Chapter 14 – Demon Sword

Jiyong’s POV

“No! Lower your sword, soldier!” Seunghyun shouted from afar.

I came to my senses with the voice of my Aran. I shook my head harshly and looked toward him. He was coming to me on his horse with Daesung and Taeyang following behind.

I looked around and saw that I was surrounded by five elf soldiers. Only one of them held his sword. He lowered his sword carefully after Seunghyun’s warning without taking his eyes away from me. Slowly, I lowered my own sword, too.

It was still hard to get rid of my firewall. I forced myself to reduce my powers but something was really pushing me inside. It felt like I couldn’t control my powers. Then, finally, Seunghyun got closer and my wall disappeared.

Suddenly, I remembered why the soldier wielded his sword against me: I had attacked them with my sword first!

I dropped my sword and covered my mouth with my hand. What did I do? What happened? Why was I here?

I was only aware of the fire wall. I couldn’t remember if I used any fireballs. I hoped I didn’t… Oh please I hoped I didn’t…

I hoped that I hadn’t hurt anybody. For now, I could only hope…

Finally, Seunghyun and others arrived near us. I was so shaken and confused so I looked up at Seunghyun with hope. I needed his comfort so bad right now but… he was frowning at me. Then I realized everybody was frowning and they seemed to be… angry. Towards me? But why?!

I knew I just attacked a soldier… But I was not myself! I didn’t remember anything… I didn’t know anything…

Suddenly, I realized that my sword was still on my belt. I immediately looked at the ground where I dropped the sword. It was not my sword!

It was…. so beautiful. A very beautiful and shining sword. Its hilt was bright like gold and it was decorated with shining blue stones. Oh my… I guess they were glinmir! I wanted to hold it again. I took a step toward the sword but suddenly a strong arm grabbed me and before I knew it, I was on Seunghyun’s horse.

“No!” I shouted, struggling to get free and reach the sword again.

I wanted the sword! I just wanted to hold the sword! What was happening? I couldn’t control myself!

“Stop it! Don’t fight with me!” Seunghyun shouted and held me in my place with force.

With Seunghyun’s voice, I regained my senses again but it was for a short time. Seunghyun’s presence was helping me but the sword was stronger. I started to struggle again. I just needed to get the sword… I needed it! It was out of my control! I didn’t want to do this but … it was controlling me!

“It is the sword!” shouted Taeyang.

“Cover it, now! And take it to Jaejoong,” Seunghyun ordered immediately.

Soldiers covered it with a cloak but it didn’t work that well. I could still feel it until Daesung took away immediately. I still felt it calling me but Seunghyun’s presence was making me relax and soon I lost the sense of the sword. I started to breath heavily and closed my eyes.

“Did you feel it?” asked Taeyang.

I didn’t open my eyes. I knew that Taeyang asked this to Seunghyun. I just waited for Seunghyun’s answer.

“Yes. It is a demon sword,” answered Seunghyun.

A demon sword… I didn’t even know a demon sword existed. Maybe it belonged to my family…? How did it get here then? I didn’t know anything… I didn’t even know why I was here. Everything… was giving me a headache now.

Seunghyun’s voice was cold. He was still angry. His hand that was holding me was not gentle like before. I opened my eyes and slowly tried to turn around to look at him. He didn’t look at me. His eyes were so cold.

I felt like a stranger. I felt like an enemy. They all were looking at me like I was a dangerous person. For the first time, I felt like a demon amongst elves. Suddenly, I even felt Seunghyun was becoming a stranger to me.

The soldier who wielded his sword against me came in front of us and made a deep bow.

“My king, my queen… Please forgive my behavior. I took out my sword to protect myself. I meant no harm to his majesty, Tari.”

I looked at him with my eyes wide open. To protect himself? I must have made them really worried but why… how? I was going crazy.

“Thank you soldier but you know it is a crime, right? You have you take a punishment,” Seunghyun said firmly, making me tremble slightly with fear.

“Yes, your majesty!” said the soldier.

He was quickly arrested by two other soldiers.

“You are also under arrest little demon. You went against my orders,” Seunghyun said in my ear.

I felt like my blood was frozen with his words. His words were heartless. He didn’t use the words Tari or Vanya… He called me ‘little demon’ like I was nothing but the boy he met weeks ago in the woods.

I guessed I broke more than one rule even if I didn’t remember. I felt like my head was spinning with this thought so I hardly braced myself.

I wanted to talk. I wanted to explain that I didn’t remember how I came here… how I was controlled by sword. But I just… couldn’t. I was shocked. I was afraid. I needed Seunghyun’s support but he... He was so far away from giving me comfort.

