Shadow and Light

24

Author

Earlier that night

"You have to go?" she asked, she had asked that question almost 100 times already, "Yes Alaaya I have to go, my brother needs me." He replied yet again for the 100th time.

He was securing his important documents, his clothes. It looked like he was going away again, even though he was but for her it felt like a pang of dread, she had witnessed this before, that time she didn't see him for 3 years.

"Why cant somebody else go?" she had changed her question this time.

"Because I am the prince and the...foreign minister, yes" he had made that term right at the spot, he was like a foreign minister but he wasn't given the title for it.

She pouted, her eyes moist, he saw that and sighed.

"I am going to come back the day after tomorrow" he said, reaching out his hand to touch her face, "Promise" he finished, his thumb caressing her cheek.

She closed her eyes under his touch, "Don't break it" she replied, "I would never do that Alaaya" he touched his forehead to hers, "Never" he breathed, their lips inches apart.

But he moved away, making her shudder, "See you soon" he said.

"See you" she said and gave a sad smile.

She was sending her life line away how could she be happy?

He left without looking back, because he knew if he looked, he wouldn't be able to leave.

The Shadow

My hands were tied behind my back, by rope not by shackles this time.

My legs were numb from sitting on the hard cold stone for so many hours, "This is how you are supposed to be treated, like an animal" A voice penetrated the quite, disrupting the calmness the dungeon was offering.

"Druhyu" I spit his name out.

"Yes, me." He crouched in front of me, "The man whose father you mercilessly killed, Shadow" his words laced with hatred and poison. "So little Druhyu wants revenge" I said in a sing-song voice, a smile spread on my face.

Next second he slapped me, hard across the face, "You don't talk to me that way, Bitch!" he said, "I can talk however I want you son of a gun, I am the Queen of this Kingdom" I stuck my tongue out, behaving like my old self, crazy.

"You will let me go eventually" I tilted my head; he flexed his jaw.

"Not eventually, now" he replied. "Why? Your realised you don't have the balls to face me?" I laughed.

He slapped me again on the other cheek, then grabbed me by my hair, I didn't even let out a scream, I was enjoying the pain. "You keep your little mouth shut" he breathed near me, "Oof, at least brush your teeth, I can tell what you had for dinner" I looked away and he gripped my hair tighter.

After almost a minute of his mindless, mundane blackmailing and threatening, he asked his soldiers to untie me.

I stood up and stretched my arms, "Don't try anything stupid, they will kill you" he warned, I sucked in a breathe dramatically, putting my hand on my face, "I am scared" I teased, "I am in no mood for murder at the moment, so can we like talk it out or something" I stated, "Talk it out? TALK IT OUT?" he yelled, I looked away in disgust, "Ew, you are throwing your dirty saliva on me" I removed the non-existent saliva from my face and rubbed my hands on my clothes.

"There is no talking Shadow, I will kill you" he threatened me, again. When will these men understand that all this doesn't work on me?

"Yeah sure, please do that, in the meantime, take me back to my chambers, my assistant will be there any minute and if she finds out I am missing, the whole palace will be in turmoil" I smirked, "And please give me my shoes, they are more expensive than your life" I asked one of the guards.

"I have your shoes, here" he whispered something in his soldier's ears and when he came back, he had my shoes with him, Druhyu saw them and smiled.

"Wear these" the soldier put them down and that's when I saw the reason behind his smile. Inside the shoe were a lot of small thin needles spread unevenly on the surface of the shoe.

I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh, "What is this?" I asked the general, "Your punishment" he said, "I am not wearing these" I countered, "You have to...or your assistant dies" he looks at one of the soldiers on his left and nods.

"Ok, ok fine, nobody touches her" I pointed at the soldier who was about to leave.

"I will wear them" I gulped, I had no idea what was I doing but before I could contemplate my actions my feet had slid inside the needle rich shoe and I could feel my blood oozing out of my body, but I didn't scream or yell, the pain was bearable.

"Now you can go" he called for a soldier who escorted me back, "I will stay with you, all the time and if you even attempt to take these shoes off, I go and kill your assistant, understood?" the guard said, I nodded.

The pain was making me dizzy, but I wasn't going to give in yet, my ego was too big, and fainting because of a man was not on my bucket list for the year.

To fuel their annoyance, I didn't sit or lie down, I kept walking here and there.

Telling the cook as to what is to be made for the day, looking through the new servants' applications, approving holidays, I did all the duties that were assigned to me by the king so that nobody suspects me.

I smiled throughout the day, but the pain was killing me, I knew my feet were bloody red by now, there was now way the wounds are able to heal.

I spent the whole day without a wrinkle on my forehead, I had acted so well even my assistant hadn't seen something was wrong, as to how I randomly stopped mid walk and how I would limp sometimes, she did question as to why there was a general's guard doing with us, I had completely ignored the question.

It was around midnight when I actually sat down, the soldier looked at me displeased, "Feel the pain?" he asked, "No, I am not human, I don't feel" I explained, he rolled his eyes and sat on the sofa, "Get lost" I told him, "I am going to sleep here and if the king found out you saw the queen sleep, he will personally behead you" I looked at him tired and numb from my waist down.

He thought for a moment but made the right decision, eventually.

"Don't take them off, but if you are a bitch you would" he mocked me, he had figured out my weak point, he had hurt my ego.

So of course, I didn't take off my shoes that night, while lying down, the needles didn't hurt but the damage was already done.

The next morning, my feet felt dead, I couldn't move them at all, but after trying for several minutes I made them work.

I walked out the gate, the soldier heard me and stood up, he looked at me and smiled, he knew his antic had worked.

"Your highness" Alaaya came running to me, a smile on her face, "They are back" she announced, "Already?" I asked, a grin automatically appeared, she nodded, I walked with her, as fast as I could, I wanted to meet him.

I wanted to meet my husband and tell him everything.

But the moment I reached him and our eyes met, mine fluttered close, my reality turned black and the last thing I remembered were his solid hands around my waist, "Ada, Ada" his concerned voice was muffled, his hand gently patting my cheek and then I drifted to sleep. 

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