The Duke's Unwanted Wife

The dark clouds didn’t look like they were going to clear soon. If anything, the sky got darker and the rumbling of thunder was so loud that it could be heard all around the kingdom. The king’s order spread quickly as nobody even wanted to be outside. It looked like the gods themselves were angry at the kingdom.    

    

“Your majesty….” Alana called. For a while now, Fredrich hadn’t moved from where he stood in front of the window. From the dark clouds, the rain had slowly begun to fall. The rain looked ordinary but it made a hiss as it touched the ground. One could only imagine its effect on the crops after the rain.    

    

Hearing her voice, he turned to look at her. She wore a thin gown covered with a red cloak. They were the only ones in the room so he could clearly see what she was trying to do.    

    

“My love,” he murmured, running his hand through her hair.    

    

“Are you very worried?”    

    

“Gaijin won’t let the kingdom be destroyed so easily. I’m not worried, just…curious,” he replied, kissing her forehead.    

    

“Gaijin?”    

    

“The huge dragon you can see from here, the dragon king. I am contracted to him. He protects my territory as a part of our contract,” he explained. It wasn’t like Alana didn’t know he was contracted to Gaijin. The war was the reason everyone found out that the new king could command the dragons. His treason would’ve never failed because there was no way the kingdom could defend against thousands of dragons.    

    

“Every single day, you become more unfathomable. I’m scared that one day you’ll leave me behind, Fredrich.”    

    

“How could I? You are the only one my heart desires,” he said, running a finger along her lips. He lowered his head to kiss her and she fervently responded, kissing him with the same passion. Their hands roamed each other’s bodies, their hungry touch increasing with their lust. He tore the cloak from her body, throwing it to the floor. He took her in his arms, raising his head to kiss her deeply as her hands cupped his head.    

    

They were unaware that the entities in the skies were not one, but two. Gaijin stared at the one he hadn’t seen in a long time, Leilin. As always, her focus lay on the fairy mother, her breath held for what she would do.    

    

[After many years, you show yourself to me in this manner. How typical]    

    

{I would have not shown myself at all. Why are you trying to interfere with her ascension?}    

    

[Why are you asking me something so obvious? I thought you were here to join me. She ruined our lives many years ago and you’re asking me why?!]    

    

{She didn’t ruin our lives. She gave me a warning that I refused to listen to. Light can never mix with darkness. I learned the hard way}    

    

[So, you regret it?]    

    

{With every breath that I take, I regret meeting you, Gaijin. I will not let you interfere with her ascension}    

    

[You cannot maintain your astral body and you wish to stop me?! That’s laughable! Your efforts don’t mean anything here, Leilin!]    

    

{I’m not here to fight you. Like I said, I won’t let you interfere with her ascension}    

    

Leilin’s astral body shrinked and eventually disappeared, leaving a small blob of darkness. A green shimmering barrier covered Madaline, one she dove into. Gaijin let out a loud roar and dissipated his astral body as well, turning into a tall dark man covered in scales. He ran towards the barrier but unlike Leilin, he was rejected entry.    

    

[ARE YOU STUPID?! YOU CAN DIE! LEILIN, COME OUT OF THERE! LEILIN!]    

    

Inside the barrier, Leilin floated above Madaline. Madaline's eyes were closed in concentration but Leilin could feel Madaline's mana warmly embracing her.    

    

{Why are you here, Leilin?}    

    

{You decided to ascend, why?}    

    

{The same reason you finally accepted a contract from a human. I was convinced that it's reason enough to change the fate of the world}    

    

{Madaline, those gods won't let you up there. If you die, the effects would be too devastating! Don't be foolish and stop this madness}    

    

{I refuse to cower for the rest of my life. There's a place for you here, just like there always has been. If you don't want to ascend with me, then you can rejoin your lover on the other side of this barrier. I'm busy}    

    

{You're cruel as always, Madaline} Leilin said, landing in the opposite spot of the magic circle that also perfectly fit her body. The skies got darker and a loud shriek could be heard from the skies.    

