Chapter 225: I killed her brother.
~Third Person POV~
Nobody in the palace knew what was happening outside. They didn't know that Landon and the others had escaped from the deepest dungeons. After all, the magical bonds they used this time were very strong and special.
Nobody could break them or free them especially werewolves from the first realm who were known to be less powerful and less dangerous.
The castle guards walked their rounds as usual. The servants went about their daily work. The cooks prepared meals in the kitchen. Everyone thought the prisoners were still locked away safely in their chains.
But Ava had much bigger problems to worry about.
Captain Cassius had brought her terrible news that morning. News that made her stomach feel sick and her hands shake with worry. Lystra was joining hands with other kingdoms. Not just one or two kingdoms, but seven of them. Seven powerful kingdoms that all wanted to destroy Mesodomica.
They were all marching toward Lystra soon, gathering their armies. That meant they would come for Mesodomica next. Thousands of soldiers with swords and spears and magic. All of them wanting to kill her people and take her throne.
And then there was Gwen.
Gwen had become cold and distant from everyone in the palace. She didn't talk to Anastasia anymore. She ignored Drogon completely, acting like he didn't exist. Worst of all, she barely looked at her own children, Iris and Ellis.
The children kept asking where their mama was. They would run through the halls looking for her. But when they found her, she would send them away with the maids. She acted like she didn't want them around.
It broke Ava's heart to see those little faces so confused and sad.
Everything was falling apart around Ava, and it all felt like it was on her shoulders. The war, the kingdoms, her friend's strange behavior, she had to fix it all somehow.
Three days had passed since the god Seraphine appeared in their courtyard. Three days since everything started going wrong. Three days of watching Gwen turn into a stranger.
Ava couldn't wait anymore. She decided to have a talk with Gwen.
She searched the castle for her friend. The servants said they had seen Gwen go outside. Ava walked through the corridors and out into the palace gardens.
She found her sitting alone at a small white table under a big tree.
Gwen was sipping tea from a fancy cup and reading a big book. She wore an elegant blue dress that Ava had never seen before. Her red hair was styled in a perfect way that must have taken hours to do.
This was so unlike the Gwen that Ava knew and loved. The old Gwen was simple and kind. She loved spending time with her children more than anything. She would play with them for hours in the garden. She would laugh and sing with them. She would tell them stories and give them hugs.
But this Gwen? This Gwen acted like her children didn't exist.
But now she sat alone, drinking tea like some fancy noble lady who had nothing better to do.
"Hi Gwen," Ava said, walking closer to the table. "Can we talk?"
Ava didn't wait for her to answer. She sat down in the empty chair across from her friend because she didn't want Gwen to say no and walk away.
"You are here already," Gwen replied coldly.
Her voice was different. It was the same cold tone she had been using with everyone for three days. Even with her own kids when they tried to hug her.
"Gwen, are you alright?" Ava asked, trying to keep her voice gentle and caring. "You are scaring us. You know you can always talk to us, right?"
Ava reached out across the table and put her hand on top of Gwen's. But Gwen quickly pulled her hand away like Ava's touch burned her skin.
"I don't understand what you mean, but I am fine," Gwen said, not looking at Ava's face. "You all don't have to worry about me."
Ava looked around at everything surrounding Gwen. The fancy silver tea set that sparkled in the sunlight. The sweet biscuits arranged on pretty ceramic plates. The maids standing nearby in perfect uniforms, waiting to serve her every need.
Gwen had even used her magic to play soft music in the air around them. Beautiful songs that floated like invisible birds. Her hair was done up in an elegant style that Ava had never seen before, with tiny jewels woven through the red curls.
"If you call this okay, then you must take us for fools," Ava said, pointing to all the fancy things. "This isn't you, Gwen."
This wasn't her friend at all. Gwen was simple and down to earth. She liked simple things and simple pleasures. She didn't care about fancy tea sets or elegant hairstyles or having servants wait on her.
"Look, I have done nothing wrong to you or anyone," Gwen said, still not looking at Ava. "All I am doing is sipping tea and eating biscuits. You can have some if you want."
Ava stared at her friend and felt her heart break into pieces.
In just three days, Gwen had changed into someone she couldn't recognize. She looked the same on the outside, same red hair, same green eyes, same face. But inside? Inside, she was a complete stranger.
Ava wanted to shake her. She wanted to yell at her and demand to know where her real friend had gone. But she knew that wouldn't help anything.
You can't force a horse to drink water, as the old saying goes.
Instead, Ava decided to ask the question she really came here for. The question that had been keeping her awake at night with worry.
"What made the gods of the third realm target you?" Ava asked directly.
Gwen looked at her for a moment with those cold green eyes, then went back to her tea like the question wasn't important.
"You do not need to worry about it," Gwen replied, her voice cold and dismissive. "I will sort it out myself."
She drank her tea and acted like Ava wasn't even sitting there at the same table.
"True. I know you can handle it," Ava said, trying to stay calm even though frustration was building inside her. "However, it is my duty to protect you and everyone in this kingdom. So I need to know what's happening."
Gwen looked at Ava with cold, empty eyes. Then she looked away again, like Ava was bothering her and wasting her precious time.
For a long moment, she said nothing. She just sat there, drinking her fancy tea and ignoring her completely like she was invisible.
The silence stretched between them for a while, still, Ava refused to budge.
Finally, Gwen spoke in a voice as cold as winter ice since she was tired of waiting for Ava to take the cue and leave.
"I killed her brother, so she wants revenge."
" You or Arabelle?" Ava asked. Understanding dawning on her.
" I am her ain't I?"
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