Seunghyun held my hand and dragged me along to our bedroom immediately when we arrived at the castle. I stumbled because he was so fast but he didn’t even care. He grabbed my wrist and he kept dragging me along. It hurt.

All of the people, maids, and soldiers were looking at us while we were walking through the corridors of the castle. Everybody was frozen. They were all shocked.

“His majesty went against the king’s orders! He has to get a punishment!” Taeyang shouted behind us.

What orders? I didn’t know what orders I went against! I was shouting mentally but no words came from my mouth. I was afraid to even ask Seunghyun. I didn’t know what to do.

With Taeyang’s words, I became even more scared. I felt like nothing around me was happening. It felt like a dream. A really bad one.

Seunghyun closed the door and locked it. Then he started to take off my cloak.

“Did you get hurt? Is something hurting?” he asked while he was trying to check my body.

He was trying to take off my clothes but I took a step back and looked into his eyes, covering my chest with my hands.

“Seunghyun… I am afraid.”

He showed no mercy. “I need to check. Your wounds are healing so I have to do it fast. Let me.”

He checked all of my body while I was standing with a red face and full of fear. I tried to understand why he was doing this. Even if I was wounded, they would heal so why was he so worried?

After he finished, he wrapped my body with my cloak and made me sit on the bed.

“I will send your maids to help you.” He left without a hug or any sweet words.

I sobbed hard while I was sitting on the bed. I couldn’t ask what happened and I couldn’t explain myself to him.

He didn’t act like my Aran… He made me afraid. He left me alone here cold and broken.

I heard Seungri’s voice outside of the door but they didn’t let him in. Soon, I found myself in a dark cell at one of the highest towers of the castle.

It was my punishment. They said that I went against the king’s orders and even if I was Tari, I had to take a punishment because the king’s orders were the most important thing. So they gave me a cell punishment: I had to spend a night in the cell. They didn’t even let me speak with Seunghyun. I couldn’t explain anything.

Seunghyun didn’t come. I asked for him but he didn’t come. Only Seungri was by my side. He even waited outside of my cell but soon they took him away. I was left all alone.

If I really broke the rules, I would accept it gladly. But I didn’t even remember it! They didn’t even ask me. They didn’t listen to me.

Why I was being… treated like a… monster?? I was not a bad demon… I was not their enemy. I was crowned as their queen… Why would I hurt my people? Why did they fear me so much? Why…

I called Seunghyun’s name over and over again but he didn’t come. My heart was broken into pieces and I felt like the darkness was eating me alive.

“Seunghyun… oh, Seunghyun…” I started to sob.

I started to feel cold. I felt like my body had all gone cold and I started to tremble. Then the air… it felt like the air disappeared. I couldn’t breathe.

Darkness… I couldn’t get over the darkness! With the last energy of my body, I created a fireball and tried to cut through the darkness.

Suddenly, the door of my cell opened wide and I saw him. My Aran came to get me!

I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly while he was lifting me up. He was saying how sorry he was over and over again into my ear.

He put me on the bed and wrapped his body around mine. Then he buried his head into my hair.

“I am sorry… I am so sorry…. forgive me. Forgive me Tari.”

“I am so glad you came,” I murmured against his chest.

“It was my fault. It was all my fault… I didn’t tell you about the danger. Forgive me, please.”

Seunghyun was still begging but I didn’t understand. I just clenched my hands on his shirt and started to sob.

“Why? Why did you….” I couldn’t even complete my sentence because of my sobs.

He started to caress my back while whispering his apologies into my ear over and over again.

“I am not a bad… Tari… I didn’t do … I didn’t mean to…”

“Shhhh…. I know. I know, my beautiful. Please forgive me.”

Finally, I gave up and relaxed in my Aran’s arms and let sleep take over my tired body.

Seunghyun’s POV

The first lights of the sun were coming through the windows and he was still sleeping heavily in my arms. On the other hand, I didn’t even blink during the night.

I spent the whole night thinking. I thought about how this sword came near the castle and why my Tari… went berserk. I knew it was because of the demon sword but… it was terrible. We all got scared so much that we sent him to a cell.

I was so wrong… I should have stayed by his side. I should have listened to him and then comforted him but I chose to give a punishment. Yes, he broke lots of rules but I should have understood that he was under the influence of the sword. Instead of punishing him, we should have listened to him to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, the rules in Calima were strict. Nobody cared about the influence of the sword and they were all afraid. I didn’t have a choice but to obey the judgment of the council.

