Chapter 52
I remember the days we spent together
Were not enough
And I used to feel like dreamin'
Except we always woke up
Never thought not having you here now
Would hurt so much
- Tonight, FM Static
Warning: um… I don’t want to give it away, but this chapter involves blood and the loss of a very young life. :X
November 4th - Grythen
Zaelem
Zaelem closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. It was the last day he would be standing on Quesdejian ground, before he headed for his deathbed on foreign soil. Grythen had never looked any more miserable than today; the morning sky was dull and cloudy, the plants drooped without their sunshine and the birds did not sing.
The send-off party consisted of two people that he held dearly to his heart. Everyone else was simply refused the chance to bid him farewell. Having important people sending him off would only make him feel worse-it emphasised the nature of his mission. What if he failed? What if he died in vain?
It was quiet. Jeremy could only give him a hug-he could not wish him luck, for the ending was inevitable; he could not wish him a swift journey, for it meant a sooner death. Like a father, the old man held him tightly for a long time. He wondered if he was trying to hold his tears in too.
He reached into his coat pocket for the vial of glowing liquid from the magic well, checking it for the last time. He will have to drink its contents in order to use his ability outside the well’s circle, but once the liquid leaves his system, so will the magic-not that he was concerned about it not lasting long enough, though.
The stableman handed him the reins to a handsome horse, its glossy coat glinting even under the cloudy sky. There used to be roads between Quesdeja and Kiraul, but Kiraul’s new king blocked them all off. Quesdeja’s economy took a hit, but so did Kiraul’s. There were no winners in this pointless conflict. Someone had to end it.
I have to end it.
“You’ll be back,” a tiny voice said abruptly.
Zaelem looked up. Kismette’s reddened eyes were threatening to spill their tears again. He caressed her cheeks gently and tried to smile.
She shook her head. “Promise me you’ll be back,” she demanded, this time in a much louder voice.
Finding courage from her, the warrior smiled. He held out his last finger. “I promise.”
November 5th - Grythen
Evelynn
I wanna go home
Wanna feel your arms around me
Can you hear me
Save me
- Desperate, Daphne Khoo
November 6th - Grythen
Kismette
Kismette checked the time again and tapped her heel against the stone wall she was sitting on, wondering if she should be worried. Her mentor was never late.
Screeching tires brought her attention to the palace gates as they swung open and Iko appeared, flustered. “Mistress Larazest!” she called and beckoned for her to follow. “There is a patient at the hospital requiring urgent attention. Master Viken said that he will continue class another time. Hurry; there is no time to lose.”
Sensing something amiss, the healer half-ran. “Who is it?” Who could be more important than preparing for an imminent war?
Her personal assistant hesitated. “It’s… ah, I guess it’s the same whether you know it now or at the hospital. It’s your friend from the orphanage. Evelynn.”
Kismette’s eyes widened. “What happened to her? Is she in critical danger?”
Iko grimaced. “Very critical. She… she attempted suicide.”
*****
Evelynn finally drifted into a fitful sleep, wailing like a baby until the nurse gave her a sedative. It turned out that the ex-dancetress had a lot more self-inflicted wounds than the doctors knew-some had already formed scars, testifying that her torment began much earlier.
Kismette glowered at Chairon as she entered the visitor lounge while Iko left on her blunt instructions to “leave us”. The lounge was not empty. She could not care less.
“They said she miscarried due to immense stress, Chairon. I can heal her physical wounds, but I can do nothing to her mental state. What on earth did you do to her?”
He did not answer her. Instead, he mumbled, “I married her only because of the baby.”
That one sentence explained everything-all the humiliation, sneers, despised glares and cold shoulders despite her apparent status in the household, and, on top of everything, blame from her husband. Guilty of setting off the series of disgraceful events that weighed down the Vikens, guilty of carrying the baby which made him lose what he wanted, and now, guilty of being unable to keep the baby in her womb. Without the baby, she no longer had reason to stay in the family.
Kismette nearly exploded. “Do you know how brave she was just to stay by your side? I, for one, will never be able to withstand that kind of pressure and hell she went through just to please your family!” She wanted to add something about his mother, but decided to drop it in case she went overboard with insults. After all, Jeremy was part of the Vikens too.
Chairon looked like he was going to cry. “I know… I know all the sacrifices she has done for me. I know what kind of a hell she has been living through, but I… I just can’t bring myself to be kind to her. I can’t forgive her for what she did. I don’t want her to think that she can enjoy her life now that she ruined mine. We would have been together by now, but she-”
“So it is all her fault, isn’t it? Never yours? Nothing you did led to this outcome?”
Chairon could only hang his head.
“It pains me so much to see that she chose you over me, yet you treated her like this. Have you any idea how much she loves you?”
“And have you any idea how much I loved you? I really did, Kismette. You were the first girl I’ve ever truly did. You have no idea how much I changed just for you. You don’t even know what love is.”
“I do,” Kismette replied quietly. “That is why I left you.”
The blonde man looked away in disgust. “Zaelem,” he spat.
“No,” she stood straighter. It was all starting to make sense now. “So that is why you are so vengeful? You thought our break up was caused by the both of them?”
“Wasn’t that so? Your reason for breaking up with me was Evelynn, and when I got desperate and… did things I shouldn’t have, you said Zaelem wouldn’t do that to you. You were comparing me with him.”
