2. Rise of The Evil

Years later, a crazy woman stood before the palace, claiming to foresee the future and corrupting everyone's thoughts, even though the Queen didn't believe in such things she still wanted to hear her prophecy just for entertainment.

"Get ready," she cautioned, her voice oozing with a bone-chilling certainty.

"A battle like no other is coming. The kingdom will be consumed by flames, and after suffering great losses, the Queen will rise again.

But be warned, her own bloodline will be her undoing. She will meet her end in the very fire she sets ablaze!" Her laughter rang out, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

But her cackles were suddenly shadowed by Queen's laughter "Oh my dear, you're stuck in the past, not the future.

Everything you foretold has already happened!" The Queen's laughter filled the air, accompanied by the amused chuckles of those around her.

"Take this load of nonsense away from my sight!" she ordered, her voice dripping with disgust.

The guards obediently escorted the crazy woman toward the gate, but just before she vanished from sight, she turned back and flashed a vicious grin at the Queen one last time.

That frightening expression haunted her throughout the night, leaving the Queen restless and uneasy.

As time passed, people began to question the Queen's eternal youth, and her thousand-year reign only fueled their suspicions of her immortality.

The common folk, troubled by this revelation, distanced themselves from her and abandoned the city.

She married, and after a few years, a devastating conflict erupted, resulting in the loss of many lives, including her husband's, and the enslavement of countless others.

Despite marrying multiple times, she continued to endure the heartbreak of losing those closest to her.

This cycle persisted until she reached her 17th marriage.

One week later, the Queen was found unconscious in her chambers.

After a check-up, it was discovered that she was expecting a child. An old fear resurfaced, and the fear of death made her restless.

But then an evil idea took hold of her mind, leading her to consider harming her own unborn child.

She tasked her maid with obtaining a poison to end the baby's life, but her scheme failed.

Fueled by her insatiable thirst for power and eternal life, the Queen gathered her most loyal followers and offered a reward for the strongest and most lethal poison.

Blinded by her desires, she failed to realize that the poison would harm both her and the baby.

Realization dawned too late, all her servants returned empty-handed and despite her efforts, nothing could harm her baby.

Months went by until the last servant arrived with a poison known as "nightshade," the deadliest of them all.

After exhausting all other options and failing, she decided to try Nightshade.

A day and a night passed with no effect, but then excruciating pain gripped her.

Her limbs twisted with agony, and she also understood that the baby was arriving prematurely.

In agony, she cried out, "Get this thing out of me, now!" She demanded.

Her screams reverberated throughout the palace. Eventually, she gave birth to a beautiful princess, and the town rejoiced at the arrival of Princess Riva.

The Queen's envy only grew as the girl grew older, and the mother herself began to age twice as fast.

Wrinkles creased her face and hands, and a touch of gray appeared in her hair.

She grew weary more often, yet still retained her beauty, though it paled in comparison to her daughter. The ones who used to praise her beauty now started praising her daughter.

When the princess reached the age of four, the chancellor overheard some villagers gossiping about a crazy woman spotted near the village.

The news eventually reached the queen, prompting her to seek out the woman.

"How can I prevent myself from aging?" she inquired.

"You mocked me!" the woman grumbled.

"I am willing to grant any wish, just tell me how to reverse this?" the queen insisted.

"Ah! Now we can converse like civilized individuals!" the mad woman offered her some tea, and they sat together in a small straw hut with a messy and foul-smelling interior.

"The secret to regaining your youth and strength lies in sacrificing your own daughter!" The woman exclaimed viciously.

"We have tried all possible methods, there is no way she can be harmed!" The Queen sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"There is a woman in your village who can control water. She wedded an outcast, an earthling! and their son, a mixed-blood, has the ability to craft a special blade.

As your daughter matures and uncovers her abilities, you must request him to sacrifice her using this blade that only he can create and wield with the metal only he can forge.

She will perish instantly. Then, you must take a drop of blood from her heart and consume it, reverting back to your former self," the woman explained, her voice brimming with certainty.

"What is it that you desire in exchange for this information?" Queen asked.

"I want her tiniest fingers from both of her hands!" The woman declared without hesitation.

"I will make sure it is done," the Queen stated firmly before leaving.

That evening, the Queen made a choice. If she was fated to raise her daughter until she reached sixteen, she would do so with love and tenderness.

Promising not to become like her own mother so when the time comes, her daughter won't be able to deny her.

However, over time, the Queen's heart softened toward her daughter.

She grew to love her deeply and realized that she should sacrifice herself instead, allowing her daughter to take the throne.

Eventually, the Queen fell ill, and upon her demise, her daughter gained access to her private chambers. There, she stumbled upon an unexpected discovery - a hidden compartment beneath the carpet, containing a letter filled with confessions and the shocking truth revealed by the deranged woman.

Riva, as she grew older, surpassed her mother in wickedness.

She displayed cruelty towards the poor and showed favoritism towards the wealthy. Whenever her husband dared to ask for a child, she would not hesitate to end their life. She kept a watchful eye on those of mixed-born, paying their families to breed and breed only sons, as she would provide them with special training to become tough and skilled in the art of blacksmithing and sword fighting.

Her malevolence was evident in her treatment of her firstborn. She heartlessly sacrificed the child and brought her fingers to the deranged woman.