The End of Time part 16
"Hmph, what have you been doing with an angel?" He asked, his face twisting into a picture of disgust.
"Rashke, it has been a while since I last saw you." I said, calmly avoiding his question.
"He said something about a plan?" Rashke asked, his eyes narrowed at me in suspicion. Unlike Val, Rashke was a pure bundle of hatred- basically Val's other side and how he was like before I taught him how to smile. Note: Rashke was actually the reincarnation of some killer several centuries back and was extremely dangerous.
"Hmph, yes a plan indeed. And if you don't plan on helping me, I might as well leave." I said, looking down on him with cold eyes.
"Only if it's interesting." He responded, shrugging.
"World domination." I replied simply. His eyes widened and he licked his lips in pleasure.
"What should I do?" He asked, grinning.
"If you're not answering, I'm leaving." I said, and immediately all my stuff was with me and I had been checked out of the hotel without any trouble. Like that I left the evil Rashke with a flurry of wind, appearing on the outskirts of Lithvanel's capital. I had just ditched the entire film and they would have to redo everything and the process would be set back, but at this point I didn't care.
When I arrived at the castle, I was immediately dragged away by Nanari to try on my dress and go through other formalities. Ahkil still wasn't back, though I guess he would probably arrive back either today or tomorrow. Aki and the others on the other hand appeared in my room as soon as Nanari and her minions left me.
"Have you gotten the report from Aoi?" I asked him, sighing before putting on a bright smile.
"Yes, he believes that Alimah is collaborating a coup d'etat with Zen, who apparently had a relative from the kingdom of Saiunkoku, and that person just happened to be Kou Kijin." Aki reported seriously, saluting me.
"Hmm, so by Zen does Aoi mean...?" I trailed off, looking up at Aki.
"From further investigation, we have found out that Aoi means Zen of the Anklynide family, who also seeks to dethrone the current royal family of Belquat." He answered, his face set in stone.
For a split second a cruel smile appeared on my face before turning into a warm grin as I thanked Aki. The three Ajin were startled but placed it off as their imagination. They disappeared as there was a knock on my door and a maid entered, the same one who had given me the bugged clothes some weeks back. Ignoring it, I put on a fake smile as she handed me some snacks, saying that they had been gifts from one of the nobles in the castle, refusing to divulge anymore information.
"That's nice of them." I said, smiling as she placed the bowl of exotic fruit on the table, taking the knife to peel and cut the apple. Handing over the plate, I continued to smile kindly as I took it in my hands. I set it down and didn't touch it, merely looking coldly at the maid.
"You, whose maid are you?" I asked, my smile becoming malicious.
She flinched, cold sweat going down her face as she glanced over at me. She forced a smile, laughing nervously. "What are you talking about, your Royal Highness? I'm your maid of course." She answered. One could see that she was trembling through, gripping the knife so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"Ahkil would never assign me a maid that I don't know. And anyways, I served the royal house until less than a month ago, I would've known you from then." I said, my smile hiding the snake inside of me.
"Y-you!" Fury began to creep into her voice as she glared up, a shadow in her eyes. "Ahkil-sama would never marry a snake like you!" She screamed coming at me and stabbing me. Making sure blood appeared, I coughed a little, but my aloof expression and smile remained the same still looking down on her as I gripped her hand, twisting it away from the small knife.
"What would you know about my pain?!" I questioned furiously, rage only making the black fires in my eyes burn more as I gritted my teeth in anger. "Don't blame your problems on another person!" I threw the woman to the ground, my face shadowed as I wiped the blood from my mouth. "Who is your employer?" I asked, bending down.
"You s-should b-be dead!" She stammered, fear making her shake.
At that moment another maid answered, screaming at the blood all over me as well as the knife in my stomach. "Ah." I realized, glancing at her before moving to pretend and feint, startling the maid who had stabbed me so badly that she sat there frozen until the guards came, arresting her on the spot.
"Call Ahkil immediately!" Boomed the king when he received the news, fury making his face turn livid.
