The Chosen One

Apollyon gazed at the single bed, placed at the center of the room, covered in dust. "I wonder
after the house will be cleaned, whether we will get adjusted on this bed or not," he stated and
returned his gaze to her.
"Why do you want to sleep here? This is not your house," Lilith reminded him.
"After marriage, whatever husband possesses his wife has an equal right on them and
vice-versa," Apollyon countered her argument. "I think this place is good for spending alone time
together, away from the disturbances of the palace," he asserted.
"I could live here if you had not given me this mark," Lilith touched the left side of her neck. "I do
not understand why you have to make me suffer," she murmured. Apollyon always told her he
wanted to protect her, but he never once came in front of her to turn the situation right.
"You were a ten-year-old kid. Staying away from the eyes of the devils was the best for you. I
wonder how many times I have to explain to you," Apollyon said and sighed.
"The painting you drew of your father, I did not see him in the palace that day. I remember every
single human I killed that day," Apollyon suddenly told her.
"Father had gone to the palace that day. A few soldiers had asked to accompany them to the
palace," Lilith replied. She vividly remembered the darkest day of her life.
"You should tell me the entire truth because only I can help you. Ten years have already passed.
It is easier for me to find out what exactly happened that day," Apollyon again suggested to her.
Lilith peered into his eyes, finding the care in them for her.
Seeing Lilith's silence, Apollyon approached her and held her hands. "Do you believe in
destiny? If not, then you should. For thousands of years no one entered that cave, no one got
the sight of the black flower, but you did. Your father's demise was indeed hurtful, painful and no
one can replace that loss. However, for ten years you thought I was the one who killed your
father. We should find out this together. You can think about it," Apollyon asserted, his gentle
voice melted her heart.
Lilith pulled her hands away and assured him she would tell her answer soon.
"You should wait outside the house. I want to be alone here," Lilith urged.
Apollyon nodded and went out of the house to the carriage, where Karin was present.
"Is Her Majesty not coming with us?" Karin asked.
"Why don't you keep your mouth shut, Karin? How could you call this house a shabby place? I
told you not to make mistakes," Apollyon angrily scolded him again.
"I said what I felt at that moment, Your Majesty," Karin stated. He could not keep his thoughts of
what he felt about Lilith. "His Majesty could have found out a hundred times better woman than
the current Queen for himself. He even got proposals recently, yet he chose to marry a woman,
who doesn't understand his value," he muttered.
"Lilith woke me up. She was the chosen one for me," Apollyon affirmed. He asked Karin not to
say bad things about Lilith because he might punish him.
"Lord Jareth says not to trust on humans. I believe the same. Who knows what the Queen will
do to us in the future? We don't wish to be betrayed once again," Karin announced, frustration
evident on his face.
"Even among devils not everyone is good. Don't talk to Jareth. He may influence your thoughts.
That's what he is called- an influencer!" Apollyon stated and looked inside the gate of the house,
waiting for Lilith to come out.
"I wonder if the Queen ran away," Karin stated.
"She cannot do that," Apollyon said.
"Why does His Majesty trust the Queen so much? Just because she woke him up doesn't mean
that she could not be a danger to him in the future," Karin opined. Again, his annoying side
came out because of Lilith.
Apollyon grabbed his throat, making Karin flinch and begging the Devil Lord to let him go.
"I think you need to vanish from this world, Karin," Apollyon muttered.
Karin shook his head, pleading Apollyon and reassuring him he would not repeat the same
mistake again.
A sly smirk spread across Apollyon's lips and he said, "Karin, when I said I don't want to hear
anything against my woman, then you should have understood. You truly need to be punished
today until this feeds into your head."
Karin saw Lilith exit the gate and asked her to help him.
"Leave him. Why are you suddenly turning violent?" Lilith asked. But Apollyon didn't release
Karin's throat. She dashed to him and held his hand. "Stop this," she said.
Apollyon let go of Karin's throat, who gasped for air and thanked the Queen for the help.
"Isn't he your loyal? How could you do that to him?" Lilith confusedly asked.
"These days his tongue has gotten sharper. I needed to teach him a lesson. He is lucky to be
saved by you," Apollyon asserted, gazing at Karin.
"I apologize for my behavior toward the Queen," Karin asked for forgiveness as he understood
why Apollyon did that. He wanted to show him Lilith's kindness, which could not be hidden when
someone was in a problem.
"Shall we leave, My Queen?" Apollyon asked with a smile.
"No. I want to find why this place turned into a barren land. The neighborhood is empty. Ten
years ago it wasn't like this," Lilith said, furrowing her brows together.
"Perhaps they all left," Apollyon stated.
"That is not possible, Apollyon. Most of them had lands for generations. They would not have
left this place unless something happened here," Lilith proclaimed.
"Do you want me to find out?" Apollyon asked.
"Yes," Lilith replied.
"Karin, I want a report on this matter. You have the time till tomorrow," Apollyon ordered Karin,
who readily accepted the command.