I could see a woman with hazelnut brown colored hair sat on the floor blocking the path of a man, who was none other than the emperor. He was wearing an all-black set of clothes, black clothes that resembled the color of his short hair, with bangs sweeping over his jewel-like crimson eyes, making it stand out even more and I could see them clearly, as if I were standing not far from them, in hiding.
“Your Majesty, the princess will never do such a thing…
I beg you, please withdraw your command.” She pleaded, while crying and with both of her hands being rubbed in front of her face, begging.
The maids and guards who were originally walking and standing around the corridor quickly took a step further away and slowly no one could be found in there anymore, apart from the two of them.
He looked at her with a sharp gaze. Although, most of what I could see is his side profile, but it couldn’t stop me to clearly catch the cold thin smile on his face, and it was somewhat fascinating, he, who never acknowledged Keisha as his daughter, not denying her existence at the moment, instead he paid no mind with the title Estelle addressed her with, instead…
“How dare a mere wench like you get in my way for a traitor?”
He questioned her in a very cold voice and manner, the chill from his tone feels as if it could stab you into the bone, and a sly smile could be seen in his face. It forms on his lips, perfectly decorated his face accompanied with a crazy look that slowly creeping out of the corner of his eyes in that God-like beauty face.
“Then, why won’t you just die with her?”
Hey, why don’t you beg him to spare your life?
But instead of crying she–
She smiled?
I could feel my hands start trembling and my feet moving to take a step closer.
“Stop…”
“Stop it right now.”
“Stop it!”
I repeatedly shouted but my voice couldn’t be heard, moved my feet forward but I didn’t move from where I was standing at all, but at that moment when our eyes met, I realized something.
She smiled at me?
But instead of continuing to try to move forward, my feet turned soft, I fell down to the ground and curled up, pulling my legs closer to my chest in tears, along with the sound of a sword slicing through flesh, and a splashing sound of blood tainting the whole corridor around the crime scene. I covered my ears, but the sounds still managed to echo—lingered—in my ears, making me unable to move, apart from a small, choked voice.
At that point I realized something, it wasn’t me, but it was her. She witnessed everything but couldn’t do anything. Except crying in helplessness, she was drowned in darkness and haunted by guilt.
Deg!
Shocked, I immediately opened my eyes. My heart is beating so fast as if I was being chased, the already uncomfortable little body feels even more uncomfortable because of my excessively fast heartbeat. I have a hard time catching my breath and feeling my own hands and feet, all my senses are like being paused.
At this very moment, I knew it. What I saw is nothing but a picture of the future, a future where Estelle’s life would end if I didn’t succeed in changing this ass-like fate. This was the same dream that I had every night after meeting Estelle, it repeatedly haunted me—as if trying to warn me, but tonight it feels too real and scarier than a mere premonition.
Soon, my body shivered in fear, I peeked out towards the window next to me, trying to calm myself down, from the gaps in the baby crib fence. The darkness was all the view that my eyesight could catch, it was then when all of sudden, a black shadow flashed past the window very quickly, even I couldn’t see what exactly it was.
Sh*t!
My eyes began to heat up, I couldn’t help but cry.
Not long after I started to cry my heart out, I could hear the sound of the door being pushed open, Estelle came in and approached me in a hurry. She carried me while patting my back, when her scent wafted into my sense of smell, I quickly noticed my heartbeat starting to calm down significantly.
As I calmed a little, she laid me down on the table –a table with a soft surface, the place she always used to change my diapers.
She surprised me by taking off my pants in a quick move.
I didn’t pee!
I complained inwardly, while my body wriggled, struggling.
“She’s not hungry and it’s not the diapers… she’s been very needy nowadays.” She commented, immediately carried me again in her arms, and began to pat my back with that gentle touch.
I held her clothes as hard as I could hanging to her with my powerless little fingers, and if I think about it… yes, I’ve been crying a lot lately, thanks to all of the bad dreams I had these past few days. Estelle even becomes more confused because I usually wasn’t like this. At first, she was confused because I wasn’t fussy like babies in general, but now Estelle didn’t know how to react, whether she should be happy that I already look like a normal baby or worry that something might be wrong with me.
“It seems like the princess had a nightmare,” she assumed, “It’s okay, my little princess. I’m right here.” She continued, softly and warmly. I was so touched that my crying subsided drastically, leaving only the halting breath that resulted from my crying earlier.
Strangely enough, even though Estelle should know better than anyone else about the imperial laws, she still called me ‘princess’ instead of ‘young miss’, even when she knew that she would get in trouble or insulted by the others in return.
“Let me read you a story.”
Estelle took a book while still holding me, then walked toward the chair by the floor-to-ceiling window.
“Princess, maybe you cannot be able to see the pictures because you haven’t been a month yet,”
Huh? It’s a bit blurry, but I can see it properly…
“But you will surely like this story,” She paused and took a deep breath,
“Once upon a time, long long ago…
When there was only one vast land and ocean, way before the power is divided into mana, the power one gets because nature chooses them—usually, these people are considered special, such as mages and witches—and anima, the power one gets from their contract with their Animal God’s.
When the world’s peace shaken, a prophecy came, and that’s how the world was finally divided into five mainlands; Matello of the East, Fotia and Choma of the South, Ydor of the West, and Anemos of the North.
In the legends that written by humans, everything starts on a particular day when the animal Gods suddenly began to take human children as their descendants through contracts, one can’t decide which God’s child they will be, for it had already been decided by fate the moment they were born and from then humans have anima, the power of the Animal God that one got from the contract that connected the two entity, and the power that is residing within you, can also help others to identify which God child you are.
All Animal Gods have one rule that must be maintained. They may have as many descendants as they want as long as they don’t take their descendants from the witches, mages, fairies, and elves’ race—including other mythical races that can transform into a human form. Unlike the other Gods, there were four Gods known as the ‘Four Guardian Gods’ or ‘Four Auspicious Beasts’, they are: Blue Dragon of the East, Vermilion Bird of the South, White Tiger of the West, and Black Tortoise of the North. The most extremely powerful beings, fears by the others, those who possessed the highest authority to lead and command the other Animal Gods.
However, one day, approximately around five hundred years ago, Matello—the land where the mages and witches originated—is erased from the map. It happened because of the Megaleio Kingdom’s precious prince was born with a prophecy, a prophecy that contains the curse and the end of the world.
“The world has come to judgment, a poor child will be born and must disappear, and the survival one will bring the world to ruin.”
“Death is the end of negotiations, calm the death with your soul.” Swore the cursed blind witch,
“When the descendants of the strongest Gods are seen together, the prophecy will be fulfilled, and the destruction of the world will be in their hands. This is the fate and curse that I gave to you, you cannot avoid me.
I will return, I am inevitable.” She continued as she slowly turned to ashes as she was burned alive by the eternal flame that would continue to follow her every step.
The prophecy echoed throughout the world concurrent with the birth of the precious prince of Megaleio Kingdom and who was also the Blue Dragon child. Something that had never happened before has happened, something that violated the Gods’ law. Therefore, everyone believed that he was the child of the prophecy, the bearer of the curse of the world.
Not wanting the prophecy and the curse to come true, Megaleio Kingdom was destroyed by Emperor Emrys Benjamin Elaine. The royal bloodline was eliminated, and now the great mages were work in the Black Tower in the northern part of Kryfi’s land, bound to the tower, and ever since then the presence of the Blue Dragon’s child was last seen with the death of the prince of the Megaleio Kingdom, and was never to be seen again.
……………
Enjoy~
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