by Dahlia Lu
“The Southern princess is eight years old, Your Majesty.”
Sayan massaged the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Is there anyone else?”
“Of course, you can choose any of the noble’s daughters.”
“Do what you want, I have a terrible headache.” Sayan kicked back the chair and left the room.
As he walked down the hallway, a little thought managed to get past his headache. If she married him, he could make her stay with him. If she married him, she would not be able to leave. Sayan shook his head to shake the thought away. No matter how tempting the option is, he still couldn’t wrap his mind around it.
If marriage could tie her down to him, he was more than willing to do it. However, it would not be a marriage just for look. The kingdom needed a legitimate heir and that is the part that worried him.
Even though they do not share a single drop of blood, Nala was the one who brought him up. He looked up to her, respected her, and loved her as family. There is a very strong, invisible line that he was never meant to cross and should never cross. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The more he thought about it, the more he was angry with her. If he had to use marriage to tie her down to make her stay with him, did that mean any man could do it as well? She almost married the Western Prince and if she had, would she have thought that her husband was more important than him? Any man could be more important than him?
Nala is so unfair in that way, because to him, no one could ever be more important than she was. Not even the parents who abandoned him, not even his siblings, not even the woman who would be his wife. He felt a stab wound in his chest when he remembered the day that she had left him. She did it once and she would not hesitate to do it again. Her biological family is more important to her than he could ever hope to become.
He stopped when he heard Nala’s laughter in the garden. She was surrounded by small black puppies that closely resembled the beast. They were chubby and surprisingly cute.
Sayan cursed himself. What was he supposed to do? Walk up to her and ask her if she would bear his child? Sayan flinched when her pale green eyes noticed him. The heat rose up in his body. He prayed to the gods she could not see through his thoughts right now. Nala had always been exceptionally sharp at reading other people.
His eyes were so focused on Nala that he did not notice Trent sitting nearby. Why was he still around? Didn’t he have his own kingdom to return to? Even after their confrontation, he still had the face to come see Nala. Sayan hadn’t expected to see Trent again, not for a while.
Suddenly, he did not want to go over there anymore. Sayan marched back into the meeting room. The nobles got back up to their feet again to greet him.
“I will have Nala as my bride.”
There was not a surprised face in the room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“That girl will ruin everything!”
Essa paced back and forth in her chamber. She had thought that she would have more time to carry out her plan, but the situation was dire. If Sayan married that girl, she would not have a place to stand in this kingdom anymore. She would not have the power or influence of a queen. She would just be a widow with an imaginary title!
That could not be. She could not lose to a mere dancer girl. What could Sayan possibly want from that dancer girl besides her bewitching appearance and her vast wealth? Essa let out an irritated groan. Any king would marry for one of those two reasons.
“If I don’t have influence in this kingdom, I cannot send reinforcement troops to my father!” Essa shouted out. “How can I make Sayan fall in love with me? How can I get rid of that girl?”
“Do not despair, my queen. You are no stranger to rivalries in the palace.” Her trusted servant bowed to her.
“Of course not, but would I really stoop as low as those women? Does a princess-born like me really need to use vices to get what she wants?”
“Your position and your kingdom are at stake, my queen,” said the servant. “Is this the time to worry about your pride?”
“Of all the insolence!”
“Forgive this loyal servant, my queen.”
Essa bit her lower lip. “What do you suggest I do?”
“We must make her death appear as natural as possible. The west of the kingdom is a vast desert, home to the most poisonous creatures in the world. It would not be suspicious at all if one happened to find its way into the palace.”
That was actually not a bad idea. “What if we got caught?” No, this was not the time for such questions. “Go, but make no mistake. If you are caught, I will not be able to save you.”
“I understand, my queen. I will help my master and my kingdom or die trying.”
Nala had been staring at him for an hour now. She was seated by his side at the dinner table and hadn’t touched any of her food. Her fingers gently tapped on the table in a slow rhythm. Normally he would urge her to eat, but that day he could not bring himself to say a word to her.
“There should be a limit to your impulse, you know,” she finally broke the silence.
“Who said it was impulse? It is politics.”
“I will not marry you,” she said. “Even if the nobles suggested it, you didn’t have to go along with them. They have grown quite senile in their old age.”
“That is a little ironic coming from you. Weren’t you about to marry the Western Prince just because he was a prince? What is your reason for refusing to marry a King?”
“Stop trying to be persuasive when you don’t even want to marry me yourself. You are only doing this so I won’t be able to go home.”
There was some truth in that. “You can’t deny that you are physically attracted to me. Being married to me couldn’t be all that bad.” He really couldn’t believe what had just came from his mouth.
“Actually…” Her pale green eyes dazed off. “Do you remember the ambassador with the red hair and deep green eyes? I thought that he was very handsome. My face felt really hot when he kissed my hand.”
“Stop day dreaming about other men when I’m trying to persuade you to marry me.”
