Beasts Of Blackcastle

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Five: An unfavorable fate sealed and in wait for the turn of the hands of time

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The princess’ fate grasped her brutally yet it lead her gently to where it needed her to be. Her fate indeed was not the prettiest but it was not appalling and ghastly either. Her aglow skin had never been so dim and her eyes had never been so sharp; there were stark contrasts to her transformation, as though as something was given, something of near equal significance was taken. Her fate grasped her tightly and she plunged into the unknown. This was as far as she had seen. Much to the princess’ fright, the beginning of her fate was all she knew. What was to happen from this point she did not know and she could not predict. A series of infinite unknowns had began.

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King Ian had registered the promise as exactly that and he could not risk his precious kingdom over the girl who never cared for it and sought to destroy it single- handedly. This was all her fault in fact, her assassinating the king was what began this time of unrest and chaos and at the very least she had to pay for it. Giving her away was not even a loss. King Ian came to the realisation that with the display of decree he had been putting on, it would not be absurd for anyone to think that he is attached to the girl or wants her for himself. It was quite easy to come to such an assumption because of Venia’s extraordinary beauty, she was the most gorgeous woman across all realms and kingdoms and he was the king- but he was not interested in her as a woman at all, he only saw a shameless traitor to her people when he looked at her.

King Ian was now resolute and it should have been much easier to come to this decision. Before the alpha king could lose his patience and hang him, he addressed his daughters,

“Bess, Iyene, Vye, you may take your leave, now!” He raised his voice when Iyene opened her mouth in defiance and he silenced her before she could speak.

The three princesses rose to their feet with their eyes still downcast and reluctantly tilted to their backs and walked away. In their absence, Venia could now feel the intensity of the beast king's burning gaze on her heavily. It truly felt like his eyes were fixated on her and the worst part was that she had nothing hiding her, he could see her clearly from where he was sitting. He observed her as though she was a sin unfolding, like she was a strange creature doing even more strange things. This she could not dare to try to confirm, but the feelings that suddenly rippled through her were relentless and did not need any confirmation.

Venia's senses suddenly sharpened and she caught a startling, pertubing sound; the beast king was now on his feet and he was on route. The sound of his approaching footsteps were amplied in her mind and registered as the frightening call of death. Venia began trembling uncontrollably and her heart started racing wildly enough for her to feel the need to react to the danger despite her rather obedient, submissive, timid nature. She was still on her knees and she had her head bowed but she could tell that he was stalking towards her and he was getting too close to grabbing her. In a half- baked flight response, Venia tried to crawl away but she did not get far at all before his hauntingly dark, beastly voice pierced through her ears in one steady command,

“Don't move.” and she immediately stopped in her tracks. “Let me get a look at you.” When squatted down to her level, Venia was surprised that she did not faint on the spot.

King Ian was nearly as equally surprised by what he was witnessing. A king as lofty and as insufferably arrogant as king Arsix had lowered himself to the level of a servant who was practically only valuable as a slave. Visibly stunned, King Ian observed with curiosity as the beast king patiently interacted with Venia.

Venia hated her mind for not favouring her in that moment? Why oh why couldn't she just black out and wake up when all of this torture is over? She was incredibly frightened and near having a panic attack but she was not frightened enough to lose consciousness.

Venia lost her breath when the sinwry built, large and imposing beast king Arsix’s hot breath poured over her features and constantly reminded her just how close he was to her. The beast king’s eyes scanned her face before they raked down her folded body and then finally paid attention to her shoddy dress. Now he had introduced another emotion within her; humiliation, biting humiliation at that.

Somehow without even looking she could tell exactly where his eyes were. He bore his eyes into her with more intensity than before and he noticed a mark on her shoulder, which she quickly covered by adjusting her gown. That mark was the only imperfection on this body's skin but it was still beautiful like everything on it.

Venia could not sense whether she had displeased him by hiding the mark from him or not, but she still flinched in terror when the beast king's face descended upon hers and he aimed his nose at her hair and took a painstakingly slow whiff of it. Venia shrunk and tensed up yet again and this time mostly because she was self- conscious about her unwashed hair. She could not tell if he minded it or not.

Oh no! What was he going to do next? If he continued to stun her, her heart will give out and she will pass out and die.

A gasp flew out of her mouth without her intending and echoed around the throne room when the beast king’s fingers made contact with her skin.

So gently the beast king positioned his fingers under her chin and he tilted her head up so she could face him and for a second too long he gazed into her tired yet unbelievably hypnotic and gorgeous eyes.

Deeply unsettled by this scene, King Ian abruptly blurted out an order, “Leave my throne room this instant, Venia!”

Venia quickly nodded her head and gathered herself from the floor. “Yes, my king.” She whispered in a shaky voice, keeping her head tilted down and she quickly spun to her back and ran out of the throne room.

King Arsix growled out his displeasure and stabbed his vicious eyes into king Ian. “How dare you interrupt me?” The beast king snarled and king Ian scrambled for an apology that was unmistakably insincere.

