CHAPTER TEN

                  Ophelia's  POV 

        I woke up at sunrise the next morning with my back aching like hell, but then again what did I expect after falling asleep on a mountain top.

      I teleported back to the palace and took a bath, shortly after the maids poured in. Who holds a banquet this early in the morning? Oh right, our psychotic emperor.

      They got me dressed in a rather obnoxious dress…okay the dress wasn't obnoxious, I just hated where I was going to wear it to. They did my hair rather elaborately and topped it off with my tiara. 

      They left and I just sat there trying to come up with a plan. Did I end up coming up with one? No.

      I walked out of my door with absolutely no idea regarding what I would do. Story of my life.

      "Good morning,your highness," he greeted and I just stared at him, and turned around to start walking.

     "Are you going to keep ignoring me?"he asked, and I didn't reply, instead I started walking.

      I had only walked a few steps before he grabbed a hold on my hand.

      "Sage, let go of my hands, or so help me,"I ordered, my voice low.

     "No,"he said simply, the guys on this man.

      "Sage I swear to the heavens if you do not let me go right this instant, I will hurt you," I told him. We both know I would not hurt him.

       "Go ahead, we both know if you wanted to, you would," he pointed out and my features were visibly washed over with anger.

       "How dare-" before I finished the statement I was somehow bracketed in between his forearms. 

      "Princess, just hear me out," he pleaded.

       "No," it was my turn to disagree. I pushed against him but he didn't budge, I do not remember him being this strong. I hit his chest repeatedly and this man did not move, instead he took both of my wrists in his hand and placed them above my head.

       "Get away," I said, my voice high enough that he heard me but low enough so it wouldn't draw attention. 

       "Not in this life, princess," and I may or may not have let him kiss me but that's a story for another day. Yes I am aware I could have teleported if I wanted to get out of his grasp but my thought process will always be questionable.

      I pushed him away and this time he moved, "I do not forgive you for basically lying to me for 8 years, you told me you were an orphan."

      I teleported both of us to my mother's side of the castle before he could say anything. I did not want to hear it.

     I met up with my mother and father and teleported us to Edoril; home of the madman.

     We were the last to arrive, but then again, it was a banquet held in my honor, so it was not that bad. Plus, I have lost all respect for the emperor.

      The banquet began and we all took our seats, with all the personal guards standing at a specific place in the banquet hall.

       "A toast to Princess Ophelia of Alervan and Alkazar for taking our beloved empire out of harm's way," he announced, loud enough that his voices echoed along the hall's walls.

       "After the unexpected opening of the barrier and my pathetic inability to close them, I am beyond grateful to the princess," I was slowly losing it with every word he said.

       "Although it is jarring that we have no clue what-"

      "Oh shut up!"

       "What?"

       "I said shut up, cut the damn act," I told him and all eyes were on me.

      "I am not sure I quite understand you," he feigned Innocence.

       "You know after you opened the barriers you could not have come up with a better story, instead of this 'I have no idea' act," I yelled and my parents stared at me, wide eyed. 

        "What are you talking about?" Mother whispered.

        "What is going on?" My father seconded.

         "You are aware that you are committing high treason with such an accusation," Magnus looked at me with squinted eyes.

       "And you are aware that only a mentally unstable person would open the barriers," I retorted and everyone started murmuring, including the guards.

       "Guards, seize her!" He commanded and an unnecessary amount of guards came out of nowhere. The things I get myself into.

      I tried to teleport but it wasn't working, I tried every other spell I knew it did not work. Well I certainly have bitten off more than I can chew.

     The guards grabbed my forearms and my parents lunged out of their chairs and my parents' guards including Sage ran from where they stood.

      "Unhand my daughter this instant," my father and Sage  tried to pull them off me and they succeeded as the two guards holding me fell to the ground.

      Some guards got into a fight with Sage, my mother tried to use magic but it didn't work so she ended up fighting by hand. The rest of the royals just stood there staring, except the orcs who tried to help.

      But because the heavens can't have things going my way and a shock blast pushed everyone but Magnus' guards back.

        "Fucking seize her!" He yelled and they grabbed my hands and I was way too inebriated to think properly.

       "You are a pathetic excuse for a man," I yelled as they dragged me out. The experience is very humbling.

       They dragged me into what I assumed were the dungeons and they were filled with so many people and they were all shapeshifters. Today gets more and more concerning but the minute.

     Every cell held at least ten people but I was flung into a cell with only one old lady, who looked like she had seen unspeakable things.

