The Kingdom of the Rose: Rise of the Heir [Romance/Fantasy/Adventure]

Chapter 40 - Soul Pact

Apologies for the late update, I was kept up on Fridays celebrating the start of my holidays. This is a pretty short chapter, but I hope it does continue the story further on a bit :)

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"Get up, Rosa, we have to get out of here," a voice ushered me, gently easing my body up. Rico? I opened my eyes slowly, still dazed. It felt just like the day I had revived Conrad; drained and empty to the very last drop. How ironic, is it his turn to save me now?

"Conrad. Did she tell you your last orders? I don't have any energy left, so go on your own," I whispered in recognition. “Shh,” he caressed my face, and my head lolled slowly. I wanted to argue and tell him to leave, but my labored breathing made it too difficult. "Just hold on tight," he replied, slowly lifting me off the ground.

The room was a mess, a ruin. Lenn's body was in a corner, probably in the same state I was in. I’m sorry, Lenn. I reached my hands out, to pull him to join with us, until I remembered the choice he made two nights ago. The Queen and all the priests were also knocked out in a different side of the wall. I did not know how Conrad was going to escape all the guards outside, but I am out of this fight. My eyelids drooped, and I gave up thinking of anything but the warmth of his arms, and the same familiar smell of mint and wood.

We rushed down the corridor, the place surprisingly empty of guards. Some maids squealed as they saw me, but we pressed on. A loud noise - there was a crowd right below the Treslean tree. So many people, so many humans, yet I could not make out what they are doing. With a resigned sigh, I stared at the passing view, enjoying the last few moments life has offered. So in the end, Elleya was right. 

Somehow, Conrad had found a back gate and led us out, quietly sneaking through the rows of houses. He then set me down carefully, opening his slightly frayed shirt where he had hid a coat. "Rosa, talk to me. Stay awake. You look extremely pale," he murmured, shaking me worriedly. I coughed, and smiled gratefully at the warmth of his coat. 

"I met your mother. She said I’d die if I did the soul pact, but they’d kill you, you see. But I'm so glad you're alive," I croaked softly, so low that even I am scared that I might die. His eyes widened at my words, whether it was the meaning attached or my sickly voice. "You idiot, do you even know what a soul pact means?" he looked at me so seriously that I wished I could move my head. My feelings were always yours, yet there were so many times when I felt something for someone else. I shook my head with a light smile, slowly letting my eyes drift --

"No, Rosa, just stay with me for a while longer,” he nudged my cheeks, keeping my eyes open. “You’re the Queen, so don’t you ever think of dying. The day you saved me –“ I’m sorry. I’ve been saying these words so often these few days, yet that’s the only reply I can give you right now. 

I was far off into a different world, the bridge between Avalon and Del Teira. Somewhere amidst the rift, somewhere where I could see all those sparks of magic particles around me, somewhere where the past comes to haunt, somewhere where I feel close to death. Twice, now. Shrugging, I paced around, looking for some hint of escape. I’m not ready to die, not yet. 

There I saw a string of vibrant shining energy. It clung to my fingers, like something that was keeping me alive. Strange, there wasn’t such thing before. Without another choice, I followed the strands of energy, weaving through the darkness like it was a friend. I’m no longer scared, not after the long hours spent wallowing in fear of the future. 

The lines led me to a young girl, her face deathly pale and unconscious. Her fingers were intertwined with another, her breath shallow and her body unmoving. “So I’m almost dying this time,” I mumbled, somewhat disappointed. It was strange that I was being calm about all this. Surprisingly, Conrad’s head snapped beside my almost dying body, facing me, my spiritual self. I stared in alarm. “I can hear you, and see your… Energia perfectly fine, Rosa,” he frowned. 

“But I’m supposed to be half-dead, like what happened after the avalanche. What exactly are these strands of… energy that led me here?” I asked him, coming closer to study my own body in detail. I couldn’t touch her, my hands slipping in. Conrad’s strong jaws flexed in confusion as he studied the scene before him.

