The Immortal Gardens - Emergent (book 1) (Wattys 2013)

Chapter 12- Deal with the Devil

 "How could you just let him escape like that!" I screamed at them, at Diana mostly,  when we lit the fire that evening. She was using her sword to dig small holes in the earth. "Why did you come with us if you were just going to let him get away like that?!"

"Did I have a choice!" She plunged her sword into the earth and looked up at me, her eyes red and watery.

"What do you mean a choice? He killed my father AND my Mother. That's the whole point of this journey! To get my revenge-"

"No, it's not.." Her eyes closed slowly as her voice trailed off. 

"What do you mean its not?!" I hissed, rage like a fire dwelling inside me. "If you killed him, or atleast HELPED me to killhim he wouldnt have gotten through the cracks of the earth and I would've avenged my father then restored balance! So don't tell me that you 'didn't have a choice'."

"What the hell did you expect me to do?! To live without knowing where my mom was in the damned place? I don't think so!" She hissed then drew her sword out of the dirt and angrily marched towards the end of the trail. 

"Diana!" I yelled after her, desperate to get some answers. She ignored my presence and continued walking down the Path until she reached a cliff, haning over a misty body of water.

"Diana!" I yelled again and grabbed her shoulder, whiel spinning her around violently.

"What?!" She screamed as she voiolently threw her body in my direction. Her eyes redder than before, her cheeks flushed and her perfectly shaped nose a bright cherry red. 

"What does your mom have to do with this?" I asked her a bit more calmly. 

In annoyance she shrugged me off then sat down and stared out at the skies. "psh. As if you care. You've gotten everything you wanted as a spoiled princess. It's time for you to wake up and smell the smoke Rosabella, reality set fire to your garden." 

"I do care. I admit to being spoiled I can assure you of that. I've never even laid eyes on my mother." I empathised as I sat down beside her and hugged my knees to my chest.

"I'm sorry."

"So tell me again why you let Hesikaya go?" I asked her more gently, aware that her past was a dark place, lined with sensitivity.

"It's kind of a long story." she began, eyes still planted in the distance. "My mother grew up in Hortus, close to where the garden of life was located.  She worked in the garden and played in the garden all the time with the kings 2 sons, Heikaya and her lover. As she got older her desires for him grew and his desires for her raged like a fire. He was planning to marry her and he knew she was going to accept. My mother went to her mother that evening to check up on her, but she was surprized to see she had a visiter. My father's name was Sirrus and he was looking for a wife, his shadow queen. He happened to be at my grandmother's that day when my mom came came home. He instantly claimed her as his bride and they had a wedding party to celebrate. My mom's lover was heart broken." Her tone saddened as the tale progressed

"She was heart broken as well. Coincidentally Hezikaya and my mother never lost  touch and neither did her lover, even after her became king. The only reason why she married My father was to cover up the fact that he raped her. He would do anything and everything in his power to get what he craved most.  My brother, Ohanzee, was born. He's the splitting image of my father. He even has his powers."

Immediately my mind flashed back to Ohanzee, sitting down in his chair, glaring out at all of us. 

" Maybe thats why Ohanzee didn't want to come. Because he doesn't care for mother the way I do. Anyway, 2 years after that my mother willingly had me for my father, to prove her loyalty to him. But she still missed her lover. When I was around 5, she began sneaking out at nights to see him. She wrote him letters and poems and even songs. Somehow, my father found out and began torturing her. He, locked her up in a dark room and bounded her hands and feet to the walls. He'd cut at her skin and curse her until her cries of agony could be heard in the dead of the night. He kept her there until she eventually broke free with the help of Hezikaya. I've been looking for her ever since. Both me and my brother. My father raised us like killers, but he took special attention in Ohanzee. Ohanzee killed our father."