(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)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