“If it is the girl you want, your highness, then I shall not deny you. She is yours for the taking whenever you please.” King Ian thought his charming voice will distract him from his anger, but the beast king was still seething with rage.

“I have had enough of your enraging presence,” one of his wolves handed him a scroll neatly folded, “sign the treaty so I can take what is mine.”

King Ian gulped as he pricked his finger and offered his blood signature without fully reading the terms of the treaty. He could not ask the beast king for time to read the two pages, not when he and his bloodthirsty hounds were already looking at him as though they wanted to make a meal out of him.

The treaty was now signed and the two kings even had a verbal agreement that Venia was now the beast king's possession forever.

Just as king Ian expected king Arsix to take his leave, he stunned him for the millionth time by pouncing from his seat and cornering him on his throne.

The beast king's scarred face was too close to his and with his broad shoulders flexed, king Ian felt like trapped prey and his own guards could not do anything about it because they were scared that the wolves will rip them apart.

The beast king's large, powerful hand descended upon king Ian's neck and seized it in a grip tight enough to have him wheezing.

“Listen to me very carefully, Ian, now that she is mine, you must take very good care of her. I will come to collect soon and I better not see even a single, tiny bruise on her or there will be hell to pay.” His fingers introduced more gripping force to make his point clear. “If I hears even the faintest rumour that she is being mistreated, I will come for his head, I will rip it off your neck myself and feast on your intestines and heart. I know you're a moron but for your sake and for that of your pathetic little kingdom, you better ensure that no one touches what is mine.”

King Ian yelped, desperately trying not to cough out uncontrollably when his neck was finally released. “I assure you, king Arsix, Venia has never been mistreated, she will be taken good care of as she has been. I've been very kind to her, you need not to worry-”

The beast king clearly did not buy a single word he was saying.

“Shut up, Ian! Your voice embitters my mood, it is incredibly annoying.” King Ian breathed out a sigh of relief when the alpha king straightened his back and his entourage of wolves and beastly men positioned themselves behind him.

“I will send my men to escort my “gift” to my palace.”

As much as king Ian should have known better, he could not avoid the urge to ask, “When will you be coming for her, your highness?” Before he could finish off with “I need to know and be prepared so everything goes smoothly and your men do not lose their patience.”

The beast king turned his back to him and he irately uttered,

“I'll come for her whenever I please.”

At least those were the last words king Ian will hear from him until that day comes. This had been the most gruelling encounter he had ever experienced in his entire life. He had never been so insulted and disparaged; the beast king had a special talent to squashing the egos of those who thought of themselves as superior and eminent and his had been fractured terribly.

His only consolation was that he had averted the biggest calamity that could have ever befallen his kingdom and realms. For no price at all he saved his people and done well as a king. He was surely going to be remembered in the book of legends for this commendable achievement.

A kingdom was to no longer suffer at the hands of the king of monsters and beasts but as for Venia, her very unfavorable fate had been sealed.

It was only a matter of time.

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Venia couldn't have been more grateful that the sight of her was like acid to the eyes of King Ian so he had to sent her out of his throne room before he is repulsed enough by her to actually become physically sick and throw up; than just a moment ago. She truly owed thanks to the king who hated her more than most because unbeknownst to him, he had saved her. She was just a heartbeat away from crumbling apart at the doing of that terrifying beast king when king Ian dismissed her and gave her a perfect reason to create distance from the beast king.

Venia could still feel shivers tingle down her spine as she made her way to her bedroom. Her breathing was still irregular and her chest was still tight. She thought being away from that beast king will have her back to herself, but she was sure taking a long time to recover from the shock.

This beauty was a curse. Oh how Venia wished she could be rid of it! Because of her gorgeousness she stood out even when she didn't want to and it was hailing forth all kinds of trouble to her. She thought she misunderstood the beast king but it was quite obvious that he was a man like every other; he wanted the prettiest trophy for himself to flaunt around. Of course a king like him would feel entitled to taking the most beautiful woman across the kingdoms and realms to his bed. Had she just been of plain, dull features then she wouldn't have landed herself in this predicament.

That's why she was beginning to think that the real owner of the body was behind this soul transfer. Perhaps the real princess Venia got tired of her cursed beauty and wanted to live a problem free life for once and not be the main attraction for once. But how cruel of her to leave her problems and burdens to her! All her life, Venia had desired for even a tiny beam of the spotlight to shine on her and she never thought that once she is a beauty that captures the attention of all who crosses paths with her, she'd be here praying to become insignificant and unnoticeable again.

If she had been granted one wish with great limitations, she would have gladly given up this body and returned to her own. Oh if only she had known that being unearthly gorgeous came with such consequences, then she would have never wished to be beautiful.

Venia finally got to her room, she made it without collapsing and that felt like a miracle. As soon as she opened the door she was welcomed by her three visitors. Princess Bess, Iyene and Vye all rushed to her and each took their turn embracing her in a very warm hug.

