4 His Daughter, His Pride

"Your daughter will be in good hands. The King of Vallat is every woman's dream and possibly your daughter's too." The Prophetess patted his shoulder.

King Lexis was clueless about the whole situation. If it would make his people live in peace without suffering from anything including scarcity of food.

"How I'm I supposed to make her marry a man she doesn't know? I don't know him either." King Lexis implied still puzzled about the whole thing.

"Arrange the marriage for her and I'll be here anytime you need me." She smiled. If only he knew the King of Vallat was no ordinary man.

King Lexis just let out a deep sigh. He wondered how Ariel would feel if he told her about this.

"The supernatural beings have everything under control and once your daughter has agreed to it, I'll be the one to take her there to the Kingdom of Vallat." The Prophetess spike firmly flaunting her golden hair.

King Lexis couldn't help but gaze at her perfect figure. She was beautifully made. He started comparing her to his wife but he erased the thought immediately causing the prophetess to laugh from behind. What's amusing her?

"You can't be comparing my look to that of your wife. She's inferior compared to me" She let out a slight laugh.

"Oh... I see" Was all that King Lexis could say.

"You've been given just five days to carry out the task and make your daughter marry the King of Vallat. I know she'll understand even though it had to be an arranged marriage." She said before disappearing into thin air.

King Lexis' heart was heavy all of a sudden. His daughter, his pride. Now he'll send her off to marry an unknown man. He was feeling guilty and he forgot to ask the prophetess about the person that set that stupid rule.

___

Ariel found herself in a dark thick forest. She saw the faint shadows of towering, tall trees side by side in the forest. It's dark out. All the critters are asleep and there are no longer the sounds of angry riders racing down the nearby streets or shouts of children on the playground a couple of blocks down.

The white, fluffy, deep snow makes it hard to walk, and her feet were numb from the cold. Ariel had to squint her eyes to make out what was in front of her. She could see her breath when she breathed out.

Ariel could hear the snow crunching underneath her thick wool boots and fuzzy socks and can hear the sound of her breathing. The faint howling of the wind sounds like ghosts swarming the city on Halloween. She noticed an old abandoned, dilapidated house far off in the distance, in desperate need of a new paint job. With its rickety old.

As Ariel approached the house, she smelled the old musty smell of the house. When she stepped on the front steps of the house, she heard a creak from underneath the floorboards. With every step, it seems like the creaking gets louder.

She wrapped her hands around the dusty door handle and slowly pull open the unlocked door. The inside looks like what you'd expect. Cobwebs linger in every which way, and antique furniture layered with dust sits perfectly arranged in the living room. Cautiously, she walked farther into the house to explore. With every heavy step and pressure on the floor boards, it feels as if the house will collapse on top of her.

Ariel made her way into the kitchen. An old wooden table sits in the corner, along with matching chairs. Water drips out of the faucet in the corner. She opened the cabinet, but there are only more cobwebs.

Anxious to get out of the place, she started to walk back to the door and exit, but stop dead in her tracks. Her heartbeat increases as she intently listens to a hard pounding noise, that appear to be getting louder by the second. Bang, Bang, Bang. she crouched behind a nearby staircase as the volume of the pounding increased.

All of a sudden, it stops and she works up the nerve to stand up. While she stood up, her gaze went to a huge figure standing, panting in front of her. Her heart dropped, she wished for the ground to open and swallow her. Luckily for her, she only saw the creature's shadow but what caught her attention was the fang and sharp claws. Her heart accelerated as she wanted to explode. The huge creature leaned close to her almost wanting to devour her until she woke up from her nightmare.

Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead as she was panting heavily. Her heartbeat sound could be heard I'm her room.

Finally, her dreams were no longer blurry but clear to her. What does it mean? She was neither happy nor sad. She also needed to see the prophetess maybe she might be of help.

"The huge creature..." She gasp and the memory of it trying to devour her flashed through her mind. She was in great distress. Was it some kind of warning? She thought maybe her dreams might be related to the predicaments of the people of Macbeth.

She came down from her bed only to find the bed sheets soaked with sweat. She dashed into the bathroom without calling on Thana for help.

Still thinking about her dream. She wondered what she was doing in a haunted house. Her mind was messed up. She sensed danger. The fangs and the claws meant something. Something unfamiliar. She didn't know what to think anymore.

"Snap out of this horror Ariel." She said to herself and let herself drown inside the bathtub. Trying as much as possible not to think about it but anytime she closed her eyes the images of fangs and claws appeared. The images of the haunted house, the shadow of the huge creature. She was beginning to lose her senses.

Without thinking further she called on Thana to help her out. Maybe she needed someone to keep her company in other to forget the horror.