I brushed his locks away from his face and kissed his forehead and then his nose. I watched his calm and beautiful face. It was so hard to believe how mad he was yesterday. He even made me scared. It was the first time I totally felt that he was a demon. He was no longer a little, fierce demon boy - he was a completely mad, powerful demon prince.

We were so different from each other. There was still something missing between us. I felt it. I knew we had made some progress but it was not complete. I felt in my heart that we would find that missing part soon.

The worst part was Calima’s pretty, kind, and loving Tari made everybody afraid yesterday. Everybody was shocked and when Jiyong realized this, he would get sad.

I hugged him tightly and kissed his head. I didn’t have any intention to wake him up - I just wanted to spend my time holding him in my arms and enjoy the peaceful morning. But he slowly opened his eyes and I saw his blue eyes were staring at me.

He looked at me for a while then blinked his eyes. I guessed he was having hard time trying to understand if yesterday was a dream of not. He closed his eyes again and snuggled closer to my chest.

After a few seconds, he suddenly raised his head and looked at me.

“Seunghyun…”

I could feel his crazily beating heart. I guessed he remembered what happened yesterday.

“Everything is alright. Just calm down, my beautiful,” I said, caressing his hair.

He looked at me with wide eyes. His heart was still beating so fast.

“What have I done?” he asked with his chin trembling.

He was about to cry again but I couldn’t just let this happen.

“You did nothing, okay?” I said, holding his face between my hands.

He escaped my hands and with a quick move, he got up from the bed. Then I saw him hold his head and I realized that he was getting dizzy so I ran to his side and held him in my arms.

“Hey, hey…” I pressed his body to my chest and felt his heart beat. “Just calm down, please.”

We stayed like this for a while. He just stood there in my arms and I caressed his back to calm him down.

I took him to the balcony so he could get some fresh air and made him sit down on the cushions. I sat down as well and hugged him from behind. After a while, he took my hands onto his lap and started to play with my fingers. Finally, he relaxed.

“What happened, Aran?” he finally asked.

I took a deep breath. “How much do you remember?”

He didn’t answer for a while. I guessed he was trying to remember.

“I remembered that, with your voice, I regained my senses and found myself face-to-face with an elf soldier. I had activated my powers. There was a firewall around me and I was holding a sword but it was not mine.”

I noticed that he slightly shivered when he mentioned the sword.

“What was the last thing you remember? I mean, before you found yourself face-to-face with the soldiers?”

He closed his eyes for a while and thought.

“We had a sword fight and then you made me use my powers so I just got tired and slept, you know.”

“Yes. I know.”

“The last thing I remembered was that I fell asleep, no more. I am sorry…”

I put a kiss on his head. “Don’t be sorry. You were influenced by the sword.”

He shivered again and held my hands tightly.

“It was so awful… Seunghyun. This sword… it was controlling me. I felt it.”

I hugged him more tightly. He then slowly turned to me.

“Aran… What was it?” he asked.

I felt a fear in his voice. I took a deep breath and then tried to explain to him.

“It was a demon sword but not a regular sword made by a demon. There are some kinds of swords in Mareland that we call Holy Swords, Tari. My sword is one of them. A holy elf sword.”

“What is a holy sword’s specialty?” he asked curiously.

“You can use your powers with a holy sword so you can raise the damage. A holy sword can only be used by its owner.”

“But this sword … doesn’t belong to me.”

“No… I am afraid it does, Tari. I talked to Jaejoong. This sword was your father’s and now… it is yours.”

He looked at me in shock. “But how….”

“We also didn’t know what happened to the Anarnore king’s sword after the war. Apparently, the Isilnore king hid it and they waited for the right time to use it.”

He started to play with my fingers again. I know that he was thinking about his father. It was really a great thing that he would own his father’s sword but on the other hand I knew that he didn’t want his sword.

“But why would they give a powerful weapon to us?” he asked finally.

“It is a powerful weapon but they knew that you couldn’t use it yet. They knew that it would cause chaos and the most important thing is… they used it to get you out of the castle.”

Jiyong blinked and looked at me. He was trying to understand.

“Why?” he asked.

Now it was time to reveal the truth to Jiyong. I should have done this before but now … he had to deal with this matter on a day like this.

I captured his face between my hands. “Tari… please listen to me carefully. I have to tell you something very important.”

He stared at me curiously and then nodded. I told the whole story to him. While I was talking, he never interrupted me and he just listened to me calmly. I was so impressed.

I could see he was shocked and afraid but he was trying to stay calm.

“Now can you understand why they took you out of the castle using the sword?”

