Living in a Fairytale (Completed)

chapter 11

The throne room was packed with witches, their eyes fixed in a menacing glare. Pools of darkness stared as the halls grew silent at our arrival. The queen seemed to have taken interest of the scene unfolding beneath the immense steps of the throne, judging from the lopsided smile etched on her face. A guy was standing close to the stone throne, a handsome one at that. He smiled at the man walking by my side whereas Kaisen only looked fretful.

Hadleigh Vesper had a scornful look on his face, his lips pressed in a hard line, making him look older than ever. I saw the clan chiefs on the far left side, seated with amusement in their eyes. Morgan gave out a heartily laugh, the shrill sound echoing across the room. Cyril and Ripley made an effort to look mournful and disdained whereas Diez and Hirsch only observed in silence.

Niña fell into a deep bow, the maroon cloak gracefully reaching the gilded floor. The queen asked for her to come forward and she did, putting herself right by the queen's side. The sight was a jape taking its own form. With the queen trusting Niña to do all her bidding in manipulating the humans, and Nina having thoughts of betraying her own queen for love. And how amusing is it to watch it all unfold right before my eyes?

Vesper spoke, a low growl in the Ancient Tongue, the language came out harsh and hard on his tongue. "Your majesty, I ask for this woman to be killed the same way my granddaughter have. A knife through that sinful tongue of hers, naked and cold."

I tried to look passive as possible, as if I couldn't understand what he was talking about. Near the queen's throne stood the entire Rothchild clan. Their clan chief, chief wife, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. "Quiero justicia para mis muertos" (I want justice for my dead) The chief spoke in the spanish tongue, when the queen didn't speak a response to Vesper's claim.

The queen looked at me, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Qué dices? Ellas te quieren muerto." (What do you say? They what you dead.)

Kaisen nodded at me, his eyes urging me to speak up. I smirked, "No importa lo que piensen" (Doesn't matter what they think) 

I heard a few gasps and mumbled rage. I looked at Hadleigh Vesper, with the entire Vesper clan right behind him. I made sure to meet each and every one of their gaze before speaking in the Ancient Tongue. 

"Your granddaughter was easy to kill. Her eyes lost its mirth when I threw a dirk right into her face. She didn't even put up a fight." I looked at Hadleigh and whispered, "Not a pity at all." With the deafening silence, it was enough for all to hear it.

Screams of opposition and anger filled the halls once more. The queen smiled and leaned back on her throne, she whispered something to the guy that stood on her left and frowned with whatever the guy whispered back. I raised a brow, intrigued by the presence of this stranger.

"My brother." Kaisen whispered, his lips so close to my ear. 

A shiver ran up to my spine and I struggled to stop myself from turning to look at him. I nodded instead, my heart beating frantically with the lack of space between us. We're in front of the entire court!

The queen rose from the throne and faced her subjects with a stern look on her face. "This is done. The Princesa Adelaide Cielle Thindrel shall not be held accountable for the deaths of your kind. What Royle Rothchild did to the Princesa was a folly. He should've known better. For the Vesper girl,..."

"Her name was Rose, your majesty. Mi unica hija." A man said, his voice strained and broken. A weeping woman clung onto him, her head on his chest. It felt queer to look at the sadness reflected in their eyes and feel not an ounce of sympathy nor guilt. She would've killed me if I gave her the chance, I thought to myself thinking about the Vesper girl.

The queen sighed heavily, sporting a look filled with pity and grief. "That is unfortunate. I grieve for your loss, truly. The crown shall compensate for the death of your sweet Rose. Though I know that no gold shall ever be enough to commensurate her life. But do accept this pardon and I shall never forget this act of loyalty to the crown." The man stared at the queen as if she was only japing. But threats are apt to leave the queen's lips than japes and jests. He shook his head, sullen and resentful as he bowed to the queen and muttered,

"Above all, maleficence."

Hadleigh pleaded once more, in a voice strained with displeasure but the queen only muttered, "Your granddaughter was not the first Rose that she killed." I bit my lip, uncomfortable.

"Perhaps she will not be the last." The Vesper chief clan spat and took his leave without paying courtesy to the queen.

Their words hung heavy in the air. Rose is the royal symbol of the Bonavich family.

They left with the same scornful look on their faces when they arrived. The clan chiefs walked out of the throne room one by one, after falling into a deep bow in front of Her majesty. As I waited for the throne room to be vacated, a girl walked up to me, her eyes filled with tears.

As she walked ahead of me, I felt the knife even before it came into view. It was too late for her to realize that she made the wrong choice. I caught the knife with my palm and smirked when I saw how the move surprised her. I muttered a curse and tightened my grip on the blade, blood dripping from the opened wound. The same wound that the captain gave earlier.

Without another word, I twisted her wrist and used her own blade to make a slash across her face. She screamed as Kaisen grabbed her neck, his hands as if clad in iron as it tightened around her flesh. I stepped back, the blood dagger in hand. I could feel the eyes of those who remained settled on me. This is the first time that they'll witness my ability as a child of the dawn.

Twirling the blood dagger with my fingers, I looked at the girl struggling for her breath. I raised my hand to throw the dagger but a shout made me stop.

"Enough." 

The blood dagger made a splattering sound as it hit the floor. I glanced up and saw Kaisen's brother walking towards us. The Rothchild clan is in a distress, some are shouting pardons to the queen, some are weeping, and more had their hands gripped on their hair, a crazed look on their faces. They fear for the girl's life. How touching.

"Ekkier release her." 

It was queer to hear Kaisen's name spoken by someone younger than him in a stern manner. His brother had a lighter shade of gray in his chinky eyes, his hands are tucked in his pockets, a playful smile on his face.

"You're out of this, Aiken." Kaisen muttered, his eyes in the darkest hue that I've ever seen.

 Something seemed to be clawing out my heart, as vile as it is. I was about to tell him to stop when Aiken, Kaisen's brother, stepped in between them. The girl fell, her face bloody and tears mixed with the rose gold blood that ran from the wound.

"Enough, Kaisen" I managed to croak out, my voice tight with all the emotions overwhelming my mind. I clenched my fist, the scarlet liquid dripping to the floor like raindrops. I clenched my jaw to stop the threatening tears to fall.

With all the commotion, I didn't bother to look around to see those who remained and saw the tremendous scene. I grabbed Kiasen by the arm and dragged him out of the throne room. A sigh escaped my lips when the heavy doors closed in a loud slam behind us. I could feel his eyes on me but there's this pain on my chest that I cannot meet his gaze.

He takes my hand and tears fell. I turned my back on him and ran without ever looking back. The ascent was a painful one. Alone and weeping tears for no one but for the person I have become.

I closed the door of the bedchamber and wiped the tears dry. But to no avail, it kept on pouring. I saw my reflection in the mirror and saw the woman standing with tears in her eyes but emotions have left its glimmer. Her hair is in the color of snow, disheveled and matted in sweat and blood, the bags underneath her eyes, and the emptiness in her gaze.

"You're disgusting." I muttered, tears falling.