Chapter 57: Chapter 57

The afternoon whiled away with Khailis and Shia discussing the events that had transpired during the days of their separation.

“I’m sure I can go to Prince Langrey in jail and inform him of what is happening outside,” Khailis said, feeling quite disturbed after hearing the king’s propositions to Shia.

“No, you couldn’t! You are relieved of your duties as an Imperial Guard, and I cannot communicate with Langrion for now. But don’t worry; I shall make you my lady-in-waiting for my upcoming wedding so that you can stay in the palace with me.”

“So, you mean you shall really proceed with the wedding?”

“I… I have no choice for now…” Shia replied, downcast.

Khailis moved closer to hug her again. “Oh, Shia, we must come up with a plan soon! People might petition for Langrey’s execution once the news of his curse spreads in the Capitol. If that happens, even the king himself would never be able to save Langrion!”

“I –I know.” Shia choked back the tears that threatened to burst out of her once more. “That’s why you must help me.”

“Of course, I will.”

“We will reach the Capitol in five days, at the very least. I need to become good with the sword, and I need to awaken Freya within me by then.”

Khailis’ eyes were filled with worry. “They seem like tough predicaments…”

“I know, but we cannot give up, can’t we? We have to try…”

In the upcoming days, while on their way to the Capitol, Shia spent her mornings riding the carriage a few hours a day with the king and her nights in her own tent, training with Galahad and Khailis in the alternate void. She deliberately made herself as busy as she can so that she can avoid thinking about the grave outcome that may befall Langrion as they approach the Capitol.

“Why do you always look so tired, love? What do you do inside the tent at night other than sleep, eh? Are you attempting something funny?” The king asked her on the fourth day of their ride together. Shia cannot help but fall asleep in the carriage whenever she accompanied the king. She could see the thick shroud of suspicion written across his face.

Shia laughed softly. By this time, she had already mastered a little bit of the power of light that she was able to conjure poisonous plants that acted as a barrier between her and the despicable king without suffering from any physical repercussions. She wasn’t affected by the guiding stones as much as she had been, but his physical body had been protesting from too little rest and sleep.

“What do you want me to say: that I am coming up with ways on how to kill you?”

“Were you really?” he said dryly. “Then, why don’t you just go ahead and do it?”

“Because unlike you, I am not a murderer,” she replied.

“I would like to think that it is because you have grown a bit fond of me already, love.”

Shia ignored his words and yawned rudely. She closed her eyes to sleep again, but the king spoke once more.

“Do create for me the magic I had always sought before you go to sleep, won’t you?”

Shia understood what he had meant. He had been asking her to make silver roses bloom in his side of the carriage every morning since the first day they had ridden the carriage together. With a flourish of her hand, she fulfilled his wish.

“Grandma used to love those roses too...” Shia said, half-asleep.

“I know, love. They remind me so much of her.”

“Then, if you love her, why did you make her miserable?” Shia opened her eyes to take a sideway glance at his grace, and as she had expected, he began to cry, just as he did everyday whenever she made the silver roses bloom.

“She made me miserable too, you know…”

“Is that why you are making me miserable as well, your grace? Do you enjoy hurting those closest to you?”

He did not answer her back, and sleep crept into Shia’s body the instant that she closed her eyes.

Perhaps several hours had already passed between them when a grave headache began to pound in Shia’s head. Her head started to pulse heavily.

She opened her eyes and peeked outside the carriage. It was already night time, but the night watch tower bearing the seal of Gascone was aflame and visible enough for Shia to see.

She gasped. They were already entering the Capitol!

Shia turned slowly towards the king, and she saw the poisonous vines that separate them and the silver rose stems she had produced earlier slowly writhe away into dust. How can that be? They aren’t even made from the same fiber of magic as her curse! The heavy pounding on her head became more and more unbearable, and she started to contort in pain and moan in her seat.

The king put his arms around her in an embrace, and whispered, “did you enjoy my gift, love? We have arrived earlier at the Capitol than expected. I surmise you had never been here, right? I had installed more and more guiding stones to protect this place. No cursed one can withstand its oppressive power, you know.”

He placed her head in his lap, and began to soothe some of her hair away from her face. “I know that you’ve been trying to grow your powers when we are not together, love; but see here, all of those exercises will be useless. I have found guiding stones that can weaken any cursed one’s bones if they even thought of using their powers, so don’t try anything funny with me now, alright? Unless of course you’d want Langrion to try the cage I had built for him. It’s made of newly-mined guiding stones, and he’s a really perfect candidate for it!”

Shia struggled to breathe. The air felt stifling and heavy. He started to pat her back as she trembled helplessly in his lap.

