Sacrificed to Her King

Queen Fiona was surrounded by dead bodies; her people were mutilated. Witches and mortals were lying scattered like broken pieces of glass.

Next to her sat her husband, on his knees. She looked into the eyes of King Bran, not realizing it was for the last time. He looked at her with warm loving eyes, but also with regret from the loss of their people.

They did what had to be done to banish Hades the King of Hell. They knew there would be consequences at some point.

She smiled at Bran but then caught sight of a coming blade. The blade buried straight through Bran’s heart, and she saw the light extinguish from his eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek when she looked at the person holding the sword.

Hella, the daughter of Hades, looked at her with a cruel smile and chuckled, “Don’t cry Fiona, you will join your husband soon enough.”

Fiona looked behind Hella and saw Gabriel, King of the Sky, with a collar around his neck, being restrained by one of Hella’s demons.

Next to him stood Roan, King of the Sea, unrestrained, but his eyes were full of remorse. She looked back at Hella, who was standing in front of her now.

“Any last words Fiona dear?” she asked.

Fiona closed her eyes and felt her magic pouring out, one last time she let her power rain down on the earth.

She looked at King Roan and said,

“I curse you King Roan, for standing by idle, where you could have made the difference between defeat and victory. I curse you to a life that stands still, you and your people will not age, will not reproduce, will not be able to enjoy the pleasures of life. You will be trapped in your Kingdom under the Sea, not being able to do anything just like you did today. Once a year you will be able to leave to try to find redemption. Only when the lost heir of the witches falls in love with you, then the curse will be broken.”

Hella rolled her eyes, “Ugh if I knew you were going to be this boring, Fiona, then I would have killed you immediately. But where is the pleasure in a quick death?”

Hella looked around and shouted, “Sigfried!”

Her demon servant came running.

“Make the woodpile ready, let’s give our witch Queen the goodbye that she deserves.”

They tied Fiona to the pole in the middle of the pile.

“You will burn as your ancestors did,” Hella said with a wicked smile.

She held out her hands and shot fire towards the wood. The fire licked on the wood like hungry snakes, and soon Fiona was engulfed by flames.

She felt her body burning but she would never give Hella the satisfaction of screaming. She suffered silently. As she felt her soul leave her body, her ancestors spoke through her in a prophecy:

“One will come who was long lost, with powers of the elements she will be stronger than nature itself. One with both darkness and light. One with the power to bring peace to the Realms once and for all.”

Fiona felt the emptiness of the departure of her ancestors, leaving only a dark black void.

***

3000 years later…

Noelle’s POV

I look at my reflection in the mirror, with my emerald, green eyes, and auburn red hair I am a natural beauty. Too bad, no one ever gets the chance to notice.

I have lived at a secluded orphanage all my life. Nothing ever happens and the only company I have are the nuns that come visit me sometimes.

I am the only child that is kept separate from the other children. I have no idea why, but it has always been this way. However today my life will change! It is my 18th birthday, so I can finally leave this place and explore the world.

Just the thought of leaving makes my heart jump with happiness. I grab my bag which contains almost nothing. My only possessions are some clothes, food, and a strange amulet they left with me on the doorstep of the orphanage 18 years ago.

I am just about to open the door when two guards storm in.

“Are you Noelle Pupillo?” they ask. (Pupillo is the last name they give to children whose parents are unknown.)

“Yes, I am,” I answer frowning.

“You are hereby obligated to take part in the sacrifice ritual to the Sea Kingdom today,” the guard’s command.

I look at them confused I have heard of the ritual, but I thought only high-born women were considered good enough to be sacrificed.

“Surely there is no need for a poor orphan girl to take part in that?”

“All women on the age of 18 are to be presented to the King of the Sea, you are no exception,” the guards say.

One guard grabs me by the arm and takes me outside. He shoves me in a waiting carriage.

“It’s a 5-hour ride so you better make yourself comfortable,” he grunts.

I don’t know what to think of this change of events, but it will probably just be a delay in my journey.

There is no way I would get picked because I don’t consider myself anything special. I don’t know much about the ritual, to begin with.

The nuns told me the King of the Sea comes to shore every year. Where he picks a woman to take with him to his Kingdom. I know the selected women must be 18 years old and virgins.

The women who got picked over the years have never returned, no one knows what happens to them. But it can’t be anything good in my opinion.

So today it will be a good thing that no one ever notices me. I don’t even know what the King of the Sea looks like but I imagine him to be a big brute.

I decide to stop thinking about it and start to enjoy the scenery instead. I see the most beautiful sights, more beautiful than I could ever imagine. Flowing hills, gigantic trees, and pastures with blooming flowers, everything takes my breath away.

So, before I know it the five hours have passed, and we arrive at the destination.

“Where are we?” I ask the guards.

“We are in Dandion the capital of the Mortal Realm,” they answer.

When I get out of the carriage we are at a beach within the background of a large city. I see high buildings entirely made of glass but also Victorian build houses.

It seems to be a mix of modern and historical architecture. The beach reaches as far as the eye can see with white sand and clear blue water. On the beach, there are hundreds of women waiting, one more beautiful than the other.

The air feels tense, everyone is quiet with a look of fear in their eyes. All the women are wearing plain grey dresses. The guards put one in my arms and tell me to change my clothes.

“The King requires everyone to wear the same clothes to make a good decision without distractions,” he says uninterested.

I put the dress on but even the boring color cannot hide that I have curves in all the right places.

I walk to the beach and take my place next to a woman who looks like an angel.

“Hi, my name is Noelle. What is your name?” I ask.

The angel lady keeps looking at the ground when she answers,

“My name is Luna, but please you have to be quiet it is starting soon.”

Every woman except me is staring at the ground. Which must mean they had better training than me. Then I hear the blowing of a loud horn, I look at the Sea when the guards shout.

“The king has arrived!”