Eclipsed Fates of Ever After

CH 2: Intercepted

~Rani~

My sweet little boy. Keeping our secret has been hard. My sweet prince is just as dashing as his true dad is charming. Too bad Char didn’t have the brains and honor to back up his charm. I learned too late the kind of man I wed.

Like this monster, he brought other women to bed. He could charm the panties off the Reverend Mother. She is a fierce and terrifying woman. This man uses threats and power. It isn’t always a willing woman he takes.

When Tre first took me from the palace, he swore it was to protect me from my husband’s ways and his family’s insistence that I deal with it. He’s the prince of charm, but no one said he was genuine or had integrity. I was to keep quiet, smile, and bear him as many children as my body could handle. No more. No less.

I wasn’t aware that Tre was my stepmother’s baby brother either. In truth, he has been obsessed with me since my father wed that awful woman. Creepy. After he saw my husband slip me a sleeping potion, so he could be with his women without others hearing my screams, Tre spirited me away.

Stupid mate bond. Why do I have to be tortured every time he wanders? Tre drugged me and took me for months before finding I was with child. He didn’t touch me again until a few months after Dash was born. I began taking a potion made from flowers and herbs in our garden to prevent his seed from taking root.

After three years of trying, the doctor told him I was sterile. The potions they both gave me were the suspected cause. Or, so he told Tre. He gave me a pill to take for sleep and another to “help with the pain” I was feeling. It helps prevent pregnancy. It’s the potion I make in pill form. Tre hasn’t touched me, but with a man like him, you never know.

When the kingdom disappeared from this world, I thought they had all perished. That is, until I felt the pains again. I have tried to reject him, but I can’t. I am tied to the throne. Our son is proof of that.

I look again at the little wolf and fairy charm around Dash’s neck. I quickly rummage through my jewelry until I find the right piece. A sun with a moon and star etched into the face. It doesn’t open naturally, but I have a bit of magic given to me by my Godmother. I quickly enclose the figure into the charm. It's a perfect hiding spot.

Strange. Now that I think of it, I haven’t felt the pains in over a year. I carefully check my mark. I still feel it behind my left ear. He’s still alive. He must be hurt. Why else would he be abstaining? I shake my head.

It matters not. What is important is my sweet boy and rescuing his kingdom. His people. His home. None of it is mine. I was never truly welcome. Although I was born to inherit my father’s marquisate, stepmother turning me into a servant made it seem like I was nothing. That changed my status to THEM.

Still, they had no choice but to accept their Prince’s mate. If he rejected me, he wouldn’t be given another. Not all of his family agrees with his ways. His twin brother, Val, sent me a letter once. Those who don’t like the way the kingdom was run, they went to the fae realm. They have a mortal realm kingdom as well, far away from Dash’s.

Val said if I ever need help, to send word. They would welcome me with open arms. I tried after Dash was born, and I regained my senses. It was the first time Tre beat me. He has the entire island spelled against communication.

One of his little witches makes sure I receive his full attention when angry. She even creates lies just to see him attack me. He uses hormones from fae demons to keep the little witches doing his bidding. All except her. She actually enjoys his evil and has helped in his attacks.

The demon fae they hold, succubi and incubi, have more humanity. They are called demons, but they really aren’t. People just call them that because of how they feed and look. They shouldn’t be treated poorly because of their genetics. They’re actually good people.

The only blessing, other than Dash, is my freedom to roam here. Tre honestly thinks his brainwashing spell worked on me. ME. HA! His weak demi-fae witch couldn’t muster enough magic to bespell me. Even with a full coven.

I’ve discovered the tides and where they flow out the fastest and strongest. I may not be able to send a message through, but maybe I could send my blood with the tide. It would act as a beacon. Any royal will be able to track it. I don’t know how long it will take, but it’s all I have.

I learned I heal faster this past year. I fell on the coral and sliced my wrist. It should have killed me. I lost a lot of blood. When I woke up ten minutes later, I was completely healed. Since then, I have been collecting small amounts of my blood in a reservoir and in bottles with sand from this island.

The reservoir will break during the next hurricane. It will carry my blood and the bottles away. I just hope someone finds my cry for help. Before it’s too late. Before Tre’s witch sacrifices anyone. Before Tre discovers that he isn’t my son’s father.

Many lives depend on it.

*Three days later*

“Quickly! Inside! Hurry now! To The shelter!” I call out to the people of the island.