The entire castle was in a frenzy when it was said that Ahkil's fiance had been stabbed and was in bad condition. The invitations for the marriage had already been sent, and there were even foreign nobles who had arrived for the celebration. Of course, they had the healers they brought with them help. I had to make it so I really had an injury so that there would be no suspicions, putting my best acting skills to the test.
Ahkil arrived some hours later, having been met by the messenger on his way back to the capital and practically killed his horse in order to make it back so soon. His eyes had clashing emotions, and he gritted his teeth as the doctors told him I may not make it through the night. They left me alone with him and he clutched my hands tightly, the perfect image of a man in love, though in my eyes it was just a man worried about losing a convenient tool.
"Ahkil..." I mumbled, panting from effort.
"What?" He asked, his face in pain. I thought I saw a tear for a second but it disappeared and I didn't think much of it.
"It's fine..." I smiled weakly, still keeping up my personality even in this crisis. "This kingdom," A cruel smile formed on my lips as insanity took over, taking advantage of how weak I was. "It will find peace!" I exclaimed, eyes wild. "Peace indeed~ I hope that your god is generous my prince, for once you have been involved with our kind only destruction awaits you! Heed the words of the manipulator of all time! Heed the thoughts of Deus Ex Machina!" I delved into hysterical laughter, before calming down and looking at him with kind eyes again. "This time, this time- I will make sure that we won't suffer!" Tears streaked down my face as I cried myself asleep, leaving a startled Ahkil to ponder on my delirious words.
When I awoke, I clearly remembered my bout of insanity, but decided to feign ignorance. Struggling to sit up, the doctors all exclaimed that it had been a miracle and I was showered with gifts from different nobles congratulating my recovery, but they had probably all been pressured in some way. As Ahkil sat there reading a book to me and I smiled at him kindly, in that weak hearted way of mine, the king decided to drop bye for a visit. Apparently Ahkil had never shown interest in woman before, and marrying such a great woman had been a surprise to the normally languid and kind king, so it seemed that his liking of me was only logical.
He laughed loudly as he barged inside, making Ahkil look up as I glanced toward him, my light blue eyes sparkling with warmth. "How is my soon to be daughter doing?" He asked loudly, and I wondered if he had always been like this, slightly paling as I forced a smile.
"I should be able to recover in time for the wedding." I answered as Ahkil closed his book and clasped my hands, looking to me with worry on his face.
"No! We should postpone the wedding!" He stubbornly protested, grasping my hands tighter.
"Yes, my son is right." The king agreed, nodding his head.
"It's fine." I repeated, "I'm perfectly fine."
"No, you aren't!" Ahkil exclaimed.
"The invitations have already been sent out. I don't want to be rude by postponing it." I said, trying to act as kind as possible.
Ahkil gritted his teeth, knowing this was true. He closed his dark ocean colored eyes in frustration, combing his hands through his thick and messy black shoulder-length hair. "Fine, but only if you've healed." He conceded, opening his eyes and looking at me seriously. I smiled kindly, nodding.
The king interrupted us with a laugh, easing up the situation. "Well, then it's all settled." He said, walking out while still laughing.
"Alright, I'm glad we were still acting when father came in." Ahkil said coolly, his face emotionless as he opened up the book again.
"Ha ha, well it is something to be glad about." I agreed meekly, coughing a little. He didn't look up, though you could see that he had flinched a little. "I think I said something about Belquat that one time, was it good advice?" I asked, pretending I only vaguely remembered what I had told him at the beginning of the month.
"Hmm, you don't remember?" He asked, flipping a page.
"No, is it something I should?" I questioned, tilting my head as I smiled in a confused way.
"No, it isn't," He answered, taking a slice of the apple for himself.
"Prince Ahkil!" Suddenly a guard came barging in, making the two of us look at him with curiosity on my face and cold superiority on Ahkil's.
"What's wrong?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Your brother, y-your older brother-" He stammered, panting to catch his breath.
"What about my older brother?" Ahkil asked, glaring.
"Your brother, the second prince Krishna was poisoned!" He exclaimed, and Ahkil's eyes filled with surprise and rage. Forgetting all about me, he threw down his book and ordered the man to bring him to the second prince, and the guard was happy to comply as they rushed away.