“Fine, I will do it later.” She smiled. “How about this, why don’t you go see the noble’s daughters and see if there is a lady that you like among them? There has to be one suitable enough to be your queen. They’re practically bred for the role.”
“Are you the same woman who told me that you wanted me to kiss you?”
“It did feel very nice. I wonder if I could persuade that ambassador to kiss me like that.”
“Are you trying to anger me on purpose?”
Her eyes trailed down from his eyes to his chest. He followed the gaze of her eyes to the spilled wine dripping down from the table’s edge. He didn’t plan on taking a bath until tonight, but there was no avoiding it now.
“Fortunate for you, the servants already started preparing a warm bath for me. I can wait.”
“We are not done with this conversation yet,” he said as he pushed back the chair and headed out of the dining hall.
She followed behind. “There is one thing that has been bothering me, Sayan,” she said as they walk down the hallway.
“Yes?”
“My room at the prince’s quarters is fine. Why do I have to relocate to the room next to yours in the King’s residence?”
“So I can keep an eye on you, naturally. Besides, I am too busy to walk all the way to the prince’s quarters every time I want to see you. It is a very long walk.”
“It will be very inconvenient in the future.”
“What do you mean?” He asked as he entered the door leading to the bath. Nala did not follow him any further.
“There are two reasons. The first is you are getting married and your future queen may not like the arrangement. The second reason is my hearing is very acute. I am not very fond of listening to mating sounds before I go to sleep.”
Sayan unbuttoned his blouse. “I said I would marry you, didn’t I? If you
don’t like to listen to mating sounds then don’t make them.”
“I give up.” He heard her sigh. “I hope the water is cold, so you can cool your head and change your mind in a few days. I am going.”
He shouldn’t have said that. Now strange thoughts were entering his head. Like every other male, he was cursed with a colorful imagination.
Sayan reached for his blade immediately when he sensed something unsettling. His eyes scanned the bath for anything out of the ordinary and searched for any place an assassin may be able to hide. Did he hear a hiss just now?
Sayan turned around as fast as he could. Something was moving underneath the folded white towels on the shelf. A serpent revealed itself and launched its wide mouth at him. He swung his blade and sliced off its head, but he was not fast enough. Its fangs were already embedded in his chest. He grabbed the severed head of the serpent and ripped it off his flesh.
“Sayan!”
Nala came running into the bath. She probably heard the sound of shock he made when the serpent bit him. It hurt like nothing he had ever experienced. He looked down and it was a cobra’s head in his hand. Damn it!
“Oh no, it is so close to your heart!” Nala gasped when she saw the snakebite. She bit her finger and nudged it at his mouth. “It would save your life!”
He shook his head. “Not that!”
“It would save your life!” She shouted at him.
He jerked his head away.
“Stubborn, brat!”
His body started to feel numb.
“It won’t be long until you are paralyzed… I will do it my way then, whether you like it or not.”
Nala caught him by surprise when she pushed him against the wall. She forced her lips onto his wound and began sucking on it.
“Stop it!” He tried to push her back, but her strength was greater than his. It was probably due to the poison’s effect on his body. “You must stop this! Stop this right now!”
Even talking became a painful task. He could not feel his legs anymore. She followed him as he slid down against the wall. His chest felt constricted. The air felt thick and heavy. He could hear his heart drumming frantically in his ears, but it was slowing down very quickly.
She finally pulled away. Her pale green eyes emitted an iridescent glow as they stared into his. “This human is mine, Death. If you take him, in the name of my father, I will come for you!”
He didn’t know who she was talking to. Her dark lashes closed over her eyes and she collapsed onto his lap.
Nala…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nala remembered trying to save Sayan and then passing out on his lap. What she couldn’t remember was how she had gotten to this place. She was in a dark and gloomy room filled with shelves upon shelves of colorful potions. There were also jars of organ parts sitting next to one another. If that wasn’t shocking enough, Nala saw herself standing in front of her.
Nala waved her hand in front of the woman who looked like her, but could not get a response. She thought she was invisible for that brief moment, but then debunked that theory when she saw her own hands.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Nala turned around and there was a cloaked figure standing in front of both of them. The face was shadowed by the hood, but she could tell it was the voice of a man.
Her other-self nodded.
“You do understand the consequences of having your core removed, correct? You may not even survive it. Even if you do survive it, your body would eventually decay without your core. Is it worth giving up your immortality?”
“If I could make him love me, I would trade eternity just to hear him say those three little words to me.”
The cloaked figure stepped forward and embraced her other-self into his arms. “I don’t want to do this to you, Nala. Please don’t make me do it.”
“I cannot stand this torment any longer.”
“Why can’t it be me? Why can’t you try loving me? I would cherish you. I would never hurt you like he did.” The man bent down and kissed her.
“Will you be satisfied with just my body? My heart and my soul belong to him.”