Princess Iyene stared at her in silence for a moment before her face grumpled up and she broke down in tears and hugged her tightly.

"Oh Vee, how could this happen to you? Why? The worst part is we couldn't even defend you. You are our best friend and ww can't even take away your pain. I feel so useless." It was heartbreaking to hear the princess sob like that, Venia did not have any words for her then as she herself was still processing what had just happened.

Princess Bess hugged her from behind and began sobbing as well. "It hurts me deeply, it feels like my heart is bleeding. I can't that I just knelt there and did nothing! I should have kicked father's c**k off when he said those disgusting things about you."

"We should have disowned him right in that moment," Princess Vye sneered, nearly trembling with rage, "I can't believe that heartless bastard is our father. I want nothing to do with him, NOTHING!" Vye erupted into tears as well.

All the crying was infectious, before Venia knew it, she was crying her heart out again. It had been a while since she had allowed herself to cry like that but it did not make her feel any better.

Iyene finally pulled away from her, her bloodshot making Venia's heart ache.

"How don't I know what to do? I don't want you to be given away to that monster. Who knows what he's going to do to you? You don't deserve this, Vee. That despicable creature is - I don't know how I'll be able to eat, sleep and function knowing that that monster is abusing you and has turned you into a s*x slave to please his twisted sick desires."

"There is nothing else that a heartless bastard like him needs a woman for other than to make a low maintenance baby factory out of her. I know how these kings are, they think women are theirs to breed as they please. I really wish you would have found a kind, gentle prince to marry you instead, not a monster who wants you only to ruin you. His hands are cursed, they destory anything they touch… I can't-" Bess sniffled, nearly choking on her own words. She looked traumatized by her own words, as though she could imagine it all vividly. "We have to kill him, that is the only way we can save you."

"I agree," Vye seconded her, her voice now hoarse from crying and yelling, "his death will be the biggest blessing granted to all kingdoms and realms. The beast king must die, I want to rip his heart from his chest with my bare hands. How dare he deny you your happiness by tying you into a sham of a marriage? There is a reason he has not married yet he has existed for plenty of centuries and now he wants us to believe that he is finally in need of a wife and queen?! That is not going to happen, he has to DIE!!!" The murderous rage in the princess' eyes was unmissable.

She really was determined to do it. She was willling to risk it all just to put an end to the beast king and his reign of terror.

"What did they do to you while you were alone with them?" Princess Bess asked her, her approach soft and hesitant because she feared triggering Venia.

Venia took a deep breath before she could speak. She could not believe that just thinking about that moment she stared into his eyes rendered her breathless and compressed her chest like a supernatural force.

"He came to me and looked me in the eyes." She shivered as she relived that moment in her mind. "I had never been so terrified in my entire life. He touched my face and I nearly fainted."

Vye grimaced in disgust and it was as well reflected in her tone, "Of course! How loathsome! He wanted to get a closer look and convince himself of your gorgeousness. I don't care if we have to kill him or-"

"It's okay, Vye," Venia interjected, her voice still wavering slightly, "I really do not want you to get in trouble because of me. Even worse, I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me. Please, don't do anything, please put yourselves first. We might wish to do so but the beast king is a dark legend, he is incredibly powerful and has an army of beasts. If by some miracle we do kill him, then his beasts will wage war on our kingdoms to avenge his death. We cannot risk the lives of millions of people, I cannot risk your lives."

"Ohhh Vee," Princess Iyene shed a few more tears and quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, "You've always been so selfless. If we cannot kill the bastard then we'll have to fake your death and -"

"That is a brilliant idea, Iyene, " princess Bess perked up, a glimmer in her eyes that Venia had last seen too long ago. She had hope and it was strong, "you are a genuis, sister! We have to squeeze some information out of father and right before you are taken, day or two before, or a few minutes before if we are not given enough time before you're taken away, you will fall sick and die and that bastard will move on and demand another thing."

Venia just stared on as the the girls devised their plan and rescue mission. She just could not believe that these three brilliant, perfect young women loved her so deeply. She felt so unworthy, like she did not deserve their love because she was just an importer not the real princess Venia who had earned it.

Still, while listening to their discussions, she could not help the strangeness that was bubbling within her. What was this feeling?

Despite trying her hardest to clear him from her mind, Venia could not help but think of him. Her mind kept a perfect memory of his face even though she had only seen it for a few seconds.

The beast king was not what she had expected at all. He was not some grotesque, unsightly monster, he was exactly the opposite. She was ashamed to admit, but she had never seen a man quite as handsome as him. His own beauty was haunting, dark and beastly as well as strangely captivating while also being frightening.

When she gazed into his eyes, she saw exactly what they meant when they said his eyes take you to hell, because they were cold, dead, soulless but he did not look at her like he desired to paint the floor with her blood or have it for dinner. Some said that he only bathed in blood so he had to kill plenty to fill his tub.

And this king of all beasts and monsters was supposed to be her fate?!