      "Pray to the heavens, because when I get out, I will chop off your limbs, one by one," I told them with a small smile and their eyes widened and they walked out.

      "Princess Ophelia, welcome," a voice said and I turned to the voice's location of origin. It was an old man with eyes that were completely white, so I took it as he was blind.

      "I'm sorry but how do you know my name?" I asked, because today was becoming way too ridiculous.

     "That, child is a story for another day," well that definitely was not ominous.

      "I have been awaiting your arrival," he revealed and my eyebrows drew together.

     "How? Can you see the future or something?" I questioned, at this point I wouldn't even be surprised if he said yes.

     "Yes," he deadpanned. I know I said I wouldn't be surprised but still. 

      "Oh well isn't that interesting."

      "So I've heard, anyways I am telling you this because you are the only one that can save us from that tyrant," he told me and I, being who I am, started laughing. 

     "I'm sorry but that sounded so cliché," I told him.

      "Cliché or not, it's true," He says and I sigh.

      "Okay sure, but why? Why me? Of all the powerful people in the realms, why is it me?" I asked because it was starting to sound like a book plot.

      "Well, I really cannot interpret the heavens but I will assume it is due to the fact that you were born of two people of two kinds that were never associated because they were too obsessed with keeping the power the way it was. So it would be poetic for the offspring of said union to bring down a tyrannical ruler obsessed with power," he spoke with absolutely no breaks.

      "Well that doesn't sound like a guess, how many times have you thought about this?" 

      "A lot because I told your parents right after you were born," well that was a shocker.

      "Wait so my parents knew Magnus was a bad person?" I wondered because if so, when I got out, we would need to have a serious conversation.

      "No. I told them you would save us from the shadows," now that I think about it, it adds up why they weren't all too shocked by me finding the solution to close the barriers.

       "Why in the realms didn't you tell them?" I exclaimed, that would have saved me having to be in a cage right now.

       "Because I did not know," this man is confusing me.

       "Are you not supposed to be able to see the future?"

      "I can but the gods chose not to show me that. Maybe they wanted you to be seized," he was so calm about this situation.

      "Well the gods must have something against me," I said and he laughed.

      "Well-" he started but went silent.

       "What in the-" I stopped when I saw why he went silent.

        "Oh Magnus hello," I told him.

        "It's emperor to you," he bellowed and I snickered.

       "No, I'm not calling you emperor, you don't deserve it."

     "How are you enjoying your new living arrangements, with crazy over here?" He asked and the woman next to me looked at him with pure hate, which was the first emotion she had shown in the ten minutes I had been here.

     "It is so much better than hearing you speak all high and mighty," I retorted with a smile.

      "That's enough! Guards open the gates," he ordered and they scrambled to open it.

        He stepped inside and stood in front of me, staring down at me like I was dirt under his shoe.

        "You are a piece of shit," I spat.

        "Whip!" He said and a guard gave him an unnecessarily large whip. My mouth is going to get me killed, but then again a random old man just told me that I was the solution, so I'm going to play into my delusions and say I shall survive.

       "Say it again," he ordered and this pig whipped me, so hard that I felt the pain before I heard the sound. All the muscles in my body contracted in pain but I refused to yell or cry, it would only make him happy.

      "YOU." 

       WHIP.

       "ARE."

       WHIP!   

       "A."

       WHIP!

       "PIECE OF."

         WHIP!

        "SHIT!" as the word left my mouth it was followed by the hardest whip yet and a sound I didn't know I was capable of making.

      My skin had no time to heal in between hits so now my skin was red with lash marks and some were bleeding.

       I was shaking and my thoughts were incoherent.

       "Had enough?" He asked,with an evilly smug smile. My eye glowed, and that only happened when I was angry or in serious pain.

      "NEVER! DROP THE WHIP AND FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL MAN, BITCH!" I cursed and his face contorted to a point that he didn't look normal.

       He grabbed me by my neck and lifted me up to his height, and I was slowly suffocating.

       "How's this for fighting like a man?" He cocked a brow.

      "Bitch," I choked out with the little oxygen I had left in my lungs, then I spat in his face.

      He was overcome with rage and flung me to the ground. He walked out and left after instructing the guard to lock the gate back.

     "your highness, are you okay?" The old man asked.

      "I'm alive at least," I say in a hoarse voice, but I couldn't seat up so I just laid there.

        A hand suddenly started rubbing my side and I tilted my head to the side to see that it was the woman in my cell.

        "You'll be fine, it's okay," and something about her voice was soothing. Something about it reminded me of…Sage.