"Awww, isn't that just cute." The wicked woman shouts. I immediately push the child behind me.
"Leila, don't." Draco groaned from the floor. I could tell from his groans he was in unbearable pain but I could not stop it. I was defenceless. There was too much at stake. Blast it! I prepared to use my magic when a thundering bang came from the left side.
Blood demons. Like ravage wolves from the depths of hell and they had crawled their way to the surface. Their fangs extended, they headed towards us. "Run!" I screamed at the little boy. The woman before me only laughed.
"Wow, this just became so much more entertaining." She giggled. They hurtled towards us, their muscles flexing with every lunge. The smell of fresh blood filled the air as they came. The boy had done as he was told and was moving as fast as his legs would carry him.
I headed towards Ed and Draco. Both were in agony and I tried to lift their bodies. "GO. LEAVE US." Draco barked.
"No. No way in hell." I paused. "I am not a loser, and I don't give up. Excuses are for losers."
"Stop being a philosophical-ethics scholar and get the hell out of here." He demanded. And that is when I turned to find the beast standing before me.
Its nose and fangs centimeters away from me and the smell of rotten carcase filled my nose as the large bursts of air hit me. Its low growl tormenting me and it is black soulless eyes never wavering from mine.
Whatever comes next, comes. Whatever happens, happens. There is nothing left.
Nobody dared to move. And as the wind blew the strands in my hair I prepared for the end. I prepared for what would come. The thing is you can see the end. You can taste the bitter-sweet conclusion. You can feel it in your very bones. It shakes you threw and threw. It shatters your very core but never do you accept it.
The blood mutts did something so unexpected my brain could hardly process the sight before me. They did not attack, they simply bowed. Their lower body grazed the floor. I slowly lifted myself from the floor and to my surprise the dogs did not rip me to shreds.
"That's impossible." The words tumbled out of her mouth as you might imagine rocks to tumble on a landslide. The mutts of hell were bowing to me...how? Why? I could hardly feel my legs beneath me. And the beasts begin to drain the strength from my body.
And as if on cue, the mutts turned on her. Heading for her one by one and she had nowhere to run. Their fangs sunk into her flesh leaving exposed flesh, blood and a black poison that was sent to cause the most unbearable pain. Her veins were set alight against her now transparent skin. The ear piercing shrieks as she was ripped limb for limb would always stay in my soul. They had scarred me permanently. Her laugh was no more, all that was the agonizing screams that came from the victim.
And then a deathly silence. I cringed as the screams echoed in mind. Shriek after shriek. And when I finally opened my eyes, I found the woman's empty, dead eyes staring back at me. And that expression of everlasting agony still fresh on her blood stained features.
The dogs like dust evaporated into thin air, disappearing bit by bit. And the world seemed to swirl.
"Do us all a favour and stop trying to get yourself killed...perhaps?" Suggested a voice floated in my mind, like driftwood in an ocean. The boy with the dragon tattoo.
"How did you?" I question the voice echoing in my mind. I can picture the look on his face.
And then I see his lips turn upwards into that ever so familiar overconfident smirk. "Darling, don't you know I am the most dangerous person in this realm."
"Why? How? When? Who?" I stumble to find the words. What did he want with me? Why would he save me? Did this mean I owed him?
"I love how you underestimate me. Adorable." He pauses. "I'm coming for your love, don't worry I will see you soon." And just like that touch vanish. Then the light began to disappear. And finally there was sweet nothing. No voice in my mind; simply silence.
I managed to open my eyes slowly, barely seeing light at first and then all at once. At first I see the blue sky; an endless blue. The kind of blue you can never feel alone in. And then I see a mix of stone and sand like dirt that I lay on. And I begin to recall everything. That is when I see both the bodies.
I managed to force myself to haul my body over to Drako. Blood was oozing out of his wounds. "Just hang on. Help will come. You will be fine." I managed to keep one eye open until a parade of horses came towards us through the heavy clouds of smoke.
The muffled sound began in the corner of my ears. At first I could not tell where the sound was coming from. Am I dead? Is this what the afterlife is like? And if this is the afterlife am I in a good place or a bad place?
"How long has she been out for?"
"Twenty eight hours and thirty three minutes." States the second voice.
"How's Draco coping?" Said the solemn voice. My fingers begin to touch the soft material that lays beneath them.
"He should be fine. His recovery is on track. Edward as well." I must be in some sort of bed.
"Fellows. Fellows. The bug is waking up..." I recognise the voice and force myself to open my eyes. And I feel how heavy my eyelids are, they are sore and swollen. It hurt to breathe and the movement of the skin brushing the surface of the sheets pained me even more.
"Hey bug." Cam sits next to me with kind eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine." I lie. But I look around the room to find both Cams and Mr. Proudcloud with skeptical eyes.
