Beasts Of Blackcastle

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

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Once the night embraced her, it whispered its secrets to her and left her in awe. It made her realise that she did not truly know who or what she was. She was day yet she was the night's lover and greatest desire. She was light yet she felt the most comfort within the darkest of darkness. The night whispered an eternity she had never lived and told her of her existence across all realms and the queen she was always meant to be and will always be. Across all universes one thing remained the same; she was always destined to be queen.

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A ghastly pale, frosty body laid supinely atop a stone casket. The lurid corpse was of the reigning Elysium queen's mother; queen Thiana. The deceased queen had met her untimely demise after ingesting poison administered by a scorned ex-lover and by a stroke of bad luck, getting staked in the heart by a group of insurgents while she battled with her deteriorating health.

Queen Acqueline's mother had been laid to rest over a hundred and twenty years ago, but the old Elysium queen did not rest peacefully. She did not deserve that luxury as long as her daughter saw her death fitting of an appalling injustice.

Over the century, queen Acqueline had sought the help of countless witches and sorcerers and out of the masses, only one infamous witch from a reputable kingdom inhabited by wielders of magic in their majority, showed interest in helping her perform the miracle she so desperately desired, and proved to be the most adept and capable of producing the needed results.

Arkyva, the seasoned veteran witch worked tirelessly on the rival spell for more than seven decades. Progress was stagnant most times and the process frustrating and antagonizing at times, but at the most unexpected time, the tenacious witch made a breakthrough. Queen Acqueline was getting increasingly impatient and ardent to see her mother alive again, just when her faith was beginning to dwindle, she was summoned to Arkyva's residence to receive some good news.

"Are you certain that the ritual is going to work?" Queen Acqueline remained skeptical as her eyes skimmed over her late mother's pallid corpse. To preserve her vital organs and skin and to prevent her body from decaying, the deceased queen was kept under a freeze spell since her death and her body had remained the same, with no signs of decomposing any time soon. When she finally awakens from the should be eternal slumber, she will be able to carry on with her life without a lacerated heart and a gaping wound on her chest.

"I am not a hundred percent certain, your highness, but I have worked on this ritual for over seven decades, there are very, very little chances of anything going wrong." The witch's assertive tone gave her enough affirmation to incite a wry smile from her. Now she was excited, she was one ritual away from proving her husband; king Raidon, wrong.

The fascinated Elysium queen intently watched the witch gather her supplies and assemble the alter while mumbling an invocation under her breath. Arkyva then proceeded to encompass queen Thiana's lifeless body with red candles, fresh stems and herbs, the blood she withdrew from her earlier and medium sized, round mirrors.

"Tonight, queen Thiana's soul shall return to her body." Arkyva uttered the intention in an austere tone, before wording an incomprehensible incantation and sprinkling the concoction she had prepared three decades prior to the ritual, around the large casket and around the perimeter of the safe circle she had constructed. Her voice gained more firmness and queen Acqueline only eyed her with intrigue as she lashed the air with the bundled grass and painted the floor with the strongly scented, muddy solution.

Darkness engulfed the opposite side of the room and a heavy shadow was cast on the walls. Her eyes fell on the curtain-less window and she gazed at the glary full moon, which was soon shrouded by a thick blanket of gloomy clouds. Darkness reigned and only the mounted flame touches and burning candles remained as the sources of light.

Arkyva's voice became louder and louder and she suddenly felt unsettled. Nervousness was an emotion she seldom experienced and in the rare times that tinge of anxiety was unearthed from her, it expired in a very short span of time, but now she could not purge that feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach, because she wanted her mother to be given back life more than anything. As a pureblood, purebred Elysium, there was not a lot of things that frightened her, but knowing that there was a possibility, that it was not improbable that all her century worth of hard work could have all been to no avail, made her fearful. As much as Arkyva seemed to know what she was doing, she was still a bit pessimistic.

"Queen Acqueline, please come lie here." The witch gestured to a stone stand the height and size of the casket, and queen Acqueline strode over without reluctance and laid on the stand, facing upwards like her mother. The stand was build very close to the casket, with a stretch of her arm, she could caress her mother's lurid face or hold her icy, rigid hand.

"Your higness, do you need me to remind you what I plan on doing to revive your mother?" That was a question Acqueline was grateful she had asked, because she still did not quite comprehend what the ritual was going to entail and how the desired result was going to be achieved.

She nodded her head, "Yes, I still do not understand the role I am to play."

"When queen Thiana died her soul… her immortal soul left her body and ventured into different beings and gave them life over the century. Locating the individual who shelters her soul was the most challenging task I have ever been presented with, but after almost eight decades, I have managed to find that individual. Queen Acqueline's soul has given life to a woman who lives in a far away kingdom called Derchuen. I know that is a far cry from home, but if the ritual goes according to plan, which I am hopeful will be the case, her soul will leave the woman's body and return to hers and thus she will live again. To achieve this, I am going to need a lot of energy, and since I cannot use the energy of her death because she died too long ago and it has faded, I will use the energy of the inseparable, robust bond you share to lure her soul back to its rightful owner and complete the spell. Not much is expected from you, your highness, you just need to banish any negative energy from your spirit and chant the intention while I go through the spell. The woman hosting her soul is very powerful and very unique, hence why I need to exercise the highest level of caution. " She explained, which sounded fictitious to her, like a folk tale, but she did not question because she was no witch, she knew nothing about magic.

" What's the worst possible outcome, Arkyva?" Queen Acqueline asked, something within her was gnawing away at her hope and she did not like how the witch herself was not fully confident in her own spell. "What is this kingdom of Derchuen and who rules it?"

Arkyva answered the easiest question to answer first, "The kingdom of Derchuen is ruled by a king. It is a realm in another world, your highness and that is why you should be careful not to upset the High Affinity, I think they are responsible for the imprisonment of your mother's soul. Her soul must be giving the young woman power and that is how we come to the worst possible outcome; if I do not succeed, then I fear your soul will be absorbed into the woman and that will make her one of the most powerful beings to ever exist. And that will mean doom for many of our realms and worlds because the woman is fated to the Beast kings."