"No wonder she is such a bitter soul," I said.
"The queen was such a sweet soul before. She did everything she could to make the Alpah like her, but it yielded no result until the Alpha brought another woman home from war."
"Lorien's mother?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, the Alpha's mother. She is called Queen Octavia. She was the queen of the Raybane kingdom. She got captured by the Alpha before she could kill herself and he brought her here to stay with him not as a slave but as his wife."
I placed my hand on my head, disappointed. Now why did she do that? Even I will not accept that.
"He probably fell in love at first sight and this made Queen Elara furious. She has since then got bitter and insensitive."
"So the former Alpha had both of them under his roof?" I asked and she nodded.
"They got pregnant at the same period but the Alpha came first before the crowned prince. Unfortunately, Queen Octavia died after she gave to the Alpha….
"So Queen Elara had to take care of him till now, I know the story from there." I cut in and she beamed lightly.
"Is there any reason for asking Your Highness?" she inquired.
"The queen regent will be called into question tomorrow," I replied and they all looked amazed.
My food was brought in to me, and I took my bath after that, then went to bed, unsure if I was ready for what was coming.
~~~~~~~~~
Lorien's POV
The guardsmen announced my arrival as I entered the court. The nobles got up and bowed, I waved back to them in acknowledgment and took my seat.
They all sat down, and I looked around; the queen regent was not in the court. She is not here yet.
We continued with other pending matters and after a while, the guards declared her coming.
She entered the court and bowed to me gently.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," she said and I nodded.
"We will evaluate the queen regent recent activities now." I armored, and she looked at me skeptically.
"But your Highness, you have given this rapist the punishment he deserves." The speaker said.
"Leave it to Queen Seraphina; she will give him the punishment he deserves herself," I replied, and the guards immediately grabbed the standing man out of the court.
The queen regent attempted to walk to her seat but j stopped her.
"What have you been up to lately, Queen Elara?" I asked menacingly.
"What I've been up to? "
"Yes."
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, I've been preparing Magnus worship, and I've been begging you to look for my son."
"Are you sure?"
"What do you even mean?" she inquired, acting clueless.
"You did not send shadows to obliterate the queen, not even once but twice?" The speaker answered back and the subsidiaries let out a surprised cry.
The queen looked scared at first, then became surprised; I was prepared for her little tricks.
"Who told you that? Sera… the queen to be?" She asked eagerly.
"She never told me anything; I saw it myself," I replied, and she smiled.
"Why do you think I'll murder the queen? I truly dislike her, but that does not mean I will do that; I've been in this castle for years, and you believe what that witch told you?" She asked calmly.
"Watch the words you use, Queen Elara." I retorted sternly and she bowed.
"I apologize for my rudeness, Your Majesty but I won't take untrue accusations against my name.
"But they are not untrue, are they?"
"As a respected member of this court, I ask the Alpha to present his evidence before accusing me unjustly."
Queen Elara has always been a confident woman, she believed whatever she did was right and would never take 'No' for an answer. She had been making attempts to take Seraphins's life and that I could not accept.
"The first attempt was when you sent your shadow to mess with the queen's head. I asked my Sherlock to look into it because only Caelum had the power to control shadows. I sensed the dark energy coming from the castle itself, but I ignored it. You were in Magnus worship hall but you still dared to use your filthy dark powers in there!" I said angrily.
I could hear loud gasps. I never watched this happen, but t it happened, and I'm still the Alpha.
"Your Sherlock must have gotten the wrong information...
"No, he did not. You used Magnus Hall to cover your dark secrets and used it to trouble the queen." I cut in harshly.
She was silent for a while, probably wondering what to say to defend herself.
"I indeed sent a shadow after the queen, but it was for her good; she has been acting strangely ever since she got back from the dead. I just sent the shadow of the past to help me recover and….
"So you admit that you work for Caelum?" I interrupted again, looking into her eyes.
"I do not work for him; I only borrowed the power w, which is not wrong." She replied nonchalantly.
"We are not fools, Mother. We all know Caleum does not give someone his power without asking for something in return."
"Ohh please, that's not true."
"The second attempt you made was drowning the queen I'm the milk during our wedding ceremonies, why? Why do you hate that woman so much?" I asked and she shrugged her shoulders.
"Because she's not meant to be here; she is not the one for you…you may think I'm crazy, but trust me."
I was getting furious, her words had no meaning to me anymore.
"You will stay in the dungeon for a month before I can think about what to do to you."
She widened her eyes in amazement.
"I took care of you from the day that woman gave birth to you till now and you want to repay me with this?" she asked angrily.
"That does not justify that your actions…
"I cared for you and ruled the kingdom with you. My son is supposed to be on that throne, commanding his subjects but you took that from us…what else will you take from me? My life?" She screamed.
"Take her away!" I ordered not taking her words to heart.
The guardsmen grabbed her while her maids got on their knees; Seraphina entered, confused with whatever was going on.
"This is the reason I killed her your unappreciative father! You ungrateful bastard!"
The statement echoed around the court; I stood still, not believing my ears. It was as if time froze, my heart raced continuously.
Seraphina hands were on her mouth for a moment.
Everybody was in shock. I almost lost my balance, but my trusted warriors assisted me.
"What did you say?" I asked, my voice almost trembling.
She was also frightened as if she had mistakenly said so.
"I'm sorry…it was a mistake.
"Take her away, now," I said gently, and they obeyed; she left with her head bowed.
"The court session has ended for today, we will continue tomorrow." I declared as I tried holding back the tears in my eyes.
They all went out except Seraphina, who walked to me and held my shoulder.
"I am so sorry about that, Your Majesty."
"What she said… it's not genuine, is it?" I asked.
"It's true, Your Highness, I've been finding ways to tell you, but I thank God she said it herself," she answered back softly.
"But…why?" I inquired my heart in pain.
"Caelum, it's that devil. He is the one behind all this." she retorted.
"I need some time alone."
"I understand, Your Majesty; I'll be right outside if you need me," she said as she walked out, closing the door behind her.
I got on my knees and wailed silently. My father did not die an ordinary death, he was murdered by his mate! And she had been living in the castle as if nothing had happened. I grabbed my chest as fear rolled down my eyes. It was unfair, Caelum destroyed my family and went free.
All I've been doing was just for my Father, I did everything he ordered me to do just to make him proud. Elara's statement brought back old but fresh pains.
My memories brought back the last time I saw him, still in her hands. I remember his last words and it rang in my ears again.
"Do not trust anyone, Lorien…not even your mate, you're now the Alpha; make me proud and remember everything I've taught you."
Those were his last words. That was the reason I've always treated Seraphina badly, he was right about not trusting anyone. Not even the woman I regarded as my mother.
If only I could bring him back. If felt betrayed and hurt, those you cherish the most indeed betray you most.
I was in that same position, my knees on the floor and my head bowed till evening.