(Kate) “I WANT A DIVORCE,” I told Zachary when he came out from the bathroom. He had a fresh bruise on his right cheek, multiple scratches on his neck and chest, stab wounds on his arms and thighs that were just starting to heal. When Zachary caught me staring at his body, he put some clothes on but it was too late. I had already seen the damages I caused not only on his body but around me. Our room was a mess. There were broken chairs and windows. I could still smell his blood from the shattered glass from our wedding portrait, from the painting, from the vase, mirror, and the chandelier. The leather couch was ripped. Even the cotton from the throw pillows were everywhere. Zachary’s hair was still wet when he sat on the bed. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping for days now. I was not sure how long I was not myself. I was not even sure what I did before opening my eyes this morning. I just knew that my destructive side had caused all these. The chain
(Zachary)KATE’S words seeped deep into my mind and pierced my chest. She has a husband, a daughter, countless knights, and hundreds of subordinates. Yet, she suffered in silence all by herself to stop all of us from worrying. She must have been so lonely. Still, she hung in there.Seeing Swan like this was causing me unimaginable sorrow. Remembering her horror-stricken face as she stared at my face and body made it hard for me to breathe. This woman was still trying to be a queen as she bore the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders by still thinking of their welfare and by sacrificing herself.“If only I could suffer in your place, I would.”“I’m sorry, Zach,” she replied instead in a wistful voice.“For what?”Her trembling hands finally reached out to me although I could still sense her hesitation as if she was afraid that she would hurt me. I closed my eyes when I felt her hands on my face.“For being selfish. For asking you, of all people, to do this. If I die, my suffering wou
(Zachary)“I’M starting to hear them, Zach. Their voices, their screams. I thought I had pushed them all away already. But I didn’t. They are here.”Kate and I were lying on the bed. This was our third night since she came back, since I asked for seven days. And since then, I keep seeing her change. Her body was almost freezing now, she was wearing layers of clothes. My hell fire no longer helps in keeping her warm.I was behind her the whole time, embracing her, but even that was not enough. I pulled her closer to me.“I think I’m starting to lose it, Zach.”“No, Swan,” I whispered in her ear. “Don’t listen to them. What the voices tell you don’t matter. Focus only on my voice.”All of a sudden, we heard a sound coming from a musical instrument. It started with only the flute. And I know where it came from. It was from Jonathan. But a few seconds after and we started hearing the piano, the harp, and the violin.The symphony they were making filled our ears.“Do you hear that, swan? T
ZACHARY suddenly appeared and stood beside Mira. Her little fingers held her father’s hand while her other hand pointed at the knights’ direction.“Daddy, please stop the knights! They are bad! They are taking Mommy away from us!”Zachary held her hand. “I can’t. The knights are only doing their job. Mira, let’s head inside. It’s late. Come. I will explain everything to you in your room. I will tuck you to bed.”“No!” Mira struggled to free herself from her father’s grip. “Daddy, why are you like this, too? Why are you letting them take Mommy away? What did she ever do? Don’t you love her anymore?”Zachary could not respond, but I saw him press the sides of his eyes. He was trying not to get emotional in front of us. The family that we tried to build was falling apart because of me.“If you don’t love her anymore, then I will take her! Knights, leave my Mommy alone! Remove her chains! She didn’t do anything wrong for you to do this to her! If you don’t want her, I will take her with m
(Zachary)I WAS still catching my breath when the alpha stepped inside the ring. This will be my twelfth and final duel for tonight. I no longer had the energy to fight for a long time anymore. I need to use everything I have in one swing.Inside the arena, there were no vampires or wolves. Our fangs, claws, or identities do not matter. It will be our swords who will do the talking for us.When the bell rang which indicated the beginning of the duel, I hastily wiped the sweat off my forehead and took a deep breath.And when the alpha growled and ran to me, I met him halfway. I ran, extended my arms and raised them over my head. Before he could strike, I was able to cut his chest down in a single, controlled motion.“This is for you, swan,” I whispered, panting, when the referee raised my arm. I wiped the blood off my mouth as I claimed the gretus which the alpha king personally handed to me.“Congratulations, King Zachary,&
I WAS stunned. I could not move. I could not even speak.But when Kate was about to fall, my body automatically moved to catch her. The wind and the rain had stopped at once. The hunters vanished one by one as if their lives were linked with hers. Blood was still gushing from her chest when she tried to open her eyes.They were back to being blue.Jonathan pulled out the sword from her and kneeled before us.Kate proudly smiled at him and said, “T-thank you, Jonathan. You did well.” And then she turned to me. “Where have you been? I missed you, my husband.”I held her hand. “Doctor Juno is preparing the medicine. Wait a little more, swan. I will take you back home and-““No, Zach. I don’t think I could survive this anymore,” she whispered as she caressed my face. “Love, what took you so long? Where were you? I waited for you.”Tears streamed my cheeks. “I’m sorry, swan. I’m sorry for leaving your side. But why did you do that? I don’t need to live forever! What the hell am I going to
