greyson sits back down on his throne and puts his head back into his hand letting out a sigh. “Why did she leave? She has one job and that is to sit in her room or the library until she is sent for! Yet, she chooses to sneak out and has been gone for only the Goddess knows how long!” Greyson yells as he turns his gaze toward Arthur, “Did she not learn anything after what happened to her mother? It’s like she had a death wish since she was born.” He adds as his voice starts to break almost as if he is about to shed tears.

“Your Majesty, perhaps the way you treat her is the cause of this. I understand the things you do to teach her the dangerous of venturing outside of our world are with good intent, but they are rather a bit too harsh and frankly to the ordinary wolf would look abusive.” Arthur explains and Greyson sits in silence thinking of the past 16 years of keeping Scarlett locked away from everything.

When Greyson was younger him and his sister were able to travel outside their pack territory as much as their father, make friends and attend school. Scarlett has only been to the palace gates; she was homeschooled and her only friends she has are her bodyguards. After the tragedy that befell his mate Greyson couldn’t bear the thought of losing his daughter in anyway. “I still do not believe it is a good idea to let Warren marry Scarlett, especially if she is still hanging onto the love, she saw you and Queen Charlotte share. It may be a better idea to call the Emperor Lincoln of Diaros to aid us—”

“No, no, n—”

“To help aid us in fending off Lucas’ army until Scarlett finds a mate that is capable and unmanipulable to take the throne!” Arthur continues ignoring Greyson. “Warren will have Lucas in his ear always, the abuse and hypocrisies brough forth by your uncle and Charlotte’s father will start over and your kingdom will fall apart more than it already has.” Arthur adds more calmly knowing he crossed a line by interrupting Greyson.

“I don’t want Warren to marry my daughter either, I want her to love her mate because that is how a ruler will treat their kingdom, a miserable and greedy leader will create a chaotic pack, but the elders will not budge on changing the rule that only a male heir can ascend the throne alone.” Greyson explains keeping his composure, knowing Arthur meant no disrespect by his actions. He takes a breath before standing up, he looks at Arthur as if he is going to say something, but no other sound but a deep sigh leaves his lips as Greyson turns away from his Beta to walk away without another word. Greyson knew Arthur was right, it pains him to rehear all the hurtful words he has said to Scarlett. To relive all the appalling things, he has put her through, though he won’t admit it, he resents his daughter for the tragedy that befell of his beloved mate.

He walks out of the hall from the glass doors that lead to what would be a lavish garden, but it was all dead from cold. Guards try to follow him, but he waves them away. As he walks through the desolate garden, he can hear the laugher of his mate and a child Scarlett as he looked around, reliving the happy memories. He reaches a gate covered in dead vines and opens it; he enters the family cemetery. He enters a somewhat old mausoleum, it looked newer compared to the previous three he passed. He walks past five headstones, the first one was for his mate’s grandfather and grandmother, the previous Alpha and Luna of the pack where he found his mate. The second and three graves are for his mate’s mother, stepfather, and little sister, their bodies are not buried there, they were never found after they were murdered. The fourth was for his mother and father, though his father’s body wasn’t there. As he walked past the grave, he accidently, gently kicks a fresh bouquet of white roses that were placed on the floor in front of it. That told Greyson that his sister visited their mother and father recently. The fifth grave was for his previous Beta and his mate’s best friend. His current Beta is their son, Greyson blames himself for not being there that day. That was the first time Lucas attacked before making the deal with Greyson to have his son take Scarlett as his chosen mate and the throne. Since then, Scarlett’s only true friend has been Arthur, they fought more like brother and sister.

The last grave, Greyson stops in front of, he begins to tear up and he wipes away the dust that stuck to the face of the marble. The headstone read:

Queen Charlotte Grace Anderson-Jäger

1-11-2005 to 9-10-2028

May her wolf run the forests above the Black Mountains, as she looks down happily upon her kingdom and family as they prosper with love, loyalty, happiness.

