Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 3: The Princess - Chapter 6

She took a few moments to calm herself down before saying, "I told you, I know that you have no choice but to do this eventually, that you will do this eventually."

He looked incredulously at her, unwilling to go along with what she's saying. "Why do you sound so sure? If you just give me more time, I might find a way out for both of us."

"No. You won't. I know," she said firmly.

His temper was rising again and he almost yelled at her again. "'I know this, I know that.' You keep saying that you know." He pleaded with her again. "Why won't you just give me a chance?"

Her temper flared again and she yelled, "You won't have a chance! Everywhere you turn, you'll always end up in the same place." She closed her eyes and her features softened a little, the anger replaced by something resembling fear. "I know. I saw it. You will do this eventually."

"You... saw?" His voice was laced with disbelief. He grabbed her and adamantly asked, "What did you see? How?"

Her shoulders tensed up and her mouth tightened. She sighed and slowly said, "I met someone, a seer. They showed me the future, mine, yours, ours. The longer you delay this the worse it will be for both of us."

"How can you be so sure that they're a seer? Seeing the future is a rare ability, even for us. They could just be trying to manipulate you," he insisted, not wanting to believe what he's hearing.

"I saw this exact scene. I saw what will happen if you don't do this now. I saw how much more painful it will be for both of us." Her face scrunched up with pain and worry. She pleaded with him again. "That's why I'm begging you. Just stop fighting and end this now."

He let go of her and paced frantically. "I don't want to do this! There must be some way." He grabbed her again and showed her the dagger. "We could both run away. I have this. I can protect you with this."

She touched his face and looked at him with eyes full of sadness and pain. "I saw what will happen if we do that. They'll keep hunting us no matter where we go. You'll have to go against your own family and it will hurt you because you care about them. But you'll end up killing some of them until they eventually overwhelm you and trap us. Then, you'll have no choice but to use that dagger on me."

"Why? That doesn't make sense." His eyes darted around, refusing to accept hers. "Why would I use the dagger on you?"

She continued to hold him, staying firm and resolute as he started heaving in agitation, and carefully said her next words. "Because you'll need that dagger in the future but it isn't yours yet until you give it a sacrifice. The more valuable the sacrifice is to you, the stronger the binding would be. No one would be able to take it from you after you bind it to yourself."

"I'll find another way. I don't need this. I'll figure this out," he said stubbornly, unwilling to let go of any slim chances he might grab. "Just give me more time. Please," he begged her.

"There isn't another way. The stakes are too high. Everything is at stake. You will lose everything if you don't do this."

He let go of the dagger, grabbed her face and pressed his forehead against hers. He looked straight into her eyes and said, "You are my everything."

She smiled sadly at him. "I know you'll say that. You've always been hopelessly romantic. Know this, I've never stopped loving you and will never stop loving you."

"Why are you saying goodbye? Come with me. Please," he continued begging her.

She pulled away from him and gently kissed his forehead. "No, love. You have to make your choice now. Either you end this now or you leave. I won't let you stay and I won't go with you. Trust me. It will be easier if you leave than if you stay or I go with you." She let go of him and leaned back to let him look at her whole body. "Choose now, me or everything else?"

He reached out to her. "Why can't I have you and everything? There must be some other way."

She met his hand with hers and pressed her palm against his. "There isn't another way. You still have plenty of time to choose here but I won't let you stay for too long."

He closed his hand on hers and held it fiercely. "I don't want to choose! Why do I have to choose?"

She leaned closer to him again to get his attention. "Love, look at me. Do you trust me?"

"I do. I still trust you despite what you've done to me."

"Do you believe in me?"

"I don't-- I want-- I don't want to believe in this!" He let go of her hand and turned away from her.

She pressed against his back and insisted, "But do you believe me?"

"I do. You're not someone who will joke or lie about this." He looked back at her. "This isn't to your advantage. You're asking for your death, a permanent one. This isn't like you."

She smiled at him. "Silly prince. Everything I've done, every choice I've made has always been for you. I want to give you everything that you want but won't take. I took power so I can give it to you and make you my king." Her smile wavered but it stayed on her face. "But it looks like I won't be able to give it to you now. So I'm doing the next best thing."

Hearing her call him her king brought back childhood memories of playing pretend. She would always pick him as her king whenever she gets to be the queen and he would always pick her as his queen on the very rare occasion that he gets to be the king despite the protests of their other playmates. "I don't need power. I don't want anything. I just want you."

"You're still denying yourself and running away. I've seen you. I've always watched you. I know how much you crave power. To stand above the others. To stand on your own. But you're also afraid of it. Afraid of what you can do. Afraid of being trapped by it." She put her arms around his neck and clung to him. "What I'm trying to give you now isn't power. You'll have it on your own, on your own terms. I'm giving you a burden. I'm giving you a way to protect yourself. I'm asking you to please protect yourself. Choose yourself just this once. For me."

He was having a hard time breathing again and coming to a decision. The intensity of the situation and the proximity of her body was starting to overwhelm his senses. He clenched his fists and trembled, his face pinching from the effort of holding himself back. The tips of her fingers brushing against his jaw as she fell back to the bed smiling was all it took to break his resistance this time.

He caught her by the waist just before her back hit the bed and sank with her, smashing his lips onto hers before taking her fiercely like he meant to prove himself. She took everything he gave and gave back with the same ferocity, letting him do what he wanted before pushing him for more like she meant to sacrifice herself to him and urge him to take it. They didn't use any magic to sustain them this time and simply kept going until exhaustion took them both at the same time and they fell asleep in each other's arms.