Tre may be a monster, but at least he listened to me about creating a hurricane shelter for all the people of the island. All I had to do was point out how we would have to do all the farming, cleaning, and other day-to-day activities required for survival without them. His witches were quickly set to creating a magical safety bunker and alert system.

This is the only time the dungeons are empty and the people can get out. They are kept apart from the humans from the island. Most don’t know about us. It would frighten them to know we exist. They have stories of incubi and succubi mixed with vampires and lycanthrope races.

I try not to laugh. Only about fifty humans live on this island. The population is near 800. Tre holds around twenty demi-fae in his harem. There are around 200 guards, another 150 palace staff, and around 80 prisoners (including their children). He thinks most of the island are mundane humans. He has no clue!

Many are tiny animal shifters. I love it when they sneak into the palace and visit. They bring me news, tell people my messages, and we trade goods. If they are short on food, I ensure they are cared for. In return, they provide me with materials for my projects.

Tre’s little pet gets angry. I make clothes for the staff, guards, and their families. She won’t wear anything that I create for her anymore. She mysteriously broke out in a terrible blistering rash. How was I to know she was allergic to wool?

I’m still mentally laughing. I honestly didn’t know. I made sure to tell her wool was the cheapest material on the island, and it is very durable. She assumed I always use wool. Not that I would make her anything that isn’t hexed.

To clarify, I don’t cast the hexes. I simply use the items she has given me to create things for her. Rotten hexed food makes a fantastic dye. I found that it strengthens when it ages.

“My Lady.” Dez bows. “All island occupants are accounted for except…”

“Why are you reporting to her?” The nasally voice of the witch pierces our ears. Dez looks down at her and sneers.

“SHE is the LADY of this island, palace, and of Sire. YOU are simply his whọre. A fairly useless one if he needs that harem. Perhaps you should use those big feet to move along and get your big nose out of business that isn’t yours.” Dez is bold with his degradation of her. I fight to hold back my smirk.

“Why You…”

“ENOUGH! Jennifer, get inside and keep quiet. He is right. None of this is your business.” He nods to Dez approvingly.

“With your arrival, Sire, all are accounted for. I was just telling Lady Rani that you were missing. I was going to ask what to do.”

“I see. And what would you have done, Rani?” I pretend to be afraid of the thought of losing him. I want to vomit.

“I would have made the witch locate you and sent her and the guards out to bring you to safety. I would go myself, but Dash can't leave the shelter, and you have ordered me to stay by his side.”

“And where is he now?”

“Right here. He tried to stay awake until you got here.” Lie. He said he hoped you’d be swept away with your witch by a rogue wave. I tried not to laugh. Dash’s eyes have been opened by Tre. Tre took him to the dungeons to see his prisoners. Dash saw the children and babies. He wanted them brought out and treated properly.

Tre laughed and said, “No, my boy. Why would we break a set up. They are such lovely decorations for my cells.” Dash broke, then and there.

“A gift, a gift for the Young Master.” A woman pushed her twins forward. “He desires play mates and is in need of servants. My children are well trained.” Tre was going to hit her until he saw Dash rush forward.

“Truly, I do! I appreciate your kindness. Daddy is often too busy to play with me, and Mommy said I needed to learn how to be good around little girls. Can… can you be my new nurse maid? My other one fell and…” He started sniffling and looked up at Tre with big, damp eyes.

“It is true. You are in need.” He grumbled. “Guard!”

“Sire?”

“This woman, why is she here?”

“Her husband passed, and she couldn’t provide enough for taxes. She and her children served in the tea room.”

“Tea room?”

“Yes.”

“Very well then. Release them to Rani’s care. My son wants them to serve him.”

“Right away!” As they were leaving, Tre grabbed the chins of the mother and daughter. He turned their faces in the light and hummed.

“You were once a beauty. If my son didn’t need a maid, I might have accepted you into my harem.” He turned to the shivering 5-year-old. “You have great potential. I…”

“She is mine, father.” Dash pulled the little girl behind him. Something sinister crossed Tre’s face. He probably thought Dash meant he wanted her for the same sick purposes that were on his own mind.

“Very good then. She is yours. You chose well, son.” It was then that Dash’s last bit of trust in Tre evaporated. Disgust and anger replaced love and respect.

That day, my son became a hero to the small family of three. I can’t wait to see how he reacts to who he saved.