I KNOW it was wrong to feel this way because swan is still alive. She has to be alive or else, all those traveling, all those twelve duels just for one silly flower would not mean a thing, or else I would regret not being by her side for the past two days as she waited for me while enduring so much. “Swan, hang in there,” I whispered and forced a smile. “We are about to reach the top. Just take a nap for the meantime. I know you are tired. I will wake you when we get there.” It was already bright when we reached the top. I took the final step and stopped to look around us. The wind blew. My chest felt like it was being squeezed when I said, “Wake up, swan. Open your eyes, come on. We are on top of the mountain now. We fulfilled your wish. Do you see it? The scenery is as lovely as you said.” Again, there was silence. “You also said that it would feel liberating when you are one with nature like this. But swan, I don’t feel liberated at all. The beauty I
(Damon)ON the way to the castle, no music could be heard. Unlike before, there were no festivities. There were no children playing on the streets either. All the establishments were closed. The people I saw were wearing white.They hung lanterns in every house as their way of sending the queen off believing that the lanterns will light up her path towards another world.I continued to drive and stopped in front of the castle. The gates were opened for everyone who wished to visit the queen. There were more and more people coming by. I stepped out of the car and instantly heard the sound coming from the flute. It was from Jonathan who was in the garden, her highness’ favorite spot.He looked so lost as he played the flute which gave off a heart-wrenching sound. He hadn’t spoken a single word since yesterday. He hadn’t changed his clothes either. The queen’s blood on his uniform was still there. Even his hand still had her blood on
(Zachary) IT WAS almost five in the afternoon. It was time to pick up swan from her campus. I was about to call the twins who were running around the lawn when I saw how Mira swooped in and carried Alain in one hand and Algernon in another. The twins were playing with their guards who were now sweating so hard. After getting caught by their sister, the boys pouted and lowered their heads. Their playfulness had never worked on my eldest. “What time is it now?” she asked the twins. “Five,” Alain answered. “It’s still three minutes and eleven seconds before five in the afternoon,” Algernon added. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mira asked again. The twins gasped and together, they said, “It’s time to pick up Mommy from the human realm!” “You finally remembered. Now go to your rooms and fix yourselves. Don’t come to her campus looking like that. Both of you were the ones who insisted on picking her up today and yet, you forgot?” The t
(Kate)IN THE middle of checking the photos the butler had sent regarding Algernon, I noticed Jonathan peeking at his wristwatch. There were more photos to look at. Others were about Mira. She sent the pictures herself. She was getting along really well with her friends. She had completely adapted to her hybrid life.Whenever I’m away, I can’t be at ease unless I see the reports about my children. Even with the blood link, the trauma the witches and the hunters had caused me will take a while to get rid of. And I was glad that Mira understood. She was the one who volunteered to send her daily pictures to me to keep me posted especially whenever they had school activities.But in time, I know the trauma will disappear.The other photos were regarding my husband and Alain who had caused troubles in the office. Violet sent them to me after giving me a call since she visited Damon there and brought him his blood bag. He caught the general in the l
“GREETINGS, your majesty and the prince,” everybody greeted. The women held onto the bottom of their skirts because the wind kept blowing them away.I held my little guy’s hand and put it down. The wind vanished. But when he looked up at me, he looked like he was about to cry as if I ruined his fun.“Don’t look at Daddy like that. Here. I brought your favorite toy,” I said and gave him his teddy bear. His smile came back as he grabbed the toy.The people sighed, relieved. But the aftermath of the trouble my son unconsciously caused was still palpable. I snapped my finger. In a blink of an eye, everything had turned back to normal.When we rode the elevator, Damon caught up to us. After bowing to give his greetings, he looked at me curiously.“My wife is in a meeting. I can’t leave the twins under the servants’ care. They already looked so stressed. I had to bring one of them. That’s the only way to appease my wife as well. I didn’t want her to worry all day,” I said before he could as
