The King's Dark Obsession

"I will come for you, my butterfly." His tone was low, his words came out slowly as if he was trying to make her memorize each of his words. There was an evil glint in his eyes. An evil passion and desire that was ignited inside his orbs.

It made her heart fall into the pit of her stomach as her orbs throbbed in pure terror.

She felt an immense fear...

The same feeling still rushes in her adrenaline whenever she recalls those moments OR whenever those moments or even those two evil jades flash in her dreams and end up waking her up from her already messed-up slumber.

Gasping for air.

Drenched in sweat.

Pupils dilated and filled with terror.

He left something on her permanently and it was his...

Terror.

"Oh my dear, Sasha. Did you have that nightmare again?"

Sasha who was currently sitting on her canopy master bed, gasping for air while rubbing her chest was seen by her granny. The old, short, and chubby lady with a silver and black hair bun nicely resting on her head, grabbed her dress and rushed up to Sasha.

She sat near the girl's leg and peered at her with concern dancing in her blue orbs.

"Did you have the same nightmare again?" The old lady asked and Sasha nodded, slowly calming herself down. "What about the potion the physician gave you?" She asked the young lady who was now looking much better than before.

Sasha Walton, the princess of the now-fallen kingdom Walton had brown, silky, thick, long, and wavy hair. Her lashes were thin but long and those hazel jades resembled nothing but a river of sweet honey that gleamed in the sun. Her skin was fair but not fair enough or to be more precise not pale enough according to the beauties in the kingdom.

She was of an average height.

Not tall enough for the beauties and too tall for the shorties.

She was a princess, who was now nothing but a statue for others to pity on.

"Sasha, you have to look amazing today to greet all the guests but look at those bags under your eyes." The old granny said, exaggerating the situation like her chest.

"A little makeup would suffice," Sasha said bluntly while taking the blanket off of her figure as she was now sitting on the bed with her legs down, ready to get up.

"My dear, it's your wedding and you don't look happy." The old granny said while caressing Sasha's arm. The young girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath before a smile appeared on her lips and she turned her face towards the granny so she could have a look at her face.

"I see but you know...no one is forcing you." The old granny threw the 'nice and understanding granny' card on the floor after making her see the dark side of her people's future if she doesn't marry Jasper.

Jasper was the one who gave them a shadow to reside beneath after the Walton kingdom was destroyed two years ago and the few people who survived the catastrophe had nowhere to go, so he sent them help.

Sasha, who was the only one left of the royal family, was leading the caravan morphed in ruins. Weakness and desperation led them here. The destruction of their kingdom startled many and no one was ready to help them, thinking the disaster that fell on their kingdom might fall on them as well. The disaster was so huge it left nothing but ruins and some fatal wounds in the hearts of those who survived.

A point of unbearable suffering came that they wished, they died that day as well.

Jasper, who helped them when no one did, became a hero in her people's eyes. They almost started to worship him. When Sasha regained her strength she decided to go back to her home along with her people but no one stepped forward to go back with her.

She was left alone.

Still, she decided to go back but Jasper held onto her and asked for her marriage then and there only. Unfortunately, this news ended up falling on the ears of her granny who survived as well.

She started to emotionally blackmail her.

The old granny wanted nothing but good for Sasha. She wanted her to marry the young king and start a new life. Sasha agreed because she believed she had no aim in her life. After marrying Jasper her people and their unborn children would gain the kingdom's name and would not be called outcasts in order to be identified.

Thus they got engaged a year ago.

And a few days later was their wedding.

Sasha liked Jasper but it was nothing more than liking.

He has told her once and many more times before without any reluctance that he only liked Sasha's beauty and that she was from a strong bloodline. There was no such thing as love but just his attraction for her beauty.

Today he liked her for her beauty, the next day he would like someone else.

The problem was, he didn't love her but treated her like he loved her. At first, she thought he was showing it to others but he was often the same with her when they were alone on the main terrace.

