SPELLBOUND

With a shaky breath, Evie steeled herself and looked ahead. She was not going to cry. This was the time for her to be strong because Gavriel wasn't beside her now. And she promised him she'd be fine. So she will not cry and crumble because she knew Gavriel was doing the same, knowing how much he struggled for him to leave her. She took another steadying breath and straightened her back, gathering all the courage that she had and looked ahead with a determined gaze.

'You can do this Evie. Everything will be alright again…you just need to be strong and weather through this…' she was whispering to herself when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

When she turned, the duchess was smiling at her. "Don't worry too much Princess. Everything will be alright. All of us here are vouching for you and will stand behind you." She said with a motherly smile and Evie took another deep breath before smiling back at her.

The rain came down even heavier and later, dark figures slowly started appearing along the white horizon. The human and vampire army now slowly filling the once empty and pure white meadow.

She felt everyone along the wall tensed up. Evie could feel their fear and dread and she realized how the Dacrians fear the emperor, or was it the dragon guardian the main source of their dread? Whatever it was, the collective fear on this side was rising and even she could sense it and felt somewhat agitated by it.

"I will be going ahead to meet with them now. This needs to be done before the imperial army infiltrates the walls and cause any unnecessary bloodshed. That is what we are trying to avoid." The duke said when the duchess stepped forward.

"I will come with you. I know the emperor's temper. He might behead you right there on the spot before you can get a single word out." The duchess held on to her husband's arm as she spoke with firmness. Her determined tone and sharp gaze told the duke that he would not win this argument if he decided to go ahead and debate on it with her.

"No, Aurora. Stay with the princess and leave this to me –" the duke still had to try at least once to convince his wife otherwise.

"Duke Henry," Evie suddenly spoke, "you will stay here with the duchess, I will go."

Everyone's eyes widened. Even Leon reacted as though he could not believe what he had just heard. No one expected this statement to come out of the princess' mouth. They were expecting that the duke would be in a slight argument on this with the duchess. However, what Evie said stumped all of those present.

"Your Highness –"

"It's alright. Nothing will happen to me. In fact, I believe this is the best move for us to take for now. They must hear everything from me first and foremost. Not from anyone else." Evie's gaze was intense as she spoke, and no one could say a word. What she said made a lot of sense and was good argument. "Now open the gate for me. I will go alone. Everyone will stay here and wait for my good news."

Even the duchess was surprised at her expression and the tone in her voice. She had thought that this woman was incredible for a human when she spoke in the throne hall but her speaking like this without Gavriel by her side made the duchess' mouth part in awe. She had thought Evie was only brave because of Gavriel's support but now that the prince was gone, she gave out an even stronger determination! Evie certainly has set herself apart and won the respect of the many vampires there that day.

At that moment, the duchess could not help but smile at the thought that this woman who was now enveloped with an aura of an empress even greater than her daughter's, was going to be the mother of the most awaited and longed-for heir.

"But… princess," the duke was hesitant but when Evie stared at him, he held his peace and was unable to object. The duchess tugged his arm and after a deep, uncertain sigh, the duke ordered the men to open the gates.

Evie did not bother to waste a moment further and she walked past them. Leon, who was standing guard by the stairway looked on anxiously. It was obvious he was torn between stopping her or not.

"Y-your Highness… I… I am not included with the 'everyone' you talked about, right? I can come with you, right?" he asked, almost fidgeting before her.

"Yes, you are included Leon," Evie told him, and the man's shoulders drooped, his face becoming even more anxious.

"B-but… prin-princess I…" he remembered that he was supposed to be her personal guard, ordered by Prince Gavriel.

"You will stay here Leon. Trust me. Remember you are not supposed to be my guard yet so don't appear before me for now. Wait until the emperor summons you and assigns you as my guard before doing so. Do you understand?"

Leon took a while to digest that command, but he eventually nodded and stepped aside so she could pass.

"Alright, I will see you soon, Leon." She patted the man's shoulder before turning around and descended the stairs.

When she stood by the opened gate, Evie gulped down the lump of fear that was lodged in her throat. She squared her shoulders and then confidently walked out of the large gate, heading towards where the enemy was.

The rain came down at her. The pitter patter of the rain drops against her coat and the icy ground for some reason sounded so incredibly quiet in her ears. It was as if there was no army approaching and it was just a normal rainy day.

Evie stood alone in front of the huge fortress. She could now see horses that were so familiar to her. That lone silvery horse stood out in the midst of all the black figures, and she knew who was it that was riding the horse. Her father had arrived.

Her heart started to beat rapidly against her chest as the entire army of both vampires and humans halted right before her.

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A/N: sorry guys, i am so exhausted today so i only managed to finish 1 chapter. But dont worry, second chap will come but later today. Thank u for understanding.