The eulogy on the headstone was only a wish Greyson could have, His kingdom wasn’t prospering with love, loyalty, and happiness and neither was his family. It was broken, betrayed by those who he thought were once friends and allies, but just wanted him in their corner for power and greed. Neither him nor Scarlett has been happy since Charlotte’s death. “I failed you; I failed your family. I’m so sorry Charlee.” He says, as tears begin to stream down his face.

“I don’t understand why I resent Scarlett so much for your death. She was just a child, and you did what you had to protect her. I’m ashamed of the way I let everyone treat her and the way I treat her. If you were here right now, you would have had everyone’s head, including mine for hurting our little girl.” He continues as he rests his head against the marble wall that held Charlotte’s body.

“She acts like me, and I have no idea how to handle it. I lost myself when I lost you, I’ve prayed for some way to get close to how I was before you were taken from me, but all I get is silence. I’m being punished for making an alpha meeting more important than our own daughter.” He lets his head up and wipes his tears. Scarlett please just come home; I won’t be mad… He thinks to himself, opening his mind, hoping Scarlett will hear him.

After returning from the garden Greyson went into his office in hopes his pack witch is willing to give him aid in finding Scarlett. To no avail he can’t reach her, he sits down and just as he looks up, he sees an unpleasant figure in the doorway. He sneers at the scent of cloves and ginger.

“You know she deserves a punishment for neglecting her duties.” Says the lanky woman as she walks toward his desk. The sound of her voice pained Greyson, “Rachel, you are nothing more than a toy for me. Don’t come into my office thinking you know anything about royal duties.” Greyson says sternly trying to be as nice as possible.

“Oh please! If you would have just married me instead of that mangy mate you had, you wouldn’t have a rebelling twenty-two-year-old causing a war over selfishness.” She says with a smirk. Greyson could feel his blood start to boil from the insult she threw at his mate. Rachel was power hungry and entitled, the only reason he keeps her around now is, so he didn’t feel as lonely. Rachel leans forward on his desk trying to sway his opinion with the sight of her nonexistent chest. “You know I’m right.” She continues acting if she’s won the ‘battle’ she started. Greyson grabs her by the throat and pulls her in close almost as if he were going to kiss her. She smiles as he does, but his smile disappears as he tightens his grip.

“The only mangy thing here is you. I only keep you around to satisfy myself and you barely do a quarter of the job Charlee did. Half the time when I see you, I want to kill you because witches disgust me. Get out of my palace and crawl back to the hole you came out of.” Just as he lets go of her throat a warrior knocks on the open door.

“Your Majesty, we have information on Princess Scarlett’s whereabouts.” He says visibly shaking.

“Well, spit it out where is she!” Greyson yells, causing him and Rachel to jump slightly.

“The sister-in-law of General Matthias told one of our scouts that she saw her talking to a Revenant outside of her neighbor’s house two days ago, early in the afternoon. Then again being escorted around Skarsguard all day yesterday by the same man.” He explains and waits for Greyson’s response. They stand in silence for a moment before the warrior realizes he knows the next question. “We have sent a group of scouts and three of the Omens to retrieve her.” He adds.

“Thank you, I want updates immediately as you get them and please escort Courtesan Rachel back to her home and see to it she does not step foot on the palace grounds.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The warrior says before him, and Rachel depart from Greyson’s office.

Scarlett smirks as she silently evades the wolves her father sent to look for her. She sneaks past territory patrol and makes her way to the hole in the walls around the palace that she used to sneak out of the week before. She climbs up the large trellis that reached the balcony to her room. She opens the balcony doors to find her room was left exactly how it was when she left, she assumes her father never suspected a thing. She goes into to her bathroom to start a bath and hears her bedroom door open. She locks eyes with her father and gives him a fake smile, but all she gets is a stern look in return. “Scarlett I—” Greyson pauses and sniffs the air. His eyes go wide as he looks a Scarlett, and his face starts to turn red. “You f****d Reynold!” He yells as he rushes toward, pinning her to the wall by her shoulders.

