DONOVAN (Book Three)

THIRTY-FIVE

"Hello?" I make out a cough as my eyes wander around in complete darkness. "Eddie? Solomon? Anyone?"

My voice echoes as I reach to feel anything that tells me where the hidden door is, but all I can think of is a stone-cold wall.

"Solomon?" I called out again, and after I did, my footstep on a stone that suddenly lit torches all around me and a hallway.

I call out Solomon's name because calling Eddie is a no-no.

I took a step forward again until my foot hit something.

I look down and see a skeleton on the ground. I scream at the top of my lungs, backing away as I trip and fall on my ass to something complex. I turn my head and see more skeletons on the ground piled. I panic and move away quickly, taking a breather and calming my beating heart.

"This place is more of a graveyard than a burial for a princess." I pat my chest where my heart lies as I calm.

Remembering my hands are tied, I look around for anything sharp. Found a dagger with a chipped tip. I started to see the binding as much as I could. With a few strokes, I'm able to break free. I stood up and rubbed my wrist as I looked around.

The inside of this palace is as magnificent as the outside. This palace is more ancient than any bone left in the ground. The walls stand mute as if waiting for water to call the ruffling wind. But we are underground; I don't think this palace catches a brisk wind.

I walk down the hall, trailing my eyes to wander and look for a way out.

I hug myself and be cautious of my surroundings. This place has been kept away, hidden from tomb raiders or assholes like Eddie to find. But that is too late now, and he's probably more worried about his precious treasures than a person's safety.

I hear a noise as I abruptly look behind me to find nothing—my body just jitters, making my heart race again. Spooky doesn't entirely cover it, and eerie is an understatement. I'm in a fucking burial monument for a princess.

The walls are al, and this place smells like the dead. Those bones back there were probably people who wanted to get the treasure but failed. And they ended at the same place, meaning they had entered the same way I did and had nowhere out.

I stop and sigh. "Great..."

The path continued for another minute until I reached the end and stumble-like a sizeable temple-like area. Tall gold pillars wrap in vines, two waterfalls in the back, and live plants and flowers surround the place. It's like I step into Disneyland.

"This must be Pandora." I sigh. "Am I going to meet the Na'vi people here?"

Before I go crazy and be mesmerized by this place, I see a gold coffin in the center.

"That must be where Princess Amihan is lay to rest." I feel a cold chill running up my spine as I pull Solomon's jacket tighter. "So cold in here."

While worried about being stuck here forever, I spot a pedicel in the center. I walk towards it, and up close, there is a book. Leather and looks worn out. This book is the size of a medical textbook. I know because my mom bought me a textbook about being a nurse for my eighth birthday. She wanted me to be a nurse. Instead of studying, I use the book as a stool or a cushion when I'm too short for high tables. I even used some pages to make a paper machete; my mom was so angry that instead of grounding me, I had to attend her book club meetings and listen to horny women and their book about a man named Pablo.

Instead, I would be grounded for a month rather than get nightmares for a year.

There was dust on it. The particles made me cough as I blew to brush it off, only to inhale. I read the title as if it was in an ancient language.

"Amihan," I whisper in the ancient tongue, pronouncing the word.

It wasn't hard. Nay taught me a few letters of the ancient language, so reading the title of this book came in handy. Now here comes the fun part.

I open the book to the first page and read the passage.

It told the story of Amihan and her childhood. It turns out she's a commoner's daughter, and her half-siblings bully her every day brings, driving her daily. Some find her a nuisance, while others see kindness in her.

But in an environment with no love from her kin, she always smiles and hides her pain. Then her father sent her to a neighboring kingdom to wed King Reginald, where she found love with him. Because Princess has beauty and a kind heart, King Reginald spoils her so much that she is envious of his harem, especially Queen Dian. Princess Amihan isn't married to the King because they weren't wed. Then one night, she found out she was pregnant. Princess Amihan was the only woman in the harem to become pregnant. This made the jealous queen furious and sted her more because she could not conceive. She poisoned Amihan and the unborn child. The King was angry and executed the quis harem without objections.

"Wow, tall about heartbroken and cruel," I say as I continue to read.

After the beheading of his queen and harem, King Reginald decided to make a palace for Princess Amihan. He had turned the Princess's buried where his beloved wo be in peace.

I looked around and noticed the beauty and how it looked like a magical place.

He had all his treasures, including the handmade necklace, be put with Amihan. Then, the servants and guards who served the Princess were ordered to stay within the palace until their souls protected her in the afterlife.

Looking back, maybe those skeletons aren't raiders but the servants who served the Princess.

So they stayed below here until they died one by one.

"What the fuck kind of ritual is this?" I say in confusion. "I know this guy loves the Princess, but he didn't need to make the servants and guards die here slowly to protect her even in the afterlife. It says commitment. I say fucking stupid."

I close the book and stare at the gold coffin. So what Eddie said about Princess Amihan and her treasures is true.

Walking to the coffin, I touch the surface and see ancient language that has been engraved.

"Here lies the true queen of the Philippines, my heart and love. Everything I have will be given to her to show that no matter what, the treasure can not compare to her beauty. I, King Reginald Tupas, will always recognize Princess Amihan as my one true queen."

The KKingtruly loves Amihan even though they weren't official husband and wife, but I can tell with this palace and his everlasting love confession engraved on her coffin.

I'm jealous of their relationship and pity they didn't have a peaceful married life. I looked at his place again and wondered how II would ever sit next to the coffin and hugged myself. I kept myself and the baby warm. I start to feel fatigued and lay my head against the cold coffin. I can also think of nature right now, but I can't piss here; I will be disrespectful. I need to go.

"Oh bloody hell!" I hiss and squeeze my thighs tight, preventing myself from pissing. "Please, Don, hurry up."