The Devil's Cursed Witch

On this particular day, the morning was unusually bright, the blue sky almost cloudless, as if to declare the weather would be bright and sunny all day long.

The warm summer-like atmosphere would normally cause naughty children to run about in laughter and sneak out to play outdoors, but none of the young ones within Agartha dared make a noise on this day.

Regardless if they were elves, fairies, witches, shapeshifters, or the other hidden races, all their villages and cities had a rare solemn mood that day.

The day of mourning, the most important day for the Kingdom of Agartha.

It was not a celebration, but an annual commemoration of the dead.

One would think it strange, why these long-lived races who treated years as shortly as weeks would commemorate their loved one's death anniversary, but that only proved how devastating that massacre one hundred years ago was to the living residents of Agartha.

For many of them, the painful memories of that day were as fresh as if it only happened yesterday.

A nightmare they wanted to wake up from.

In order to deal with their grief, the council designated a day of mourning to honor the sacrificed lives of that war. The beings born after the war were taught to show respect to the dead, and this day which marked the end of that war was set aside for the entire kingdom to rest.

Some people believed the souls of the deceased continued to roam around the kingdom to seek for their families and loved ones.

A tradition was then formed that those who survived would pray to nature for the peace of their souls. They would visit and offer prayers on the mass graves northeast of the kingdom, the last battlefield of that war, the Netherfields.

Even though the kingdom was relatively quiet, each and every family's preparations had started from dawn.

The younger generation of the beast clans were assigned at the border of the human territory. Security was tightened since the day before as there were chances that humans would create trouble to affect the peace and order on the day of mourning.

It didn't use to be that way, but ever since the Chief of the human villages changed, the day also marked the rivalry between human beings and supernatural beings.

As soon as the sun rose, countless supernatural beings had left their homes, from young to old, male and female, all of them headed northeast of the kingdom.

Even the clans who had cut ties with the outside world, who had decided to live in seclusion after that massacre a century back, would step back into the open and visit the mass grave.

It was a time for the retired war veterans to interact with the younger generation, for the elders to interact with the rest of their clans, for the survivors to reminisce the memories of those who they had lost.

Draven, being the symbolic king and protector of Agartha, had to be present at the Netherfields as well.

The young Erlos meticulously prepared the clothes for Draven to wear on this day.

"Black as usual," Erlos pulled out the black shirt and black coat for Draven.

Every year, Draven would always wear a pure black attire on the day of mourning. It was something so fixed, even Erlos' earliest memories of this day involved the King of Agartha being in all black.

The dark clothes seemingly represented the darkness that was brought to this kingdom. As if this was Draven's attempt to hide the pain of that memory.

Meanwhile, Erlos was clad in a simple white garb, a ceremonial robe used by the High Elves in the past during important events. Now, there was only Erlos to wear it.

The day of mourning was an emotional day for Erlos as well. Not only did he lose his parents during that war, as the entire clan of High Elves had perished.

In fact, where the Netherfields currently stand used to be the main city of the High Elves. All the residents of that city were massacred, and even the reinforcements of the other clans and races who came after died.

The final battlefield where the lands were colored red with all the blood spilled.

Every year, since Erlos started to live with Draven, he would visit the Netherfields with Draven. He had no family or clan members to go with—for him, Draven was his only family.

As a kid, he used to cry whenever they visited the grave of his parents. Draven would accompany him in silence, but as years passed by, Erlos had learned to stop crying and started to accept his new reality. That he was alone.

Erlos helped the freshly bathed Draven wear his clothes.

"Are we really not taking Miss with us, Sire?" Erlos asked.

"No. She will stay in the palace," Draven replied. "Don't worry, the security around the palace has been reinforced. Morpheus and Logan worked together, and I know their arrangements would ensure her safety."

"I am not worried about the security as no one would dare harm the King's mate. I was just feeling bad about leaving her behind. Your aides and the palace servants are all going.

"Besides, I think it is best that the Miss accompany us. The day of mourning happens every year. The earlier she sees how we spend this important day, the better. She will also get to witness the rare moment when the various clans and races of Agartha are united, gathered at the same place."

"Among those clans and races, many of their loved ones died in the hands of human black magic practitioners. They would not accept a human's presence on this special day. They might try to hurt her, not through weapons but with words," Draven replied.

He knew Ember was already sensitive after she learned of her royal background and he would never allow anyone to hurt her feelings once more.

'Also there was that vision.'

Draven knew this was the day in that vision. Ember would be safe in the palace as no one dared break inside. Moreover, if he were to fall into danger, then she was better off away from him.

"You are right, Sire. It's better for her to remain than to be targeted by others' criticism."

Draven was about to leave for the Netherfields. Without him, the ceremony of paying respect to the dead won't start. Before leaving, he went to see his mate.

When he reached her chamber, her servants were just about to leave, one to get Ember's morning meal and the other to bring their master's dirty clothes away.  Seeing the King, they bowed and left the chamber.

Draven went to his mate who was standing by the window. Since she had just finished bathing, she smelled refreshingly sweet.

She turned around to look at him and pulled out a bright smile though her eyes looked sad.

"Good morning," he greeted and stayed facing her, appreciating her somewhat pale face. "You are up earlier than usual."

"Good morning," she replied and observed him wearing a pure black dress shirt, a black waistcoat, even his pants, tailcoat and boots were black as well. With his black hair and black gloves, he looked like a living, breathing shadow.

The red irises of his eyes were especially bright in contrast.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

He nodded as he held her hands and pecked on her forehead. "Take care."

"Will you return by sundown?"

"I am not sure, but if I don't, you can ask for Erlos or Morpheus," he replied.

"I will do so."

"I have to go now. Without me, the ritual won't start."

"Go ahead."

Draven looked at her for a moment, and the next second, ended up wrapping his arms around her tightly, holding her so close he had lifted her off the floor. He could fully feel the warmth of her body.

He stayed like that, listening to the beautiful music of her heartbeats with his eyes closed.

Ember was startled, but she hugged him back, putting her face on the crook of his neck. After a while, he let go of her, and instead of leaving, he pulled her into a kiss.

Ember didn't know why he was like this. Was he getting emotional too? She remembered that one of his close friends died in that war as well. Not to mention, their group separated afterwards, changing the relationships he had with those who remained, like Morpheus and Logan.

'Maybe he has yet to forgive himself. He probably believes it's his fault people died.'

She felt it was something more, something different which she could not put a finger on.

But as her mate kissed her, she let those thoughts go and responded to that sweet kiss.

After a while, Draven finally let her go as he looked into her beautiful eyes.

She smiled lightly for him. "Aren't you getting late?"

"I am."

"Then you should leave. Once you are back, I will make sure you won't leave with just a kiss."

Draven didn't know how to respond to her words, but he nodded with a light smile on his lips.

Ember watched her mate leave and then looked at her bird Ray who was eating her food inside her cage.

"He is only going to another part of the kingdom, but it feels like he is going somewhere far. It's unreasonable, right? Seems like my love for him is growing too much for me to feel like that. A little distance feels unbearable."

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