There were hands around her limbs, holding her down with their iron grip. The courtiers were watching Zera like she was some rabid beast, thrashing and twisting from the hands of the knights.
She couldn't understand why they were all upon her, trying to immobilize her. What wrong did she do? She was keeping to herself, trying to survive in this realm which was way too strange for her without being a burden or a nuisance to the Faes.
Zera barely had spent any moment away from the imperial garden and the sanctuary of her chamber. Now all of a sudden, she was being pinned down on the floor of the throne room by a few knights, the courtiers watching with interest.
"Kill her." Someone shouted. Zera couldn't see who that voice belonged to. When she lifted her gaze toward the throne, her vision was too blurry to comprehend anything. Maybe it was the tears in her eyes that engulfed her vision.
The blood turned cold in her veins when someone slowly walked toward her kneeling form, the edge of the sword in their hand dragging through the stone floor as they moved. The sound sent shivers down her spine, heart beating like drums from inside her chest.
She blinked her eyes, trying to clear her blurry vision. When she dragged her gaze back to the person now standing right before her, her breath hitched, heart shattering.
It was Hael.
A sick smile curled the corners of his pretty pink lips, his amber eyes taunting her. He looked down on her like she was just a dust in the wind. Unworthy and unfit to his attention. He swung the sword up from the floor and positioned it on Zera's delicate throat.
Time seemed to stand still, even her rapidly beating heart and her uneven breathing. One moment the prince was dragging the sword down her throat and in the next, the sharp blade pierced right through her heart. Blood—crimson and wet splattered on the white stoned floor, tainting its purity.
Zera woke up with a loud gasp. Her heart was beating wildly against her chest, her breathing coming out in uneven puffs of air. Was that a dream?
Her palms were wet when she dragged it across her face, exhaling shakily. What was all that about? The picture of Hael piercing the sword right through her chest was still vivid in her mind, she trembled at the thought.
The dream felt very strange and bone-chilling. Was that a warning? A glimpse of the fate that was awaiting her or just a fragment of her own fears and terrors? She couldn't understand.
Ever since she got here, peace seemed to be very far from her reach. She didn't think she could sleep after this.
***
"Last night, when I was going to the queen's quarters to give her the sleep tea, I heard a scream from that human's chamber." A maid named Lyla said as she scrubbed the ceramic plate in her hands, the water running thinly from the golden tap. "For a moment I was scared. And then when I leaned closer to her door, I heard heavy breathing and rustles of sheets."
"Was she having a nightmare or something?" Another maid, the youngest, Kia asked, her face scrunched from concern for the human. "Poor girl, must be missing her home. Sometimes I think this bargain is way too cruel on humans." she said, and the maids around her gasped and hushed her.
"You cannot say such a thing, Kia. Our lords do what's good for us. All the humans that were brought up in our realms were always treated and breed well. A child that has both human and Fae blood is such a miracle and mighty. The powers it holds are immaculate."
Kia nodded with a small smile that didn't meet her eyes, "Yes. But still the humans have a hard time mingling with our realm. That girl, Zera, is around my age and I don't know why but I feel sorry for her. She doesn't deserve all these hardships."
"Shut up, Kia. If someone hears. This girl is going to be married to the prince of our land. She should be grateful." Lyla hushed her again, pinning Kia with a glare. "Well, let me finish what I was saying. So after I got back to the queen's chamber, I told her about the scream I heard from the human's chamber." she continued with her story, a smile creeping upon her plump lips, "And guess what the queen said," she wriggled her eyebrows, "She told me to keep a close eye on Zera. For that she would rain me with gold coins."
"No." The sudden voice made Lyla flich. Her gaze flitted from the group of maids to the threshold of the kitchen area. There stood Heidy. The maid who made a weird remark about Zera being as beautiful as before and running away after she questioned her about it.
"Do not think about spying on her." Heidy said with a finality in her voice. "Give her some privacy that everyone deserves. She is new here, it will take her some time to settle down with our customs and rules. Don't make it harder than it already is."
Lyla rolled her eyes, "Who are you, her saviour?" She mocked and everyone laughed except for Kia and Heidy. "The queen gave me orders by herself. Who are you to challenge that?"
Heidy walked closer to Lyla, her gaze pinning down Lyla with an intensity. "Then I could report the prince about this. He is her betrothed after all."
Lyla laughed at her, the sound of it humiliating. "Do you think the prince cares about her? If he really does then why did he call off their marriage? Maybe he too hates humans like all the Faes do."
"Not all the Faes but Faes like you. Faes that are so entitled that they forget about kindness." Heidy taunted back, her words just as mocking as Lyla's had been.
"How dare you!" Lyla yelled, her eyes bulging out of its socket. "What are you, a saint? Why do you care about this human so much? Was she your daughter in the past life or something?"