Living in a Fairytale (Completed)

EPILOGUE

There was nothing in this world I knew more than hate. As a child, I saw it in my mother's eyes every time my father would play king than be her husband. I saw it again when she spoke of his death, his choosing of the afterlife than her company. And then again when she found out about my sister, having been born from a scandalous affair. Her wrath for the kingdom burned as much as her love for my father. And it was us that suffered from its flames.

"Mother, I do not wish to marry someone that I do not know." I kept my tone calm, trying to sound anything but angry. I have seen much of the expression in this very kingdom that I do not intend to contribute to its raging blaze. El Malefico was a kingdom built with red hot anger, vile treachery, and dark mischief. And I am its first Prince, struggling to find the calm within its storms.

Mother only gave me a smile, as if I was silly for speaking out my thoughts. There was something in her eyes that unsettled me, some kind of emptiness, but I have grown used to it by now. Every single day I am met by that void, and I have no choice but to act like it does not exist. Father is gone and Aiken is taken. I am all she has left.

She held my hand, the cold piercing through me like an arrow. Worse than an arrow. "You have eternity to know each other. I am sure that you will grown fond of her, and perhaps even love her if time permits." She spoke slowly, intently, as if it was anything but a command. But I understood it otherwise.

I do not like her, I thought as she sprinted away with her cousin, laughing at the mess she have unleashed. The memory of her relentless gaze burned from the back of my mind and I cursed myself for feeling bothered. She seemed unfazed by this betrothal, I should be too. I casually talked to Sullivan as we made our way back into the castle, the child that mother decided to bring for this visit tailing us from behind. The scrawny kid was uncomfortable in his suit, having been used to cotton and rags in the streets of El Malefico. We were through the grounds when the first explosion resonated.

Sullivan gaped at the sight that awaited us, soldiers marched through the gates and keeps, killing everyone in sight. Humans. A spear went flying towards us and it was too late for me to save the boy. Everything happened in a split second, a blink in the vastness of time. I stared at the child's lifeless body, impaled and blood gushing like tiny waterfalls.

I blinked and blinked. The dagger on my hip seemed to have weighted more than it should, making its dire presence known. Sullivan grabbed me by the shoulders, shouting over the deafening noise all around us. Run. Go back to your kingdom and save yourself. He kept on saying over and over again. Another explosion and both our heads whipped at where it came from. The marble columns went down in a thundering roar.

I met Sullivan's gaze and nodded only once. I ran. Amidst the chaos that broke in, I ran. And ran, and ran. Searching. Finding. I wasn't sure of what I was looking for, who I was looking for, but when my eyes caught the sight of her, I knew.

Her gown was torn and drenched with blood, her eyes wild and hair unruly. She was breathing heavily, the sword like an extension of her arm, swinging in a graceful arch, laying waste to those that stood before her. She killed mercilessly, the swords and daggers taking her dance. Her hands tightly clasped with death as they sashayed in a whirling red and gold.

I thought I knew of hate, I thought that I have met it in its darkest form. And then I met her. The girl that danced with anger, twirling in its flames, her eyes two spheres of ember. I have nursed the company of mine own demons from the very start. I have long made peace with them. I knew how to control the spurs of flame within me. But she was different. Once that swallowing pit emerges, she would take a step back and fall into darkness, giving it full control over her.