Princess of the Damned (23 page)

Nala…

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 scattered 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…”

“
Trent, I can explain everything,” Raya ran to him and wrapped her arms around him.

“
Don’t touch me!” Trent shoved her back. A whirlwind surrounded him and began pulling in all of the movable items around him. In a blink of an eye, he was gone.

Raya sobbed against the cloaked man’s chest.

“
Take back your core, Nala.” The man advised and then handed over the golden core to her.

“
No, I want you to place a curse on it. I want you to implant the last of my memories in it so it would serve as a lesson. I will never allow myself to fall in love with him again!”

“
Nala…!”

“
A part of me still wants to give him one more chance. I will gamble with him one more time. If he cannot accept me, then I just want to disappear.”

Sayan knew
he was somewhere between life and death.

His body ached all over and felt as heavy as lead. His flesh felt raw and tender, as though it was turned inside out. His brain was throbbing inside his skull and he just wanted to bash it open and pull it out. His eyes flew opened when he remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.

He grabbed a hold of the person closest to him. “Where is Nala?”

“
You must not get up, Your Majesty! The poison hasn’t completely been expelled from your blood yet!” The female servant cried out.

“
Stop acting like you give a damn about me and tell me where
my
Nala is!”

“
You must calm yourself first, Your Majesty. If you are like this now, we dare not tell you.”

Sayan released the woman and then climbed out of the bed. He shoved away a servant who was trying to help him. There was only one thing on his mind and he must find her. Why did his feet feel like they were rooted to the ground? Why was the bedchamber spinning around him?

It didn’t matter. He must find her, even if he had to crawl.

“
Your Majesty…! You must
calm
yourself!”

“
Where is Nala!?” He shouted at them.

“
She did not make it, Your Majesty. Her heart stopped just before the physician arrived.”

A sickening feeling churned in his stomach. Sayan forced his legs to obey him and he staggered his way to the next room. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her lying serene on her bed. Her lips were darkened by the poison. He rushed to her side and leaned his ear on her chest. Her heart was still.

He began to feel the effect of hunger… a kind of starvation that no amount of food could sate. He hated the feeling. It brought back with it too many painful memories. This moment would unquestionably be one of them.

Sayan climbed onto the bed and gathered her into his arms. He pressed a kiss on her silky hair.

“
When you wake up, I will definitely punish you.”

Essa hadn’t been able
to sleep well for the last six nights. The plan had gone from trying to kill a mistress, to the attempted assassination of a king. The whole kingdom had issued a full investigation. If they found out the truth… if they found out that she was the one behind the assassination attempt, then even her position could not protect her. They could execute her and her father would not be able to do a thing.

“
What should I do?” Essa muttered. “What should I do?”

“
Do not despair, my queen. I was very careful not to leave anything behind,” the servant bowed her head to the ground.

“
How is His Majesty doing?” the queen asked. If he lived, she would be able to beg him for pardon. If he died, there would be no one she could appeal to.

“
He is very unstable, my queen. His Majesty has locked himself in with the girl’s corpse and has refused to see anyone. Everyone in the palace is concerned for His Majesty’s mental health. The nobles had sent their henchmen into the King’s residence while he was drowsy from the effect of the poison and stole the girl’s body to bury. I heard that His Majesty went completely berserk when he found out and destroyed everything in sight until he lost consciousness.”

Essa let out a sign of relief. “At least he is still alive.” She turned her head toward the courtyard. “What is that noise outside?”

A group of guards barged into the queen’s quarters with weapons in their hands.

“
Insolence!” Essa screamed out. “How dare you come here without being summoned?”

The guards stepped aside to make way for the guard captain.

“
Princess Essa of the Eastern Kingdom, by order of the king you are by stripped of your title as Queen. You are hereby banished from the Northern Kingdom.”

“
What is this? This verdict cannot be from His Majesty! I must have an audience with His Majesty!” Essa demanded. “I want to speak directly with His Majesty!”

“
His Majesty will not grant you an audience,” the guard captain replied. “The carriage is waiting for you at the gates, Princess Essa. You will be returned to your Kingdom.”

Essa pushed him out of the way and ran to the door. The guards grabbed her by her shoulders and wrists. “Let go of me! I want to speak to His Majesty!”