Return to Alasia

Prologue

"Sariah, sweetheart, go hide in the closet."

"But why, Mama?"

Queen Catrina hugged her nine-year-old daughter tight. "I love you, mija. Be strong." She then pushed the young girl into the closet, shutting the door quickly but quietly.

"Caty."

She froze at the voice. He shouldn't be there. He should be halfway to Council Hall. Turning around slowly, her eyes met the blue-grey of her husband. The gaze seemed colder than usual, more calculating and cruel. "Steven?"

Steven's lips cracked a soft smile, and a breath of a chuckle escaped his lips. "Surprised? You shouldn't be."

Her eyes widened before narrowing. "I knew you weren't him. He was on his way to appeal for Sariah."

"Yes, yes, I am well aware." Steven moved a hand behind him at a snail's pace, psychically shutting the door with nothing more than a soft click. "After this, however, it won't happen. He will lose his right as a royal and the custody of his daughter, which will then fall to me."

Catrina spat, "He trusted you!"

Rolling his eyes, Steven snapped, "Steven trusts everyone. It's one of his many, many faults. I do relish the fact that he is slowly losing his faith in you, actually. What, in your oh-so-holy quest to protect your daughter. She'll be ten in a few days, won't she? Old enough to lose her freedom to her magic."

The Queen heard a soft yelp of a gasp coming from behind her, but she dare not look, less revealing her daughter's witnessing of the heinous act about to be committed. "I will never let that happen. She just needs proper instruction and time. I can give her both."

"Yes, well..." Steven's hand flicked down, and a blade appeared in his hand. His fingers wrapped around the hilt and flexed as he took gradual, threatening steps toward her. "You don't have much time yourself, much less for little, innocent Sariah. Tell me, has her tatiana come in yet?"

"Why do you need to know, marginatrei?"

She caught his face twitch at the insult. "Just to see if she's really worth the trouble I'm putting myself through. She's quite the handful, and I want to make sure I'm really going after the right brat."

Glaring daggers at her pseudo-husband, Catrina growled in a dangerous tone. "Thin ice, Obsessionada. Thin. Ice."

His lip twitched into a playful smirk. "Come now, my Queen, be patient. We'll get to the final act soon, and eventually, I'll have the crown jewel of the Thorne monarchy in my grasp, and Steven in the palm of my hand. The only thing standing in my way..." He came to a stop about ten feet away from her. Lifting the dagger point toward her, his expression instantly darkened, turning the visage of her husband into a twisted, vicious image she never wished she'd seen. Cringing, she threw her palms in his direction. There was a loud grunt, followed by sequential thumps. She opened her eyes to find Steven in a heap across the room. His cheeks flushed into a bright red.

Catrina stretched out both her hands, and her two dulled katanas flew to her. She looked back at the false Steven as he got to his feet. "You seem to think I'll die quietly. I'm not going down without a fight, furtiu bruta." He knew that insult well enough, judging by his gritted teeth and furious gaze. "I'll do this for my daughter. For my husband. And for the chance that Alasia will beat your sorry ass until it's red and bleeding."

Cracking his neck, Steven shrugged. "Have it your way. But, I don't think you'll get the opportunity to foil me."

"Did you not hear me?" Catrina cocked her head slightly, mocking him. "I said that was Alasia's job. To turn you to a quivering, mangled, pile of mush. To be honest, I believe my nine-year-old could do that single handedly. Wouldn't take much. Just a little bit of magic and a lot of-"

Something shot into her stomach, inflicting pain to a level she had never felt. It couldn't be compared to any she'd experienced before. Her legs turned weak and numb, making her stumble backwards. She slammed into the wall and crumbled to the floor. Warm liquid flowed from waist-level down and under her legs. Her head hung limply as she felt his aura approach her. She opened her eyes to find that blue blade of his dug two inches into her gut.

He squatted down in front of her and wrapped his fingers around the hilt. With a quick yank, the dagger shot out, adding more pain and more heated, garnet life's water to the mix. When he started clicking his tongue in disappointment, she growled as best as she could muster, "That... wasn't... proper."

"Neither was you insulting me." He examined the crimson blood on his sapphire blade. "I've told you a number of times, and you still haven't learned. How. To. Hold. Your. Tongue."

"Bite me, Assessora."

His hand shot out, but instead of harshly reprimanding her, it instead cupped her cheek. As his cool fingers slid at snail's pace down her face, he sighed, "Just die quietly, alright?"

When she winced but said nothing, he praised, "There's a good girl. It's nice to see when someone realizes when there's no longer a point in fighting."

"MAMA!"

Catrina's head shot up, eyes wide. "No, Sariah, stay back!"

A pulse of psychic energy slammed into Steven, sending him tumbling further than Catrina's own attack. She watched her baby girl run up to her. The tears in her daughter's eyes quickly became mirrored in the Queen's own. "Mama, I'll fix you." Sariah knelt next to her and pressed her hands to the wound in her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut and strained. "I'll fix you..." She kept repeating quietly. "I'll fix you..."

Catrina could feel when the girl was trying too hard, because her daughter's nails started digging into her skin. She lifted a hand and touched her knuckles. Sariah's eyes shot open, salty water now streaming down her cheeks. At almost a murmur, she whimpered, "I... I promise I'm gonna fix you, Mama."

With a faint smile, Catrina lifted her daughter's hand up and gripped it tight. "Everything's going to be alright, sweetheart. Now... it's crucial you understand, mija, that I won't be coming back. Not like your grandfather did."

Sariah shook her head so hard her long, brown hair slapped against her face. "No, Mama, don't talk like that!"

"Sweetie, just remember this. Never stop-"

A quick pain shot through the Queen's chest, and her world vanished into darkness forever.