I closed my eyes, chewing my lip in deep thought. It would be amazingly difficult for me if the second prince died and I wouldn't be able to go through my plan properly. Making a quick decision, I cast away my human guise and turned back into a ghost, following Ahkil with my heightened senses. I had left a sleeping double in my place, one that would not do anything but sleep no matter what happened so it should be fine- probably.
Ending up in the second prince's chamber, which was richly furnished but simple for a royal, there were several nobles crowded around the soft bed. Ahkil immediately made his way there and I looked down from where I was floating, going in close to inspect his face. "This poison is..." You could see surprise and horror on the physician's face as he examined Krishna. "This is belladonna!" He announced and the whispers spread through the room like wildfire as I continued to study Krishna.
Indeed the handsome prince- or at least he was handsome before he had been poisoned- seemed to be suffering from symptoms of in taking some amount of nightshade, but it wasn't enough to kill him- yet. Assembling myself in a sitting position, I narrowed my eyes, thinking something was odd. Of course, at first one would think this was an assassination attempt, but from what I knew, Krishna was a shrewd and clever man- he would recognize the berries of a belladonna at first glance and he also had taste testers- so I was confused as to how he had gotten poisoned in the first place. Seeing his face twisting in pain, I decided to put the thought away as I infused some of my energy into him, causing the prince to relax slightly. It was enough to keep his life force intact as I investigated more.
Seeing that Ahkil had decided the second prince was not in immediate danger from judging his condition, he started to head back to my room. I went there ahead, only to find that my double had been stabbed in the heart, obviously dead. The doctor, who seemed to have come in while I was checking Krishna's state, was also dead, a clean cut through the neck. It was a pro assassin, and a skilled one at that- nowhere near the level of that stupid maid they had hired.
Cussing, I knew that I couldn't leave it at this, but I didn't exactly want to make it so that the doctor have never died since it came with many complications, and it would be suspicious if I was still alive while the doctor was dead- or that I had survived a stab in the heart. Just as I was frantically thinking of something to do, Ahkil walked in and I recalled that Aki and the others should have been watching over me. As I saw Ahkil's eyes widen, I heard the most earth shattering scream every, piercing straight through my core.
"Rashke, it has been a while since I last saw you." I said, calmly avoiding his question.
"He said something about a plan?" Rashke asked, his eyes narrowed at me in suspicion. Unlike Val, Rashke was a pure bundle of hatred- basically Val's other side and how he was like before I taught him how to smile. Note: Rashke was actually the reincarnation of some killer several centuries back and was extremely dangerous.
"Hmph, yes a plan indeed. And if you don't plan on helping me, I might as well leave." I said, looking down on him with cold eyes.
"Only if it's interesting." He responded, shrugging.
"World domination." I replied simply. His eyes widened and he licked his lips in pleasure.
"What should I do?" He asked, grinning.
"If you're not answering, I'm leaving." I said, and immediately all my stuff was with me and I had been checked out of the hotel without any trouble. Like that I left the evil Rashke with a flurry of wind, appearing on the outskirts of Lithvanel's capital. I had just ditched the entire film and they would have to redo everything and the process would be set back, but at this point I didn't care.
When I arrived at the castle, I was immediately dragged away by Nanari to try on my dress and go through other formalities. Ahkil still wasn't back, though I guess he would probably arrive back either today or tomorrow. Aki and the others on the other hand appeared in my room as soon as Nanari and her minions left me.
"Have you gotten the report from Aoi?" I asked him, sighing before putting on a bright smile.
"Yes, he believes that Alimah is collaborating a coup d'etat with Zen, who apparently had a relative from the kingdom of Saiunkoku, and that person just happened to be Kou Kijin." Aki reported seriously, saluting me.
"Hmm, so by Zen does Aoi mean...?" I trailed off, looking up at Aki.
"From further investigation, we have found out that Aoi means Zen of the Anklynide family, who also seeks to dethrone the current royal family of Belquat." He answered, his face set in stone.
For a split second a cruel smile appeared on my face before turning into a warm grin as I thanked Aki. The three Ajin were startled but placed it off as their imagination. They disappeared as there was a knock on my door and a maid entered, the same one who had given me the bugged clothes some weeks back. Ignoring it, I put on a fake smile as she handed me some snacks, saying that they had been gifts from one of the nobles in the castle, refusing to divulge anymore information.
