Lady Anastasia

8

" P, please, I'm begging you . Don't leave me", whispers Jack behind the door in front of me. I turn my back on him and start slowly walking away. " P! R-remember your promise, 'cause I still do.  Don't break it, please!", begs Jack, twisting the door knob, trying to open the door to me.

"What promise?", i turn to the door, my interest piqued. " You said that you'll never leave me, no matter what, and that you'll love me forever, don't you remember?", he asks brokenheartedly. Why don't I remember this promise, did I promise him that, then why can't I remember saying that!

" When did I say that? ", i question him." It was on a Friday afternoon. We had ran away from home because we wanted to be together. I had asked to marry you in that instant but you said no because  we were too young, and...and...", he shuffles for a bit behind the door." And, I gave you this ring for my promise but you said I should give it to you on our wedding day ", he finishes. I wait for a while and walk towards the door, almost a step away from opening it for him.

Trumpets play behind me and I see no one other than my late father. Without thinking I run into his arms and cry because of how much I missed him." Father, I missed you, I missed you so much ", i confess. I hug him tighter and snuggle further to him.

" Anastasia, you've grown so much", he says, caressing my back and hair. " Yes, Father, just like how you wanted me to", i smile with teary eyes. " And yet, you're still that small emotional girl you were", he teases. I paut at him, making him laugh, oh how I missed his laugh.

He gently pushes me away and takes both my hands, leading us into a bright light with voices of people rejoicing. " Father, where are we going?", i ask dumbfounded. But he just ignores me and starts pulling me even closer to the light. I pull away from his grip and that's when I hear Jack's voice resurfacing and his banging, " No. Don't go in there!", I can now hear his voice much clearer.

" Come on, Anastasia. They're waiting for you", says my father trying to hide the tone of irritation in his voice. Reluctantly, I ask," Who is 'they', father?", he grumbles under his breath and answers, trying to maintain a soft voice. " Your mother and grandmother", he smiles but a glitch forms on his face for a few mili seconds: it was an inhuman, dark, ugly figure posing as my father.

" You're not my father!", I scream at the figure and make a run for it to the door, to Jack. " Open the door, Jack! ", i run to the door but I get pulled back by the creature posing as my father. "Jack, help me!", I cry for him, he can't leave me now.

"P!", the door flies open and a terrified Jack appears. The creature then vanishes in an instant when Jack rushes to help me. " Oh, Jack", i run to him and we meet halfway, he hugs me and reassures me of my safety. He cups my cheeks and kisses me then I wake up gasping for air.

I look around and I'm inside a warm room. An unfamiliar, warm room. Where am I. Where is Jack. The room has brown walls with hardwood floors and a fireplace in front of the bed I'm lying on.

" Jack?", that's the first word I say after waking up and not know my whereabouts. He's nowhere to be seen. I try sitting up but my arm betrays me, falling back onto the mattress. I look at it and it is bandaged , along with my leg and torso.

My face hurts so much that even blinking hurts. Oh right, I was beaten up yesterday by the two men and Jack helped me. How am I going to get up now. I need to get out of bed so that I can know where exactly I am.

The door opens to Aurora, Aurora? What is she doing here? Followed by her is Jack. Have they been together this whole time. Jack sees the panic in my eyes and excuses Aurora.

" Anastasia, how are you feeling?", he sits down on the chair next to me. I look at him innocently and respond, " I'm hurting". He nods, understanding. We sit in silence for a while until he decides to speak, " Listen Anastasia, nothing happened between her and I and it'll never happen. She just stayed here for a while seeking comfort and mourning for your mother", he confesses first.

He holds my cold hand with his warm ones. He flinches a little bit as he feels my low temperature. " The ring", i whisper. He hums, confused as he didn't hear me. " Where's my wedding ring?", he looks at me surprised. He clears his throat, ignoring me. " Where is it?", i ask once more.

I grow furious with every second that he wastes. He doesn't have it. " You don't have it, do you Jack?", i ask in disbelief. He stutters, draws in his breath and states, " Your father took it and burnt it in front me", my eyes pop out of their socket. How could he?

" Why?", i try suppressing my disappointment. " He never liked the idea of us being together really. After we came back from running, he was furious and made me promise to stay away from you but I refused and told him that we're inlove, but that angered him more, resulting in him hitting me. He and my father had a disagreement leading to us not coming back here. I didn't write it in those letters because I knew that you'd be furious at your father for doing what he did",he confesses, avoiding my eyes.

My blood boils for a minute at the news revealed to me.