The first thing Delyth does this morning is send the two dresses she stitched by hand to Priscilla, the cute as a button blonde girl she met a few days ago. She even included five silk ribbons because she knows how expensive they are and how lucky any little girl would be if they even could afford one. She wishes she could see the huge smile on her face when she got them because that would've surely brightened her day.

Heaven knows she needs the motivation. She heard the night before that despite not receiving any reports about suspicious deaths, Silas is still looking for Obitus. Delyth thought he would've given up by now but it has become obvious that he hasn't. Delyth didn't understand why Silas is so obsessed with killing Obitus. It wasn't until she spoke to Jothan, everything became clear.

She didn't know the hate she harbored for him could get any worse.

"I understand that he killed innocent people but I doubt Silas would care much about them. Is there a reason he's really after him?" Delyth asked, her fingers crossed behind her back in hopes that Jothan could give her some information.

Jothan cleared his throat and scratched the nape of his neck. "You already know about the ordered kills for the fairies and other mythical creatures in Swuybia by Boaz Casteron many years ago and the ones in hiding that Silas captured a few years ago." Delyth nods, remembering the story Tiarnan told her at the Shed.

"Boaz Casteron told everyone that they committed treacherous and odious crimes privately and should be put down. Truth be told, Boaz Casteron was threatened by how much power they had collectively more than the family. As far as he knows, the Casteron family should be the most powerful in the entire Udriles Kingdom. Imagine what happens when you are taught that from a young age and you learn that "Someone in Naelund has possessed a dangerous amount of power that will doom us all," is what the seer said. And later discover that they don't even have to touch you to kill you. In the mind of Silas Casteron manipulated by Boaz Casteron, that person should be found and killed by any means.

She could hear the thrilling music in the background as she listened to every word.

Power. In the end, everything is about power for Silas. This facade he portrays himself as around her. This calm, gentleman with some sort of morals. That is not him. He will always be a self-conceited diabolical man.

She glances beside her at the dark haired brute of a King that offered to escort her through Varusa, who's doing an annoyingly good job as well. He waves at a middle aged couple with a teen son standing in the door frame. Instead of waving back, they almost fall over each other's feet trying to get inside their home and slamming the door behind them in the process.

He doesn't give the impression of being bothered by their reactions, he plasters on a smile, rolls his shoulders and continues to trod through the villages, pointing to the different main points. Suddenly, a small kid—boy around the age of 6—accidentally runs into Silas. A box falls out of the inside of his suit jacket and onto the floor between them.

The young boy looks up at the person he knocks into and crawls away on the ground, eyes wide in fear when he realizes who it is. Delyth moves quickly and picks him up off the ground, brushing the dust off his garments meanwhile he tries to maintain a good distance between him and King Silas.

Taking the box off the floor, he pulls the boy close to him by his collar and backhands him hard. A loud gasp leaves Delyth's lips. The boy lets out an ear-shattering shriek, holding his slowly developing red cheek, fat tears pouring out of his big dark eyes.

Silas shakes the box in the child's face. "Do you know how much this cost? What if you damaged it?"

"Have you gone insane?" Delyth pulls the boy to her body. He quickly wraps his arms around her and cries in her uniform, during which she brushes his hair to calm him. "You are going to hit a child because he ran into you and your only concern is about a stupid box?"

She grabs the box out of his hand and throws it to the side. With crazed eyes, Silas points to the box that is cast aside on the ground. "That stupid box holds your birthday gift. The birthday that I didn't know about three days ago when we technically spent the whole day together. So, yes, Delyth, that is my main concern and that kid better hope the bracelet isn't broken or I–"

Delyth gently pushes the young boy behind her back as she takes a few steps closer to him and stands almost nose to nose. Her eyes narrow and her nose flares. "You what?"

Seeing Delyth rage being directed at someone else is exhilarating but being on the other end of it, almost scares him a bit. Not a single man has ever had the courage to stand up to him or pass threats while standing this close to him. Still, Delyth stands with a lifted chin, glaring at Silas in the eyes with a sinister look on her face.

