Chapter 300: 177

There were a lot of good things happening around Heaven. She had defended the castle successfully, and she got along well with most soldiers who fought by her side. Her father was on his way back with victory, and her wedding was being planned. Her grandfather suddenly decided to leave them alone and not cause more problems, and her grandmother's recovery was going well.

Everything was perfect, but Heaven felt an emptiness in her heart that she couldn't get rid of. She had a hard time sleeping at night and when she managed to finally sleep, she was haunted by nightmares.

She would wake up in the middle of the night, soaked in sweat and panting, and tonight was just the same. She dreamed about opening a box and finding a dead body inside.

Screaming, she woke up, waking Zamiel in the process. Her heart was racing inside her chest.

Zamiel wrapped his arms around her. "It was just a dream." He assured, stroking her back just like many previous nights.

What was wrong with her? She could see that he was getting more and more worried about her. She didn't want to worry him and she didn't know why she was having these dreams. She wanted them to stop.

Zamiel held her in his arms, whispering calming words until she fell asleep again.

The next morning, her father and the royal army arrived at the castle. The first thing her father did was to come and see her and make sure that she was alright. He hugged her, and she cried in his arms again despite fighting it.

The fury she saw in his eyes told her he would cause chaos. Truth was there was already chaos. Her grandfather and Zamiel had caused terror among the witches.

Heaven wanted see it with her own eyes. See the enemy destroyed. She thought she would be happy about it and feel better after destroying those who killed her child, but that only left her with more emptiness. They punished them. Now what? That wouldn't bring her dead child back.

Her father wanted to make sure that there were no more witches in the castle, and he and Zamiel took care of that as well. They made sure to read all their thoughts and even compelled them. Either there were no more enemies or they knew how to hide from demons.

While her father was busy the celebration of their victory already began and they went to join.

The large banquet hall was already filled with soldiers and there was music, food and drinks. Some of the soldiers came to her to congratulate her for her success. Others were bitter and ignored her.

Heaven had no energy to care for them, anyway.

"Can I have your attention?" General Kian said, standing up at the table. He held a glass of wine in his hand and was a little drunk.

"I am proud of each one of you for fighting so fiercely on the battlefield. You have once again proved that our army is undefeatable." He began, and the soldiers cheered.

"And His Majesty was the fiercest of all as always." He continued, and the men cheered again in agreement.

General Kian's eyes then went to her. "Her Highness has proved herself to be a fierce warrior and a great leader, just like her father. I think she deserves to get an appropriate title now." He announced.

Half the men cheered in agreement.

"Thanks to Her Highness's brilliant plan, we could defeat the enemy in no time, save a lot of resources and many lives."

The soldiers clapped for her, and General Kian continued. "My father and I have made the decision for Her Highness to join the Royal army and become the second in command." He said. "Does anyone have an objection?"

He looked around the table and waited for someone to speak, but everyone remained silent. "Very well then. Let's drink for our future second in command, for our victory and for the future of Decresh." He said, raising his cup.

Everyone raised their cup and toasted before gulping their drinks down. The night ended with more drink, dance and music.

Heaven wasn't one to drink, so she excused herself to retire for the night. Her father came after her and stopped her in the hall. "Heaven. Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, but he looked at her with concern.

"It's alright to not be alright." He told her.

"I am alright father. I just became second in command." She smiled.

"Congratulations. You deserve it." He said.

"Thank you."

He looked at her for a moment before pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly. Heaven hugged him back without thinking too much.

"What is happening here?" Suddenly, her mother stood in the hall with a smile. "Am I being excluded again?" she joked.

Both opened one arm for her at the same time and then chuckled. Her mother joined in the hug.

"Do you know that our daughter just became second in command?" Her father asked her mother proudly.

"No, I didn't. But I know our daughter can become anything she wants." She said, turning to Heaven and cupping her cheek.

"Of course. She has her father's wits." Her father said.

"And her mother's looks." Heaven added.

Her mother chuckled.

"Oh." her father raised a brow. "Well, I couldn't win a beauty contest with the two of you."

Both smiled at him, and he hugged them at the same time. "Well then, me and your mother will go to our room. I think someone is here to escort you."

Heaven looked around and found Zamiel standing in the corner waiting for her.

"Have a good night." Heaven said.

"Good night, daughter." Her mother smiled.