“This just might be it, the rumored soul pact,” Conrad murmured. “So you’re saying we did some kind of blood exchange during the kiss? That makes sense,” I replied sarcastically. Soul pacts looked difficult and cool. Not something that simple. 

“Believe what you will, I was coughing out so much blood it might just be possible,” he crossed his hands together and leaned against the wall, “But we have to kind of hurry because I don’t think they can hold on for long.” His golden eyes darkened, and I could feel a shift in the strands that joined us together. 

“What’s going on?”

He shook his head dismissively, and I knew it was something that I would learn of, soon enough.

It felt strange. Everything fell into place; how there seemed to be some invisible connection between us, how I could have recognized Elleya’s motherly figure without much thought. As guilty as I was towards Lenn, the thought that this soul pact emerged out of nowhere made me feel slightly better. I did not have a choice, and no one could ever blame me for not choosing him or Conrad. The choice just wasn’t mine. 

I eased myself into the spirit world, watching as the view blurred. There, standing in front of me, was his familiar Energia - yet Conrad's soul vibrated differently. I could see two different colors within him - his more orange like red and my own bright red auras. I stretched my hands to reach his, the warmth slowly pulsing into my body. It filled me, like flowing water easing into an empty well. 

I jolted forward, my soul suddenly sucked into my physical body. "Whoa," I stuttered, feeling suddenly much better. He smiled, his face hiding the slight look of fatigue. "Let's go?" He offered his arm, and I took it. 

 “From this point on, you have to pretend to be a very healthy faerie, so smile,” he tilted his head closer to mine, giving me a peck on my cheeks. I covered my head further into the hooded cape he had given me. “I’m sorry, Conrad. For all the trouble,” I whispered, pulling his wrist before he started walking. “It’s my own choice, isn’t it, Rosa? Besides, this is just the beginning.”

I was surprised to see him slowing his pace as we neared the main entrance. The number of guards has somehow decreased. “Reįm löræn filrānès, reįmkov dün öllèg yœlryí cęst?" Conrad called out. They laughed at him, the shrilling voice echoing in the moonlight. "Since when did you make so many fairy friends?" I complimented him softly, chuckling slightly. "Someone's wide awake," he replied smugly. Shockingly, they opened the gates for Conrad with a few smiles and cheers. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Mister," I mumbled, hiding under the hood.

            “I don’t, really, compared to you,” he sighed, his voice although lighthearted hid a layer of seriousness. I looked down, unable to look at his eyes. Indeed, I do have a lot of things to explain. How am I going to start from everything? Just when I’m content moving on with my life, the dead is resurrected to haunt me. Just as he comes to save me, I was content in another man’s arms. And just as I was about to die together with him, he saved me for the second time.

“Dan agreed to let me rescue you a day after your kidnapping despite Wendell and Délio’s complaints. So I rushed here with Ryoren, and managed to sneak into the Castle. I suppose it helps that I’m a half-faerie who still remembers his mother’s childhood language lessons. Somehow I managed to stumble into your room by pure luck. While waiting for you, I saw my mother’s figure, and I couldn’t help but follow after her into a group of soldiers. After all our soul pact and stuff, I met my parents in the dungeons, and there we hatched a plan. Using some of my magic, I freed the other prisoners to make a distraction just before I was taken into the sacred shrine chambers underground, and here we are,” he motioned to Ryoren’s resting figure under the shadow of the trees.

I nodded absent mindedly, feeling too tired to reply or come up with some kind of defense for all my actions. What I did was horrible. With a little help, I jumped up his back shortly before his warm hands wrapped against my waist. “Come, Ryoren. Go take a rest, not even my magic can replenish all that energy you expelled. We can talk on the morrow, when everything is… clearer,” he tucked a blanket across my back, and for once I could not agree with him more.