Beasts Of Blackcastle

Prologue

Prologue Part One

And once upon a time, one alluring night of a full moon, a princess was born. A princess so beautiful, the sun yearned to kiss her skin so strongly, night turned into day.

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A beastly kingdom, known by a few names, but the most popular: Death Grip Forest. The frigid, dark land of death.

The Death Grip Forest had a fearsome reputation and was as infamously undesirable as Hell for the people of Derchuen. Only the bold and utterly stupid or those with a craving for immediate death ventured to the dark forest, the rest, almost every single person who knew of the Legend went out of their way to avoid the forest. Even foreigners from far away kingdoms regarded the forest with immense dread and fear.

Over the centuries, the Forest had devoured many, none of those who have ever entered the forest were ever seen again. They had all fed Acion; The Beast.

Legend had it that The Beast was once a king. King Acion, a man of otherworldly beauty, a warrior with a black heart forged from steel. Born in a war torn kingdom, he trained night and day and gained notable excellence as the lord of War. He fought many battles and won all of them, but with each scar his body suffered, his heart grew more frigid and impenetrable. Until he was the most evil, heartless being in existence, a monster to his people and an odious villain in the eyes of anyone who had the misfortune of knowing him.

His greed knew no bounds, he absorbed plenty of kingdoms and gained a hoard of enemies from his land and as far as across the seas. His wealth grew and grew, but he had no one to share it with and eventually even an invidious king like him knew that he needed a queen by his side. But he also knew that no one would love a beast like him, so he worked on thawing his cold heart and bringing more light to his dark soul. For his queen, he was prepared to change his character entirely, but he never found his special bride. Word quickly spread around his territories, rumours of him having went soft and his enemies took advantage and devised his ruin. After a massive betrayal, king Acion's power and territories were dissolved and he was spat out in a forest said to have been enchanted; a forest now known as Death Grip Forest.

Embittered by the thirst for vengeance, it is said that king Acion transformed into the most dangerous, most ruthless of all beasts, it is said that he inhabits Death Grip Forest, prowling in the shadows and watching over the kingdom of Derchuen, searching for the one thing he was never allowed to have: a bride. An innocent maiden who will shine light into his dark soul with her purity.

For plenty of decades, the people of Derchuen lived in great uneasiness, mothers fearing for their daughters until they married and lost the innocence the Beast required in his bride. When years and years went by and no maiden was chosen from their land, the people of Derchuen began to tense down, some began to disregard and discredit the legend, young women were stripped of the fear of being taken away in the depth of the night. But that was until one fateful night, their fears were reinstated. A palace servant with loose lips spilled the secrets of the royals of Derchuen to a friend and the friend shared the hot, arcane affairs to a friend, until the suspicions surrounding the royal family's latest addition; a daughter, had reached the ears of almost everyone in Derchuen.

When king Thorton announced that his second wife was expecting, the civilians of Derchuen were thrilled in their masses and only a few received the news with indifference. Queen Nulika was the most wonderful woman to ever sit on the throne, she was loved dearly by her people and the great majority were loyal to her and willing to abide by any law she passes; so when she became pregnant with the King's first child, she earned more love of the residents of the small kingdom. After having a difficult pregnancy and almost losing her life thrice because of the deleterious effects the pregnancy subjected her body to, Queen Nulika finally went into labour and princess Venia was born.

Her husband was by her side as she cradled her in her arms for the very first time. King Thorton was the proudest he had ever been that night, he finally had an heir. But that feeling of triumph and felicity would diminish the very next morning.

Queen Nulika had given birth to an angel of white skin, skin so pale, she appeared to originate from the frosty lands of Sinclios and have ancestors who knew nothing of the torrid summers of Derchuen. As pale as it was, the newborn princess' milk white skin was flawless and beautiful and it glazed her over with an essence of purity, of angelic purity.

Princess Venia rested peacefully in her mother's arms, not even faintest of whimpers leaving her bow- shaped lips. She did not cry at all, even the midwives were bewildered but queen Nulika was proud, for that signified the strength of her heart. When the infant opened her eyes for the very first time, the King and queen were shocked. Princess Venia had taken none of her parent's eyes, her irises were neither emerald green or sky blue, or the amber brown of her grandparents, but they were a light shade of purple: amethyst. Not only did they glimmer like diamonds, her almond- shaped eyes were clear and perfectly white. They were beautiful, almost hypnotizing, but they were dead and held no emotion in them. Her hair was another unique feature accentuating her beauty. The thick, silky hair was as dark as the night, as black as black can be, a stark contrast to her very light skin; but it was enviably rich, and dressed her head beautifully.

King Thorton could not believe his eyes indeed, he did not think it was possible for a single being to possess so much beauty and pristine innocence, especially such a tiny one. The moment she opened her iridescent eyes to them, the royal couple knew that their love for their little princess was undying and unconditional, and that they were going to pamper her excessively and grant her everything her heart desires.

They would have never predicted a future less than blissful and prosperous for their daughter, but they soon found out that her fate would be determined by one mark.