We rode for what felt like hours on end. But, as the sun started to set, the Prince announced, "let's rest here".

A good place to spend the night, if you asked me. I could hear the sound of a flowing river and coupled with that, grasses filled this woods - enough for our horses to feed on, to regain their strength for the ride tomorrow.

More so, I honestly didn't even know the North was this far from the Capital. After Randall stamped the King's seal on the Dark Lord and I's marriage certificate, I thought it would take me a day's journey to arrive at my new home.

The Prince assisted me in coming down from his horse. My body rubbed against his, and I felt my nipples react. Our eyes lingered. And he let go of my hands.

The Dark Lord looked around. As if to make sure no assassin or predator was hiding somewhere in the many trees around us.

"Do you also feel it?" the Dark Lord's friend, the lean green-eyed one asked.

The Dark Lord nodded as he looked at his gloved hands. And then, at his friend again, the green-eyed one who asked the question.

"Can you Turn now?" the Dark Lord asked.

Oh. This friend of his, was a Gifted shifter too. What beast could he Turn into?

His friend shook his head. Confirming that his Gift wasn't active at the moment.

The Dark Lord paused, "listen" he said.

Four pairs of eyes faced Him.

"We are on a magic-deprived land" he said.

Oh no. A magicless land. I looked at the woods, it still ran for miles. It could take hours to leave this vast wood, and our horses needed to rest.

"Just to be cautious. Let's make sure that not even a drop of anyone's blood touches these grounds" the Prince said.

And here I thought, the Dark Lord and his friends would hunt a deer for us to roast and eat tonight.

I hate you magicless land.

What was a magicless land, anyone might ask? It was a piece of land where a blood sacrifice - sorcery - has been performed. And because of the stain / presence of dark magic on that land, light magic (Gifts) won't work.

Gifts are magical blessings from the Mother of Light. You need no blood sacrifice to possess or utilise it. But sorcery? To use it or own it, someone or something usually had to die. It required blood. Most locals called it, dark magic. And because of the evil associated with it, and the hate society had towards this practice, sorcerers were rare. Very rare. Only people as diabolical as Randall, had them as their minions, and I bet this secret of his, wasn't something his entire kingdom knew of.

I looked at the Dark Lord. How vulnerable was he without his lightning Gift at this moment?

He looked unbothered. Unperturbed. As though the disappearance of one of the things that made Him a formidable opponent wasn't missing right now.

My eyes moved down his body. Hah. His tall, powerfully lean muscled body. Such magnificent hardness, only in one man. That was why he wasn't bothered at all. 'Cause besides his Gift, he had a body that proved he has spent several hours on a training field.

"No need to just ogle Him. He's yours now. You are allowed to taste Him" the beautiful man, who introduced himself as Ashton during the journey, said. He winked at me.

And my eyes bulged. As Ashton walked away, smirking.

Who else saw me checking out the Dark Lord?

Then, I felt a pair of arms wrap round me. I turned back. The Dark Lord. He let the cloak in his hands rest on me.

"You were coming to the North for the first time, and you didn't know to wear a cloak and gloves?" He said gently, as he also removed his gloves and wore them on my hands.

I didn't even know that I had been shivering.

I looked up at him. That smell again. And that sinfully gorgeous face of his. They did something to my body. Things I've never experienced before. Things I've only read about in books. I was about to open my mouth and say 'thank you for caring' when he walked away. Simply just walked away from me! I blinked.

If he had not wanted me to be nice in return, why then did he offer me his cloak and gloves without me even asking?

"Asshole" I kicked a pebble.

I joined others, where they were setting up tents and building a fire. An hour later, we all had a full belly after having shared and eaten the dried mutton the Prince's friends had brought along.

It was time to sleep.

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"I'll stay up and keep watch" the Dark Lord said.

"When you have a new bride waiting for you?" Ashton joked, bursting into laughter along with another of their friend whom I noticed had a feminine laughter.

Suddenly, I fidgeted. Fiddling with my fingers. How does the first day of marriage work? Will He choose to claim his conjugal rites tonight? Close to his friends? My heart quickened in fear. I didn't know the type of man I was married to. How he treated women sexually.

The Dark Lord stood up, rubbed his hands above together the burning fire. For warmth. "Nadia, you'll share a tent with her" He said.

Nadia? I looked at the other three males around me. The man that had been laughing along with Ashton all day, nodded.

My eyes widened. What? He wants me to share a tent with another man?

All eyes were now on me. Oh Mother of Light. I voiced out my previous thought unknowingly.

The silence in the camp lasted for a few minutes while I waited for the Dark Lord to respond but then I heard, "I'm a female". The one, the Dark Lord referred to as 'Nadia' said. The male I had thought had a feminine laughter.

"A female?" I looked at his outfit. The boots on his feet. The sword hanging on his waist, along with a Northern crest proving he was a soldier. An Armalith warrior.

"But..." I stuttered "you're..."

"A soldier and a female" She completed my thought and smiled, "females like me are rare, I know. Women, interested in battle strategies and weapons" She said with a smile that still showed she was a bit worried, sharing this important information with me. For female soldiers, were not allowed.

