The Five Curses

Avyanna

A week later...

I woke up in the middle of the night again, my body covered in fresh beads of sweat, and my lungs out of breath, but I wasn't surprised. Even in my dreams, the disdainful eyes of Pierce haunted me, I could hear his words echoing in my mind again and again. My nerves stiffened as and when I was reminded of his promise to me.

"You're no warrior, Avyanna." He had said to me, indifference clouding his face, "You never were, you never will be. Even with the title of a princess, you are a nobody. Remember when I say- I'll kill you, just as you tried to... cold-blooded and unconscious. I'll look into your eyes as you feel your warm blood draining out of you and I'll smile at you, triumphantly."

I had put in so much effort. Along with a few loyal soldiers, I had planned the most skillful attack on Pierce's guards. I had managed to climb into his room and stab him right in the heart. I had watched his life being sucked out of him. Yet, he lived.
The doctors stated that Pierce's heart had stopped beating. He had been dead, his body had gone limp. But his heart magically started functioning again. He gained consciousness after a day or two. My mind cannot forget the way he had looked at my shocked and troubled face, the way his whole body trembled in anger, and his eyes searched for the nearest weapon. Even though, the security outside my chambers had been doubled, I knew in the back of my mind that with the rage boiling inside him, he could take down a million such soldiers- without any aid- just to get a hold on my throat.
The way Wilder had ordered me to the grand hall, and declared the senate's vote to get me thrown out of the palace was still a thing I could not digest. He didn't feel like my brother. He wasn't my brother. He had been a stranger to me since the day Pierce had arrived in Astraea.
But amidst all this, the worst and the most hurtful response I had gotten was from Crystalaura. I could not meet the livid gaze of that twelve-year-old. I still remember the way she had held her brother's head in her arms and begged the doctor to save Pierce's life. Even Estelle had shown me a cold shoulder as she provided comfort to Pierce's little sister. Her biggest virtue was that she was against bloodshed- of any kind. She had stood on the highest pedestal in the grand hall where the senate had cast its vote, and looked at me indifferently. All of this was still a little unbelievable to her. Arik was the only one who had shown me some sympathy, and by 'sympathy', I mean, not being present and voting for my exile. I was to leave this palace in three days time. I wasn't given any townhouse, estate, even a little dwelling for that matter.
But what scared me the most was how Pierce would have an advantage over me. He would be able to kill me any time he desired, and no one would know. From the look he gave me, he wouldn't hesitate to chop my head off even if I was begging for my life.

All of a sudden, I felt a chill in my spine. The air around me grew damper and colder. My brain recalled the same change in the surrounding the day I had been knocked unconscious in the corridor. I felt my locket vibrating again. The heat that emitted from it left burn marks on my neck. I looked around to find a source of this tension. My hand immediately reached for my sword lying on the bedside.

"Do not bother, princess..." I heard a deep voice from the shadowy corner of the room, "There is no use trying to rebel me."

"Show yourself, bastard." I cried, "Who the hell are you?"

"I am not so different from you." A masked figure said emerging from the darkness. He was covered in black from head to toe. It was hard to even make him out with the vast expanse of the room, "I entered the room secretly and hurt you, just like you did."

The anger inside me ignited immediately. I was never proud of my decision to sneak in and kill Pierce even while I was doing it. But I could not let honor, dignity, or grace hold me back. My father had always taught me that backstabbing is a coward's work, and that real warriors never let down a challenge. Now, I knew it in my heart that I had disappointed him, even if it was an attempt to guard his empire.