Royal Blood

Chapter Thirty Four

There are dead bodies everywhere, in front of me, to the sides of me, below and above me. Blood seeps out of their bodies, oozing onto me. My pale skin slowly becomes painted in a deep crimson red, their deaths all washed upon me. I try and move but the stickiness of blood petrifies me in the spot, even causing my eyes to stay wide open, forcing me to watch the dead.

To begin with, they are just faceless bodies but the longer I look at them, the more features began to develop. Lifeless eyes, followed by slack, open mouths gaze back at me and slowly they begin to develop into familiar faces.

Macy and Jillian flash before my eyes, soon followed by some of the guards I shot. Jasper and Max soon join the sea of dead, causing a rotting feeling to build up in my stomach. Shaking and writhing on the spot, I try and break free but suddenly thousands of pairs of hands take hold of my body, holding me in place.

I let out a scream but nothing comes out. I try again and again but the hands begin to cover my mouth and pulling me under, deep under all of the bodies. They are downing me in the sea of dead.

Sweat is pouring down my face, I can feel it though I still have my eyes closed shut. I throw my head into my pillow, hiding from the world. It feels so soft against my skin and so comfy. Actually, when I think about it, my whole body feels relaxed on the mattress I am laying on. It is soft, allowing my body to make a mark on it. Running my hands up and down, I feel a blanket that is laying on top of me, soft like velvet.

Moving my hands away from the blanket, I stretch them out to either side of me. There is so much space. This is definitely not one of the beds in the cells, or even in any of the hotels that I stayed at. Relief floods through my body along with regret. A part of me really wants to keep my eyes closed because if I open them, then this bed might just be a dream but at the same time it might not be.

I open my eyes, one at a time, expecting to find myself in my bedroom, in the palace. To my surprise, that is not where I am although I am not that wrong.

The room is painted very similarly to mine in the palace, the bed is practically the same but other than that, everything else is smaller. There's a door that leads to my bathroom and then another to get out but no walk in wardrobe here. Just a normal, everyday wardrobe which is more than what I have had in the last few weeks. I could almost cry with happiness to be back home. Kind of.

I wonder why I have been brought here rather then straight to the palace. Sure my mother would want to see me straight away? Apparently not because here I am, in Inveress, in the very north of The Island. We used to come up here when I was younger for holidays and this is where we would stay. My mother would normally be too busy to spend any time with me but I remember the hours I would spend in the beach with Louis and sometimes Crystal if she was invited.

Why am I here now though?

Climbing out of my bed, I realise my body aches all over. I ache all over and groan to myself as if I am an old woman. At the end of my bed are a pair of slippers that I slip onto my feet along with a dressing gown which I wrap around myself, covering the pyjamas I am wearing. I wonder who put those one me?

The sun has risen, allowing me to faintly see my reflection in the glass door which leads out onto a balcony. I look like me, long black hair, green eyes and yet something looks out of place. Maybe it is the scars that now cover my face, or how sunken in my skin looks from the lack of food. I have bags under my eyes from little sleep that I have had.

I am recognisably but only just.

Turning the handle on the door, I walk out into the balcony, feeling the fresh air on my skin. The second of salt fills my nose while I listen to the crashing of the waves onto the beach. The rays of the sun hit my skin, warming me up ever so slightly. I still have not stopped shaking since the dream.