"That's nice of them." I said, smiling as she placed the bowl of exotic fruit on the table, taking the knife to peel and cut the apple. Handing over the plate, I continued to smile kindly as I took it in my hands. I set it down and didn't touch it, merely looking coldly at the maid.
"You, whose maid are you?" I asked, my smile becoming malicious.
She flinched, cold sweat going down her face as she glanced over at me. She forced a smile, laughing nervously. "What are you talking about, your Royal Highness? I'm your maid of course." She answered. One could see that she was trembling through, gripping the knife so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"Ahkil would never assign me a maid that I don't know. And anyways, I served the royal house until less than a month ago, I would've known you from then." I said, my smile hiding the snake inside of me.
"Y-you!" Fury began to creep into her voice as she glared up, a shadow in her eyes. "Ahkil-sama would never marry a snake like you!" She screamed coming at me and stabbing me. Making sure blood appeared, I coughed a little, but my aloof expression and smile remained the same still looking down on her as I gripped her hand, twisting it away from the small knife.
"What would you know about my pain?!" I questioned furiously, rage only making the black fires in my eyes burn more as I gritted my teeth in anger. "Don't blame your problems on another person!" I threw the woman to the ground, my face shadowed as I wiped the blood from my mouth. "Who is your employer?" I asked, bending down.
"You s-should b-be dead!" She stammered, fear making her shake.
At that moment another maid answered, screaming at the blood all over me as well as the knife in my stomach. "Ah." I realized, glancing at her before moving to pretend and feint, startling the maid who had stabbed me so badly that she sat there frozen until the guards came, arresting her on the spot.
"Call Ahkil immediately!" Boomed the king when he received the news, fury making his face turn livid.
The entire castle was in a frenzy when it was said that Ahkil's fiance had been stabbed and was in bad condition. The invitations for the marriage had already been sent, and there were even foreign nobles who had arrived for the celebration. Of course, they had the healers they brought with them help. I had to make it so I really had an injury so that there would be no suspicions, putting my best acting skills to the test.
Ahkil arrived some hours later, having been met by the messenger on his way back to the capital and practically killed his horse in order to make it back so soon. His eyes had clashing emotions, and he gritted his teeth as the doctors told him I may not make it through the night. They left me alone with him and he clutched my hands tightly, the perfect image of a man in love, though in my eyes it was just a man worried about losing a convenient tool.
"Ahkil..." I mumbled, panting from effort.
"What?" He asked, his face in pain. I thought I saw a tear for a second but it disappeared and I didn't think much of it.
"It's fine..." I smiled weakly, still keeping up my personality even in this crisis. "This kingdom," A cruel smile formed on my lips as insanity took over, taking advantage of how weak I was. "It will find peace!" I exclaimed, eyes wild. "Peace indeed~ I hope that your god is generous my prince, for once you have been involved with our kind only destruction awaits you! Heed the words of the manipulator of all time! Heed the thoughts of Deus Ex Machina!" I delved into hysterical laughter, before calming down and looking at him with kind eyes again. "This time, this time- I will make sure that we won't suffer!" Tears streaked down my face as I cried myself asleep, leaving a startled Ahkil to ponder on my delirious words.
When I awoke, I clearly remembered my bout of insanity, but decided to feign ignorance. Struggling to sit up, the doctors all exclaimed that it had been a miracle and I was showered with gifts from different nobles congratulating my recovery, but they had probably all been pressured in some way. As Ahkil sat there reading a book to me and I smiled at him kindly, in that weak hearted way of mine, the king decided to drop bye for a visit. Apparently Ahkil had never shown interest in woman before, and marrying such a great woman had been a surprise to the normally languid and kind king, so it seemed that his liking of me was only logical.
He laughed loudly as he barged inside, making Ahkil look up as I glanced toward him, my light blue eyes sparkling with warmth. "How is my soon to be daughter doing?" He asked loudly, and I wondered if he had always been like this, slightly paling as I forced a smile.
