Nectar of Love

     “Dad no matter what, I will definitely rule the whole kingdom one day. Your words, your ethics don’t mean anything to me at all” Lara Ana Evans aid while getting up, holding onto her now red cheek and ran away from the living room straight to her bedroom. It was her 18th birthday and it was supposed to be a grand ceremony according to the royal traditions. But being a girl ruined everything for her since her childhood. Her parents preferred their youngest son Jason over her always. In a world where strongest survived and daughters were used to make alliances Lara was stubborn to make her own life and not waste it by making a marriage alliance. Her days were mostly spent reading, practicing fight moves and working out at the gym. Lara’s POV    “AHhhhhhhhh” I shout and sit down in the middle of the floor, glaring at everything that surrounds me. I throw away my handheld, my clutch, and remove all the bindings from my hairs letting them slide down my back. My room is beautifully decorated with all the things a girl could wish but it lacked warmth and love. I had all the materialistic possessions, what I lacked was freedom and respect. I clench my hands tightly on my gold skirts and try to stop the teras that are trying to flow down. “No Lara no!!! you can’t cry now. What the hell is wrong with you” I try to slap myself and bring myself to reality. But I can’t take it at all without breaking down.   It has always been like this, I was never allowed to go to school, never allowed to have friends or interact with boys. I was always slapped at and yelled at. I was meant only to look good and act good. I f*****g hate boys they have always ruined my life the only exception is Benjamin. Ben was the Prince of the Exalos Kingdom. We lived most of our childhood together. He was the one who would stand for me most of the time during the worst days of my childhood. Dad would never say a word in front of him, in fear of angering the Exalos Kingdom. But once Benjamin was away he would berate me again. Benjamin and me have been childhood sweethearts. He has been my only support system. My mom has always been busy with her socialite life that she has never paid any attention to me. Hence, this is what has become of my life.     I start meditating for a while to bring my emotions to normal. I can’t allow them to hurt me or break me. I will become stronger and prove myself. Instead of wallowing away and acting weak I believe in getting stronger. While I am meditating I hear the flapping of wings and instantly know who it is. I get up in haste and run towards the window. In that night skies, I see my knight in shining armor on a white horse flying towards me.  “Benjamin” I scream in delight and instantly jump towards him, knowing that he will catch me and he does. I hug him tightly, sighing to myself. His unique smell, his warmth, and his arms around me make me want to burrow myself into his arms more and meld my body into his. He caresses my hair and when he strokes my cheeks, he sees the slap mark left by Dad. I flinch from his touch and turn my head to the other side. But he is adamant and forces me by pulling my chin gently and making me raise my eyes to him. “Lara, why hide it from me? I am aware of everything. Must you act so strong in front of me?”  “It’s nothing Ben, how long do you think I should keep complaining about these things? The same thing keeps happening in a cycle, do you expect me to keep repeating the same story to you every day and torment myself?” I ask him back, maintaining eye contact.     He sighs but hugs me tightly and gets the horse to gallop and flies away in the night to another wonderful place to teach me some magic spells. As we are high up in the sky, I revel in the joys of enjoying the Kingdom from above. Everything looks so small and tiny. Safe and protected in Ben’s arms with a beautiful night full of stars, the silvery white moon eliminating our paths I wish for this night to never end. I don’t want to return back to the palace and my cold bedroom but instead of thinking of unhappy things I focus back on studying my surroundings. I notice we are landing down and the place we are landing on is dark and gloomy.   “Ben, it’s the dark forest!!” I exclaim in shock. “It’s okay, with me here, you have nothing to worry. We just have to meditate here for an hour to gain the magical energy of this forest. It’s beneficial for our growth.”    Saying this he pats the horse to get down on the forest floor. Everything is pitch black and the visibility is so low, that I am unable to see anything in front of me. On top of that the eerie silence is haunting. I gulp and follow Ben. I am a fairy too, but I cant seem to use my magical powers but I can absorb the magic and the essence of power. This phenomenon is very different and I can’t help but worry about this state of my body. shrugging off the fear I try to keep up with Benjamin. He is powerful and I trust in him.    Finally, we find a place that’s illuminated with fires and you could see a beautiful stream flowing in circles on the ground. What was weird about the stream was that it was black in color and flowed with no sounds. Also, one can never tell where it started or where it ended. It was the mysterious and legendary “Brook of Fire” also known as black stream. It was said that no one knew where it originated from and where it ended. I gulp and grab Ben’s hand and try to be as near as I can to him. He suddenly shakes my hands off, gives me a reassuring smile, and raises his hands above his head, gathering his powers in his hands, suddenly his eyes emit a green color and a green ball lands in the river that is thrown by his hands.    The fires surrounding the place suddenly emit a greenish flame and the small stream that was flowing in circles suddenly forms a big wide circle surrounding us and the ground opens up swallowing us both. “Ahhhhhhh” I screamed in fright. The last thing I see is Ben’s weird smile and the black surroundings before I faint away.