Cicatrice

Chapter XXXI

QUEEN ESTELLE BELSHAW

Lonely was an understatement.

After the incident with Eddie, things had been more uncomfortable than ever. He still needed to protect me, however, we wouldn't share a word. I would feel his glare on the back of my head, almost like he wanted to shoot daggers through me. Never in a thousand years would I have thought we'd be tangled in a quarrel, but here we were. 

The silence was violent. 

Slipped away into a peaceful slumber, what catches me off guard is when I feel as if I cannot breathe, just as the night as I was attacked. Feeling as if I were in a dream, I kept falling and falling, until I eventually woke up, yet saw nothing but darkness.

I still was unable to breathe. 

"Stop!" I scream, but merely the slightest muffle comes out of my voice. "Please, stop!" I plead for mercy, struggling to breathe, feeling my heart pulsating in my chest, begging for one, singular, desperate breath. 

Somebody had been trying to kill me once again. 

Using all of my force and power, I fight back with my arms, trying to desperately push the monster off of me, but it's no use. Their masculine frame made it far too difficult for me to overcome. 

I manage to sneak a glance of the person doing this to me, and to my surprise, it happens to be Malcolm. With my heart sinking to my chest, I wondered how I could be so blind. "Malcolm, please!" I beg, panting.

He lets go of me and I don't waste a second to breathe, however, I was unsure of why he had let go of me. 

"Malcolm, please. I'll be the perfect wife, I'll cook, I'll clean, I'll make love to you, I'll even let you have the throne, that's what you want, isn't it?" I breathe helplessly as he remains on top of me, his eyes dark as if an evil shadow casted alongside him. 

He stays quiet. 

"It's what you wanted all along!" I yelp. 

"Be quiet!" he hisses, his lips frowning tightly, darkness in his eyes. "What I want you cannot give to me, therefore you are now useless, Estelle. You are useless just like your father!" he spits. 

With a singular tear rolling down my cheek, he creeps up to my face, his lips to my ear. "And now you are going to die like him," he whispers, a devilish look on his face as he pulls out a rusty dagger, holding it up in the air, gaining momentum to stab me right in the heart, yet, I had no strength to move. 

Finding myself praying to god, I prayed that whoever would find me would be able to recover, with my blood flowing all around me, with my pale, cold skin and lifeless eyes. I prayed that somehow, some miracle, the baby would be okay and would be able to live a normal life. I knew that Marguerite would take great care of them for me. 

And most of all, I prayed that Eddie would forgive me. 

I had accepted my fate. 

Perhaps my fate could have been spared if I didn't make so many mistakes. 

⁂

I see a beautiful woman with electrifying blue eyes and brunette hair. She smiles at me endearingly, and I feel more at peace than I ever have been. I felt as if I had reached God's arms, but I wasn't sure why I was here. 

With my eyes tearing up, I stare into the woman's eyes, a chill running up my spine. "Mother, is that you?" I whisper whilst she touches my face gently, stroking my cheek with her thumb. 

"Why, yes, dear. It's me. It's nice to finally meet you," I hear her soothing voice for the very first time whilst I shut my eyes in adoration. I couldn't believe what was right in front of me, but it was here.

It was real. 

"What am I doing here, mummy?" I whisper. "I don't belong here," I continue as my voice quivers with fear. "I am a bad person,"

With her eyebrows furrowing, she appears concerned. "Bad? Este, dear, you are not a bad person," she says simply, and it's almost like her calmness radiated on to me so smoothly. "I've seen you grow up. All you are at fault for is a bad judgement. That does not mean you are bad,"  she affirms with a tight smile on her pink lips. 

"Perhaps you aren't ready to be here with me just yet," she suggests. "You still have so much ahead of you, Este,"  she whispers, pulling me in before delicately placing a kiss on my forehead. 

"Don't try to search for me. Remember, you will find me in places you would never think to look," she suggests, and I wasn't quite sure what she meant. "I love you, dear. See you soon," she whispers, before drifting away. 

Darkness.