“No Daddy, all we did was hug because he spared my life!”

“If all you did was hug you wouldn’t reek of him!” Greyson says as he throws Scarlett to the ground. She crawls away from Greyson to save herself from being struck. “See to it she does not ever leave this room again or I will have both of your heads.” Greyson tells the two guards standing outside of Scarlett’s door, “I’ll deal with your behavior tomorrow morning.” He adds, pointing at Scarlett before slamming her door shut. Scarlett runs into her bathroom and locks the door. She sits on floor crying, having to fight the thoughts of taking a silver blade to her throat. She knew what was coming for her tomorrow, the punishment for breaking a law set forth by her father, a law she broke the night prior. The only thing that brought her comfort was the lingering scent of burning cedar left on her clothes by Reynold. She fell asleep with the sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe he would come save her before dawn came.

The next morning Scarlett is awoken by a banging on her door. She gets out of her bed expecting her father to be on the other side, but to her surprise it was General Mathias’ mate. She looked to have been crying for hours and she was angry. Just behind her passed one of the White Omens, Greyson’s group of elite warriors, handpicked for their strength and brutality and he was drenched in blood. Without warning the woman in front of her back hands her hard enough to make her stumble and fall back.

“I hope his Majesty has voted to execute you today, after what you did you don’t deserve to live! My sister shouldn’t have died because your recklessness!” Yells the woman before she slams the door shut, leaving Scarlett alone. I didn’t take long for Scarlett to put two and two together. A few hours later, two warriors bust into her room and drag her out of bed. They put silver handcuffs on her to keep her from shifting and lead her out of the palace. They force her into a black SUV, and she notices from the surrounding area passing by that they were heading to the town square, where all the public executions took place. “He really did sentence me to death…” She thinks to herself leaning her head on the window. Scarlett didn’t fight back as they pulled her out of the SUV, or when they chained her on her knees on the stage in front of everyone including her father. She accepted her fate and hoped when she saw her mother again, she would understand it was fate that made her fall for their enemy.

“In leu of execution for breaking Charlotte’s Act by mating with a Revenant, Princess Scarlett Rose Jäger, daughter of His Majesty, our King Greyson Jäger and the late Queen Charlotte Anderson-Jäger, will be given 20 lashings with a silver tipped whip.” Says Elder Maximus with a monotone. Scarlett begins to tear up more, terrified, and thankful that today wasn’t her last. She looks toward her father with slightly pleading eyes hoping he still love her enough to give her a little mercy, but to her dismay he gave the signal for the lashings to begin. The first crack of the whip was followed by a blood curdling scream and each time after was the same thing. By the tenth lashing Scarlett had passed out from the searing pain of the silver tip, they pour a bucket of ice-cold water on her back to wake her up and she could feel the water and blood drip down her back and stomach. The back of her shirt had been ripped to shreds and it started to slide down her shoulders.

Greyson stopped the lashings short of five, “Take her back to her room, I think she understands what she did wrong.” He says and walks away. The two warriors unchain her from the stage and carry her to the same SUV she was brought in. Arthur sat in the back with her, secretly giving her comfort as she fell in and out of consciousness. “You must stay awake Scarlett just until we get you to your room. Please.” Arthur whispers just before Scarlett blacks out. Arthur carries her to her room and lays her on her bed. As he leaves, he hears a little shuffle and whimpering, he turns around to see Scarlett’s back was turned to him and he became sick with himself at the sight of her back. He shuts the door softly knowing Scarlett wouldn’t be able to bear looking at him.

After Scarlett hears her door shut, she slowly gets up from her bed and stumbles to the bathroom, she turns on her shower on cold and try her best to remove her clothes. She slides the shower door shut as she enters and eases her way under the water. The stinging pain from the water beating on her wounds causes her to fall to her knees and she must hold back the scream she wishes to let out. She stays in long enough to wash her hair and crawls out of the shower and painfully reaches for the towel that she had set out the night before. She watched as more blood soaked her bathroom floor and she fell back unconscious sitting against the cabinets.