Page 21 of Brutal Fae King
-because she was never supposed to be found.
There’s another woman running. This time, I can see the face of the baby in her arms.
When the king and queen foresaw their deaths, the first thing they did was give the baby to their most trusted servant. She took the baby as far from the castle as she could and found a childless couple.
The woman stops running. Then, I see a very familiar silhouette.
“That’s my house!” I gasp aloud.
That is the house of the childless couple. The ones who were trusted with the lost queen.
“But…”
The silhouette of my house opens its front door. A beam of light passes through the door, and a pair of shadow people wait at the door. Except I’m familiar enough with them that I recognize them. I recognize my mother’s portly frame and that odd cowlick my father had that could never be flattened down.
That’s definitely my parents… except… if the witch is right, then they’re not.
They’re myadoptedparents… and my sister… is my adopted sister?
My family isn’t my family?
The baby was placed into the care of a couple I foretold to be a loving and caring couple,the witch says.One who would care for the lost queen like one of their own.
My throat is thick. I swallow hard before I can speak again.
“Y-yes. They were wonderful,” I croak.
The visuals fade. For a moment, I’m just stuck on my own in the darkness. I’m just trying to wrap my head around this all.
Eventually, the rage just builds and builds.
“Why?!” I snap. “Why couldn’t you have just left me there?!”
The shadows begin to move in front of me again.
That,the witch’s voice says,needs us to cover what happened in the castle in the absence of the rightful heir.
The silhouette forms the shape of the castle.
The one who murdered the king and queen was the brother of the king,she says,a power-hungry tyrant who attempted to claim territories beyond their realm.
A man appears. A tall crown rests on his head, crooked in the lighting, until it looks like a set of curled horns.
He was ruthless in his militaristic pursuits, and he was successful in them. Much suffering and death occurred at his hands. Depending on what one’s qualifications are for greatness, he could have been considered a great man.
I give a loud, disapproving grunt.
But he was a prideful man, and that would be his downfall. He needed the best of everything.
The shadows around the king shift, and I see the silhouette of a turkey on one side and a large bottle on the other side.
Fine foods and wine could only sate a man so much,the witch says.He decided he needed a wife. A fine, human specimen to bear him a male heir. He decided upon his bride by looking at a portrait of a woman across the realm. He saw the painting of her; he wanted her, and he had to have her.
A smaller woman appears by his side, arms together, head hung.
Unfortunately… a portrait does not tell all.
A pair of fae wings spread from the back of the woman. The tyrant backs away, hands in front of the face. A vague shout of rage echoes throughout the swirling darkness, and the silhouettes fade into blackness.
