58. Chapter 58

Chapter fifty-eight

H aven rushed back to her room, completely dismissing her purpose for waiting in the library to begin with. Elanor would just have to forgive her for missing a lesson without saying anything. This was more important.

While racing back to her room, Haven guessed that the diary recognized the magic in her veins as being related to its owner. She also guessed it didn't call out to her the first time she'd been by the painting because she hadn't been alone.

Haven quickly unlocked her door and scrambled onto her bed, ignoring the dress hanging near her bathroom door. That definitely hadn't been there this morning but it also seemed like a problem future Haven could deal with .

Situating herself comfortably amongst her pillows, Haven tore open the diary. She was trying to be careful with the old and delicate thing but she was also incredibly eager and impatient.

The first few pages were filled with nothing aside from a note stating that the diary belonged to Morana Montali and that anyone who wasn't her would burn under a fiery spell if they dared read her words. Haven hoped being the daughter of Morana Montali would spare her from that fate.

It wasn't until the fifth page that her mother actually started journaling. Haven rapidly began soaking in every word. The beginning of the first entry was simple, stating how the weather was, which council member had irked her and even the hairstyle her lady's maid had done up for her that morning. About half way through, her mother began talking about the war efforts.

Her mothers handwriting changed as the tone of the entries did. While speaking about the struggles she'd been having, fae commanders challenging her, issues about how the humans had begun to outnumber the fae, her handwriting deepened and lost its flowy design. Her mother quit writing with loops, instead choosing hard lines and angles. It was obvious her mother struggled to write about such harrowing things, the pen or quill she'd used dug into the pages and left dents on the next ones.

The following few entries were the same, starting with simple things and ending with hard to talk about topics. There were tear stains on the pages where her mother talked about losing friends, about the pain she felt when burying their bodies. She described the way their skin lost its color, how the blood on the bodies darkened the longer it was left and even the way they smelled after being left out on the battlefronts for days before it was safe to retrieve them.

Multiple times her mother mentioned wanting to go out, to be on the front lines using her powers to help her people. Some of the other rulers felt the same but they were not able to. Their councils all advised the same thing, that they needed to stay back, to save themselves so that when they won this war their kingdoms would still have their rulers.

It sounded like bullshit to Haven, she thought that a ruler should never force his or her people to risk something that they themselves weren't willing to. That was one conclusion she had come to while pouring over different texts and readings with Elanor. Although, from the sounds of it, her mother and the other rulers hadn't been given the choice. Too many were against them and they couldn't simply blow off the opinions and voices of their councils, especially not during such difficult times.

Havens father was one of the other rulers wanting to go out and fight. Her mother detailed their first meeting at one of the many war councils. Robert Rionach was the first to speak up against the members from his council that opposed the royals going out to fight. Her mother had instantly taken notice of her father.

Haven poured through the details about how her mother had taken her father aside after the first war meeting, telling him how she agreed with him and that she thought it was brave of him to speak up like he did.

Her mother thoroughly described all of her fathers features, describing him almost exactly how Haven remembered him. The journal entry where her father first showed up ended with her mother returning back to her rooms at the castle where all the fae rulers were staying, far away from the front lines of the war efforts.

While flipping to the next page, Haven glanced at the clock, noting she had almost an hour left to read until she had to get ready for her wedding taking place at midnight. Her eyes drifted to the closed garment bag hanging by the door, she absently wondered what her dress looked like. She'd let Astrea pick it out since her taste had been immaculate so far.

Forcing herself back to her mothers diary, Haven tried to push thoughts of her friends out of her head. Would they still show tonight? She hoped they would. Haven may be angry with them but she still wanted them by her side.

Her anger wasn't just with them, she was also pissed at Nik for keeping so much from her. She planned to get ready an extra thirty minutes early so she could have time to yell at him about everything he'd kept from her.

Finally pausing all thoughts of recent betrayals, Haven went back to strumming through the pages of her mothers diary. Entry after entry, Haven got lost between the pages. Her mother had detailed so much and the diary wasn't even half over. As much as Haven didn't want to read anything of the sort, her parents had had a perfect first kiss, first date, first everything. Her mother narrated so many scenes between them, scenes Haven definitely skipped over. Her parents may have hid things and lied but there were some lines that should never be crossed and reading about her parents sex life was one of them.

Another thing highlighted through her mothers words was her councils displeasure towards her relationship with the king of Shaston. Apparently it was highly frowned upon for any royal fae to be involved with another royal, mainly due to the fact that if a child was born of that union they would grow to be incredibly powerful. More powerful than most. A chill ran through Haven when she realized that she was that child.

Most outwardly opposed of her parents' relationship was a council member named Evan. He was one of Moranas closest friends and was very opinionated when it came to her affairs. From the way her mother described him, Haven came to the conclusion that Evan had held feelings towards her mom. Feelings her mother did not reciprocate.

Getting up to grab another slip of paper to mark the page with, as she had done with every page she deemed ‘not Haven appropriate,' Haven glanced at the clock and startled. It was well into the time she dedicated to getting ready for her wedding.

Closing the diary as gently as she could, Haven dashed to her gown hanging on the bathroom door. A quick mental calculation told her she could make it on time, barely, which meant no yelling at Nik and she'd probably be the last one there but at least she'd be there.

Haven wished Rea was with her. If they hadn't fought, Astrea probably would have shown up to help Haven get ready thus keeping her from being late. Haven couldn't blame Astrea for her tardiness though, that was her own fault. She should have paid more attention to the clock while reading.

Unzipping the garment bag, Haven discovered one of the most beautiful dresses she would ever have the pleasure of wearing. The sheer lace sleeves were off the shoulder and there was a cinched waist and long flowing skirt. It was off white, with lots of beautiful lace details. The skirt of the dress wasn't overly puffy, making it easier for Haven to handle but it still had enough layers to be considered a ball gown.

Rea had picked the perfect dress, Haven hadn't given her wedding dress too much thought in all the recent craziness but now she was glad to have a friend who knew her as well as Rea did, because that's what Rea was, her friend. Probably the best she'd ever had.