Vale Estate
1115 Words
Dawn broke over Beijing.
For the first time in centuries, Lucien wished the sun would not rise.
The battle above the city had left no trace that ordinary people could understand. News channels blamed the strange lights on an experimental military satellite. Social media was flooded with videos that were quickly deleted by government agencies.
The world moved on.
Completely unaware that an ancient prison beneath the city had begun to fail.
---
A convoy of matte-black vehicles sped through the quiet streets.
None carried license plates.
Each was escorted by silent drones circling overhead.
Inside the lead car, Alina sat beside Lucien.
Neither had spoken for nearly thirty minutes.
She kept replaying Orion's final words.
"The truth has been hidden inside your estate..."
She finally broke the silence.
"Why would you hide the truth?"
Lucien kept his eyes on the road ahead.
"Because I couldn't bear to remember it."
Alina turned toward him.
"Or because you couldn't bear for me to know?"
Lucien didn't answer.
His silence hurt more than any lie.
---
The convoy left the city and entered a dense forest surrounded by towering mountains.
After several kilometers, enormous iron gates appeared.
There were no guards.
No cameras.
Only a single silver raven carved into the center of each gate.
As Lucien's car approached, the ravens' eyes glowed.
The gates slowly opened.
Beyond them lay Vale Estate.
Alina stared through the window.
It wasn't merely a mansion.
It was an entire hidden world.
Crystal-clear lakes reflected the morning sun.
Ancient cherry blossom trees lined winding stone paths.
Glass domes covered rare plants from every corner of the Earth.
In the distance stood a magnificent black manor built from obsidian stone and white marble.
It looked less like a billionaire's home...
and more like the palace of a forgotten king.
"This is where you've lived?" Alina asked softly.
Lucien smiled faintly.
"For the last three hundred years."
Kael, seated across from them, laughed.
"He redecorates every century."
For the first time in days...
Alina smiled.
It was small.
Brief.
But Lucien noticed.
And for a single heartbeat...
he forgot the war waiting outside.
---
As they stepped from the car, a cool breeze carried the scent of jasmine.
The manor doors opened before they reached them.
Inside stood dozens of men and women dressed in elegant black uniforms.
Every one of them bowed.
"Welcome home, Master."
Their voices echoed together.
Then, to Alina's surprise...
they turned toward her.
Every servant dropped to one knee.
"Welcome home..."
"...Your Majesty."
Alina immediately stepped back.
"No... please don't call me that."
An elderly woman with silver hair smiled warmly.
"Our Queen has always been humble."
Lucien gently interrupted.
"Martha."
The woman nodded.
"As you wish, Master."
But before she stood, she placed one hand over her heart.
"The kingdom has missed you."
Alina couldn't answer.
Something about Martha's face felt familiar.
Like a distant memory she couldn't quite reach.
---
Inside the grand hall...
Portraits stretched from floor to ceiling.
Kings.
Queens.
Generals.
Scholars.
Every painting depicted the same civilization.
The Obsidian Kingdom.
Then Alina stopped walking.
At the end of the hall hung the largest portrait of them all.
A queen dressed in flowing black and silver robes.
An obsidian crown rested upon her head.
Beside her stood Lucien, younger and smiling.
Their hands were intertwined.
The queen looked exactly like Alina.
She slowly approached the painting.
At the bottom, engraved in silver letters, were the words:
King Lucien Vale
Queen Aeloria Vale
Her breath caught.
"Vale..."
She turned toward Lucien.
"I had your name."
Lucien nodded quietly.
"You chose it."
---
A painful silence filled the hall.
Kael looked away, unusually respectful.
No one dared speak.
Finally, Alina whispered,
"Did we... have children?"
Lucien closed his eyes.
"For a short while."
The world seemed to stop.
"What do you mean?"
Before Lucien could answer...
A tiny pair of footsteps echoed from the upper floor.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Everyone looked toward the staircase.
A little girl, no older than six, wearing a white dress, stood at the top.
She had long silver hair...
and bright brown eyes.
The moment she saw Alina...
she smiled.
"You came back."
Alina frowned.
"Who are you?"
The child tilted her head innocently.
"I've been waiting for you."
Lucien's expression changed instantly.
"No..."
He rushed forward.
But he was too late.
The little girl dissolved into thousands of glowing butterflies.
They circled Alina once before disappearing into the ceiling.
The hall fell silent.
Alina stared at the empty staircase.
"Was she... real?"
Lucien whispered,
"No."
"She was a memory."
---
EVA suddenly appeared beside them.
Her holographic form was stable again.
"Master."
"The archive is ready."
Lucien nodded.
"This way."
They descended a spiral staircase beneath the manor.
Past reinforced vault doors.
Past laboratories filled with ancient artifacts.
Finally, they reached a circular chamber.
In its center rested a crystal pedestal.
Upon it lay a single black journal bound in silver.
No lock.
No title.
Only one symbol embossed on its cover.
The same symbol that had appeared in the sky on the night Alina awakened.
Lucien stopped several steps away.
"I've never been able to open it."
Alina looked surprised.
"It's yours."
"No."
"It belongs to the Queen."
She slowly approached the pedestal.
The closer she came...
the brighter the journal glowed.
The Heart of Obsidian around her neck pulsed in rhythm.
When her fingertips brushed the cover...
the journal opened by itself.
A brilliant column of silver light erupted from its pages.
Words appeared in the air.
Not written by Lucien.
Not by Kael.
But by Queen Aeloria herself.
Alina read the first line aloud.
"If you are reading this... then I have already died."
Lucien's heart sank.
Kael's smile vanished.
The next line appeared.
"And if Lucien is standing beside you..."
Alina's voice trembled.
"...then he has carried my greatest secret for far too long."
The pages turned on their own.
The room grew colder.
Then...
Aeloria's image emerged from the light.
Not a memory.
Not an illusion.
A perfect recording from seven hundred years ago.
She looked directly at Alina.
Then at Lucien.
Her eyes filled with sadness.
"Lucien..."
"You must let her hate you."
Tears formed in Lucien's eyes.
The recording continued.
"Because if she ever remembers the whole truth..."
"...she will discover that I was the one who asked you to kill me."
The room fell deathly silent.
Alina couldn't breathe.
Kael stood frozen.
Lucien slowly lowered his head.
The secret he had buried for seven centuries...
had finally been revealed.
And outside the manor...
hidden among the trees...
a lone sniper quietly aimed a rifle through the morning mist.
Its target...
was Alina.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD