11. The Two Queens
1152 Words
The cathedral fell silent.
Not a single soul moved.
Not a single breath seemed to disturb the air.
Two identical women stood before the Crown of Midnight.
Two identical faces.
Two identical smiles.
Two identical pairs of cold silver eyes.
For the first time since entering the Obsidian Cathedral, Lucien looked genuinely unsettled.
Aiden understood why.
Everything they thought they knew had become uncertain.
Again.
The Crown pulsed.
Crimson light flowed across the black stone floor like living veins.
Ancient symbols awakened across the walls.
The entire cathedral seemed alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Listening.
One queen stepped forward.
Then the other.
Their movements mirrored one another perfectly.
The effect was disturbing.
Almost unnatural.
Aiden felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"You wanted answers," said the queen on the left.
"Now you shall have them," finished the queen on the right.
Lucien's hand tightened around his sword.
"Which one of you is my mother?"
The question echoed throughout the cathedral.
Neither woman answered immediately.
Instead, they smiled.
A smile that somehow held both affection and cruelty.
Then one finally spoke.
"That depends."
Silence.
The second queen tilted her head.
"Which mother are you asking about?"
The words struck like a blade.
Lucien froze.
Aiden felt his pulse quicken.
Because suddenly, he understood.
The secret wasn't simply that there were two queens.
The secret was far worse.
One of them stepped closer.
"You've spent your entire life searching for truth."
The other continued.
"Yet every truth you've discovered has only led to another lie."
The Crown pulsed brighter.
The shadows surrounding the cathedral stirred.
Ancient whispers echoed through the chamber.
Aiden could almost hear them.
Thousands of voices speaking at once.
The voices of the dead.
The voices trapped within the prophecy.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
Then one queen raised her hand.
The air shimmered.
A vision appeared above the Crown.
A memory.
Ancient.
Powerful.
The image showed a woman.
Young.
Beautiful.
Holding an infant.
Lucien.
The prince stared.
His expression unreadable.
Then another woman appeared.
Identical.
The second queen.
Both stood beside the child's cradle.
Both smiling.
Both reaching toward him.
The vision shifted.
Years passed.
Secrets grew.
Lies multiplied.
And finally—
One woman disappeared.
Vanished from history.
Erased.
The vision ended.
Silence followed.
Aiden slowly realized what they had witnessed.
Twins.
Not merely sisters.
Co-rulers.
One hidden.
One visible.
One remembered.
One forgotten.
A conspiracy centuries in the making.
Selene cursed beneath her breath.
"Gods..."
Even she seemed shocked.
The creature from the Hollow lowered its gaze.
As though it had hoped this secret would never resurface.
Lucien looked toward the queens.
His voice became dangerously quiet.
"Why?"
One queen smiled sadly.
The other smiled coldly.
Then they answered together.
"To protect the prophecy."
The cathedral trembled.
The Crown responded immediately.
Crimson energy exploded through the chamber.
Aiden staggered.
Pain shot through his skull.
Another memory.
Another fragment.
He stood beneath a starlit sky.
Someone stood beside him.
Silver hair dancing in the wind.
Lucien.
Not Lucien.
The ancient king.
Their fingers intertwined.
A promise spoken softly beneath the stars.
A vow.
A future.
Love.
The memory vanished.
Aiden gasped.
His knees nearly buckled.
Strong hands caught him immediately.
Lucien.
The prince steadied him.
One arm wrapped around his shoulder.
Holding him upright.
Protecting him.
For a moment, neither noticed anyone else.
Their eyes met.
Close.
Too close.
The world seemed to fade around them.
Aiden could see every detail.
Every emotion hidden beneath Lucien's carefully controlled expression.
Concern.
Fear.
Relief.
And something deeper.
Something neither of them was ready to name.
"You alright?" Lucien asked quietly.
The question was almost lost beneath the cathedral's whispers.
Aiden nodded.
Though neither truly believed it.
Lucien's hand remained on his arm.
Neither moved away.
Neither seemed willing to break the contact.
The queens noticed.
Of course they noticed.
One smiled knowingly.
The other looked almost sorrowful.
Then came the words that changed everything.
"The memories are no longer fragments."
Silence.
The Crown pulsed.
The left queen stepped toward them.
"They're becoming complete."
The right queen's gaze settled on Aiden.
"And once they are complete..."
Her expression darkened.
"You will have to choose."
Aiden frowned.
"Choose what?"
No answer came.
Not immediately.
Instead, the cathedral doors slammed shut.
The sound thundered throughout the chamber.
Everyone turned.
Darkness flooded through the cracks.
Not ordinary darkness.
Living darkness.
The shadows.
Thousands of them.
The creatures that had haunted Blackthorn Fortress.
The lost souls.
The forgotten dead.
They poured into the cathedral.
Crawling across walls.
Across pillars.
Across the ceiling.
An endless army.
The Crown glowed brighter.
The shadows stopped.
As though awaiting a command.
Then every shadow lowered its head.
Not toward the queens.
Not toward the Crown.
Toward Aiden.
And Lucien.
The realization hit everyone simultaneously.
The shadows weren't hunting them.
They were following them.
The creature from the Hollow looked horrified.
"No..."
Caelum stepped forward.
For the first time, genuine panic crossed his face.
"They remember."
The words echoed ominously.
Aiden felt dread settle into his stomach.
"What do they remember?"
No one answered.
Because the answer arrived on its own.
The shadows began transforming.
One by one.
Thousands of faces emerged.
Ancient faces.
Human faces.
Warriors.
Kings.
Priests.
Citizens.
An entire civilization.
The lost empire.
Every soul stared directly at Aiden and Lucien.
Then they knelt.
The entire cathedral shook.
Thousands of ancient souls kneeling before them.
Before the king.
Before the protector.
Before the two souls they once followed.
Lucien looked stunned.
Aiden couldn't breathe.
Because for the first time—
The prophecy felt real.
Terrifyingly real.
And then the Crown spoke.
Not through magic.
Not through visions.
Through an actual voice.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Endless.
A voice older than kingdoms.
Older than time.
The voice echoed throughout the cathedral.
"The choice has come."
The shadows trembled.
The queens lowered their heads.
Even the creature from the Hollow appeared afraid.
The voice continued.
"Become what you were."
The Crown pulsed.
The memories surged.
Aiden cried out.
Images exploded through his mind.
The ancient empire.
The war.
The betrayal.
The king.
The protector.
Their final moments.
Their final promise.
And one terrible truth.
A truth buried for centuries.
A truth someone had killed to hide.
Aiden's eyes widened.
Lucien saw it too.
The memory.
The revelation.
The horror.
Because neither of them had betrayed the empire.
Neither of them had caused its fall.
Someone else had.
Someone still alive.
Someone standing inside the cathedral.
Someone who had manipulated history itself.
Slowly—
Aiden turned toward the queens.
Lucien did the same.
And for the first time—
One queen looked afraid.
The other smiled.
A victorious smile.
A terrifying smile.
As though this had been her plan all along.
The cathedral shook violently.
The Crown blazed with crimson light.
And the smiling queen whispered five words that froze every soul present.
"Now you finally remember me ."
To Be Continued...
Next Episode: The Forgotten Betrayer
- Writer
