In the kingdom of Aeziris, a rebellion is rising, but its reins are not in the hands of its citizens. With a fine string entwining her heart with that of its chieftain, Esméralda must walk a knife-edge while navigating her way through a palace of ma...
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E s m é r a l d a A l b y
"Oh, my god, Esméralda," three individual gasps echoed before I felt a hand on my knee, making me lift up my eyes to Charlotte. Her forehead was scrunched in worry, voice desperate. "What's wrong?"
I didn't understand how the once dark room was now lighted with candles but I felt the stares of my two chamber mates, judging me. My head fell back on my knees as fresh tears poured out after an indefinite period of time.
"Esméralda, you're scaring me." Charlotte pleaded. "Tell me. I know we haven't known each other for long but, I'm here."
"It's nothing."
"We both know it's a lie. Your eyes are all swollen and red."
"Everything's a lie."
She paused, her voice softer. "Is it about Eirik?"
Prince Aedric, I wished to correct but what would it take for him to discard me as a liar? A word? Or lesser?
"It's over," I looked at her, my cheeks numb to my tears. "Everything's over."
"Oh, Esméralda," Charlotte put her arms around me in an awkwardly positioned hug but her embrace wasn't the home that made me forget my problems. "I'm sure it can be mended. The way you talked about him, I'm sure."
If he could lie about his identity, he could fake his love. Oh, how beautifully he acted, how truly I believed.
"He lied."
"Maybe he had a reason."
I breathed out shakily, accepting another wound that bathed my heart in red. "He's marrying someone else."
Lady Celeste.
Charlotte just hugged me tighter as my sobs became louder, never following my will. She kept muttering, "it's alright," but it wasn't and that was worse.
He called me Esmé and he honoured her as his Celene.
"Um, Esméralda, right?" A hesitant voice addressed and I quickly wiped my tears before nodding towards my raven haired roommate.
"I'm sure whatever happened must be apocalyptic but you should get some sleep," she shared a glance with the other girl who gestured her to continue. She sighed. "We don't mean to sound rude but Lady Kimberly is a handful. We're bone tired."
"Yeah," her cinnamon skinned friend agreed. "Especially after Lady Celeste came bragging about being called Celene by Prince Aedric, she broke half the things in her room. We're not insensitive, just too exhausted for the day."
"I understand," I croaked, not failing to notice just how much power his mere mention held over me.
"We can go outside if you wish to talk about it," Charlotte gritted her teeth, glaring at the two females. "Everything else is secondary."
