Chapter 122: Chapter 122
Was he dead? Was her demon dead?
Then, what about her? who else she had left?
Everyone left, including Nara, they all left, left her behind, Sara swallowed the bitter lump with so much pain and effort while walking out of the cave, she was offered a horse by one of the soldiers while Nara was in the carriage with an unconscious Eren, sobbing, Sara imagined her sister holding Eren's hand while crying, while she was struggling to keep her emotions at bay and endure her pain, like a kitten licking her wounds in a dark corner, alone and in silence.
Reaching the castle, Sara saw Henry and Rima at the gates waiting for them, they were both injured worried, once Nara stepped out of the carriage, they both rushed to her side, hugging her and ensuring that she was safe, the princess told them about Eren and how did they need to help him, how he saved her and how he was in such a state because of her, Henry assured his sister that the shadows’ lord would be taken care of and gave the order for him to be moved to one of the castle's best rooms, Rima and Nara followed and so did the demons, when Sara intended to get inside and go into her room, she was stopped by Henry.
"Where do you think you are going, Miss Dahlia?" Henry asked in a calm tone that had some sharpness to it, Sara looked at him noticing his face was dead serious while his lips were set in a thin line.
Trouble!
Two soldiers stood on each side, Sara looked at them with question before looking back at her brother waiting for his explanation.
"You will go with the soldiers for investigation, it is better that you don't resist, I advise you to cooperate fully...." And with that Henry turned away and left, while the two soldiers escorted Sara to the dungeons.
One of the soldiers opened a cell while stepping aside for Sara to get in it, stepping in calmly, Sara watched the soldier close the bars behind her, an apologetic look on his face.
"Do you know why am I here? " Sara asked the soldier calmly, the soldier shook his head while sighing.
"I heard it is something about you abandoning your duties and failing in your mission to protect the princess, Some ministers were very displeased with your disappearance after the attack, the whole place was hectic, Some thought you had a hand in it, but worry not, Miss Dahlia, I am sure you will be proven innocent in no time." The young soldier offered her a kind smile, making sure she had clean sheets and warm blankets, he even chose to keep her in the most descent and clean cell in the dungeon, and even brought her some water, a glass of milk and an apple, it was the least he could do for her in his eyes, the soldier had more respect in his heart for the black haired girl than anyone else of the higher class, maybe because she was one of them, not to mention all her hard work that he couldn't just overlook because of some false accusations concerning the useless princess.
Sara thanked the soldier for the water but refused the milk and the apple, she knew she couldn't stomach anything, lying in bed, she watched the stony roof, laughing at herself mentally for even believing she could ever be welcomed in her own family, for thinking she belonged, Loneliness washed over her, remembering her father, and how he kept her away from her siblings, maybe because he knew they wouldn't accept her no matter what.
Sara tried to sleep a little, taking advantage of the fact that there were no demons around that might sense her energy, she allowed her powers to heal her, while trying to sort things out in her mind, the healing went fine but the same couldn't be said about her mind, for her thoughts always ended up at one person.
Eren...
Stepping out of the cell effortlessly after placing the pillow under the covers, Sara looked at the sleeping guard who wasn’t slacking but was forced to sleep due to her air slowing his energy flow, it was very handy and she couldn’t help but feel proud of herself even when she knew that it wasn’t yet enough, once she insured that everything looked fine, she left the dungeons and went straight to where the chaotic aura was, which lead her to the honor section in the palace, Sara made sure to not be noticed as she sped towards his room, afraid that slowing down would give her mind the chance of having second thoughts about her plan.
About killing the shadows’ lord.
Sara approached the bed where Eren was lying, inspecting him, the shadow lord didn't have bad injuries on the outside but with her eyes, she knew his body was burning up from the inside, he was breathing heavily, almost gasping with a thin sheen of sweet covering his body, his dark hair was stuck to his forehead, and his eyeballs were rolled up behind his closed eyelids, his bare chest was rising then falling abnormally in what looked like a hard and painful breathing process...
Standing up next to his bed, Sara took a deep breath while creating a blade with her energy, This was it, she told herself, The reason of all her agony was lying in front of her, weak and helpless, handsome and perfect, and all she had to do was take the blame and dig it in his heart, and just like that, the man who lied to her, abused her, hurt her, manipulated her, broke her, and stole her last moments with her father was no more, it was what she wanted since that day she left the shack, it was her main purpose in life beside revenging her father and protecting those who mattered to her, raising the blade above her head with her hand gripping it tightly, she stared down at the dying demon, before letting it fall to her side again.
Sara sighed in frustration, for some reason she couldn't muster enough will power to just stab the shadow lord in the heart and be done with it, even though everything would be okay after it, her feelings would be back of their stability like they were before he showed up again in her life and messed up with her emotional state, she will be back to being the Dahlia everyone knew, the one that doesn't feel except for the bare minimum, the one that doesn't expect anything from others and did what she did for her own satisfaction, she would stop being selfish and expect gratitude, and go back to her unconditional ways, the shadows lord's death seemed to make everything right, only that it didn't feel right.
"You hate him..." Sara told herself, reminding herself she hated the man dying in front of her, but killing him felt wrong, so wrong she let the blade vanish, Putting her own feelings aside, Sara knew that if it wasn't for him, her sister and her would have been dead or worse, her conscious couldn't bare the guilt of killing someone who saved her sister's life, especially when that saving ended up with him in that deadly state, she knew that if she wanted to kill him she would have to numb her senses and her numbness terrified her more than pain, that numbness that made her lose feeling, that made her lose every sense there was to life and she didn't want that, it was like drowning and she hated it, she would rather face pain and betrayal and disappointment and every bad feeling there was than to be numb like she was in the cave.
And he was the one who made her feel.
Dahlia was confused, and Sara was even more so, there was a battle inside of her, whether she should kill the shadow lord herself and have her vengeance or simply let him die on his own and do nothing except of letting things happen as they were meant to without her sullying her hands with his blood, looking back at him, she sighed in defeat before taking a seat next to him, slashing her wrist open and placing it in front of his mouth.
……
It was so delicious, so thick and smooth, so silky on his tongue, warming up his insides and calming down his pain, erasing his agony and replacing it with a good addictive feeling that brought him back to life, opening his eyes, Eren saw the pained expressions of Sara, it then finally hit him...
Opening his mouth quickly, he released her wrist from his bite, taking it in his hand and inspecting it, he noticed the horizontal cut as well as the punctures of his canines, Sara pulled her hand quickly back to herself before standing up to leave the room they were both in.
"Sara, Why?..." Eren whispered in a raspy voice, not quite sure what to think and believe.
"Consider it my gratitude for saving my sister..." Sara said without looking back at him, leaving Eren staring at the door she walked out from for minutes before a genuine happy smile made it way to his face.