Rainbow

13

Iris' feet lost strength and slumped down. Her eyes were glued to the floor, feeling helpless. She then raised her head to see Cadere. Their eyes met for a moment, though it might be only an illusion. Only her wish. Cadere calmly closed her eyes, as if she were waiting for her fate.

No, like her vow, what Cadere was waiting for was the rainbow. Deity, fairy, dragon, obviously these existed but never had once Iris heard that the rainbow was the messenger of the God.

"God must want me to die out of craziness..."

Despair shook her to the core. It felt like a piece of glass lodged into her throat and her limbs bound in thick chains. It felt too real. Iris couldn't form a word nor move her body, she just screamed in silence and dug her nails into the palms of her hands.

Her mouth was wide open as much as she could, as only sobs and whimpers came out while banging her forehead to the floor. Still, even in a soundless scream, to her, it felt like she did scream loud. While engulfed in anguish on the floor with blood trickling from her palms and seeping into her dress, her wail faded away.

"The King won't be able to escape death. The wheel of fate will come to the King and crush his heart. If the karma didn't come, I will. Even if I die, I'll make it even."

Cusses naturally flowed out of Iris' mouth. Grudge and anger were concentrated on the King. It was her curse of playing on the palm of a cruel fate. It was also her curse for putting Cadere in that damned fate. She spat out all kinds of hatred and swears she would ever say or think of when she lived comfortably as a Princess.

'Rogen R Parviz, may you never find peace in life or death, may your grim face be distorted in pain. I'll gouge those cursed eyes out, break the fingers that strangled me, cut off the tongue you use to order Cadere's death, and slice the tendons on your legs, so you can't walk. I hope you cry in pain as you see every limb of your body being cut off.'

And it had to happen. She couldn't sit still and pretend to be dumb. Iris had no inclination to accept everything as fate as she did when she was first dragged here. She was going to throw fate away into the dirt. She would change it herself.

Iris stood up hurriedly and reached out her hands to Cadere who was sitting motionless on a large rock with eyes closed. Her fingertips meet on the cold glass.

"Rest assured, Princess. I'll save you. Did you know? Eckebrecht holds forbidden magic. So you won't die. I won't let you die."

A bitter laugh erupted and soon vanished. It was such a shame their last time turned like this. Had she known this would happen, she would be a little bit softer toward her. For Cadere who smiled brightly at her, Iris presented this wide smile of hers. She knew it was no use regretting now, but still, she couldn't help but be trapped with 'what if'.

This time would be the real last kiss and a long kiss. At that moment, Cadere's lips oddly tugged upward. Her eyelids fluttered open, unveiling her black eyes.

"The rainbow had given me the answer. Thus, I won't die. Go on, shoot me now."

A foreign smile and a calm voice, something didn't fit at all with the situation. However Iris didn't raise suspicion, she just smiled from ear to ear and twirled around.

Iris wasn't confident she could kill the King. One can't easily change the impossible into possible no matter how hard one tries. The moment she took a step out of this palace, she probably would be arrested, since the Knights were guarding the palace.

Albeit, she slowly walked toward the door, then straightened out her messy hair. Iris couldn't care less about the bloodstain on her white dress. The bloodstain might be darker after a while, but she didn't feel the need to change since it was a small amount of blood.

Before her hand reached the bell, she halted. The thought of Eckebrecht Kingdom's welfare came to her mind. If she kept going, all the royal family of Eckebrecht would be killed and the people would be coerced to be slaves and lead to painful lives.

'...And so?' Iris bit her bottom lip. Her parents and siblings had forgotten about her and lived comfortably. They could smile from ear to ear while knowing deep inside how she was being treated. They moved on like it was any other day. As for the people, they didn't even know Iris was in Parviz in the first place. When Iris' purpose to come here was to protect their happiness and laughter...

"What have they ever done for me? Have my parents and siblings ever sent me a letter? Have they sent a delegation to see if I'm safe? Ridiculous."

Her heart and spirit which had been crumpled bit by bit for a long time ago were crushed in an instant. The sound of dried leaves being stumped buzzed on her head.

Then her hand moved to ring the bell. The door opened as she passed the bowed knight. No one mentioned the blood that stained the dress. No one stopped her. Iris lifted her skirt slightly and walked down the stairs with poise and an elegant gait. The moment the splendid, massive door made of gold opened, and her feet stepped out of it, the tip of the spear touched her neck.

Iris beamed a wide smile.