She wanted nothing but a happy life because this was the only thing that might set her free from the strings that attached her to her ruined kingdom.

Only if she knew her kindness would lead to such destruction, she would be better off being rude.

Now, she was truly looking forward to this marriage.

Jasper liked her and respected her. That was enough for her.

"I'm looking forward to a bright future," Sasha said and abruptly stood up.

"Let's get ready. We must greet the guests." She said with a wide smile on her face.

Little did she know the bright future she was looking forward to would be even darker than her past.

The monster was about to arrive.

The kingdom was blooming in happiness, every other street was filled with chatters of excited people. Some were happy to know that their king was finally having his queen and some were happy to know that their princess was finally marrying King Jasper of the Logon kingdom.

The castle was bustling with maids and servants running here and there, whispering the romance of the new couple in each other's ears while giggling and blushing. The romance that took place in their imaginations. The arrangements were in full swing for the upcoming grand wedding that was to take place in a week. The guests already started to bless the kingdom with their presence.

The bride, Sasha who was currently standing in the middle of the hall, donning a dark green velvety dress that fitted perfectly on her upper body and was floral from down was greeting the guest with a warm smile on her face. She knew most of them and fortunately, none of them was passing her sympathetic look, they looked delighted.

A few guests she didn't know were introduced to her by the butler of the castle who was standing right beside her. The butler wasn't a woman or an old man, it 'maybe not so surprisingly' was a young man with long black hair.

"We are pleased to have you here," Sasha said genuinely and the guest passed her a warm smile, eyed her from head to toe, complimented her, and was taken away by the guards to show them around.

Sasha took a deep and heavy breath.

Some of them looked like pretenders.

The way they eyed her and then complimented her, it was as if they were mocking Jasper for marrying someone as average-looking as her. They have been treating her low ever since she lost her kingdom.

Pivoting on her heels, she began to walk away once she was done greeting all the guests.

The servants and maids bowed at her while passing by her, she paid no heed to them or their silly talks until something unconsciously fell on her ears which she didn't pay attention to either.

The maids were talking about a guest.

They were squealing in happiness.

"You saw how tall he was? Oh my Lord, that body was of a Greek god." Maid one.

"Yeah, Yeah, I almost slipped after seeing him." Maid two.

Both of them giggled and wandered away.

Sasha took a turn to take a different path and instantly halted on her steps when she saw her granny instructing the maids on what to do.

Her heart almost leaped to her mouth.

Before she could get caught by her, she slowly turned around and scooted away from there, taking another path. With a low huff, she shook her head and looked back to see if she was caught and if the granny was tailing her but fortunately, she wasn't.

With a little grin plastered on her soft features, she turned around and before she could even take a step further, she bumped into something so hard, almost broke her nose and went blank for a second. The colliding impact was so hard that she was about to fall back but something on her back prevented her from falling back. It was not a thing, it was a hand, a very big one at that. Her eyes snapped open and when she looked before her, there was nothing.

Not even a wall.

Her eyes widened and her hand lunged at her back where the hand was holding her, she could still feel that sensation on her back but there was no one before her or even behind her.

The corridor was empty.

A zap of horror ran down her spine and she instantly became pale. She bumped into someone and that someone was holding her waist so that she wouldn't fall back. Before Sasha could grab her dress and run away from there, a voice startled her shitless.

Snapping her head to the right, she saw her granny walking up to her.

"I was loo---what happened to you?" The old granny asked, her voice getting higher by the end of the sentence. Concern was plastered on her face as she stared at the pale face of Sasha.

"D-did you see someone?" Sasha asked, almost breathless.

Granny looked around with concern but soon a frown covered her features. She looked back at Sasha while slowly shaking her head. "No. Did you?" The old granny asked and Sasha shook her head while looking around. "B-But someone was here. I bu-bumped into someone and his hand was on my back but w-when I open my e-eyes, he wasn't t-three." Sasha stammered. Her horrified eyes stared at the path in horror.

