The Crazy Tyrant Wants To Kill Me

6

I didn't know whether to feel sympathy or hostility towards Cedric. Sure, having the person you adored to backstab you definitely stung, but it was no excuse to take the lives of poor innocent villagers every month. No excuse for such selfish, heartless behavior. He had a mindset that everyone was below him just because he was the emperor, which was wrong. 

If I was honest, Cedric deserved Julia's betrayal. People like him don't deserve to experience the heartwarming feeling of being loved and cared for. 

The rusty metal doors swung open as a middle-aged guard stepped inside, his shoulders stiff with tension. He eyed me with a skeptical glance, his large figure domineering over me. 

"The emperor requests for your presence," he grunted, his voice raspy and laced with gruff. 

The emperor? What else did he want from me? No way he actually thought I was Julia, right? The guard reached his filthy hands toward me, his fingertips brushing against my wrists before Violetta stepped in front of me.

"Where's my daughter?" she asked, her voice tremulous. 

The guard's bushy brows furrowed together in frustration. "What daughter? Get out of my way before-"

Violetta's feeble hands tugged at the guard's collar, her eyes gleaming with tears threatening to fall. "Where is she?"

"You mad woman!" The guard thrust her against the brick walls, her back slamming against the hard surface. She cried out in pain as she slid down, her arms powerlessly falling to her sides.

"Violetta!" I crumbled down beside her, wiping at the blood trickling down the back of her head. "Oh my gosh." I cradled her in my arms, feeling her faint pulse. 

I whipped my head towards the guard who carelessly lit a cigarette, disdain and mockery flickering in his eyes. 

"Hurry, call for help, she's hurt!" I wrapped my arms around Violetta, watching as her life faded before my eyes. 

To my surprise, the guard shrugged and placed his foot on Violetta's unmoving hand, pressing the heel of his boot into her skin. 

"What are you doing?" I screamed, reaching over to bat his stupid foot away. What did he think he was doing? "She's dying, do something!"

"Shh, calm down, it doesn't matter whether she's dead or alive. Once your thrown into these jail cells, your life doesn't matter." He knelt down beside us, exhaling a cloud of smoke from his mouth, revealing his yellowed teeth. "The emperor said so..."

I didn't pay attention to what he said next. All I could focus on was Violetta's unmoving chest and pulse that faded into nothing. Her head limply rolled sideways onto my lap, her eyes bulging with hatred and regret. 

"Now, now, let's get going. Can't keep the emperor waiting." The guard clucked his tongue, yanking me to my feet. Violetta's body slumped against the cold floor. 

The emperor. It was all because of him; Violetta's death, Violetta's daughter's death, my lost freedom, the murders of those innocent girls. 

I wanted to kill him. To dig a knife into his chest, plunging the blade into his heart until his mouth filled with so much blood he gurgled and choked. I wanted him to experience what his victims had felt. No-he deserved much, much worse. 

The world would be a better place without him. 

I was so lost in thought I didn't realize we had arrived at Cedric's chamber until the guard shoved me inside, throwing me off of my balance. I toppled over, landing on my stomach with a hard crash.

I lay on stomach, my head spinning with nauseous as Cedric dismissed the guard. I peaked out from the pink curls that fell over my face, hiding my clenched jaw and reddened eyes from Cedric. I heard the creak of his bed as he stood up, smoothing out his robe.

"Don't you have anything to say?" He inquired, turning his face towards me. 

I didn't respond. If only I had some sort of weapon... 

"Get up," he commanded, obvious exasperation in his voice. "Have you forgotten your manners?" 

I bit my bottom lip, my fingers curling into fists as he approached me, his looming shadow falling over my pathetic form. Go away... go away... go away...

An abrupt hand grabbed me by the hair, wrenching to my feet. He pressed his face into mine, staring into my reddened eyes, pooling with tears of pain. With a satisfied smirk, he released his grip on my hair.

"When I saw you on the stage, I thought you had realized your mistakes," Cedric began, his fingers brushing against my flushed cheeks. "I thought you finally came to the realization you loved me; that you were nothing but a worthless, unwanted brat without me. But it doesn't seem so. You don't even bother hiding your disgust..."

 His expression changed faster than flipping the page of a book; anger etched across his face as he grabbed me by the throat, his nails digging into my skin. 

Oh my gosh. This lunatic. 

A tear dropped from my eye. Was I going to die like this? Join Violetta and the five girls that were beheaded before me? 

"Explain yourself, Julia," Cedric snarled, his grip tightening. "I don't understand. If you didn't realize your mistakes, how did you allow yourself to get captured so easily? Your smarter than this, Julia." 

I clawed at his hand gripping at my neck, my lungs burning for air. His nails drew blood. "I'm not her."

"Oh? What was that?" He pushed me against the wall. "Don't tell me your continuing that pathetic lie that your not Julia, but her sister." He threw back his head and laughed.

No... no, no, no. My life wasn't going to end like this. Not like this. With the last of my strength, I grabbed the glass flower vase on the book shelf, bringing it down on his head. The pot shattered over his skull, his mouth falling open in shock as he stumbled backwards.