ALL NOVEL Chapter 170: Fated Souls
26 years ago, in the kingdom of Erela, one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world of Ulterra. Where the well-known prideful citizens of the kingdom were concealed under the shelter of the barrier of Erela.
A fateful day when two certain individuals were born. On the same day, but received completely different fates. One, born as a royalty, loved and celebrated by the people of the kingdom as the third prince of their great nation. A symbol of pride and power... A gift from the gods.
And the other one, the moment her own mother had seen her, was immediately treated as a jinx and abandoned before she could even open her eyes. A beautiful baby girl with jet black hair that instantly brought anyone who saw her in great fear... and called a cursed child.
That day, the feelings of the people were divided which caused great turmoil throughout the kingdom. The prince was sheltered inside the castle while being watched by his loving mother and two older brothers. On the other hand, the news about the cursed child circulated very quickly throughout the kingdom and as expected, the Elder council immediately decided on what to do, the young girl was immediately brought to the center of the kingdom to be burned at the stake.
The fire was lit up and slowly burned the woods piled in the huge open space. As if the still infant girl felt the heat coming from the fire, she cried as she weakly moved while lying on the cold floor.
"It's cursed! We need to get rid of that aberration while we still can! We should learn from what happened in the past!" One of the elves shouted while raising the torch in his hand. "The Elder council has spoken! We will never make the same mistake again! One life is no more worth the lives we are going to save!"
With synchronization, the elven people surrounding the area nodded.
"After all, it's been a tradition that we've been performing for so many years now every time a cursed child was born. Furthermore, it is already proven what would happen if we let that child live! We don't want any disaster to come for us! We don't want that to ever happen again!"
"We are doing this for the sake of our people!"
"Burn the cursed child!"
"Now, to receive forgiveness from the Gods because of what you have brought to this great nation, you must put an end to that curse."
As the word had been announced, the mother of the cursed child picked up her newly born daughter, her husband held her shoulder and slowly nodded. While expressing no emotion on her face, the mother of the cursed child walked towards the pit of fire, ignoring the smile of the infant she was carrying in her arms.
"This is for the kingdom." She said as she walked forward. She raised the infant girl and prepared to throw her into the fire.
"Halt!"
Everyone paused upon hearing the baritone voice of the knight passing through the crowd of the people gathered in the area.
"Give way to his Majesty, King Asmit!"
As the order was announced, the road opened providing a path toward the pit of fire. All of the eyes were on the person walking down the path with such elegance in his every movement. As King Asmit slowly reached the woman holding the baby, what he received from the people around were stares of adoration and delighted smiles.
King Asmit stopped a meter away from the woman and his husband and stared at the massive fire in front of him. "I already almost forgot that it's been a tradition that we have been obeying for years now. So it's natural that no one would oppose it. How saddening." He said with a voice filled with authority. He raised his arms. "Can I have a look at your daughter?"
"But... but, Your Majesty, this child is cursed. It would harm you if you touch it." She said with audible confusion in her voice.
"His Majesty endured the disaster that the cursed child brought to us! Perhaps his Majesty wants to perform the extermination on his own!" Shouted one of the people in the crowd.
King Asmit walked forward. "Look at her, she's smiling at you. It's a good thing that she can't understand anything yet." He gently grabbed the baby from her mother's arms. As he finally got a hold of the child, he stared at her mother with great disdain on his beautiful face. "My third son was just born today, the same day as this beautiful girl. His name is Leal, and no word could describe how delighted I was seeing him for the first time, and how much I was resolved to protect him from any kind of danger. And here you are... Truthfully, it baffles me how you can commit such a hideous act while believing that you are in the right. And just based on that, I would say that... you don't deserve this precious gift."
"Your Majesty?" The mother asked while staring at King Asmit with great shock on her face.
The crowd remained silent as they watched King Asmit gently swing the baby in his arms while expressing a gentle smile on his face. All they could do was stare at him with confusion written all over their faces.
"Your Majesty! That child is cursed! If we let that monster live, it will bring destruction to our great nation! Just like what happened 54 years ago!" As if one of the people in the crowd could not take what he was seeing, he screamed while staring at the baby with great hatred in his eyes. "The cursed child was the reason why I lost my family!"
Ignoring the tone that he received. King Asmit smiled. "Tanya did not bring that disaster. I did. This child has nothing to do with that incident, so if you are going to blame someone, blame me and I will gladly receive your hatred." He turned his gaze towards the baby he was holding and smiled. "Similarly, this beautiful girl is not cursed. She just has an aptitude for Dark magic that apparently manifests in her appearance, changing her hair color from our usual glorious blonde hair into a lovely black. She is no danger in this kingdom. We who are too easy to judge are the ones who are responsible for bringing destruction to our great nation, and not because of one's aptitude for elemental magic." He walked towards the path he came from while holding the baby in his arms. "This event is over. Go back to your homes."
Leaving everyone in great awe and terror as they just watched King Asmit walk away with what they believed as a cursed child with him.
"Your Majesty?"