Rise of a Queen

Chapter 47

I was surprised to hear how melancholy he sounded, "Where are you going?"

"Away."

Such a simple answer, riddled with so much mystery. He has always been a conundrum, the one puzzle I never solved, the question left unanswered in the back of my mind. His existence quite literally festered, always present but never explained, and it made my curiosity unbearable, "Does that mean you won't pester me in death as you did in life?"

He thumbed the throne fondly while repeating my words, "In death? You think ..." He waved away the subject, "No matter. Our games have always been fun, why would I ruin this one for you? I suppose you will just have to find out for yourself."

Always so cryptic, "What does that mean?"

"One question at a time." He chided.

"Will you continue to bother me now that I am dead?" I questioned again.

"How can I bother you ... when I am you?" He grumbled and flicked at a splinter that had since emerged from the smooth wood of Dustin's throne. There appeared to be something beneath it, another material beneath the wood, but I couldn't determine what it might be, "I once told you I had plans of making Dustin my successor and perhaps I would have – after all, it does not take much to taint a poor fallen soul as dark as his. But as you recently learned, I am merely a messenger and you were inevitably the only one to receive my message."

"What message?" I pressed, "I don't understand any of this."

"Of course you don't, I didn't either." The beast sat himself at the base of the throne rather than in it and from where he crouched before the immaculate height of crafted monarchy, he looked like nothing more than a peasant awaiting punishment from the high court he knowingly betrayed, "I made it my mission to defy because rebellion has always been in my bones, but it is impossible to do so here. It is impossible to disobey. So it is you who takes the fall, I return to my status as the messenger, and that boy gets to keep his savory heart."

My mind was swarmed with confusion and it drummed waves of turbulence through my thoughts that made the beast whimper in pain,"What are you talking about?"

"Your mother, damn that woman." He hissed, "That dreadful creature put quite an obstacle in my way, she halted my game long before it ever began. I had a message for you but because of what your mother did, it was delivered inadequately. My job is quite simple, collect the dead and deliver messages, but your mother just had to screw with my plans." He leaned back against the throne and let it hold his weight that was too much for him to bare, "Thankfully, luck was on my side and Fate introduced you to Dustin so sweetly for me. On that night, my message was delivered and you were returned into the world from which you were stolen."

"What world? You mean Dustin's world?" Could he really be implying such a ridiculous notion?

"You watched him brutally murder someone and yet, you found yourself oddly drawn to him like decay to a corpse. Didn't you ever find it strange how even though you were so inadequate for this lifestyle, somehow you fit perfectly? As if you always belonged." He laughed to himself, "I remember the revelations you had, each week you considered those people more human than monster. And as you assimilated into their world, I thought to myself, I will kill two lovebirds with one stone. I will take her innocence and I will devour his heart, and then the message won't even matter."

Separate worlds, his and mine, that converged at a bridge between Dustin and I. It made no sense. The world Dustin hailed from was one I had no previous knowledge of. I was born into safety and sheltered from the kinds of dangers Dustin was taught to harness. My innocence and Dustin's heart were designed from two very different histories that were a universe apart.