Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

3 chapters

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The next day, Seren and Drayce went to that same hidden glade in the forest where she trained the previous day. When they arrived, Sierra, Evanthe and Yorian were talking amongst themselves. 

'Once I finish training for the day, I will ask them about this veil. I am sure they can tell me why I have to wear it and how I can get rid of it.'

"What are you thinking, Seren?" Drayce asked when he noticed her stop midstep.

"Nothing much. Just thinking about the training," she lightly replied, before walking towards the center of the circle marked for her.

Hours went by in a flash. With Drayce suppressing the power inside her, she became more proficient in handling earth magic. The duration between her revitalizing the wilted plants to their best state became shorter and shorter with each attempt.

"You did well today, Seren," Evanthe praised to which everyone agreed. 

"Can I now use my power to save the land?"

"You can, but you have to wait."

Seeing her crease her brows, Evanthe added, "Don't forget. The humans need to repent for their mistakes. King Armen will let you know once it's time."

Seren already had this conversation with them before, and she knew she could not change their minds. She simply said, "I wish to speak with both of you. Will it be fine?" She referred to two white-robed women in front of her. 

"Please, feel free to talk," Evanthe assured her with a smile. Meanwhile, Sierra was feeling somewhat nervous. Her gut feeling told her what her daughter would ask was among those sensitive questions she was reluctant to answer. 

"Just the three of us. Please."

Drayce and Yorian understood that the young queen was asking them to leave. Seren looked at Drayce with an apologetic gaze, to which he offered an assuring smile, as if saying it was alright and walked away with Yorian. 

As soon as the men left the glade, Evanthe asked, "What do you wish to talk about?"

"You didn't put a separation spell."

"Drayce understood you don't want him to hear our conversation. He already isolated his and Yorian's senses. You can trust him," Evanthe replied. 

A pair of purple eyes flickered with hesitation, before staring straight into the witch's gaze. "I want to remove my veil."

Just as she said those words, there was a sudden silence around her. Not only the two witches grew silent, even the wind seemed to have disappeared. Evanthe then looked at Sierra, her gesture implying this was not something she could decide on, but Sierra could. 

Seren looked at the hooded woman whose face was not visible. It was impossible to guess what the woman was thinking at this moment. 

A shaky breath escaped Seren. She was losing her temper easily these days, and she didn't want to repeat it. However, their evasiveness got on her nerves. She wanted to remain composed, but they were making it difficult for her.

The existence of her veil was something important to her, and she needed to get a real answer, not silence or apology. 

"I understand you wish to protect me, that is why you keep secrets from me. I understand you must have a valid reason and it's probably to protect me. But if you keep me ignorant of everything, how can I know which things about me are dangerous and which are safe? Can ignorance be the answer to everything?'

Evanthe had a complicated expression, but still, she said nothing.

'I hope you understand it's really important to me," Seren continued. "My nanny told me it's to protect me. But how? Can't there be alternatives? Why does my mother want to keep my face hidden? I've heard before that removing my veil will incur a disaster. What kind of disaster? Why is it only to a man who will see my face? Does that mean for as long as I live, my face will remain a mystery to Drayce, my husband? Will I forever have to keep him blind to my appearance? I feel it's unfair to him. I have turned eighteen now and…" 

She hesitated a little to say it. 

Evanthe offered her a reassuring gaze, prompting her to continue. 

"...and it can be a new page for both of our lives. I hope you understand what I mean…I-I want him to see my face when…we start that new page…" At this point, her voice was growing small. "Maybe if I understand the truth, I can find a way to let Drayce see my face without causing any harm to him…"

As there was still silence, a heavy ball of disappointment weighed the young queen's heart. She thought once again her questions would be unanswered but…

"I will tell you," Sierra said, causing Seren to let out an involuntary gasp. The hooded woman continued,  "But…I hope you won't hate your mother after that."

"I won't," Seren spurted out immediately. Answers! They were finally giving her answers! "What happened had happened. I…I just want to make things right for me and Dray."

"Alright!" Sierra said and started to explain. "That veil is enchanted to prevent a curse from affecting the men around you. If any man sees your face, he will go crazy for you and will harm you and himself. Both of your lives will end up as disasters."

"Crazy? Disaster?" Seren could not make sense of it. "What kind of disaster will happen?"

However, the hooded woman did not directly answer her. Instead, Sierra began to explain about a certain goddess. "In the heavenly realm, there exists a pantheon of gods, but their authorities are not only limited to the elements of nature or laws of the world. There is a certain goddess who was born from the human heart, the Deity of Desire, who gave you a gift—a gift of unparalleled beauty, or to be more precise, a corrupted blessing of 'beauty'. Females won't be affected but a single glance of your face has the ability to corrode the rationality of men, gradually turning them into nothing more than obsessive fanatics.