“They need my blood.” he murmured, looking at the ground.

“Yes, they used the power of the sword to lure you then took you out of castle.”

“If they were really planning what you told to me… the sword is not a big loss for them even if I learnt to use it.”

My smart little demon. He had already answered his own question now.

I caressed his hair. “Yes, but we will stop them. Together.”

He looked up at me, shining eyes wet with tears. “But why didn’t you tell me, Seunghyun?”

I could clearly feel his anxiety and even the fear but he was trying to understand the situation. I was now so ashamed from myself that I hid things from him. My Tari was strong enough to bear them.

“I am sorry, I am so sorry. I was wrong. I just… didn’t want to make you worry more than you were and ...”

But he didn’t let me finish my speech. He was now angry.

“We are together in this matter, right?! It hurts to know that you still don’t trust that I am tough enough!” he yelled in tears.

I immediately took him into my arms and pressed his wet face into my chest.

“It was my fault that I thought of you as weak. I admitted it. But now… now, my beautiful, I believe in you. I believe in your powers and your will to protect Mareland.”

“Don’t hide anything from me. I am Tari!” he yelled against my chest.

I smiled to myself. He was so precious. He was my Tari.

“I won’t,” I whispered in his ear.

I buried my nose in the crook of his neck and smelled him. Then I realized he hugged me so we stayed like this for a while.

The sun was up now and a bright day was starting. I sighed heavily and wished to forever wake up to bright days like this with Jiyong in my arms.

“What happened yesterday?” Jiyong whispered, his head still on my chest.

We just promised not to hide anything so I had to tell him everything.

“Our guess is Isilnore agents left the sword at Elenil Forest. Their intention was, as you know, to lure you out of castle. They knew the sword would call its new owner and since it was too strong, you would be controlled by it.”

Slowly, Jiyong raised his head from my chest and looked at me with sad eyes. “What did I do, Aran? I did terrible things, right?”

I put my hand on his cheek.

“Vanya… My beautiful Vanya. You were being controlled by the sword,” I said, trying to calm him down.

He suddenly jumped to his feet.

“It is not an excuse! I should have fought with it! How can a Tari attack his own soldiers?” he yelled in anger.

I stood up as well and held his hands.

“It was your first time to feel a demon sword Vanya. You couldn’t do anything.”

“But I hurt people… I can’t forgive myself! I really deserve a punishment!” he yelled again.

I took his face between my hands this time and looked into his eyes. “Listen to me Vanya. They said that you had only used your fireball at the gate to get out of the castle. You only injured a soldier lightly and he was already healed.”

“What about the sword? I didn’t use it?”

“You didn’t have a chance. You should remember: I yelled and then you dropped the sword.”

He nodded and thought for a while. He was now calmer. He bent his head down and whispered to himself.

“I should apologize to them… I should apologize to everybody.”

I couldn’t help but smile. He looked up at me again.

“When you came, I felt like I woke up from a sleep. I guess you saved me from the power of the sword.”

I his hair. “After I came, you were completely saved from the power?”

“No, not completely but after you came, I came to my senses and I tried to resist. But it was still too hard to fight back, Seunghyun.”

“No, I didn’t. Where is it now?”

“I delivered it to Jaejoong and he sealed it. I just wanted to be sure.”

He nodded and then looked at the sky. I guessed he was thinking again. My poor demon boy was so confused. I could understand it.

“Do you think… they managed to get my blood?” he asked.

“We are not sure. You know I searched for a wound around your body but I couldn’t find any. But since the wounds can be healed… I don’t know.”

“What about the soldiers? Did they see any Menelin around?”

“After you left, the castle soldiers followed you but for a few minutes, they had lost you. Then, after you created a firewall, they found you. So…” I sighed heavily, “In those few minutes… they could have got your blood, we can’t be sure.”

“But you said I was powerful at that moment… They couldn’t get near me.”

I smiled bitterly. “They possess air, Vanya. A powerful menelin could break your wall and only a little sword contact with your body is enough for them to get some blood.”

He closed his eyes and sighed.

“How could they plan something like this? How could they even think about bringing the shadows to Mareland?” It was almost like plea.

I couldn’t help but take him into my arms again.

“We will stop them. There is no other way.”

He slowly freed himself from my embrace, held both of my hands, and looked up at me.

“Promise me not to hide anything,” he said firmly.

“I promise.”

“We are stronger together,” he said smiling.

I kissed his head and put my forehead to his.

“We are the light together, my Tari.”

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Thank you so much to taebait923 for the beta ^_^

I hope you like this chapter ;)