It was almost 3 am and the chandeliers were dimmed. I watched the faint glow of the stars on the broken window while Namir rested in my lap. He hasn’t woken up yet and it’s making me worry. The tiger is still breathing though, but still unconscious.
While I was deep in my thoughts, my stomach growled audibly. I wasn’t able to enjoy the food before the party was over. It’s all Amaris' fault for ruining the night.I decided to go to the kitchen to grab something to eat. I walked cautiously not to make any sound. As I was on my way, I saw a shadow of a woman walking toward a small rigid door near the chimney. She was wearing a cloak so I was not able to peek at her face. I hid under the long table and watched her open it. She lit a candle and entered the small portal. I was anticipating following her, but my instinct was pushing me to heed.I took a lamp and followed her. The space was like an abandoned tunnel. She was already far away but I was afraid sheQueen Morrigan asked for mint tea when she woke up. She was still thinking about the boy who looked like Aries, his missing son. She got up from bed and took the wooden comb from the bedside table. She headed to the exquisite mirror standing near the window and gently brushed her hair. She was blankly watching her reflection when another woman showed up in the mirror. A sudden gust of cold air made her body shiver.“Where is my real daughter?” A low growl whispered behind her ear.The queen turned to face the angry woman and greeted her with a trembling smile. “Y-you’re here, Raven. Why didn’t you show up at the party last night?” “I did. That’s why I heard everything you said to Nemiah.” Raven answered.During the night when the queen and Nemiah talked behind the curtains, Raven pretended to be a rat and followed her daughter. She didn’t want to scare her daughter so she hid and just watched Nemiah secretly. When she heard what the queen has spoken and sa
It was too dark in the forest. The light of the moon was clouded and it seemed it would rain anytime soon. As gloomy as the outlook, Nemiah’s heart was heavy as they ran through the deep woods. As expected, it started to rain. Nemiah’s tears streamed down, synchronizing with the cry of the heavens. Namir heard her whimper so he stopped and took shade under the lushes of trees. She cried louder as the rain became heavier. Namir saw Nemiah's burden so he wrapped his body around her to give her warmth. “Why is this happening to me?! I want to go home! God, please… I can’t take this anymore.” She cried to the night sky and flashes of lightning struck through the large tree in front of her. The impact was so powerful that it made the tree split up into two. Suddenly, it stopped raining. The dark clouds uncovered the outstretching light of the moon. Nemiah was astounded as she saw thousands of fireflies aligning forward from the split tree. She stood and wiped the tears clouding her visi
Nemiah gagged her mouth with her trembling hands to silence her scream. But Caius already caught her behind the bushes with her tiger who has a snake in its bloodstained mouth. They looked at each other for a moment before they could react. “Hey,” Nemiah mused when their eyes met.“Why are you hiding in there? Didn’t you hear us searching for you?” Caius asked, infuriated.“I-I didn’t. We were busy killing the snake so I didn’t notice you were already there.” She lied with a deceitful grin.Caius raised her left brow, unconvinced. He sighed uncomfortably when he noticed Nemiah’s clothes were soaked and her skin was almost see-through. He took off his cloak and tossed it to her.“Cover yourself. How could you bathe in such freezing water? Have you gone mad?” He asked Nemiah without looking at her.“It rained,” Nemiah chided while putting on Caius’ furry white cloak. The cloak smells exactly like Caius and it made her snort. “Why are you looking for me, anyway? I already left the palac
“Who is this man?” Vivar asked when he saw Namir sitting beside Nemiah. He has caught three big carp and two small trout. He stepped closer to the fire. His trousers were dripping and his tousled hair was flattened on his face. He shook his head to shake off the water on his hair.“It’s the cat,” Caius answered.“The what?” Vivar asked confusedly.“The tiger I mean. Some kind of dark magic. I guess,” Caius added.“Wow. You look better when you’re human,” Vivar commented. He laid all his catch on the grass and he put on his dry clothes.“I’ll take that as a compliment. But I just have a little correction,” Namir said and he turned to Caius. “What I am is not a kind of dark magic. In fact, I’m created to repel dark magics.”“Whatever. Magic is still magic,” the prince argued.Namir snickered, seeing how stubborn Caius is when told about facts. “That’s the thing I hate about you,” he told him. “You only chose the things that you want to believe. You think you can filter the truth from th