SEEING my wife like this reminded me of the phone call I received while I was still inspecting the border. That was around six in the evening.‘Your majesty?’ she asked in a low voice.I smiled and loosened my tie. There was something in her voice which made me feel hot even if it was windy outside. ‘Yes, swan?’‘What time are you going home tonight?’‘I’m not sure. There are still areas we haven’t visited yet. Why? Do you miss me already? What’s up with this sudden call?’ I teased.I never needed phone calls when I could always teleport whenever I miss her which happens constantly. Most of the time, I would show up in her workplace or in the twins’ room to steal a kiss from her and if I get lucky, we would do it quickly. I just could not get enough of her.I guess I never gave swan the chance to miss me that’s why after two years of our marriage, this was her first time calling me first.‘Nothing. I just called to say that… I’m not wearing any underwear tonight. And I’ve already prep
Two years later…I KNEW I would find her here. These past few months, I rarely see my wife in our chamber. She was constantly in Alain and Algernon’s room. Even if our twins had their own servants, she was still hands-on when it came to them.It was past eight in the evening. I normally come home at five in the afternoon but today, I went with the knights for the monthly inspection around the borders. Mira greeted me at the doorway a while ago and told me that she already had an early dinner with her mother. Still, I caught her stealing a blood bag in the fridge for a snack.When I heard that her mother was sleeping upstairs, I sent our eldest to bed after her snack and after monitoring her mana and her blood intake since today was Thursday and it was my turn to monitor it to keep her mana and her powers in check. The kingdom may be peaceful now and there were no more threats but after what Kate and Terrence had experienced, it would not hurt to be careful.Our children’s blood was li
(Zachary)I FINALLY get it. What they say about family, about parents. I thought I knew enough about parental love after being a father but Dayanara Gregory had shown us what a mother’s love was and why it was important.I had seen it when Swan covered for Mira after she bit her, when she looked at our daughter with wonder and affection in her eyes as she watched her play in the garden, when she brushed her hair, when she worried whether she had taken her meals or not, and when she kissed her at night as she wished her a sweet dream.Lastly, I saw it the night Swan was shackled. I saw how she strived to make sense of the situation when Mira ran to her, barefooted and with tears flowing down her cheeks. I saw how she broke her heart to appease our daughter’s heart while I stood there, unsure what word to say and what step to make, because I never understood the gravity of having a parent and losing one.All I understood was the pain of a husban
(Damon)ON the way to the castle, no music could be heard. Unlike before, there were no festivities. There were no children playing on the streets either. All the establishments were closed. The people I saw were wearing white.They hung lanterns in every house as their way of sending the queen off believing that the lanterns will light up her path towards another world.I continued to drive and stopped in front of the castle. The gates were opened for everyone who wished to visit the queen. There were more and more people coming by. I stepped out of the car and instantly heard the sound coming from the flute. It was from Jonathan who was in the garden, her highness’ favorite spot.He looked so lost as he played the flute which gave off a heart-wrenching sound. He hadn’t spoken a single word since yesterday. He hadn’t changed his clothes either. The queen’s blood on his uniform was still there. Even his hand still had her blood on
I KNOW it was wrong to feel this way because swan is still alive. She has to be alive or else, all those traveling, all those twelve duels just for one silly flower would not mean a thing, or else I would regret not being by her side for the past two days as she waited for me while enduring so much. “Swan, hang in there,” I whispered and forced a smile. “We are about to reach the top. Just take a nap for the meantime. I know you are tired. I will wake you when we get there.” It was already bright when we reached the top. I took the final step and stopped to look around us. The wind blew. My chest felt like it was being squeezed when I said, “Wake up, swan. Open your eyes, come on. We are on top of the mountain now. We fulfilled your wish. Do you see it? The scenery is as lovely as you said.” Again, there was silence. “You also said that it would feel liberating when you are one with nature like this. But swan, I don’t feel liberated at all. The beauty I
I WAS stunned. I could not move. I could not even speak.But when Kate was about to fall, my body automatically moved to catch her. The wind and the rain had stopped at once. The hunters vanished one by one as if their lives were linked with hers. Blood was still gushing from her chest when she tried to open her eyes.They were back to being blue.Jonathan pulled out the sword from her and kneeled before us.Kate proudly smiled at him and said, “T-thank you, Jonathan. You did well.” And then she turned to me. “Where have you been? I missed you, my husband.”I held her hand. “Doctor Juno is preparing the medicine. Wait a little more, swan. I will take you back home and-““No, Zach. I don’t think I could survive this anymore,” she whispered as she caressed my face. “Love, what took you so long? Where were you? I waited for you.”Tears streamed my cheeks. “I’m sorry, swan. I’m sorry for leaving your side. But why did you do that? I don’t need to live forever! What the hell am I going to