Serenity

Daniel and Garen walked on both sides of me, their hands helping to guide me down the staircase to the dungeons. I jumped when I heard the shrill shriek of that bitch receptionist. "I knew you were just a slut trying to trap them!"

I glared at her coldly, "You know nothing. I, however, know that you will pay for your sins against me and my Eternals." I stalked closer to the woman's cell and let my powers swirl around me. Daniel gave me a warning growl, but I ignored it. "Come here," I commanded her. In a flash, her eyes had glazed over under my compulsion, and she moved toward the bars. "Give me your wrists." She did as I asked, and I pressed my nails into her skin until a slight trail of blood began to drip. "Regina Salva, you are marked as a traitor to your kind for all magical creatures to see. These marks will tell of your betrayal of your King, his Queen, and his Consort. None in the kingdoms shall offer you safe harbor until you have repented of your crimes and your heart finds true compassion, this I decree, and this I command." The puncture marks from my nails formed a winding tattoo scar that encircled her wrists in runes that spelled out traitor for all the world to see.

When I released her, she gasped, stumbling backward, "But...but you're just a human. You can't..."

Daniel chuckled, "That's where you are mistaken, Ms. Salva. Serenity is not a human, she is our Eternal. She is Elven royalty and now also a vampire and your Queen. You chose the losing side." With that, we walked on to Dahl's cell, leaving her squawking and pleading to be released.

"I see you've regained your magic, Miss Matthews," Mr. Dahl commented as we approached.

"Oh, I've gained far more than that, Mr. Dahl." My voice was even as I came into full view of the man, making sure he saw my swollen stomach.

"That...that's not possible, you can't carry a vampire's child," he sputtered. "You've betrayed your own kind!"

"Me? I have betrayed no one, but you, well, you and my father, you have betrayed the Elven throne!" I hissed. "Now, answer my questions and I might find it in my heart to spare your life."

"You have no authority, girl," he barked.

Then Daniel stepped forward, making Dahl jump to his feet in fear. "She has complete authority, Dahl. As my wife and Queen as well as Princess of the Elven Kingdom, she has rule over you and can sentence you as she sees fit for your crimes against both kingdoms."

"I was following the orders of my king and committed no crimes according to Elven law," Dahl protested.

"My Father was not King at the time, my brother Asher was and is the rightful King. He gave no such orders to you," I clarified. Dahl snorted. "Explain your actions. What did my Father command of you?"

"Give me your word you will spare my life and I will tell you everything."

Can we agree to that? I asked them telepathically.

The ultimate decision is yours, my love, Daniel replied.

I agree, this is your decision to make. Sparing his life does not mean he will go free, Garen added. I nodded.

"We agree your life will be spared, but make no mistake, Mr. Dahl, you will be punished. Proceed," I told him as Garen pulled up a chair for me to sit down.

Dahl sat, his body tense as he began. "Do you remember when you came to the firm?"

I noticed Garen and Daniel were both tense. "I have holes in my memories," I admitted. We had already assumed someone had tampered with my memories, so this wasn't a new revelation.

He nodded, "That's because your Father had you altered long ago. As I'm sure you and your vampires already know, you aren't some young human girl. You are Serenity Wraithleaf, Princess of Faire, and you are almost two thousand years old with a soul that has known time before the lights touched the skies. You are the Child of Light and hold the ElvenStar inside of you." Our bond snapped at his declaration as both men struggled with this news. "I have been around you since the day of your birth, and when you began your journey toward the Goddess, it plagued your mother. She did not want you to become a servant in the temple. This caused her and your father, the King, to quarrel."

"Is that why I was altered, to make me more compliant?" I asked, teeth gritted. Daniel placed his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me through the bond.

"Yes. My power is memory manipulation. I can erase or create memories so real that they cannot be distinguished between reality and fantasy. The image of your mother and your false father's death was my work. Similarly, the memories of the foster family and college were my creations. In reality, your mother was captured by the King's soldiers and put to death along with her manservant for her kidnapping of the Princess." Dahl didn't flinch when he spoke, but I felt my stomach plummet. Asher told me vampires killed her.

"Does my brother know the truth?" I whispered.

Dahl snorted, "Goodness no. None but the King and a few know the truth. The public story was a vampire attack, and once I placed those memories in your mind, it was easy to substantiate. As for the rest, well, you were kept in an undisclosed location in Faire for many centuries as I crafted the visions your Father wanted. You were to be the ultimate weapon against the vampires. We had to find a way to end their tyranny. The former King took pleasure in attempting to wipe out our kind, so much so that we had to practically seal away the kingdom and the knowledge of our existence."

"I am not my father," Daniel said sternly. "Had your king bothered to ask, he would have found me quite willing to reach a peaceable accord for our kingdoms."

Dahl looked at him with doubt, "Nevertheless, plans were already laid, and Serenity was the key. All was going smoothly until your mother interfered."

"What was the plan?" Garen asked.

A sinister smile overtook the man's face, "To kill the Vampire King, of course. With her fear and hatred of vampires, it would be easy to sway Serenity to take his life in a situation of self-defense, of course. We had the basic fear from her mother's slaughter already. The plan was to create events where she was attacked and grew more paranoid, but then your damn mother came in compelling Caffrey and half the fucking board with that demon of hers and it all went to shit once they took her. I left and went straight to the King."

"What did he instruct you to do?" Garen asked.

"Your brother got involved when I went to see the king. He reached out to a witch, and that's all I know," Dahl frowned. "Now, release me."

I laughed, "That wasn't in the agreement, Mr. Dahl. I said I would spare your life, but I did promise punishment."

"You have no authority over me," he snarled, jumping toward the bars.

I sat, not flinching as he tried to reach for me. "Tut, tut, how rude. I think we will leave you here for a while to ponder your actions. Then I will let you know what I've decided." Daniel held out a hand to help me up, and we walked away, ignoring his curses and hollow threats as we made our way back to the mansion.