"I should be able to recover in time for the wedding." I answered as Ahkil closed his book and clasped my hands, looking to me with worry on his face.
"No! We should postpone the wedding!" He stubbornly protested, grasping my hands tighter.
"Yes, my son is right." The king agreed, nodding his head.
"It's fine." I repeated, "I'm perfectly fine."
"No, you aren't!" Ahkil exclaimed.
"The invitations have already been sent out. I don't want to be rude by postponing it." I said, trying to act as kind as possible.
Ahkil gritted his teeth, knowing this was true. He closed his dark ocean colored eyes in frustration, combing his hands through his thick and messy black shoulder-length hair. "Fine, but only if you've healed." He conceded, opening his eyes and looking at me seriously. I smiled kindly, nodding.
The king interrupted us with a laugh, easing up the situation. "Well, then it's all settled." He said, walking out while still laughing.
"Alright, I'm glad we were still acting when father came in." Ahkil said coolly, his face emotionless as he opened up the book again.
"Ha ha, well it is something to be glad about." I agreed meekly, coughing a little. He didn't look up, though you could see that he had flinched a little. "I think I said something about Belquat that one time, was it good advice?" I asked, pretending I only vaguely remembered what I had told him at the beginning of the month.
"Hmm, you don't remember?" He asked, flipping a page.
"No, is it something I should?" I questioned, tilting my head as I smiled in a confused way.
"No, it isn't," He answered, taking a slice of the apple for himself.
"Prince Ahkil!" Suddenly a guard came barging in, making the two of us look at him with curiosity on my face and cold superiority on Ahkil's.
"What's wrong?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Your brother, y-your older brother-" He stammered, panting to catch his breath.
"What about my older brother?" Ahkil asked, glaring.
"Your brother, the second prince Krishna was poisoned!" He exclaimed, and Ahkil's eyes filled with surprise and rage. Forgetting all about me, he threw down his book and ordered the man to bring him to the second prince, and the guard was happy to comply as they rushed away.
I closed my eyes, chewing my lip in deep thought. It would be amazingly difficult for me if the second prince died and I wouldn't be able to go through my plan properly. Making a quick decision, I cast away my human guise and turned back into a ghost, following Ahkil with my heightened senses. I had left a sleeping double in my place, one that would not do anything but sleep no matter what happened so it should be fine- probably.
Ending up in the second prince's chamber, which was richly furnished but simple for a royal, there were several nobles crowded around the soft bed. Ahkil immediately made his way there and I looked down from where I was floating, going in close to inspect his face. "This poison is..." You could see surprise and horror on the physician's face as he examined Krishna. "This is belladonna!" He announced and the whispers spread through the room like wildfire as I continued to study Krishna.
Indeed the handsome prince- or at least he was handsome before he had been poisoned- seemed to be suffering from symptoms of in taking some amount of nightshade, but it wasn't enough to kill him- yet. Assembling myself in a sitting position, I narrowed my eyes, thinking something was odd. Of course, at first one would think this was an assassination attempt, but from what I knew, Krishna was a shrewd and clever man- he would recognize the berries of a belladonna at first glance and he also had taste testers- so I was confused as to how he had gotten poisoned in the first place. Seeing his face twisting in pain, I decided to put the thought away as I infused some of my energy into him, causing the prince to relax slightly. It was enough to keep his life force intact as I investigated more.
Seeing that Ahkil had decided the second prince was not in immediate danger from judging his condition, he started to head back to my room. I went there ahead, only to find that my double had been stabbed in the heart, obviously dead. The doctor, who seemed to have come in while I was checking Krishna's state, was also dead, a clean cut through the neck. It was a pro assassin, and a skilled one at that- nowhere near the level of that stupid maid they had hired.
Cussing, I knew that I couldn't leave it at this, but I didn't exactly want to make it so that the doctor have never died since it came with many complications, and it would be suspicious if I was still alive while the doctor was dead- or that I had survived a stab in the heart. Just as I was frantically thinking of something to do, Ahkil walked in and I recalled that Aki and the others should have been watching over me. As I saw Ahkil's eyes widen, I heard the most earth shattering scream every, piercing straight through my core.