Gwen had been pacing back and forth inside the palace, waiting for Aragon to return. Tatiana and the others had returned a while ago Informing her that the King was still busy and had asked them to go back without him. She wouldn’t have been this worried if not for the tiny trembles of the earth that had been coursing around. She had a feeling he was involved in some kind of fight outside the war. She and Tatiana had grown a little close during these months, and the Enchantress had assured her that King would take care of things. It was dawn when she felt a presence in the palace. She didn’t know how he had slipped back into the palace, but she knew that presence was that of Zoan’s. It’s been two months since she last saw him and according to Tatiana, Zoan’s smoke powers were capable of messing with the mind. It implied that he could make someone forget him if they wanted to, but the second you see him again, you’ll remember who he is. The only person who can resist the depths of his mind control was Aragon, and that was why when he returned to the palace for the first time and met Raziah. Acacia and Tatiana had instantly recognized him but when he left again and Raziah had asked about him, they couldn’t remember who he was anymore. "Your Highness!" She called out, reaching him before he could step into his room. Zoan turned to Gwen, and the little respect he had for her considering the fact that she once knew Elliott had him not totally ignoring her. Gwen took a good look at him. His body was stained with blood in many places, but he didn’t seem too hurt, or maybe his wounds might have healed. She could sniff that citrus scent of the King coming from Zoan, and couldn’t help but ask, "Are you alright? Did you see the King on your way back?" He glanced at her, seeing the worry in her eyes before shaking his head slightly. He couldn’t get any word out of his mouth. After he heard what Aragon had to say, he had gone silent and simply walked away from him. There was a muddy calmness that held him after that, and even though the pain was still there he wasn’t so angry anymore. "You... didn’t come across him?" She asked for confirmation after seeing him shake his head. But that gesture hadn’t been his reply. He had shaken his head because what most people around him thought was right had been wrong... including Gwen. "Head East," He told her and walked into his room. Immediately, Gwen ran out of the palace in the east direction. It was dawn, but still dark outside as she ran while looking around for her husband. It wasn’t such a good idea for her to have left during the worst time possible for her which was dawn. Dawn was her weakness. Ever since she was a child, she couldn’t step out of the palace at the time of dawn. Whenever she did, her body would be weakened tremendously and she would barely be able to walk. It was the secret only she and her father knew about. They’d sought out so many reasons why a Vampire would be weakened during early morning, but there hadn’t been a case like that. She was a first. It was her own special weakness she would have to deal with for the rest of her life. It was a weakness she would have to conquer. If her enemies found out about it, then they wouldn’t just use it against her but her father’s kingdom too. Even though Raziah didn’t know, she had advised Gwen to Tell Aragon about it before she had left. It was an advice given to her, but the King had become distant and even though he was still the strong man she knew, there was now a certain emptiness in his eyes she couldn’t explain. Gwen battled to breathe well as she ran through searching for him. She had this Khaki battle fabric on that had a short gown and tight trousers. Her bow and arrow were clasped to her back but she could barely walk. She was turning pale, and it was as if there was an invisible force riding on top of her legs and preventing her from moving. With much struggle, she got to the field where Aragon was. She scouted the place with her eyes, anxious to know why it now looked like a disaster site. As soon as she saw Aragon kneeling somewhere in the middle of it all, it gave her strength to crawl over to him. Gwen had feared. Even though he was strong, she thought something had happened to him and was relieved to see him all good. She didn’t know where the courage had come from, and she couldn’t care less as she hauled herself to him and hugged him tight. Her head was against his chest, and she could hear the steady beat of his strong heart. "Gwen..." He said, and a hand touched her back. "Your Majesty." She cried. "Can I tell you something?" He asked, making her pause. "Anything." She responded, looking up to see his face. He stared back at her, "When you look at me, who do you see?" He gently patted her back. Gwen didn’t know where that question had come out from. There were many ways to answer it though, but he spoke again. "Where did we first meet?" She quickly answered this time, "You usually come to visit my father then at Sabaean, about twelve years ago. I was around the age of Ten or Eleven." Aragon shook his head softly, "Is that when you started wanting me as someone to be part of your life?" Gwen nodded softly. She had picked up these naive feelings for him from a very young age, and they only grew as time went by. Back then, he smiled a lot more than now and he had this calm and peaceful energy around him. Whenever he came, he would take her for a brief walk and she could see herself crying whenever he was leaving. "And you still love that person who came to see you, hm?" Gwen’s cheeks reddened. She didn’t know she was gonna be having this conversation with him. It was literally asking her whether she loved him or not, but before Gwen’s cheeks could get any warmer than they already were, Aragon continued. "I wasn’t the one that came to see you when you were young, though I look a lot like him hence the confusion," "Pardon," "I’m not sure the reason Eleazar didn’t tell you about it. Maybe he was trying to protect your feelings. I also thought to protect those feelings, or rather, ignore your feelings, and eventually it would go away. But now that I have gotten married to you and you see me most of the time, there’s no way I can keep lying to a good woman like you," "What are you saying?" "I once had a brother other than Zoan. Yes, there were three of us that looked alike and his name was Elliott. Elliot was a witch, and at that time where Vampires and witches were still at war with each other. He couldn’t always stay here at Erandell granted he was a witch, and so he traveled a lot. I believe one of the places he visited often was your father’s kingdom," Gwen couldn’t believe her ears. She begged her mind or someone to tell her that it was a lie and that she hadn’t thrown her feelings to someone else. Though it wasn’t her fault since she was unaware all this while, still... "No..." She stared down at the ground. She didn’t know what to say to her father for not letting her know all this while, or herself for claiming to love someone and not being able to tell that he wasn’t the one when she met Aragon. She did know that a lot of things had changed about the man she loved including his thick metallic scent that had changed to that of citrus. His Ash eyes had turned black, and his hair was a lot longer than before. When she had asked her father about the changes, he told her it was because Aragon had gone through a lot that caused those changes in him. Now she knew her father had been lying to her. Aragon and Elliot had been two different people. She had even believed her father when he told her Elliott changed his name to Aragon to confuse his enemies. It had all Been a lie. "Forgive me." He continued to pat her back. The news had been so shocking that Gwen had forgotten about the dawn’s effect on her, and the silence between them stretched. "Then, Where is Elliott now?" She asked, her eyes tightly shut. The bad feeling made her stomach turn as she awaited Aragon’s answer, "He’s traveled somewhere far this time, but..." Gwen burst into tears this time and he rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. She was crying so badly against his chest, her heart stinging from the pain of everything. By the time she calmed down and managed to hold herself, it was already morning and the sun was out completely. Aragon knew he had to get her back to the palace before the rays starts to affect her. Her face was soaked with tears as he took her into his arms and stood up. He had refrained from telling her that even though Elliott was still alive today, he might not have taken that kind of deep liking to her because Elliott traveled quite a lot and there was a particular kingdom back then where he met this little girl. The kingdom of Kaneria. And he had promised marriage to the little girl already. Their story had been tragic. Very, very tragic. Looking up from his Gwen, Aragon saw two people walking up to him. One was Caius, or should he say...some deity in charge of looking after Raziah and standing beside Caius was a witch. The Crown witch to be exact.
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