"Sasha, my child, please have your medicine." The old lady said and Sasha snapped her eyes down at her. "Do you think I'm crazy? I'm not. I felt it, I b-bumped in-." Her panicked tone that was echoing in the silent corridor was interrupted by the old granny.

"Yes, Yes, I get it." She said and grabbed Sasha's arm, forcing her to walk. Sasha blinked to clear her blurry vision as she silently followed her granny. Another shiver ran down her spine when she felt a strong gaze on her. Looking around, she found no one.

This wasn't the first time she felt like she was being watched. It has happened to her many times before and each time it terrifies her. She could never get used to that sensation, never in a million years.

What was that?

Who was it?

Could it be...

She has been in this castle for two years, alone in her room or walking alone in the corridor. Nothing like this happened to her before here. Then why now?

Wiping the sweat off of her forehead with a handkerchief, the granny pressed the cold metal tip of the spoon on Sasha's lips. It had that syrup that the physician gave her.

Sasha looked up at the granny while sitting on the sofa. "I-I think...it's happening a-again." She stuttered but the granny shook her head and made her drink the syrup.

"Once you become a king's wife, it won't occur." The granny said while putting away the syrup, hiding it somewhere the maids wouldn't find it.

"Is that another reason why you are so frantic for my marriage with Jasper?" Sasha asked, her tone held disbelief.

"Yes." The granny said and Sasha immediately shook her head, her eyes becoming watery.

"No one can stop him. He will get what he wants. Have you forgotten what he is like?" She cried out.

"I-I don't wanna face him again. Even his name brings nightmares for me. Do you think you are the o-only one desperate to get m-me away from him?" She asked. Her tears were almost on the verge of streaming down.

"I can't even k-kill myself i-in order to get a-away from him." Sasha sniffed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. The old granny looked at her with empathy. She settled herself beside the young lady and patted her back.

"Jasper is not as weak as you think." The granny said softly and put her hair strand behind her ear.

"Sasha, God is not so cruel, my child. He only gives the pain one can handle." She continued.

"You are strong."

"You are strong." The old granny declared while caressing Sasha's arm.

Sasha took a deep breath and shook her head.

"When it comes to him, I'm not." She said and turned back to look out of the window that was behind the sofa. She put her arm on the headrest of the sofa and then her chin on her arm.

"He terrifies me." She whispered to herself, the old granny was unable to hear her words but she heard the girl muttering to herself. Before she could ask what the young princess was saying, the doors of her room were knocked on twice before the doors were opened by the royal guards.

The old granny immediately stood up from the sofa when the surroundings were invaded by the presence of the king. A tall man with black short hair that was a little ruffled stepped into the room. He was modeling in a long black coat with golden lining on the lapel, long black shoes, and inside he was wearing a black suit. Shoulders broad, long legs, a face that had a heroic handsomeness settled on its gentle features.

He was Jasper, the king of the Logon kingdom and Sasha's soon-to-be husband.

"Your Highness." The old granny bowed at him and stepped aside. Sasha, who was busy looking out of the window, immediately stood up on her feet and looked at Jasper, rather surprised to find him here because he rarely comes around here.

"Your Highness," Sasha slightly nodded at him and he frowned, walking up to her, he abruptly grabbed her shoulders almost making her flinch. "You look sick, are you okay?" He asked.

Her eyes lashed towards the old granny before settling back on Jasper. "I'm better than ever. I was thinking about the wedding and that's why I couldn't sleep the whole night. M-Maybe, that's why." She lied and he smiled at her, cupping her cheeks, he squeezed them.

"Of course, why wouldn't you be happy? After all, you're marrying me." He said and she passed him a tight-lipped smile.

"And I'm happy too, to have you as my wife and as the queen of this kingdom." He said. Sasha kept quiet and waited for him to say something further.

She was never very talkative with him.

