The Divine

Fruitless

Euphymia stood at the peak of a grassy mound, overlooking the field of half-withered fruit trees and corpses of once lively bee hives. Just a decade ago, this land flourished with flowers and bees, providing honey as a steady supply of nourishment for the fae. Euphymia furrowed her brow in contemplation as she fervently tried to recollect the distant memories of another time. Dryads, pixies, elves, and sylphs surrounded her with watchful eyes that gleamed with hope. And their stomachs growled with it just the same.

Beads of sweat Cade paced behind her with unease as the storm just over the horizon approached them with almost supernatural speed. “We really need to go now, Euphy,” Cade barked in a hushed voice, but Euphymia shrugged him away. She’d been at it for an hour already, and Cade was growing increasingly jittery.

“Cade, please. Just let me try again.” With both arms outstretched, she summoned a spell, the ancient words rolling off her tongue with fluidity. It was the magic of the spellcasters, creatures who didn’t wield magic of their own, but resorted to wands and spoken word. She hadn’t seen magic like this; magic unbound by the invisible ropes that had once tied them to the Mother Heart, fueling them with energy. She had spent many sleepless nights researching this form of magic, hoping it would breed results. It didn’t. She failed—eighteen times to be exact. Over the course of twelve seasons she had cycled through various different forms; none of which provided her with a fruitful harvest.

“I know I can do this, I know I can.”

“It’s not your doing, Euphymia,” Cade rubbed his temples in frustration. They needed to leave. Now.

“We can try again tomorrow,” one of the elves said reassuringly. “You needn’t be outside in this storm, Princess.”

The young elf’s words persuaded Euphymia more than Cade’s temper had, and she acquiesced with a slow nod of her head. Violent cracks of thunder permeated the air, and voracious gusts of wind threatened to rip Euphymia’s cloak from her body. Cade wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him as they battled against the current and began their upward hike back to the castle. He escorted her in silence; partially because of the deafening wind current blasting past their ears, but mostly because Cade felt the heavy weight of guilt resting upon his chest, choking him and rendering him mute.

A guardian for the princess? Hah. He was a hypocrite. A traitor. Even if he wasn’t betraying the crown, he was driving a knife into the heart of the only woman he’s ever loved. He was essentially presenting her to the daemon king on a silver platter. Or maybe it really wasn’t his fault, he thought. He had pledged his loyalty to the crown and he had always been a man sworn to his allegiance no matter the request. And her father, the Tarafin King, had requested that Euphmyia never know about the marriage arrangement.

“Don’t let her have much time to construct one of her rebellious schemes, let that be Drakon’s problem once she’s in his hands,” King Tarafin cackled at his daughter’s wild nature. 

Knots twisted and churned in Cade’s stomach at the prospect. The impending doom of hell that seemed to stir a wave of nausea in him, intensifying with every passing second until he and the princess reached view of the castle, drenched and disheveled from the storm's wrath. Euphymia felt her heart pounding in her chest as Cade wrapped his arm around her, shielding her as best he could from the rain.

A few paces ahead of them, a flash of lighting struck a tree, igniting it to a blazing ball of fury in a matter of seconds. The skies hadn’t always been this unforgiving in Tarafin, but it seemed all kingdoms of Lucem had slowly metamorphosed into something more sinister than they were before, and it wasn’t coincidental that a new divine ruler sat atop the throne. Lightning struck once more, and in a frenzy, Cade pulled the princess into his embrace. She tilted her chin skyward to meet his gaze. Rain droplets trailed down his cheeks.

“Cade,” Euphymia bit her lower lip in hesitation, “what do you think of me?” She blushed at her own forwardness, it wasn’t like her to be this way, at least not when it involved the opposite s*x. She just couldn’t bear the agony of the unknown any longer. Especially not with what loomed ahead. There had been subtle hints he’d drop that would ignite her hope, like when she’d catch his eyes lingering on her lips, but then other subtleties like this seemed to extinguish any possibility.

“Euphy… we can’t go there right now,” he sighed, pressing his forehead into his palm in defeat. He hadn’t been sure of her feelings toward him, but now he was convinced. 

“And why is that?” She pursed her lips in response, the subtle gesture luring him in subconsciously. She hoped he would kiss her, but he failed to alleviate her from her desperation as an agonizing silence stretched between them. She furrowed her brow in frustration with her handsome, yet strict personal guard. 

“We can discuss this at a later time” Cade met her gaze, “Let’s get you home and out of this storm, we can’t have you getting sick now,” his voice had been flat and impersonal, and she felt her heart sink down to the pit of her stomach. 

“Forgive me for pressing into things. It seems I’ve made faulty assumptions, but even a princess is prone to err.” 

“Listen to me,” A switch flipped in Cade, and his normally cool gaze transitioned into a penetrating gray, “Drakon is coming to claim you,”  his voice was just above a whisper, but low and gruff enough to be heard against the bone-rattling thunderclaps. “You belong to the high king.” 

