The Rebel (#Wattys2016)

56. Lost Cause

Adeen opened her eyes. At first only a white light made itself clear to her, and as she squinted at it, she became aware of her surroundings. She was tied to a chair so tight her wrists and ankles burned, and her head was tied to a headrest. All she could move were her eyes. She sat in front of a white screen in the middle of a black room. Or that was what it seemed to her. She looked down at herself. Adeen was wearing a hospital gown, and hooked to her left arm was a clear plastic IV. Although she hated admitting it, she knew the IV fluids were making her stronger, keeping her alive. Her heart dropped.

If they were trying to make her better, they still needed her.

She wanted to get up and scream at them. Adeen wanted to grab Golmes and every one of his pawns by their shoulders and scream into their faces to just let her die. She imagined it. Their startled expression, then their wide eyes as she didn't beg for mercy, or to be set free, but to be killed.

Skander, Jasper and June were all gone, but they will rise again. Of this, Adeen was sure. June will be back to being a Lady, and she'd probably end up as Second Queen. Jasper will be back to being a successful army officer and Second Prince. Skander will heal his wounds and be whole again. He'd find another girl, a prettier, better girl, and he'll have a family of his own. Really, it's the least he deserved. He'll be King. She repeated those sentences in her mind, trying to brand those words into her brain, into her eyelids. They will all be fine.

But Adeen? Adeen was a lost cause.

She'd be tortured until she went insane and killed afterwards. Or, if she was lucky, perhaps she'd be killed today. Even if by some chance she survived, she'd be crazy. Adeen preferred being dead. She decided to close her eyes and silently wish for her death, and as she did so, he screen turned on. In the middle of the screen the People's Flag of Illea —the rebels' flag- stood proudly, waving in invisible wind. After a few seconds, it was replaced by a man's face. He had grayish hair and black eyes, and he was staring seriously at the screen.

"Citizens of Illea, breaking news. Today, August nineteenth, authorities have dropped bombs on the presumed site were the former princes and few terrorists hid." He swallowed, letting the sentence hang in the air. Adeen could almost hear the sound of a dozen hearts breaking at the news. Or maybe it was only one heart: hers. Maybe it had finally broken entirely down, and that was why it was so loud. "The bombs were battle bombs and strong enough to wipe out a radius of around twelve kilometers around the bunker were the insurgents were underground. As our trusted authorities are wise, no civilians were harmed and—," he stopped mid-sentence to press a finger to his right ear, "we have an update, ladies and gentlemen. The teams sent to examine the scene have reported no survivors. Former Prince Skander and Prince Jasper are dead."

No. No. No.

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, Princes Skander and Jasper Schreave have been confirmed dead."

No no no.

"Today marks a victory over those who have oppressed us for so long." The reporter said, smiling slightly.

Nononononono.

The screen turned off and Adeen stared at it. She glared at the white glass, and tears puddled in her eyes.

"No." She whispered at first. "NO!" She screamed it now, so loud she was certain her scream could have been heard halfway across the world. "No! No! Just!" She took in a breath, then whispered "Just let me die." She looked at the screen again. "Just. Let. Me. Die!" She knew they were listening, Golmes and his rats. Somewhere, he was staring at a screen. At her.

"What does it feel like?" Golmes asked. Adeen struggled to look for him, but his voice must have come through a intercom, since she couldn't see him. "Knowing you sacrificed yourself for a lost cause?" Adeen could almost see him shaking his head, disapproval rooted in his eyes. "It must suck. I must say, I don't envy you right now." He chuckled slightly. "Not one bit."

"Kill me." Adeen said. "You said it's a lost cause? Prove it. Kill me. Now."

"No." Golmes said. "No, I can't do that. You see, you are valuable to us. We still have a King to execute, along with a few traitors." He was smiling, Adeen could tell by his voice. "But, most importantly, we still have some messages we must get across. And you? You, Adeen, are going to be our loudspeaker." He stopped speaking for a moment, and when he did again, his voice sounded far away, and Adeen knew he was speaking to someone else. "Put her down." He said.

Adeen didn't fight the black edges that were invading her vision. She welcomed them, embraced them. Anything for a while without pain, without suffering. Without remembering Skander's lips on hers. When the edges overrode her vision, she fell into unconsciousness with a big, deep sigh.

Kinda short chapter... and late

So sorry about that guys, but school is killing me. I swear, trying to keep my grades up is feeling like trying to breathe underwater right now. It is chaotically painful.

This might be the last update for a little while, at least until things at school calm down a little, because atm I barely have time for myself after school, I spend all afternoon with my homework.

But yeah....

Remember to vote, comment and share the story, as every interaction is much appreciated! Also, thanks for getting the Rebel to 2K reads!

That's amazing!

Sorry if I keep being late on you guys, and I hope you understand...

Stay awesome! ~Crista