The Dragon King

Chapter 7

Heir Baronet Roland Castian of Emberhelm, Vrinian

EMBERHELM, VRINIAN

The castle is alive with daily routine, but inside the room, all is quiet. Marnie sleeps softly and deeply. Roland likes watching her sleep, for, in sleep, all her worries are gone. He can't leave her to be alone, to wake up without anyone near her. He wonders what she is dreaming about and if she is dreaming about him.

She cries out from deep pain, suddenly startling Roland while placing his hand in hers comfortingly. "You are safe, Marnie." He calls out to her, and he can see that she is starting to awaken.

"Zircon." She stirs while blinking awake, focusing on nothing in particular.

"No, it's me, Marnie. Roland." He answers soothingly, but suddenly she is more awake than ever.

Her bright eyes look at him, and he can see it. She knows what he did. As if to confirm it, she pulls her hand from his and touches her side, wincing as she does. "Get out." She voices through gritted teeth.

"Marnie, just listen...." Roland tries, reaching out for her, but she flinches away from him.

"I said get out!" She yells while trying to get up. She whimpers in pain but doesn't stop moving.

Roland knows she has to stop, or her wound could get worse. "You have to lay still, Marnie."

"Get away from me!" She screams, pushing him when he tries to stop her. She looks around the room, unfamiliar with her surroundings. "Somebody help me!" She pleads for help, but all the while, Roland tries to get her to stop. "Please!" She calls; every second that ticks by, her hope begins to drain. Roland tries to grab her, and she uses her foot to push against him, sending him to the floor, but in doing so, she cries out in pain.

"Marnie, please stop. Just listen to me." Roland tries, scrambling to get back up.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say. You stabbed me!" She yells. Her face starts to harden into hatred as the realization begins to fully hit her. "You tried to kill me!"

"I wasn't trying to kill you." Roland counters as though his reasons are apparent. "I knew you would survive. I just wanted you to go back to the castle. And now you are safe and alive."

"No thanks to you!" She crawls to the edge of the bed, far away from him. "You don't know what it is like, Roland! You don't know what it feels like to feel what I did, to feel the injuries of someone else as your own. You don't know what it is like to lose your family. Zircon was all I had left, and the last thing he saw was you trying to kill me. I can't just feel his pain, Roland. He can feel mine. He felt that dagger as much as I did. I saw him try to get to me, and that killed him." She yells in hysteria at Roland, who has fallen into a shocked silence.

Marnie cries out again, clutching her side and falling off the edge of the bed. Roland runs around the bed and tries to help her, but she starts screaming, not in pain, but at him. "I don't want you anywhere near me, Roland! You can die for all I care!" She hisses, trying to kick him. Her bright eyes darkening into a glare so much so that Roland flinches back. "Get out of here and never come back. You will never touch me again. You will never even look at me again. If you do, I will kill you, Roland!" She threatens, and something deep inside Roland thinks she might actually be crazy enough to do it.

Roland shakes his head, getting that thought out of his head. This is Marnie; his Marnie. She would never hurt him. "You can't kill me, Marnie. Please. If you only allow yourself to admit that you love me, then you will understand why...."

"Love you?" She grimaces with a hiss. "How can I love you after what you did? Topaz wouldn't even have loved you after this. In fact, Topaz wouldn't have loved you at all. She never did, but you just couldn't see it." Her words catch Roland off guard, pulling at a part of his heart. "You really think Topaz wanted to marry you?" She lashes out, trying to push him again. "Topaz made a promise to join the sisters at the Church in the Mountain. She was going to take her vow, and she would never have broken a vow or even a promise."