"I had it made for you and though it made be presumptuous of me, I would still like it very much if you could at least look at it, please?"

Please? He can't remember the last time he said that word. Weirdly enough, he didn't even flinch or grimace when he said it because it doesn't matter what he has to say as long as she looks at the bracelet.

Delyth groans and walks away with the little boy holding onto her hand. "It's okay. He's just a mean man. Where are your parents?"

"He hit a kid, Tiarnan! A small boy. And what does he have to say to justify it? He had a birthday gift made for me? Is he serious?" Delyth paces back and forth, breathing heavily, still not over Silas's atrocious behavior. Her hands are moving all over the place, indicating just how frustrated she is at the whole matter.

Tiarnan leans against the pillar and watches his soon-to-be-wife upset by the events that occurred a few minutes ago. He's unsure of what to do so he lets her talk it out. Finally she stops and holds her head in her palms, so he walks towards her and pulls her into his chest, threading his fingers through her hair.

"I know." He breathes into her hair. "When coming here, we knew we would have to be at the forefront of his insanity. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine. I promise."

He holds her firmly while her breathing slows down. His mind is still running in circles about the fact that Silas bought Delyth a gift to win her heart. Except, he messed up and hit a child. However, if that had not happened, he wonders if Delyth would've accepted the gift.

Of course, she wouldn't. She loathes him with every fiber of her bone especially now since she told him about what Jothan informed her about his greed for power. She has to kill him because if Silas finds out that she is the Obitus that he is looking for, he will kill her the first chance he gets.

"Dame Aiken." Silas calls in a loud voice, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Spar with me."

"I would rather hang from a cliff by my legs without a rope," she replies in an uninterested tone of voice without even sparing him a look. The corner of Jothan's mouth tips upward and Zodak folds his lips to stop from laughing.

"I would like to see the skills that have men shivering in their boots," he goads but she doesn't take the bait.

Silas's jaw ticks at her defiance. It is at this moment, he understands why Ruadhan Dinan was so vexed by her. Delyth has the power to deliberately get under one's nerves.

Watching Silas's patience wear thin, Jothan had already hurried and called for Zadok because he knew he would love to witness Delyth and Silas go head to head. By the time the two come back in their positions, a sword is released from Silas's hand and into the wall beside Tiarnan's head.

Delyth sees this and makes her way towards Tiarnan, still not looking at Silas. Rage boiling in her veins. They thought Silas's wrath was dangerous, they hadn't witnessed an angry Delyth. With every step she takes, it's as though they could feel the heat of her fury. It almost feels like hell fire.

She pulls the sword out of the wall and looks up into Tiarnan's eyes. "Are you okay?"

A slow smirk spreads across his lips. "Show him who Delyth Aiken really is."

Delyth turns on her heel and a low chuckle comes from her throat. It is not a pleasant laugh but one that sends shivers down your spine. "Oh, I have had it with you threatening him."

"You are dead, Lady Aiken." One of the knights taunts in a condescending tone. Delyth swings her arm around and the blade of the sword slashes across his throat. The knight holds his neck, trying to stop the blood but it is too late. He falls to the ground in a thud. Everyone's eyes watch on, their bodies stiff in terror.

"Silas just made a grave mistake," Zadok whispers to Jothan, amusement flooding in his eyes.

Jothan nods, scared of what's to happen next. "And Aiken is going to make him pay for it. This should be fun" Because Silas threatened Tiarnan's life in front of Delyth, a knight died. Of course, Silas couldn't care less but everyone knows that an unnerved spouse—or Delyth's case, soon to be spouse—is the most deadly thing one can ever upset.

Delyth throws the sword at Silas's feet and while he bends to pick it up, she is already in front of him with her twin blades in the front and back of his neck. One swift motion and he would be dead. No one would care. No one would avenge his death. This would all be over.

Silas doesn't want that. This is a game. And ending the game too quickly would be boring. He is here to put on a show but without saying the words, he is also here to apologize for striking the child. In front of her. Because of his actions, he couldn't give her the expensive bracelet he got custom-made for her.