She was once too talkative and nice with a certain someone and now she was nothing but a trampled and pitiful princess. She thought Jasper would fix her...but he just couldn't.

He moved back and turned towards the door.

"There is a guest I want you to meet." He said and gestured to the guard standing near the door. After a few seconds, someone stepped in and both Granny and Sasha were left speechless.

It was a woman.

A beautiful blonde woman with big doe-like eyes walked in. She had big blue orbs and freckles were resting on her nose and cheeks. She was extremely pale and was tall and thin with perfect curves.

Sasha was awestruck by her beauty but at the same time, her insecurity doubled.

She didn't stand against her beauty at all.

No wonder, why people thought of her as average. They must have seen beauty like these. Though Sasha never felt average or this insecure before but ever since she became his fiance, these things have started to claw her inside.

"This is Princess Fiona of the Kastron Kingdom, Younger sister of King Ragnar." He introduced her and Sasha's eyes almost went wide.

Kastron kingdom was one of the biggest kingdoms with one of the strongest lineages.

He was marrying Sasha because she was beautiful and had a strong lineage.

After Fiona's introduction, Sasha felt even more insecure. This woman was everything beyond what she was.

And he came here all the way to introduce her to Sasha.

He already fancies her.

Sasha knew this day would come but not this early.

"Fiona, as you know this is Princess Sasha Walton, my bride." He said and both the ladies nodded at each other elegantly with soft smiles adorning both of their faces. Sasha didn't let her expressions waver.

"I've heard a lot about you," Fiona said, stepping forward and Sasha smiled, lowering her gaze to the floor before looking up at her again.

"I hope it's good." She said and Fiona chuckled lowly.

"No, it's too good that it scares me." She said and the room fell into silence, none of them got what she said. Jasper even had a frown on his face.

"Huh? Pardon my awful hearing, could you please repeat yourself?" Sasha asked politely in an apologetic tone and Fiona shook her head while smiling. "Pardon me, I should have come clear." Fiona said and all of them understood that she didn't want to repeat herself. Maybe, she said it out as a farce but no one got it.

"Sasha, Fiona wanted you to show her around," Jasper said and Sasha raised her brows while nodding. "Then, shall we?" Sasha asked Fiona, and the girl nodded rather excitedly. She looked childish and immature but then again, she couldn't trust anyone.

Both the girls along with Jasper walked out of the room, they went on another path and Jasper took another path with his guards following him closely behind.

"So, Fiona, did you come alone?" Sasha asked, both of them slowly walking down the stony lane. "No, my big brother, King Ragnar also came along with me," Fiona said and Sasha passed her a little surprised look.

"Oh, I see," Sasha said and showed her a little around.

"And we also have this huge library that I oft---" Before Sasha could complete her sentence, an excited Fiona clung onto her out of nowhere. "Library? I want to see the library." She said happily and Sasha chuckled.

"I see, you like reading," Sasha said and began to guide the girl to the library. She herself wasn't too familiar with the paths since she rarely left her room but she knew where the library was since she often went there. She wasn't a reader but since she had nothing to do, she read.

"What do you like to do?" The girl asked and Sasha's smile slowly vanished.

'I liked swords.'

"Nothing much," Sasha said and gestured to the guards to open the library doors. The guards bowed at her and obliged. Once the two royals stepped inside, the guards closed the door behind them.

Fiona was awestruck.

"It's huge just like mine. Can I look around?" She asked and Sasha immediately nodded at her. "Please do as you please," Sasha said and the girl hopped away. The castle was filled with guests, she thought she would find some people there but the library was empty as always.

Sasha watched the girl hop upstairs and lowered her gaze.

She couldn't believe it.

She had become so negative.

She thought bad about her.

With a sigh, she walked further into the library and started to look around to find something interesting for herself. While she was looking around, she spotted a very interesting book. It had that maroon velvety cover with golden lining on it. She wondered what it was about.