    

Simultaneously, in three different locations, Natalia, Alana and Adelie all collapsed. Natalia was caught by Sebastian who was standing next to her at that time, Alana by Fredrich and Adelie by the crown prince of Illumine who was visiting the church once again. The strange thing was the fact that they were all fine before it happened.    

    

Their bodies were perfectly still, like they weren't breathing. It worried those around them who tried everything to wake them up but as long as Madaline and Leilin's ascension went on, the three remained unconscious. The ascension went on for a total of three days. It became an issue because no one could leave their houses and the people were close to starving to death. It seemed like the kingdom of Ducroft was facing its biggest crisis in its long years of existence.    

    

Finally, the skies cleared up. The rain stopped and everywhere was quiet and calm. Nobody could tell what had happened and none of the people who collapsed woke up yet. Just when they thought it was over, the earth shook as the largest bolt of lightning anyone had ever seen struck dead in the middle of the Forest of Damnation where Madaline and Leilin were. It was so bright that it almost blinded everyone staring at it. And, it was the first one.    

    

It strike the second time, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh and the eight. Everything around them was destroyed, all except the dragon king. When the ninth came, it could be seen all the way from the capital of the empire and the capital of Polivia.    

    

Everything was calm once again. This time, everyone was scared to even step outside. Everyone thought it was the end of the kingdom of Ducroft. Fredrich believed it too as he was almost certain that Alana had passed away. However, she suddenly opened her eyes. The moment she did, everything that had been destroyed was regenerating at incredible speeds. The forest of Damnation became thicker and denser than it was before and the creatures more fierce and powerful. In the middle of the clearing Madaline and Leilin were, a small bonsai sapling peeked from the earth.    

    

"Madaline, Leilin, Welcome to the Heavenly Court," a tall blonde woman with an overwhelming aura and eyes as blue as the skies greeted with a bow. She wore a white dress that reached her knees, contributing to her ephemeral beauty. Bowing to two small children was strange but not very strange in heaven.    

    

"Daza, goddess of the skies, lead us to Quene, god of wisdom," Madaline said, a childish voice coming from her throat.    

    

"I would but I have strict orders from the elder gods that you are to join them, my lady," Daza responded in an apologetic voice, her head still bowed.    

    

"Madaline…." Leilin called in a small childish tone. Madaline's eyes, burning with rage, settled. The cloud they stood on floated away to the largest building in the town that was the heavenly court, the home of the gods in a higher dimension.    

    

The cloud stopped, letting them both inside the building. Once they were off, the cloud floated back to the one who controlled it, Daza. They walked in through the pristine hall leading them into a court with all the elder gods in tall chairs in a circular formation. On one side was the gods of light led by the goddess Uriel and on the other side was the gods of darkness led by the god Thiton.    

    

It was a council of elder gods but to Madaline and Leilin it was and always had been a consortium of bullies.    

    

"It's good to see your face again after so long, Madaline. I almost thought you wouldn't ascend," Uriel greeted with a smile. Her long blue hair that resembled the ocean and her deep blue lips made her mesmerising to look at. That's why it was advisable never to look at her.    

    

"Trust me, I don't want to be here too. But how else would I be able to confront all of you and ask why you did such a thing? Why did you destroy the Queen of the Gods, you council of scumbags?!" Madaline roared, her voice thundering in the heavenly court.    

    

"Do you have evidence for your claim?" Thiton asked, his voice calm as always. He was always masked by a curtain of darkness, sounding as self righteous as a priest.    

    

"If I didn't see it for myself or decided to ascend, I wouldn't have remembered. Did you really think I wouldn't find out that you all colluded to kill the last original god and split her soul so she wouldn't remember? Tell me why the goddess of destiny, Nataroth is down on earth as a human, her soul split into three pieces?!"