She takes a step back, inhales deeply and pockets her twin daggers. She curtly nods her head at him. "Okay, King Silas. Let's play."

And she lunges.

They break, both of their chests heaving up and down at a rapid pace. It has been 12 minutes of this and neither plan on stopping. Delyth wants to hurt him and Silas is enjoying himself. As much as she hates to admit it, he has the best swordsmanship she has ever met.

Tiarnan is getting anxious as he watches her lose her momentum and slow down. Jothan and Zadok watch in anticipation. They could already see how this ends. Silas will prolong this as much as he can until Delyth has no choice but to do something drastic and end it.

"This is fun. You are an actual challenge for me." He points a finger at her with a teasing smile playing on his lips. "We should make this into a common occurrence."

Delyth grits her teeth and attacks and Silas parries looking up at her with the disgusting gleam in his eyes. She lowers her arms and punches him, making sure to create a cut on his lip.

That definitely wipes that pathetic grin off his face, she grumbles in her face.

As he staggers on his feet, Delyth leaps and he falls backward on the ground. Her sword abandoned and her dagger in hand at his throat. His eyes sweep down at her body straddling him. He is not objecting to the compromising position. It's the closest he can ever get her to be to him.

"You try to hurt him again, whether be it in my presence or not, I will kill you. I hope we understand each other, King Silas Casteron." She uses the dagger to unbutton the first button on his shirt and expose the top of his chest. She slides her dagger over to his collarbone and marks an 'x' against his skin.

She pushes off him and walks towards Tiarnan who winks at her with a bright proud smile on his face.

Little does Delyth know that marking him won't make him angry. In his deluded mind, he sees it as a trophy. He swipes the blood dripping from the mark with his thumb and licks it, committing the moment to memory. She made a mark on him which is the best thing she could ever do. He believes it's better than the ring she has hanging around her neck from that fiance of hers, Tiarnan Holian. Maybe the mark means he also belongs to Delyth in some twisted way.

Good.

Upon seeing Delyth's arrival on Munjour Rock, Kalodor growls lowly and slowly approaches her, his eyes trained on the skinned pig she was dragging along with her. She stops five feet away from him and throws the meat in front of him and watches while he doesn't hesitate to devour it whole.

Delyth sits on the floor with her legs under her body observing the ferocious beast. Her head tilts to the side and Kalodor looks at her and copies her movement. She smiles at him and he takes the opportunity to approach. He groans, which she interprets as him asking "What happened?"

"Silas. It is always Silas." Delyth brings her hands to the sides of his face and leans her head against his nose, which he shockingly allows.

"How can you stay loyal to such a man? I must admit I was angry with you for what you did to my family and the people of Naelund but I would like to think that you had no choice because you are gentle—for a lack of a better word—with me." Her head drops to the rocky ground then she stares at the chain around his neck.

"Would you mind if–" she nods her head to the chain and he turns his head, exposing his neck to her. She stands to her feet and lightly brushes her fingertips along the metal. "Do you ever wish to be something, maybe somewhere else?"

Kalodor growls and lowers his body, shaking it as if suggesting for her to climb onto his back. Delyth opens her mouth then closes it when he shakes his body again. She looks around for any witnesses and when she sees none, she steadily climbs atop him and sits on the riding gear that never seems to leave his body in the cases of emergencies.

When sure she is comfortably seated, he rises and walks around Munjour Rock as far as the chain would allow. He even lifts off the ground a few feet and spreads his wings. A wide smile grows across her lips, her face as bright as the midday sun. Kalodor lands back to his feet and overlooks Varusa that is pitch black with only a few lanterns to light the street corners.

For those couple minutes, she forgot her mental struggles and the world didn't feel heavy on her shoulders. She smiles and rubs Kalodor's neck, understanding that it was his intention to relieve her from her worries of everything, whether or not it included Silas. "Thank you."

24/07/22

Au revoir...

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