"Here child, let me help you. I need to change the dressing on the wound." He says staring at a red covered bandage. "Just gently try to sit up, that's it." I lean myself against the back of the bed. And then I see the figure hanging in the door and I gulp. He refuses to look at me and I know why. I refused to follow his foolish instructions. "I'm afraid. You are spending more time here than anywhere else." He glances around the infirmary. "You might as well move in here." He attempts a joke, but nobody dares laughs. Cam seems to concentrate on me; avoiding the stiff posture Leonardo has wedged in the door frame.
Proudcloud begins to wipe away every ounce of dirt and grime. However he seems to be hoping to wipe away every ounce of tension. Leonardo is staring at me with an expressionless face. Almost like a ghost like mask, showing no ounce of feeling. I cringe as the water stings against the open wound. And that is when I notice something flash in Leonardo's eyes, but it has gone in an instant before I can analyze what it is. And just like that it's gone. I innerly curse myself for showing any pain. Leonardo is no longer in this room now, his body may be but his mind is far away; lost in thought. He's no longer in the room, his thoughts have taken him elsewhere. Too a middle world in which I can't follow him.
"Can't you look at me?" The words tumble out of my mouth. Everyone freezes waiting for Leonardo's next move."Leonardo." I say when he does not respond.
"No. I can't." He said whilst moving to the exit and I tried to get up to follow him but Proudcloud stopped me.
"Let him go." He suggests whilst going to reach for a green paste to wipe away the wound.
Cam gives me a wink as I sit back down. "I'm not a perfect man but-"
"Cam? Are you proposing to me?" I mock.
"One minute, I only ask for you to be serious for one minute." He grumbles. "We found you on the courtyard. Your heart was so weak we thought- we thought you were dead."
"It's not the first time." I roll my eyes.
"Leila, Leonardo thought you were dead. He-he snapped. And when we got you to the infirmary, Proudcloud saved you. But he did not move an inch since you were brought here. He-he would not eat or drink. He ignored any duties as prince and leader of the knights. He didn't move in days. He simply sat there watching you like his life depended on it." Calm says grimly. I feel every muscle stiffen. "He's in love with you."
In love with me? Love. A four lettered word. But I was quite unsure of its meaning. I suppose something you feel in your gut, in your mind and in your soul. It does not fade with time. It is something so rare that it belonged to fables and children's stories. Love wa
sn't real. Leonardo couldn't be in love with me, Cam had lost his marbles. He had taken care of me, but love?
"Cam," I am about to discredit his argument but he stops me.
"Leila, be in denial all you want. Right now we cannot deal with your emotional constipation. There is something bigger that we must address..." Cam suddenly goes very serious.
"The king judged your actions this morning. He is relieving you of the golden year. You are to go back to where you came from."
"For what reason? Leonardo would never let that happen, he wouldn't let him just send me away..." I panic.
"He suggested it." Cam says coldly. "He gave you an opportunity to get away from all of it."
"He gave me up." I pause.
"He didn't give you up." Cam says. And all the sudden I feel this aching in my chest; I feel that same pain and thought in the back of my mind. 'Another person who decided to give up on you, Leila. You did it again. Another person who decided you were not worth it. Another person to walk in and out of your life like you are nothing.' "He's trying to do what's best for you. The king is letting you out of his staff. It is an honour. Think you don't have to serve the absurd 'the golden years'."
I stood up furious. And some new found energy taking hold of me. I avoided both Proudclouds and Cams attempts to stop me. Fury fueling my steps.
I head for the nearest exit; running as fast as my legs would carry me. Not caring how indecent I looked; all I needed to do was find him. And my eyes laid upon him; I felt speechless. I looked at his long, lean body leaned against the pilar. Words escaped me. But as if he sensed me standing there; he turned to face me. For a moment we were both silent just taking in one another. Taking in each other's presence and I suddenly realized I was standing on a bridge in between both main buildings. The long arcs let light fill the tunnel. And I suddenly realize it is almost dark out, the sun almost appears to be kissing the edge of the world. Sending vibrant colours all through the sky.
"You are sending me away?" The words stumble out of a question.
"No, you are being relieved of your duties. The king-."
"You did this." I breathed heavily. "You are getting rid of me. Why? Because of some stupid accident?" I raise my voice in hope of hiding my pain beneath the charade of anger.
He was letting me go. Just like that.
His voice hardens and he speaks to me like you would to a stranger. "The king has allowed you to attend the ball due to Carolines request but that will be your final act here in the castle."
I pause. "Fine. Have it your way. We never have to see each other again." I meant this with every bone in my body because I would have to erase his memory from my mind. "I will leave if you want me to! But do not hide behind excuses. You do not want me... that is fine. Just go." I groan frustrated by the stubborn man in front of me. Leave, like all the rest of them.
"It's just not your place here." The words he says seem forced.
"It's not my place..." I repeat. The words seem bitter on my tongue and the after taste is sour.
