CELENE: ALPHA'S GODDESS

CHAPTER 1 

The sounds of small jingle bells echoed in my head as I stood in front of my father's grave. I could hear only this sound and his footsteps as he walked further and further away from me into the light of no return.

This was my final moment with him; every other person around me remained quiet. They all dressed in fancy black suits and gowns, some carrying umbrellas to prevent getting soaked by the downpour. The dark clouds and the silence of nature created an atmosphere that almost seemed as if the earth itself mourned his loss.

I stood under the rain, staring at his grave as tears ran down my cheeks. No words could describe how I felt at this moment. The one thing I cherished the most in this world was gone, and nothing could bring him back.

The people around me started to vanish one by one. They didn't care about him—all they cared about was being there to see his casket get covered with sand—they didn't deserve that much. 

After a few hours, there was no one left. It was just me sitting under the moonlight, staring ever so silently at his tombstone. 

My eyes were drained of emotion, and my heart was as silent as the graveyard I was in. I opened my mouth, and softly, I uttered the words, “Long live the king.” 

~•••~

As I sat quietly on the ground, the sound of high heels clicking the cobblestone broke my concentration. From the stench of jasmine perfume that suddenly radiated through the atmosphere, I knew immediately who it was—Sylvania, my stepmother and queen of Andreia, my home land.

“Celene, what are you doing here? The burial ceremony is over.” Her voice sounded raspy and filled with disgust. Her voice to me was a painful sound I couldn't run away from. She was like a demon, sneaking her way into my life with sweet lies to my father. 

Everything this woman touched crumbled before my very eyes, and every word she said was a knife to the heart a thousand times over. I despised her so much. 

I remained quiet. I didn't want this despicable woman to ruin my last moments with my father.

“You refuse to answer? In respect of your father's demise, I'll let it slide for now. Be back home by sunrise.” She spoke again, then turned around to walk away.

She took a few steps away from me, then stopped. “Oh, and Celene, there will be a few changes at the mansion. Be prepared,” her voice sounded. I couldn't see it, but I knew for a fact that she had an evil smile on her face, a smile that meant doom for me and every little thing left to make me happy.

A while later, I walked steadily with a blank expression on my face to my stepmother's room, the clicking sound made by the sole of my flat-footed shoe echoing throughout the large passage. I stopped in front of her door, pushed out a soft breath, and knocked gently.

“Mother, you called?” I asked and waited for her reply, staring at the large wooden door. The door had beautiful, intricate patterns carved into it. The patterns spiraled around each corner and danced like water waves toward the center of the door, where they formed a beautiful sun flower. 

“Come in,” Her cold voice came. The sound of her vocals sent chills down my spine and, like a cold morning breeze, caused the hair on my skin to stand on end.

I pushed the door open, and it creaked like its hinges hadn't been oiled for months. 

She sat on a throne-like chair in the middle of the room with her legs crossed. I dared not look at her face. 

“Celene, I called to inform you that I have fired some of the servants in the mansion. The only few that remain will be the ones to assist me on my daily rounds; you will be in charge of cleaning and cooking; if you have any objections, I do not care,” my stepmother declared with a calm but firm tone.

“But mother, you do realize how big this mansion is, right?” I asked—I was certainly not surprised at this cunning move of hers.

"Yes, I do, Celene, and I expect you to do a decent job maintaining its beauty and sophistication,” she replied, completely nonchalant to my opinions, then waved her hand to dismiss me.

I let out a sigh, then turned around and walked away. No one could object to her authority now. She was the Queen of Andreia after all, and now that the King, my father, was dead, no one dared to defy her.

“Celene,” Her voice sounded behind me, stopping my movements in an instant. I turned around slowly and, in response, asked, “Yes, mother?”

“Start with the toilets,” she ordered abruptly, staring at me with disgust in her eyes.

"Yes, mother,” I replied, then left the room.

*****

The Kingdom of Andreia wasn't a very large one. Our land was divided into four parts: the northern, southern, eastern, and western cities of Andreia. The only cities that still functioned after decades of war were the northern, southern, and eastern cities.

