(Kate)
LAST NIGHT, before closing my eyes, I remember praying for warmth. I prayed for a better day. I prayed for peace of mind. I prayed for love to wash all of my worries and fears away so that when this big day comes, I would be prepared. I could welcome it with a big smile.
My groom doesn’t deserve tears. Just smiles.
After being emotional these past few days, a genuine smile was all I wanted to show him today.
This morning, when I opened my eyes again and finally felt the warmth coming from the windows, from the sunlight, when I woke up without the heaviness in my chest, for the first time, I could say with full conviction that my prayers were answered.
I wanted the baby to feel the same warmth that I’d been feeling, too.
The past days was hard. I had a conception dream. That was when I first found out about the baby. And that was all I remembered because my memories were in shambles.
But despite the hardship, I never
(Zachary)“AND NOW, I proudly present to you Queen Katerina Gregory Collins!” Augusto, the new minister, announced in the balcony of the castle.Today, as per tradition, we opened the gates of the castle for her crowning ceremony.My lovely bride, who was now wearing her cape and her golden crown, emerged in the balcony and the people, who came from different provinces, kneeled on the ground to show their respect.Today will be the day none of us would forget for it was the day I was able to put my ring on her finger and the crown on her head. Today was the day she became officially mine and this kingdom’s ruler.“Glory to Her Highness, the Queen!” they said altogether.Kate waved and gave them all her dazzling smile.I stood beside her. I carried Mira in one arm and held our queen’s hand on the other. The people cheered.Our eyes met.It felt so long since I had last seen the glimmer in her eyes. I pressed my forehead against hers.“Congratulations, your highness,” I whispered in her
A RUSH of fire flared throughout my body the second I saw my bride stepped out of the pool as if to welcome me. Her eyes were smiling along with her lips. This was the expression that I only get to see when she was with me.Tonight, it was just me and swan again inside the rose palace where we decided to have our honeymoon.The Hunters were making their move now. We cannot leave the city or the kingdom.‘It’s okay. I’m with you. Anywhere is a good place as long as I’m with you,’ I remember Kate saying when I first told her about it. ‘This way, we’ll also be close to where our daughter is. It’s still a win-win for me. Everything could wait. We have all the time in the world now, Zach.’If only that was true.Being an immortal, I never got to worry about living another day. Tomorrow still comes whether I liked it or not. I lived recklessly knowing that I would always have tomorrow.It was a little late when I learned how to appreciate every second. I would never have realized how valuab
A WAVE of anxiety started crawling back inside my system after throwing up black liquid in the sink when I woke up the next morning. I had seen Alucard throwing up the same thing when we were still in the camp. What’s the meaning of this?The coldness, I thought it was gone, but it came back and it was a lot worse today. I couldn’t move, it numbs my feet.“Swan? You’ve been in there for a while now. Are you okay?” Zachary asked and knocked on the door.“Yes, I’m okay,” I said, hoping he didn’t notice my voice trembling. “I’ll be out soon.”I looked at myself in the mirror and was horrified when I saw my eyes turning black. My veins in the neck and face protruded. I blinked twice thinking that it was only my imagination, but it was still the same.My eyes widened. My chest was thumping when I tried to step away from the sink, from the mirror, but because my feet were still numb,
“ZACH!” I screamed.I woke up and opened my eyes. I immediately turned to my left and saw Zach who also sat on the bed. His hair was still messy and his eyes were half-open as if he had just woken up because of me.“Swan, it’s still early. It’s just two in the morning. Let’s go back to bed.”“You’re alive, Zach. You’re okay. Thank God!” I whispered, relieved as I caressed his face. “This isn’t a dream, is it? You are really here beside me, safe and sound.”He put his hands over mine. “This is real. I’m real. Whatever dream you had about me, about us, that was not true. And it’s not going to happen. It was just a bad dream, swan.”I wished I could say the same.But a mage’s dream always meant something. That was the first thing I learned from them. Our dreams were either a warning or a glimpse of the future. Zachary must have been aware of that, but he was choosing to turn a blind-eye for my sake.When I remembered that my hands were the same hands who struck Zachary with a dagger, I s
(Damon)‘THE WARRIORS found two more hunters near the city. I will go investigate it myself. I will leave the Queen in your care, Damon. Lord Valencia will be here as well. Make sure to call me in case something happens.’Those were His Majesty’s last order before he departed more than an hour ago. I made a vow that I would call him, but I cannot lift my fingers. Jonathan and I ought to hurry and get moving.But we just can’t do it.The mages were weeping as they stared at Her Highness’ blank expression. She was in the room with Violet when the latter suddenly screamed. And when we got inside, the queen was already bleeding profusely.Ravena had just confirmed that Her Highness had lost the baby. She hadn’t let out a single word or a single tear since then. She just kept looking at the window. The mages were letting out the tears she could not cry. I had already anticipated it. There was no way the baby would sur
“HEY, sleepyhead. Wake up. It’s time for breakfast.”When I opened my eyes and saw Kate looking at me with an incredible smile on her face, I almost broke down. The compulsion worked. There was that familiar glow in her eyes again.She planted a kiss on my mouth. And in the most vibrant voice I had ever heard, she said, “Good morning.”I buried my face in her neck and embraced her before pressing the edge of my eyes to stop the crazy tears from falling.“Swan, I love you so much,” I whispered.I’d been lying to her and I hope she could forgive me for this.She giggled. “What’s with this confession so early in the morning?”“Nothing. I just realized that I lived my whole life thinking that there is nothing that I don’t know any more about this world. I had been so conceited.”She sounded amused when she asked, “And your point is?”
THE OLD MAN clenched his hands, but in the end, he said, “No, your highness. Please proceed with the initial punishment.”“Very well,” Swan said and patted the father’s back before turning to a female mage who was crying. She wiped the latter’s tears away before taking her in her arms. She healed Sarah and fixed her dress using a spell.“Hush now. You are okay, Sarah. You are safe,” she whispered.“Thank you for standing up for me, your highness.”She smiled. “No problem.” But when she must have realized that all eyes were on her, she bit her lower lip, and tapped her forehead as she turned to me and then to the birthday celebrant.Her cheeks were still red when she raised her chin and in a defensive voice, she said, “I am not going to apologize for hitting that drunkard. He deserved it. However, I would like to apologize for the commotion I caused. I should have dealt wi
(Zach)ALUCARD didn’t seem surprised when he found me sitting on the couch inside his living room. It was as if he knew he was being traced. I had the mages put a tracking spell on him while he was dancing with my wife. After closing the door of his apartment, he went to the wine cellar and grab two bottles of bourbon.He sat on the counter and drank straight from one bottle. Without looking at me, he raised the other bottle. “You must have been bored waiting, your majesty. ‘Want a drink?”I infused my sword with my hell fire. In a blink of an eye, I was already standing behind him, the edge of my sword was pointed at his neck.“If you tell me where the rest of the Hunters are, I will give you a quick and painless death.”“I can tell you where they are but you cannot see them anymore.” His hand bled when he held the blade. Slowly, he turned to me. “I am not an enemy, your majesty. I didn’t
(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