"The Prince doesn't mind" Nadia completed and kept silent.

And others, including the Dark Lord said nothing too. I suspected they were all waiting to know my thoughts. To know whether or not, tomorrow morning, I'd want to file a report against their friend, and send what I discovered to the Capital.

In order to get the group to start trusting me, and also because I sincerely meant it, I said, "Nadia, your secret is safe with me".

"I'll keep watch, everyone go to sleep" the green-eyed man (the shifter) said, as we all separated, going into our tents.

And then, hours later, I heard it. In fact, I've been expecting it. After the Dark Lord sent Eleanor and the guards away, I knew I'd hear from Randall soon and now, he has sent something on his behalf.

The howler.

A sorcery letter. It could fly. Capable of covering any measure of distance. And when it locates the recipient of the letter. It calls out the receiver's name, with only the receiver hearing his or her name.

I turned on the furs I was lying on beside Nadia and stood up, as quietly as possible, after all, my life depended on this.

I took a few steps out of the tent. Looked around. And noticed the shifter. He was asleep, with his back resting against a tree.

"Who's there?" I suddenly heard.

I didn't reply or move. And after a while, when I believed he had returned to sleep I continued walking. The howler now above me, shinning a little light as it led me away from where we made camp and down a stony hill.

And then, the howler stopped moving, opened wide and King Randall's voice, boomed from the one-page letter.

"Fail me, Xemein. And you'll never forget the consequence of your failure".

The light from the howler died. And the letter burnt itself up, leaving no proof that it ever existed.

I looked around, every corner of this woods was covered in darkness. However, a little light still reflected from the moon.

I have to hurry back.

Using my hands to guide myself so that I didn't my head on a tree. I walked back. Taking gentle steps up the hill.

Xemein. Hurry. No one must know you're missing.

I stepped on a stone as I almost climbed out of the hill.

"Hah".

A sharp stone nicked my foot. And then, I felt myself falling. Down the hill. Stones cutting my skin.

"Hah!"

I finally landed with my back to the ground. Intense pain. My backside hurt so badly.

My hand touched my leg. And I felt as my heart started to slowly slam against my ribcage.

Blood!

I'm bleeding!

And then, the slamming became fast. With fear, flooding my system. On a magicless land. A land already polluted with sorcery. All it needed to give you your worst nightmares, was a drop of blood.

And then, I heard the screams.

Nadia's voice "ah!"

I looked around me. And knew instantly that something was coming.

And then, I felt it. The grounds, shaking. Trembling. Whatever was coming, clawing its way out of the ground, could only be one thing.

Wraiths!

Abandoning the hills, I took another path. Racing. Running. And feeling adrenaline surge through my veins.

I didn't know where I was headed, but I had to run. Escape!

My blood fed the ground. So, I hoped Nadia and others were safe and had escaped on their horses. No other person has to die because of my failure.

I looked back. And right then, the moonlight hit my pursuers.

The blood in my arteries froze with terror. The blood wraiths were the scariest things I had ever seen.

"Help me!" the words sprang out from my throat.

"Help!"

I couldn't escape these many wraiths on my own. It's either I die or end up as a wraith myself, for their bite or their long terrifying claws scratching you, was enough to make you be like them.

"Help!"

I was about to die. Without having saved my country.

"Hel..."

And then, I saw him. Someone on a horse. Speeding through the woods like a man possessed, swinging a fire torch. And then, I noticed the wraiths chasing Him.

Many wraiths. Hundreds of them. And I froze. There is no escaping this, we'll die.

"Come towards me!" The Dark Lord screamed but I didn't react. I don't know why.

"Come!"

"Run!"

I just couldn't move from where I was. Maybe it was the fear I felt but for me, at that moment, everything had stopped. I didn't see things clearly. And didn't hear them anymore.

The Dark Lord came down from his horse "distract them" He told it. Grabbed my hand, and then, the wraiths split into half. Chasing the horse. And chasing us too.

We'll die. Don't bother running.

But it seemed the Dark Lord didn't believe that. The many battles, he had fought in, had perhaps taught him to keep fighting until his last breath. But for me, I knew when to give up. To lean back. And ask your foe if you could negotiate, like I'd done for Marjol. I couldn't fight sorcery, so, I had to give in to my enemy's demand so, I could live. In this case, quite sad, that there was no negotiating with wraiths. The only thing they wanted from you, was your quick imminent death.

The Dark Lord's hand held unto mine. Clutching it tightly. As though, there was still hope and he couldn't afford to let me fall behind and die.

"Run!" He encouraged.

And then, I turned my neck back. To see our pursuers. Is there hope for us?

And at that moment, I saw one of the wraiths. A monstrous monster. Horror of all horrors. His claws with length of about six feet, stretched out. His hand ready to scratch my face. Wound me. And make me one of them.

"Hah!" The cry jumped out of my throat.

And at that second too, I felt myself being dragged. And then, I was jumping. And landing straight into the flowing river of the woods.

And my last thought was;

did the wraith touch me?

what am I now?

A wraith? Or still a human with a country to protect?