The western city was in ruin after our last battle with one of the most powerful kingdoms far east of ours—Valtoria, the kingdom of the sun god. We lost the battle, but before his death, my father came to an agreement with the king, and he chose to spare the rest of Andreia. The details of this agreement were only known to him, his queen, and some of his most trusted soldiers.

My father told me he planned to rebuild the western city, but he soon fell ill, and before anyone knew it, he passed.

 ****

“Not like that; bend your hips and swing the broom like you do with one of your fancy hand fans,” the headmaid of our mansion spoke, pushing my torso into an incline with her left hand and handing me a broom with a long stick. I had been in this part of the hall for hours trying to learn how to do basic chores, and all my joints had already begun to hurt. 

This crazy woman hit and pushed me so many times that I almost felt like crying—but no, my father didn't raise a weakling.

Although he showered me with love and affection all my life, he always taught me to stand strong through everything life had to throw at me—this was especially because he knew the kind of woman he made queen after my mother died.

I tightened my grip on the broom and swung it again. As the dust rose from the ground, I wondered why the castle was so dirty—was it because my stepmother sent most of the maids away? Or was it because my father was no longer alive to inspect everything?

Before I knew it, her hand came again, landing on my face with a loud thud. I fell to the dusty ground and squealed in pain. The tears I had been holding back finally broke loose and ran down my cheeks.

“Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill me with all this dust? Your mother will hear about this, and you will pay for it.” She hissed like a venomous snake, throwing insults that pierced through my heart like a long needle extending from her mouth to my chest.

 As I pushed my right palm against my fist, footsteps echoed through the large hall and silenced the head maid’s harsh words in my mind. The steps made by metal boots echoed through the hall nonstop, and I just had to turn to see who it was.

My brows furrowed the moment I saw his face—the face of the king of Valtoria, king Japhet the second. His kingdom demolished our western city over three weeks ago, possibly because of our weak defenses against his army. My sadness immediately turned into anger, but I dared not say a word as he had a party of knights behind him who were ready to kill anyone who dared to cross him.

I had hoped he would turn to me as he walked through the hall, so he would see in my eyes how much hatred I had for him, but unfortunately he didn't. Only one of his knights turned to me. 

He wore an armor coloured a gray that was a shade darker than the rest, and had marble black eyes. He carried a cold look on his face, but his eyes almost seemed as if they were trying to send me a message. He stared at me for a moment, then walked away. 

He and the other knights walked past me and the headmaid, following their king into the next passage.

After they had disappeared into the next passage, I turned back to the head maid and found her on her knees with her eyes closed and her head lowered. She had her palms together, forming a triangle with her thumbs as the base. This was our way of greeting here in Andreia. It was customary for people of lower class to kneel before a king and use their hands to form the symbol of their kingdom as a sign of respect.

I had no respect for the man who had just walked past me. He was a ruthless monster who knew nothing but to start wars and cause suffering. I was never going to be seen bowing to such a person.

I waited for a few seconds to see if the head maid would get up, but she didn't. It almost seemed like her entire body had gone stiff. I used the opportunity to run toward the passage the king and his soldiers went through; I wanted to find out what he was doing back in our territory.

CHAPTER 2

The clinking sounds of two glass cups clashing against each other echoed in a dimly lit room. Candlesticks hung on different areas of the walls, and beautifully designed curtains hung everywhere around the room.

The curtains that hung in front of the doors, around the wardrobes, and around the king-sized bed at the center of the room were designed with flowery patterns that ran across them vertically. The marble floor glistened under the bright orange chandelier, hanging from the ceiling in three different areas around the bed.

“What took you so long? I thought I’d never get to see you again after the war.” Sylvania’s voice came after the clinking sound. She raised the glass cup to her lips, inclining it to pour the drink into her mouth. She sat on a wooden chair along the circumference of a round-table with her right leg on top of her left.

“My apologies, queen Sylvania; I had some urgent matters to take care of before c