Emperor Of The Abyss

The afternoon sun cast golden light across the palace gardens, warming the stone pathways that wound through beds of white roses and violet clematis. Prince Kane walked slowly along the cobbled path, his fingers interlaced with Princess Valerie's, their hands swinging gently between them like children at play.

 The air smelled of honeysuckle and fresh-cut grass, and somewhere in the distance, hammers rang against wood as workers constructed the dais for tomorrow's coronation.

Valerie's emerald gown whispered against the stones with each step, the silk catching the light and shimmering like water. Her golden hair had been plaited with small white flowers, and when she turned to look at him, Kane felt his chest tighten with something he could only describe as contentment. 

She was beautiful, yes, but more than that,she was his future, his promise of normalcy in a life that had been anything but normal.

"Can you believe it?" 

Valerie said, squeezing his hand.

 "Tomorrow, you'll be crowned. King Kane of Valthorne."

 She tested the words on her tongue, smiling as she spoke them.

 "It sounds so... official. So permanent."

Kane chuckled, a low rumble in his chest.

 "It does, doesn't it? Sometimes I still can't believe it's actually happening. After everything..." 

He trailed off, not wanting to dampen the mood with talk of his childhood, of the whispers that had followed him through every corridor, every feast, every public appearance. *Cursed prince. Demon-blooded. Monster's spawn.*

But Valerie understood. She always did. She pressed closer to his side, her shoulder brushing his arm.

 "After everything." 

She continued for him.

“You're going to be king. A good king. A just king. Like your father was."

"Like my father." 

Kane repeated, the words settling over him like a mantle. He'd spent years studying his father's reign, poring over the old decrees and judgments, trying to understand the man who had loved a demon and paid for it with his life.

 "I want to follow in his footsteps, Val. I want to be fair, to listen to the people, to…"

"To be boring and responsible?" 

Valerie teased, bumping her hip against his playfully.

Kane laughed despite himself. 

"Is that what you think of my father's legacy? Boring?"

"No." 

She said, her voice softening.

 "I think it's noble. I think it's exactly what this kingdom needs."

 She paused, then added with a mischievous glint in her eye.

 "But most importantly, I'll be your wife. Your queen. And we'll have a lot of fun together every day."

 Her eyebrows arched suggestively. 

"If you know what I mean."

Heat crept up Kane's neck, and he felt his ears grow warm. Despite being twenty-two years old and a prince about to become king, Valerie still had the ability to make him flush like a boy. He cleared his throat, trying to maintain some dignity, but the smile that spread across his face was helpless and genuine.

"Yeah." 

He said, his voice dropping lower, more intimate. 

"I really know what you mean." 

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist as they walked.

 "And we'll have children. Four of them."

Valerie stopped dead in her tracks, nearly pulling him off balance. Her eyes widened in mock horror. 

"Four?" 

She said the word like he'd suggested they adopt a pack of wolves. 

"Four children? Kane, do you have any idea what that would do to my body? To my sanity?" 

She shook her head emphatically, her flower-braided hair swaying. 

"No. Absolutely not. We're having two children. That's it. Two. And they'll be girls."

Kane felt a competitive spark ignite in his chest. He loved when she got like this,stubborn and playful, her chin jutting out in that defiant way that made him want to kiss her and argue with her in equal measure. 

"Girls?" 

He said, feigning offense.

 "If we're only having two children, they'll be boys. Strong boys. Warriors like their father."

"Warriors?"

 Valerie scoffed, though her eyes danced with amusement. 

"You've never even been to war, my prince. What kind of warriors would you raise? Ones who fight with quills and parchment?"

"I'll have you know I'm excellent with a sword." 

Kane protested, placing a hand over his heart in exaggerated injury.

 "Sir Aldric says I have natural talent."

"Sir Aldric is paid to say nice things to you." 

Valerie shot back, grinning now.

Kane gasped. 

"You wound me, Princess. Truly, you do."

 Then, more seriously but still playful, he added.

 "But I mean it. Two boys. They'll train in the yard, learn to defend the kingdom, carry on the family name…"

"I'll agree to that.”

 Valerie interrupted, her smile turning sly and dangerous.

 "if you can actually catch me."

Before Kane could process her words, she'd yanked her hand free from his and taken off running down the garden path, her laughter spilling behind her like music. Her skirts flew up as she ran, revealing the practical boots she always wore beneath her gowns,one of the many things he loved about her. 

She wasn't some delicate flower who fainted at the first sign of trouble. She was fire and spirit wrapped in silk.

"Valerie!" 

Kane shouted, but he was already running, his longer legs eating up the distance between them. His boots pounded against the cobblestones as he chased her around a corner, past a fountain where stone dolphins spouted water into a basin, through an archway covered in climbing roses.

She was fast, but he was faster. He could hear her breathless laughter, could see the flash of her green dress as she darted between the decorative hedges. The palace gardens had been their playground since her first visit to Valthorne three years ago, and they both knew every path, every hiding spot, every shortcut.

Kane cut left, anticipating her route, and nearly had her when she spun around a marble statue of some long-dead ancestor. His fingers brushed the fabric of her sleeve, but she twisted away with a shriek of delight.

"You'll have to be faster than that, Your Majesty!" 

She called over her shoulder.

The chase led them toward the main courtyard, where the real preparations for tomorrow's coronation were taking place. Workers swarmed like ants, hauling timber and fabric, constructing viewing platforms and decorative arches. The smell of sawdust and paint hung in the air.

Kane was so focused on Valerie's retreating form that he didn't see the worker until it was almost too late.

The man had been carrying a tall ladder, balanced carefully o

n one shoulder as he navigated through the organized chaos of the courtyard. Valerie darted around him with practiced grace, but Kane, coming in hot on her heels, had no time to adjust his trajectory.

"Watch out!"