The Emperor's Concubine

B.2 Chapter Seventeen

BOOM

"Are you coming to stay with us forever?"

A chilling, cruel voice calls out.
I flinch, opening my eyes to see I'm on the ground of the dungeon.
My legs and wrists cuffed.
I tremble slightly at that voice, looking up to see King Weslium in the shadows.
"Why?... Why are you doing this to me?" I ask.
His foot steps out of the shadow, his eyes looking down at me.
"You were the one who did this." He speaks, smiling slightly.
"What do you mean?..." I can't help but hang my head low.
The cold, terrifying feeling of anxiousness hits me.
The feelings I felt everyday, always on edge and wondering if I'd be beat.
"You're always so slow. You never did what was right. You went against everything, and what did that get you? A dead family who'll drag you to the deepest depths of hell, once you take your final breath." His hand touches my chin, forcing me to raise my head, "You're so close to coming back home. Why not let go?" He kindly smiles.
"Let go?"
"Release that grip of yours that you have on life, and come to us. We're waiting for you, our dear Celeste."
I pause, clenching my jaw.
"No..." I mutter.
"What?"
"No... I'm not dead yet. I want to live more-"
"For what?" King Weslium shouts, "You can't do anything!"
"What?..." I whisper.
"What else could you do with your sad life? You couldn't even kill a filthy animal when you needed to." He grins, mockingly.
"I don't need to kill-"
"Then you'll be weak forever. You keep on rambling silly little theories, but for what? You couldn't even kill your own family. If you hated us, you would've killed us. So come back to us Celeste."
"I... I do hate you... I hate your every being with my whole existence." My voice growls out, clenching my fists in anger, "I hate you all so much, I never cried when you died... Even so, I can't kill someone."
"How weak. Celeste, you're so weak, it's amusing!" King Weslium giddily laughs.
"I'm not weak."
"You are... You can hate us with everything you are, but if you weren't like this, you would have killed us."
I close my mouth, biting down hard on my lip.

'I... I should've killed them... I wanted to kill them...'
I weakly stare off in the distance.
King Weslium's voice fading away as my body grows cold.

My body jolts as I open my eyes. I gasp, taking a deep breath of air.
I look around to see I'm lying in a ruined shack.
Ash everywhere, rain pummelling down as bits and pieces of the shack are set on fire.
My neck, arm, and leg burnt as the scorching sensation becomes evident.
I stand up, staring at the shack around me completely blown up.
A vibration from an aura runs through the air.
I numbly stare at the direction of the aura, my body feeling light as if out of my control.
My feet begin moving, my body heading towards the familiar aura.

I stare from far away, my body and mind numbed as if watching a dream.
I blankly stare at the scene; my younger self falling to the ground.
A figure beginning to choke her. His face becomes clear as I stare at King Weslium.
King Weslium chokes and digs his fingers deep into my younger self's neck.
I watch on, my body shivering as fear takes over me.
A vivid memory of being a child comes back to me.
I stare on at the scene, the image of King Weslium choking me.

'Why?... Why is there always pain? Why do you believe that's the answer for everything? Is it the right answer?...'
I question myself, my mind silencing quickly as a groggy sensation washes over me.
My feet begin moving again, gradually moving faster until sprinting into the glade.

'I should've killed them... I should have killed every single one of my family... I should have killed everyone who hurt me, I should have made them feel the same pain I felt my entire life.'
I grit my teeth.
My hands grow warm as I summon my whips, instantly I crack them; crossing them as I use all my strength.

WHIP

CRACK

I stare as father is sent flying.
His blood spilling over the forest floor, dousing the whips with red.

"Luna?..."
A distant voice calls out.

I step closer, ignoring the echoing dream-like voice.
My body grows lighter, fuelled by hate towards my father.
I watch as father gets up, turning around with a look of fear.
"You're not supposed to get in my way!" He screams, furious.
I lift my hand, the gold light wrapping around his body.
I pull him close to me.
"Pests like you need to shut up." I mutter.
"You're just weak, what would you even do?" He grins mockingly.
I tighten my hand, the light around his body tightening too. His face grows blue, the pressure crushing him.

"Luna?"
That same voice calls out.

I shake my head, ignoring the voice, numbly staring at father's face.

'You... You're not allowed to live anymore. You need to be put down.'
The cold harsh thought comes to my mind as I watch him suffer.
I tighten my hand, closing it into a tight fist.
Instantly, his body bursts. His blood splattering everywhere.
A heavy sensation washes over me, my body aching from the inside as a thick nauseating feeling flows through my arm into my chest.
My heart begins throbbing as I stare at my trembling hands.
The light airy sensation I felt disappears, my eyes widen as I stare at the reality in front of me.
'What?... W-What did I do? What did I do!'
I scream in my mind, a wave of realization washing over me.
I've killed someone.
My stomach churns as I bend over, vomit bursting out of my mouth.
Since it's been a while from my last meal, the only thing coming out is stomach acid.
The bitter taste filling my mouth. My eyes overflow with tears as I stare at the bloody scene.

"I-I didn't mean to... I didn't want to! Why did I do this!"
I attempt to speak, yet my voice refuses to exit my mouth, staying in my mind.
I stare petrified at the mess of blood and organs.
"Is this real?... I-I can't tell reality and dreams apart, I don't know what's real and what's not!"
I hold my head, my eyes spinning as reality sets in.

"Luna..."

I freeze.
I slowly turn to look back.
I look back to see Cethin as he weakly looks back at me, his face pale and horrified.
My eyes widen, the confirmation of this being reality sets in.
My mind replays the scene of King Weslium dying by my hands, until the reality appears.
The image of King Weslium being the one I killed shatters.
King Weslium was never here.
The person I killed was the man; the man who tortured me, who kidnapped me, and tried killing me. The man's tortured, pained expression before he died appears as I replay the scene in my mind.
"I... I... I'm a monster..."
I think to myself, looking back at Cethin's fearful expression.
A thick heavy sensation washes over me again, feeling as though it's crushing my body.
"Gurk-"
I bend over, covering my mouth. Warm thick crimson blood covers my hand.
"L-Luna!" Cethin shouts, beginning to run over to me.
I fall to my knees, trembling as the painful sensation washes over me.
Warm tears drip down my cheeks, until my vision grows tinted with red.
I lift a trembling hand to my face, touching the warm liquid.
I stare at my fingers to see blood.
My body throbs as a pressure builds in my head.
The thick heavy sensation rushing through my body, followed by an intense pain until it causes me to lose consciousness.