Lady Laila

Chapter 38: MEMORIES

"You want to try and kill me again like last time?" Laila glares, taking a seat by the table, not without making sure that Oma sees her grab a knife. The woman had lost her hair...interesting.

Smiling, Oma lifts her hands, in surrender, replying, "It was not my fault that you picked the wrong choice, Laila."

"You were only focused on getting an heir for either of the kings, while I loved the man you wanted me to give up on."

"...And...where has that landed you?"

Laila doesn't reply. "Mr. Godfrey will soon be back, don't expect me to act as if I know you. You'll be labeled a thief, upon his arrival."

"I am your sister,"

"I have no sister, Oma. She died the day she pushed me down the hill."

"It was a small hill, I knew you'd survive."

"Either way, my sister died that day."

"Impossible, Laila. If your sister died that day, then you wouldn't have set her free when she was imprisoned in the dungeons."

"You were already mad! What was the point of you rotting in there, and soiling King Xerxes' floors!"
"No Laila, you set me free because I am your sister."

***

It was late in the night after Laila and Stephan had gone to see the princess and her child. Strangely, there were no guards on duty that night, and it was the perfect opportunity for her to see Oma. It seemed the gods were on her side because even the keys were left there. Laila thought it was a trap and waited around but nothing happened. Taking that as her cue, she crept inside, making sure that one could hear a pin drop.

It wasn't hard to find her sister, as she was wailing like an injured dog, against the metal bars that trapped her in a small area.

She must've heard Laila's footsteps, because she immediately stopped, pressing her head against the metal, screaming,

"Xerxes, My Love, I knew you'd come for me! I'm right here!"

Oma sees Laila approaching instead, making her scream!

"It's just me...Lady Oma."

The woman laughs out loud, pulling at her hair. Laila cringes, seeing the fallen locks on the floor. Oma's eyes were threatening to pop out of her eye sockets...the veins in them were creepy. From the dried-up spit all over her mouth and chest to the scratch marks designing her arms and legs...Oma's appearance was one Laila never knew she would see in her life.

Tears pricked the girl's eyes, as she watched her sister's madness increase with every passing second.

"You're crying?!" Oma laughed, her smile wide and terrifying.

"You don't even deserve my tears," her sister replied, turning around, wiping them away.

Feeling overwhelmed with pent-up anger, Laila turns back around, "YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME!" she yells, kicking the metal bars, startling the insane woman.

"This could have been avoided if we just stayed with that witch! Who cares if we smelled like decaying animals?! WE HAD EACH OTHER! Why did you throw that away? What out here was worth leaving me behind?!"

Oma says nothing, watching her sister's first mental breakdown.

"And then you killed her! Why?! Because of some stupid love potion that didn't even last up to FOUR MONTHS! What about being queen drew you to such lengths?! What about being queen prompted you to push me down that hill when you were AWARE that I loved the king? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"