Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 4: The Princess and the Key - Chapter 7

He fidgeted with his clothes as he approached her, anxious at how she would react to him after everything that had happened. "Umm... Hi!" he said to her.

She crossed her arms and put on an indignant face. "Finally! Took you long enough to get here."

He stopped a few paces in front of her and shifted awkwardly. "S-Sorry! I didn't know what to do. Please don't be angry!"

She crossed the distance between them and raised her hand. He closed his eyes and braced for a slap but her hand touched his face gently. He slowly opened his eyes to see her smiling at him. "You're so cute when you're awkwardly trying to apologize like this," she said, giggling at him.

He tried to smile back at her but his face won't cooperate and all he could do was cry and apologize to her.

She embraced him and let him cry on her shoulder, stroking his head to soothe him. "It's okay. I chose this, remember? It's not your fault. No one blames you."

He pushed away from her and hysterically said, "B-But the others! I killed them. They didn't deserve to die. They shouldn't have died."

She took his hands and continued soothing him. "It was an accident. You couldn't control yourself. I'm sure they understand."

"But the dreams. You were there. They were angry at me."

She wiped away the tears staining his cheeks and looked him in the eyes to get his attention. "Those were just a manifestation of your guilt. The crystals weren't really there. You need to forgive yourself, love."

"I-I can't," he said, turning his face away from her.

"I know." She brushed some hair from his forehead and kissed it. "It's why you keep having nightmares every night." She took his hand gently and quietly led him through the empty space they were in.

"A-Are you real?" he finally asked, breaking the heavy silence between them as they walked. "Are you really here? Am I really talking to you?"

She giggled at his question. "What kind of question is that? Is that something you should ask someone you haven't seen in a while?"

He looked down in shame and mumbled, "It's just that the ancient Lord said this shouldn't be possible, that this shouldn't be happening." He looked at her again, having no one else to turn to in the empty space. "Am I doing everything wrong?"

"No, darling. They just don't know. You've just been stumbling upon things that they didn't know were possible. He told you, right? The Keys and the crystals are a touchy subject among them. Nobody really wanted to think about them afterwards so everybody tried to forget about them and ignored them."

Surprised, he stopped walking, letting her continue without him. "You've been listening?"

She walked back to him and said, "I've always been with you."

He grabbed her arms and almost cried in relief. "Then, the dreams too, that was really you?"

"Yes," she told him with a smile. She laughed when he suddenly hugged her tightly and hugged him back. "Only you and I were really there," she said, stroking the back of his head and running her fingers through his hair in the exact way that he liked. "The others were just something your mind created."

He pulled back to look at her, his head tilted in confusion. "The Key wasn't real?"

"No, sweet prince. The Keys don't really have a will. They weren't exactly right when they said that it unlocks something that was sealed. The Keys serve more as amplifiers."

"Amplifiers of what?"

"Everything."

"Then what about those impulses and urges?" He furrowed his brows. "Why am I getting them? Why do I keep on getting pulled in it?"