“Ah, by the way, you should compose yourself. Once we alight from this carriage, we will be greeting our people from the palace balcony, and I’d be announcing our upcoming wedding. You don’t want to tip off anyone by looking so pallid and frightened like this, wouldn’t you? That’ll be against our deal…”

As the carriage rolled by towards town, Shia began to feel a little better; her breathing became a little less labored, and her body stopped to tremble so hard. The actual walls and fortress must have been made from pure guiding stones, considering how powerful the effects had been on her.

Despite all her efforts to fight her weariness, however, she fell unconscious in the old king’s lap as he continued to gently pat her head.

Although she was lost in reverie, she thought she heard the old man moan several times, and she could somewhat feel him grinding at something against the back of her head while he caressed her hair. Good thing her face was turned against him. She dreaded to know what the old pervert had been doing while she slept away the effects of the guiding stones.

Suddenly, Shia heard the horses neigh. She picked herself up weakly and sat down on her seat. The king brushed some wisps of hair away from her face.

“It has been a joy riding with you, love. Now let’s go and greet our subjects!”

Lightheaded as she was, she got down from the carriage and walked hand and hand with the king. As soon as his skin touched her, the hairs at the back of her neck stood up fiercely, and she imagined herself in her mind’s eye, running away from the frightening old man, although she knew at the moment that she could not.

They ascended a steep flight of stairs that were lighted by torches on one side. Shia deliberated on whether she should seize one of the torches and set the whole kingdom on fire. Before she could reach a conclusion, however, they had already reached the top of the flight of stairs. It was a small balcony, big enough for only two more people as two guards had already positioned themselves at each end.

The king raised his right arm and the crowd fell silent.

“Beloved citizens of the Capitol, Gaulane, I, your king greet you. It has been a long and weary journey, but your cheers today fully energized me!”

Shia couldn’t possibly imagine why people would roar in delight of seeing this king; He was a vile king, as far as she was concerned, although it occurred to her that purists and anti-cursed ones may have been his faithful audience from the very start.

“I come to deliver you some sad news from Sensala. A riot broke down at the debutant ball, and Leer was burned down as a result. It was caused by a group of rogue cursed ones. Thankfully, no one was harmed, and the riot was contained.”

Everybody fell silent as the king continued. “Fortunately, we have captured the mastermind of the attack; it breaks my heart to announce to you all that the coup was head by none other than the Imperial Heir to the throne, Prince Langrion Zephiry Romualdi!”

“No,” Shia breathed in, but his majesty shot her a terrifying look and squeezed her hand tightly. He was reminding her that the people of Gaulane were currently observing her actions and that news of how she reacted could easily reach Langrion at the cell, which will break their deal.

“But worry not, dear citizens! Our fortress had been made stronger than before, and we have come up with better ways to help you stay safe from cursed ones. He shall be detained until further notice, and you shall be given an update about the fate that awaits him!”

Shia’s worse fears were now coming to life in her very eyes! She wanted to beat the life out of the king, but she simply stood there, frozen. He had tricked her with this sudden announcement; it will be unlikely now that Langrion would ever be freed!

“Good news still abounds though, and today, I bring one that will cheer you up! A royal wedding will soon take place between my royal house, the House of Narnis, and the House of Andry! I present to you, my future wife and your soon-to-be queen, Lady Shia Hyanessa Andry!”

The crowd went wild with glee – the same crowd who were muttering curses as Langrion’s secret was announced a few seconds earlier.

The king leaned closer towards Shia, who was still dazed by his sudden proclamation.

“Love, do cheer up. There’s one way for you to rescue him. If you concede with the wedding in three days, I shall grant you a royal gift, as tradition dictates, even if that gift concerns the release of a cursed lover,” he said, his eyes ablaze with the spirits of his looming victory.

“What do you say now, do you agree? Shall we commence our deal with a kiss?”

Tears had started to pool at the corners of Shia’s eyes, but she was not about to break down like so in front of the king she abhorred the most in the world.

She tipped his head downward with one hand towards her. She tilted her trembling toes upward to reach her hated king, clenched her other fist as she gather her skirt, and inched her lips closer to his putrid lips for a kiss.

King Caldwell smiled as he saw her come forward. He wrapped his arms feverishly around her body and kissed her as ardently as he could, just like how a hungry predator would delight himself with a delicious prey for the first time in months.

It was one of the vilest, filthiest, and lewdest kiss Shia had and will ever come to know in her lifetime.

After kissing her, the king looked back at her, breathless from his exploitation and whispered, “Good job, love! You’ve got yourself a deal.”

It was the first time that Shia had truly felt terrified with the prospect of marrying the wicked animal they fondly called ‘king’.