He had done it. He had betrayed the King of Tarafin, but what she said next left him even more astounded. He scanned her eyes for a reaction, but she said nothing as her eyes burned into his without a trace of emotion reflecting in her irises. 

It took a moment for Euphymia to process what he had just said, and when she finally did, her lips tugged upward into a faint, ghost of a smile, “I know.”

“You know? How do you know?” Cade’s eyes widened in bewilderment. 

“Don’t insult me, Cade,” her tone was whimsical, and it astounded Cade that she could maintain such gaiety even at a miserable time like this. Of course she knew about the arrangement, she had enough cognizance to recognize that her life was at stake the minute King Drakvol laid his piercing gazes upon hers in the bailey.

“I’m just trying to understand you…” Cade began, his frustration evident in the overly firm grip he had on each of her shoulders, “...how could you smile knowing you’re betrothed to a monster all this time?” 

“Well I think even a daemon may send me back to my family if I cause enough trouble for him,” Euphymia’s shoulders shook in his grasp, and she unleashed a musical laugh. But even though she exuberated the composure and poise of a soon-to-be-queen, just the thought of what her future held rankled her nerves. It’s a good thing it’s raining, she thought to herself, because she could more easily mask her tears should they come pouring down.

“Quit joking, I’m being serious, Euphy.” He watched her with longing, ignoring the intrusive thoughts that screamed that she belonged to another. That she belonged to a daemon. The toxic thought of something so unholy tainting someone as pure as the princess made Cade’s stomach churn. “The moment that monster lays a finger on your bare skin your innocence will be tarnished.” 

Cade’s lips curled in disgust, and Euphymia felt a boiling rage simmer within her. Is that what he thought of her? That she was already used? 

“Well it doesn’t seem to be of any concern to you seeing as you are so eager to get me home and donned in bridalwear for my husband’s arrival,” Euphmyia felt the acrid taste of her words sting her tongue, but it was too late. She had never in a million years wanted to be callous with the man she loved, but his unyielding nature had rendered her with vindictive rage. And she felt entitled to it after all these years she’d kept her poise. 

This time, she left Cade in the dust as she stomped off with . The younger handmaidens gasped in horror when she came into view of , but Vivi pursed her wrinkly lips in response to Euphymia’s appalling—but not surprising—appearance.   

“Get her cleaned up,” the words were curt and dismissive, coming from the lips of her eldest brother and crowned Prince Novus of Tarafin.

“When shall I be expecting Drakon to arrive?” Euphymia inquired with a slow arch of her brow, “Or should I refer to him as my husband-to-be?” She didn't know why she provoked him. She had never let anyone know that she was aware of the engagement, but something struck a chord with her this evening. 

“Confine her, Cade.” Novus commanded, and there was an uncomfortable pause when Cade didn’t immediately react to royal orders. “Cade.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Cade said as he submitted. Euphymia winced as she felt his tight grip around her wrists, followed by the constricting squeeze of rope.

“So you really plan to sell your own blood to the daemon king, is that how it’s going to be?” Euphy taunted her brother as she tried to wriggle free from Cade’s grasp. “You sentence your own sister to her death?”

“Little Euphy, there are two kinds of people in this world, do you know what they are?” Novus doesn’t leave a breath of air for his sister to answer. “People who do, and people who don’t do. It all boils down to these two very different choices that we have laid out before us each time we so much as dine. Will you eat the hen first? Or will you eat the sprouts?” he pauses, circling her in his leisurely promenade. “And then when we’re confronted with more pressing matters, such as pleasing a king that the fae, your people, are at the mercy of. Which will you choose? Will you run? Will you misbehave? Or will you buckle up and be a good wife to the daemon king?” The latter sounded more like a statement then a question.

“And if you were in my shoes, Novus? What would you choose to be, if the choice was freely given?” Euphymia arched her brow inquisitively at her brother.

“I would walk the path that secures the safety of my people. King Drakon will protect our people from any invaders from neighboring daemon kingdoms.”

“I fear your hopes might be crushed by the daemon’s fickle nature. Perhaps he will dispose of me and your little plan will prove useless.”

“Your duty is to be indispensable. The epitome of beauty and the very essence of femininity and comfort.”

Euphymia yanked her wrists from Cade’s fierce grip. 

“In my humble years on this Tera, I’ve yet to find myself properly educated on the definition of beauty and femininity. Enlighten me, Brother, what makes a woman worthy of her own existence?”

Cade’s eyes darken and a muscle works in his jaw. Novus simply smiles, testing his little sister’s patience. 

“Mouth shut, thighs open,” Novus barked.

A sharp breath escaped Euphymia’s lungs in shock of what her brother had just dared to say to her. He had always been rather abrasive in his mannerisms, but it never crossed her mind that he’d be so vulgar. 

“Furthermore, we’ve received news that the high king has already left Az’godan this evening. We shall expect his arrival tomorrow by dusk.” Novus turned his attention to the nearby handmaidens. “Have her bathed and dressed in her finest gown; we will not disappoint the king.”