“You got it all wrong. I wanted to break up with you even before I knew about Evelynn, but you kept avoiding me. In retrospect, I think you actually knew I wanted a breakup, right? That was why you refused to talk to me, wasn’t it?”
He did not reply.
“I didn’t break up with you because I fell for Zaelem either,” she continued. “I did so because I realised what I felt for you wasn’t love. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be with Zaelem then, but I was sure I didn’t want to be with you. It was all just the fun and thrill of being in a relationship. It wasn’t real.”
“Even so, I wouldn’t have lost you to him if he didn’t save you from that accident. That’s just how you respond. I saved you from the robber, so you agreed to date me. He saved you from a truck, so you date him instead.”
Her jaw dropped. “Well, guess what? He doesn’t need to send me a present every day to keep me by his side.”
He sneered in return. “And guess what? He won’t be able to keep you by his side anymore even if he did, because Hades will soon be keeping him by his side. Too bad but he challenged the wrong guy.”
Kismette froze, stunned by the sudden attack. She took in a few deep breaths, resisting the urge to cry.
And then, she gasped. “You planned all this, didn’t you?” she whispered.
The man looked away and swallowed. He knew what she meant.
“You planned it,” her voice began to rise. “You told them to send Zaelem for this impossible mission.”
“It was supposed to be humiliation. He was supposed to just resign and leave the capital as a dishonoured warrior. I didn’t think he would accept it,” he murmured. “Nobody in the right mind would.”
November 7th - Kiraul
Zaelem
It had been an extremely long wait before the gates finally opened. They must have been analysing my face, trying to match it to some criminal.
“I wish to seek audience with the King of Kiraul. I have a confidential message for him from the King of Quesdeja,” Zaelem stood tall and looked straight into the palace attendant's eyes, hoping to instil fear in him. Instead, the attendant merely motioned for him to follow with just two fingers. Wasn’t that kind of… rude?
Zaelem frowned as they walked for a good ten minutes through a long and winding passageway. The corridor finally ended in a small chamber. Who would receive guests at the very far end of their castle?
“Wait here. Our King will receive you shortly,” the attendant said curtly.
Zaelem tried to remain calm and gave him a sharp nod in return. He was never a good actor.
He looked around casually, trying to give an intelligent comment about the yards of tapestries that adorned the walls. The door was shut with a bang and Zaelem blinked, realising that the attendant had already left the room without a word.
On closer inspection, he realized that the ‘legendary stitches’ were actually printed instead of woven. He tapped his knuckles on the delicate-looking porcelain vase. A light hollow sound echoed back. Plastic?
He shrugged and sank into the cushioned seats, fatigue overpowering the anxiety in him. It took almost three days on horseback to reach here and he could not care less if his sloppy behaviour tarnished Quesdeja’s reputation. They don’t serve refreshments to ambassadors here, huh. I thought I’d have something nice as a final meal, he thought grimly.
All of a sudden, a loud grumble resonated in the room, reminding him of large chunky gears struggling to rotate. Cautiously, he stood up, hoping there were no surveillance cameras. Would it seem suspicious if I opened the door?
The door was locked, he realised with a start. He could hear the faint sound of an emergency alarm going off outside the room.
“All personnels, evacuate in ten seconds.”
What?
“Ten…”
“Hey! I'm still here! This door is stuck!” Zaelem shouted and hammered the door. His fists bruised, but no one answered him.
“Nine…”
He threw his whole body on the door, hoping it would crack until his weight.
“Eight…”
He pressed the door for hidden buttons. The door had been sealed by no simple means.
“Seven…”
The ambushed warrior broke out in cold sweat. I was meant to be locked in here.
“Six…”
He spun around wildly in search for a hope.
“Five…”
There were no windows-not even a single high window like those found in prisons, where he could at least have a chance to flee. If truth be told, the room seemed to be built specially for this occurrence.
“Four…”
Zaelem looked around again, this time hoping to seek out hidden trapdoors.
“Three…”
Again, he found none. What is going to happen?
“Two…”
The walls were, in fact, covered with a thick layer of rubber. Zaelem finally guessed what was to befall him, but it was too late.
“One.”
The sound of the turning gears ended with a heavy bang that shook the ground beneath his feet. It was like the final note of a long, hypnotizing song, making the ending especially harsh. A trap had just closed down on the door, closed down on the entire room and closed him off from the rest of the world.
I'm sorry, Kismette…
Kismette!
*****
Beyond the borders of Quesdeja, bolts of electricity encased an isolated room draped in thick rubber. The sky lit up with an eerie blue while a star began to grow dimmer,
and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer,
and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer,
and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer…
Ning: So… remember when Chairon swore to get rid of Zaelem? (end of Chapter 49) He got the idea from two old men talking about assassination when he passed by the trading square. ( Chapter 50) (potassiumer, didn't think you'd be right about Chairon, did you? :P)
An outtake for this chapter:
This shot was taken from inside a glass on the table. I thought it looked like Evelynn was sleeping in a glass coffin. (bolob, now you know why I couldn't tell you when Chairon's baby is coming out. :X)
And, um, school has reopened so… *shuffles feet*. I'm sorry to have to put CS on hold again. I can't believe this story would span over years to complete, omgosh. Have a picspam instead? ':)
Thank you soooooo much for all the love you guys have showered on me! ^^
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Next: Interlude