"You aren't a part of this world..." He continues hiding any emotions.
" Right now, I am seeing your mouth move but I don't understand anything that comes out." I stare at the boy I had been so sure I knew. He wore the face of my friend, he spoke just as charmingly, he presented himself with the same elegance but the man before me I did not recognise; he was a stranger to me.
"Leila, it's time you leave. We don't need you anymore."
"You mean you don't need me. Fine. I don't need you either; I don't need people who don't need me in their lives." I stare at him hoping to find any trace of Leonardo. The Leonardo who I knew would not say those things. "I was just some stupid game to you!" I finally lost it.
"Leila," He begins to protest.
"You made a fool of me, your love got the best of me. So go ahead laugh; you got me." I am getting more and more frustrated with every moment. And I cannot even control myself. I want to slap myself. How could I have been so foolish?
One of my biggest fears was reality. My whole life I had refused to be 'that girl.' Blinded by untruthful love. A love that only she felt and he pretended to feel. To fall into such a trap would be my own personal hell. To allow myself to feel for someone and to know they never felt the same way. To fool myself into believing I was loved.
"Leila..." He begins to argue.
"But I guess I just wasn't anything to you." The words slipped out of my mouth.
"You know you were important to me." He seems frustrated now.
"Don't. I was some stupid joke to you." I shake my head. I was not enough. Of course, I was not.
"Is that what you think? Look me in the eyes and tell me that is what you really think." He looks at me. And that is when I let my eyes flicker from his because I cannot help but remember our first kiss and to the way he had held me.
I let the word role off my tongue. "Yes."
The worst thing was that I did not think about it. But this feeling in the pit of my stomach made me squirm at the thought; that he could be using me. The thought that my fondness for him was blinding me; scared me to my very core. Caring about people made you vulnerable, vulnerable to being hurt. I did no longer trust my own judgement. I did not trust myself. I felt the fear of being one of those hopeless romantics unable to see she was being used. Or it was the unbearable thought that I did matter to him. Afterall, how could someone like him care about someone like me? Regardless of the reason, he was still letting me go.
I see the hurt flash in his eyes and it kills me.
"Fine." He mutters; turning and heading for the door. And I watch him leave before going myself. And I can feel the tears. He walked away emotionless; as if we were nothing and I knew only he could have caused this feeling of emptiness inside me. I felt like I was falling and no one would catch me; no one even cared.
Mr. Proudcloud medicines mix my swirling emotions; as a sickly feeling overcame me. Just be sick over the side of the wall and while you are at it, you might as well throw yourself over it too.
I guess we all fall eventually. Because gravity has a way of bringing us down to reality. And when you finally come crashing down from the clouds above and hit the ground at full force; you do not feel full anymore.
I stare into the distance and wonder; when did I mess this up so much? But I have given him everything I have to give. He decided he did not need anyone so just like that I would leave...
Chapter Thirty-eight- Beneath the floorboards
The birthday ball of Leonardo's had brought eligible women from all corners of the lands. No expense had been spared. Flowers covered the castle, the streets, the towns... everywhere. Fire Flames floated here and there. Magic was even brought out for this very occasion to greet all sorts of guests. And as many marvelled at the rarities and jewels that were piling in more and more. I seemed to not even care.
My life seemed to daze over the last few days. As the city was cleaned and decorated for the celebration. Colours and life once again filled the city walls but no matter how hard I tried I just felt broken. I suppose I could not claim I had no heart anymore; because I did. It was there inside me but in pieces.
"And that's when I told my father, I wasn't a shopaholic; I simply like helping the economy." Caroline laughed to her friends. "Leila. Leila. Leila can you please help me with my dress." she snapped her fingers bringing me to reality. I head over to help her adjust her dress.
"Leila, are you okay?" Caroline looks at me. "You have been acting awfully strange lately. Daddy told me you asked to leave to be with your family..." Of course, he lied to her. I simply smile at the little girl.
"I am so excited," I lie.
"You don't look like it." she paused. "Your pretty little face just looks sad."
"I am just going to miss you so much." I admitted. Crouching down to meet the small girl that had grown on me.
"Hey, but it won't be forever. This is not goodbye." Caroline stops me. "You will visit me. You will write. We will
see each other again. Won't we?" she asks innocently. I stare into Caroline's big eyes and I do not have the heart to tell her the truth.
I look down at the ribbons that decorate her dress unable to meet her gaze. The bitter lie leaves a sour taste. "Definitely."
The grand hall is showered in glimmering stardust for the occasion. And many are starring in marvel at the extravagant decorations. It is like a room shimmering with silver stars and they are hovering everywhere.
Candles are left to hover in the air. And I cannot help but criticize the king. Magic was forbidden and yet for a celebration of his pleasure it was permitted. Hypocrites.
The Golden Year and the Sorceress Page 36