She moved forward and stood on her toes in order to get the book but she was unable to even touch it. She tried harder and stretched her arm further to the point where it started hurting. She gave up and was about to get down on her feet when all of a sudden a tall shadow came behind her out of nowhere making her flinch badly. She felt someone behind her, too close to her. Her breath was stifled and goosebumps started to rise on her skin.

She saw his hand moving forward towards the book. The hand was big and long, actually too big even for a man. He was wearing a black glove that didn't cover all of his fingers. Sasha swallowed thickly and abruptly turned around to look at him but what she felt next was a too-familiar presence that terrified her to the core like a zap of current.

She flinched and attached herself back to the bookshelf. He was tall, very tall, a lot taller than Jasper. She had to crane her neck to look up at him and what she witnessed next, almost made her legs go weak.

Though, there was no resemblance yet there was so much resemblance. The man before her had long shiny dark silver hair and dark gray eyes. The one she knew had black hair but the aura was extremely familiar. His face was hidden by a black mask, only his eyes could be seen.

He grabbed the book and brought it down, forwarding it towards her. She stared down at the book in horror. Her complexion went pale as sweat started to coat her body.

Was it really him?

If...if it was him, he wouldn't show up in disguise.

His entrance would be rather bold.

She was exaggerating every other thing.

That man has left his imprint on her and now she sees nothing but fear when even a little thing resembles him or makes her aware of his presence.

Maybe she needs to go to the physician again.

With her trembling hands, she grabbed the book. Trying to stop her body from shaking but it was useless.

The man said nothing so she hesitantly raised her head and her heart almost lurked to her mouth when she found him peering down at her.

When they made eye contact.

His eyes...they were also familiar.

Sasha was terrified.

Before she could turn and run, Fiona's voice startled her.

"Princess Sasha, I was looking for you." Fiona said while walking up to her with a book in her hand but her pace slowed down once she saw the huge man standing in front of her.

"Oh, brother?" Fiona stared at the man in front of her, calling him 'brother'.

Sasha's eyes slightly widened when she realized who this man was and why he was covering his face.

He was King Ragnar, the king in disguise. He didn't show his face to others. Only his people and family knew what he looked like. People had their own theories about him. Some said he was too handsome that's why he hid his face, some said it could be a disgusting scar that he was hiding and some said that he was not that handsome and only his hidden appearance was extraordinary.

He doesn't seem to care about these things at all.

Sasha relaxed a little but she was tense as ever.

Fiona smiled and walked up to them, she wrapped her arm around her brother's arm and looked at Sasha while smiling. "Oh my, did my brother scare you?" She asked, her smile dropping instantly after seeing Sasha. The girl was a wreck this morning. This many jumpscares never come to her before. Sasha passed a glance at her brother and he was still staring at her, so she immediately dropped her gaze back to Fiona while shaking her head, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, that's a relief. People usually get scared due to his huge appearance." Fiona said.

"Anyways, brother, this is Princess Sasha Walton, the bride."

"And Princess Sasha, this is my brother, King Ragnar."

Fiona introduced them to each other. Both of them passed each other with a slight nod. She should be saying something, a whole damn king was standing in front of her but words wouldn't leave her mouth.

She was just uncomfortable.

She wanted to leave immediately.

The monster she knew was known by no one and this was King Ragnar, one of the greatest kings in his lineage. Kings of all kings.

She really needed to say something here but instead of that, she excused herself and trekked away.

Embarrassing herself.

Entering her room, the first thing she did was drink a lot of water.

This happened three times today.

She flinched so much as well.

And someone stood before her who resembled him.

Him...

Her terror.

Her destroyer.

The wedding must happen.

"I will come for you, my butterfly." His words rang in her mind with the exact tone he spoke with.

"No, No, No...the wedding must take place a week before." She thought while pacing around the room.

When his fear fell upon her, the wedding she thought couldn't save her was suddenly her only desperate option.

There was nothing else to save herself from him.

To be exact, not even this wedding.