Nemiah stared at his undecipherable hazel brown eyes. She was confused about the sudden changes of Caius' approach to her. She wondered what caused him to become willing to listen to her. However, at the back of her mind, she's anticipating that Caius may be just pretending or is up to something.She took a deep breath and straightened her back. "I hope this time you'll believe me," she started."I told you. I'll try." Caius uttered, raising his brows convincingly."Alright then," she began. "I came from the future. Maybe a hundred years from now," she grinned.Vivar, who was also listening to her, finished his meal quickly. He was also intrigued as soon as he heard them."That's…" Caius wanted to comment but Vivar elbowed him. Giving him the look that's telling him to shut up."I am just an ordinary student. Got a happy family and loving friends." Her eyes brightened as soon as she remembered them. "My life was shattered when I got visions about this place — especially that boy named
The sun draws a golden line along the horizon. The morning breeze filled their lungs as they prepared themselves for an unexpected journey. Since the queen didn't want them to return to the castle, Vivar suggested hiding in their secret tunnel just a few distance from the palace.Nemiah was still confused why the queen wanted to protect her, but she decided to go with them. Another thing that bothers them is their new companion — the strange white horse. It keeps on following Namir wherever it goes, making the tiger roar irritatedly."I guess it'll be fine if we let the horse come with us. The more the merrier?" Nemiah smiled as she walked towards it. She gently rubbed its neck and it seemed to like it. It even licked her face, making her giggle. "How do you want us to call you?" Nemiah asked, still playing her hands on its mane. "Name it anything you want." Caius muttered while fixing the saddle on his buckskin horse. He sighed when he finally got finished and he turned to Nemiah who
Five feet down, Nemiah could see the faint light coming from the torches. Her feet were starting to strain but she continued to descend. When she reached the edge of the ladder, Vivar helped her. “Welcome to our hideout, Milady,” he greeted.Nemiah turned around to have a wider perspective of the place. “A tunnel?” She asked. Disappointed. The tunnel looks just like the ordinary — molded bricks and a narrow dusty pavement that leads somewhere she doesn’t feel excited about. “We are not yet there,” Vivar mused, seeing Nemiah’s displeased reaction. He took one torch and headed forward. “Please be careful, there might be snakes or spiders on the way.” He warned her with a smile. Nemiah became anxious so she grabbed the back of his cloak. Vivar grinned knowing that the young lady was fidgeting behind him. “How about Caius?” Nemiah asked after a few minutes of walking. She thought that the prince would follow but it’s already been half an hour.“You miss him already?” Vivar teased her.
Amaris was just lurking behind the pillar when Dubheasa's spy reported what it just heard in the cave. He already knew that Nemiah was the girl in the prophecy but he didn’t have the urge to tell the queen about it. He felt like he had to protect Nemiah instead. So he went to follow the crow to stop it. Gili, who was also eavesdropping on the conversation, went to follow Amaris. He was worried that Amaris would capture Nemiah and bring her to the queen. He tagged along as Amaris flew from tree to tree, vigilantly following the crow. Meanwhile, Amaris found out that he was being tracked so he made a trap to capture whoever was following him. The wind blew in his direction. A sharp smell of wet grass wafts into his nostrils. He instantly recognized who it was — Gili. He wondered why he was following him. He suddenly gets a hunch that the queen ordered him to track Nemiah as well. “I know you’re there. Show yourself, Gili.” He called behind the broad trunk.Gili took a deep breath. He