Her father gave her a tap on the arm before walking away, hand in hand with her mother.

Heaven watched with a smile as they walked away.

She wasn't surprised to see that Zamiel came to escort her. He had been by her side since the tragic event. He reached his hand out, and she took it before he led her back to her room.

Right now she only found comfort in sleep if only the nightmares would leave. Tonight she dreamed of Zamiel. In her dream he left her because she wasn't able to give him a child. It was a strange dream and something she knew she didn't have to worry about, yet her heart felt heavy.

Zamiel had been here with her every day, sleeping with her and waking up with her after every nightmare she had.

She knew she never had to worry about him leaving. They would get married soon and never be separated.

Despite not wanting to be separated from him, she hadn't been so enthusiastic about her wedding plans. She felt guilty for faking to be happy in front of everyone. She felt guilty for not being truly happy about something she looked forward to. Her mother had noticed the change in her.

"Heaven. If it is too much, we can postpone the wedding." She said.

"No! I want to get married."

"Maybe you need some time and …"

"Mother, I am alright. You have nothing to worry about." She cut her off.

She didn't want to talk about it anymore. She was tired of it. She would be fine. Talking about it wouldn't make things better. She just avoided all talk about that event. She wanted to put it behind her.

Her mother came later during the day to spend time with her. Heaven thought she would try to talk to her about what she had been avoiding to talk about, but her mother was just there for her. She didn't try to make her talk. She was just there, letting her know through her presence that she was there to listen or just keep her company.

Heaven was really thankful for that.

And this whole wedding thing, she could skip it. She just wanted to be with Zamiel.

"Shall we escape?" Zamiel asked the night before the wedding day. He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"I thought you wanted to get married." She said.

"You are already mine. If this is too much, I will take you away from here."

Did he notice her lack of enthusiasm?

"Would you do that?" she asked.

She knew how much he wanted to officially make her his.

"If that is what you want, I wouldn't hesitate. It would be my pleasure to do so." He said.

She turned around to face him. "Zamiel I…" She didn't know how to explain herself. She didn't know why she was feeling the way she was when most of her dreams were becoming true.

He waited patiently for her to speak her mind. "I do want to officially become your wife." She said and she could almost hear the quiet 'but' that followed her sentence.

That night going to sleep she felt bad. She was being unfair to Zamiel and not truthful. Pretending wasn't right. He was there by her side, giving her unwavering support without trying to push her, and here she was. She hadn't even tried to give him support and acknowledge that he was grieving as well.

Tomorrow she would do better. She would make an effort.

But tomorrow was her wedding. Her handmaidens started preparing her already in the early morning. Helping her shave, oiling her up, bathing her with different oils and perfumes, washing her hair, and giving her facial treatments. It was such a long process and Heaven thought she could skip it all, but today she was going to enjoy herself and not complain. This day would only come once.

While getting treated and prepared, Gina came to see her. "Oh, I see you are being adorned." She smirked.

"I am." Heaven motioned for the maids to leave them alone for a moment.

Gina came to stand behind her as she sat in front of the mirror. She looked at her through the mirror with a smile.

"You look beautiful," she said.

"Thank you."

Gina squeezed her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "You are marrying a wonderful man. One you love and who loves you. You always dreamed of the kind of love your parents have."

Heaven nodded with a smile.

"A beautiful thing. To share a life together. To share everything. Happiness, sadness, joy and pain. Have someone who will be there for you no matter what."

Share everything.

It was indeed beautiful. It brought tears to her eyes because she hadn't been sharing anything with Zamiel since the incident. She had been shutting him out, keeping her pain to herself and not talking to him about his pain.

She wanted to make things right today.

"You have found him. The one you had always been looking for and today you will officially belong together." Gina said with a smile.

The tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Moving forward I hope you can find happiness together and in each other. I hope you can be each others strengths."

Heaven shook her head, holding back her cry. These words brought out some emotions in her that hit her hard. In a good way. It was almost painfully sweet.

She stood up from her chair, wiping her tears. "I need to go find Zamiel."

Gina shook her head. "You can't see him before the wedding."

"I need to see him before the wedding." She needed to let him know how she truly felt, be honest this time, and let him express himself before starting a new life together.

Gina sighed. "If you insist. Just come back quickly before they notice your absence."

"I will." She said, then hurried to find her mate and her husband.