The man laughed out loud as if he had lost control of his mind. “Why did I fall in love with you, Nala? I was fine the way I was. I was fine for thousands of years before you came.”
“If I knew how to make it all up to you, I would.”
“I don’t need your pity!”
“My appearance could easily be altered. If I removed my core, he would not be able to sense me. If I removed my core, he would not be able to recognize me. He would be able to love me.”
“All I want to know is if you would regret this decision. You won’t be yourself anymore, Nala. You will only be a walking corpse. You would only be able to maintain your body with magic and potions up to three years, four years at most. Your core will rebuild another you. Can you tell me for sure that you will not regret this?”
“I have never regretted anything that I have done. I assure you that I will not regret my decision. If he cannot fall in love with me, then dying would be an escape.”
“Very well,” the man said and then he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve. He pulled her toward him and drove the dagger into her chest. Her face expressed pain when he made the cut wider. He chanted a spell as he reached into her chest.
She screamed out at the overbearing pain. The harder he pulled, the louder she screamed. The red veins built up around her pale green eyes as they emitted an eerie glow. The glow faded away as he pulled out a clear golden core from her chest.
The man placed the core gently on the desk and then held her body up with both hands. He chanted another spell and the open wound on her chest began to close.
“Nala…! Nala, are you still with me?”
Her other-self didn’t respond.
Was this a dream? Why was she seeing this? Was it a part of her memory?
Nala slowly backed away and then ran toward the door. She turned the handle and then opened it. As soon as she stepped through, the door disappeared. There were blank spaces all around her. Where is this place? If she closed her eyes, would she be able to wake up from this strange dream?
Nala opened her eyes when she felt the rain hit the tip of her nose. The rain started pouring down onto the grey streets with white dashes running down the middle. The same cloaked figure was standing on the other side of the road. She could tell that it was him, because the cloak had a unique emblem at the top of the hood. Standing next to him was a girl about her height holding a pink umbrella. She had dark brown eyes and golden hair.
Nala could have sworn she’d seen the girl before. Wasn’t she the same girl in her dreams?
They were standing still for a long while until the cloaked man nudged the girl forward. A bright smile appeared when she saw a man coming her way. Nala followed the direction of her gaze and saw Trent walking down the street. The girl left the cloaked man’s side and walked up to Trent. She held her umbrella forward and offered it to him.
The cloaked figure vanished.
“I will be fine. Thank you, though.”
He continued to walk and she continued to follow. The umbrella was big enough to shelter both of them from the rain.
“What is your name?” Trent asked.
The girl smiled tenderly at him. “Raya. My name is Raya.”
The sweetness of her smile momentarily stunned him. “I like that name. I think I owe it to you to walk you home.”
A bus passed by and the scenery changed again. Nala then found herself in an apartment complex. The walls were painted beige and the furniture was earthy brown. Nala heard soft playful laughter coming out from one of the rooms. Curiously, she followed the laughter into the bedroom. Trent caught Raya’s hand and pulled her back onto the bed. She playfully laughed.
“I have to do laundry, Trent!”
“Do it later,” Trent towered over her and pinned her down onto the soft fabric. He scattere
d kisses on her neck and then he kissed her lips passionately. “Stay in bed a little longer today.”
“You’ve had enough today.” Raya jerked her head to the side. “I have chores to do and I have to get ready for my shift at the hospital.”
“One more time?” He pleaded. “I can’t stand to be apart from you.”
“If you can’t stand to be apart from me, then you should marry me.”
“Is that a proposal?”
Raya laughed. “No, you are supposed to propose to me!”
“I accept.” He stole a kiss and then pulled the cover over the both of them.
The scenery changed again. Where was it taking her now?
The cloaked man was in this fragment of her memory. He was standing with Raya by the sink as she vomited out a large quantity of blood. He gently patted her back with one hand, while holding a golden core on the other.
“You are at your limit, Nala. If you do not take back your core, you will die.”
Raya shook her head as she wiped off the blood with a towel. “I can’t. If I take it back then I have to say goodbye to all of this. I can hold on just a little while longer. I know I can.”
“You don’t have much time left. Take back your core!”
Raya pushed him back against the wall. “Don’t show up at my house again! If Trent comes home, everything will be ruined!”
“Another month or two will not be worth it! If your cells degenerate beyond the point of repair, the core will reject you and your only option will be death!”
“I don’t care!” Raya shouted. “We are happy. For the first time in our lives, we are happy! If you force me to leave him, I would rather die!”
“Stop being so god damn stubborn, Nala!” The man shook her by the shoulders. “He will find out. There is no hiding it any longer.”
Raya gasped when she saw Trent from the corner of her eyes. There was a dark expression on his face.
“I find it strange that there is the scent of a demon in my house. I rushed in here only to find out that my wife of three years is really my sister.” Trent gritted his teeth. “Nala, of all the things you have ever done…”