Kingdom of Lies (The Fifth Element Chronicles)

Chapter 16 [part 2]

I always wanted to understand the reason for my life. To feel that I was worth living, that I was destined for something important. 

For a long time the only thing I knew was the loneliness of the woods, the bubble in which I was immersed for hours, and the peace that every second I spent there brought me. 

But after all the journey I had made, I was no longer sure what really defined me, what my essence really was. 

Now, I was being told that I was born with a clear purpose, with a fixed path to follow. 

My destiny was to marry the Prince of Bieno and have his child. I had no other choice but to be a wife and a mother. 

No, it could not be like that. 

'Rythel,' I said, still dazed by my thoughts, 'may I speak with you alone for a moment?' 

The other Comrades watched me with apprehension, but did not discuss my request. 

I rose with fear of falling from the tremors I felt in my body. Rythel followed me into the room where I had woken up. 

Once inside, he closed the door and encouraged me to speak. 

'I'm sorry that...' 

'There must be another way,' I interrupted him and went on, 'I've read thousands of books with stories of prophecies and they always find a way to get around them.' 

Rythel looked down at the floor and then back at me. 

'But those are stories, Your Majesty, this is reality. There is no way to avoid the inevitable.' 

For the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to cry. I let the tears come out of my eyes like waterfalls without caring that Rythel was watching me. To my surprise, he was not frightened or embarrassed by my behavior. He looked thoughtful, and even understanding. 

It was not easy to accept that your destiny is not as you imagined it.

I cried for a couple of minutes until I felt that there was no more water left inside me. I wiped my eyes with my hands and took a deep breath, flooding my lungs with as much air as possible. 

'Do you feel better now?' Rythel asked me when he saw that I was done. 

'I'll meet Lucius today,' I replied, even though every word hurt inside me. 

'You are doing the right thing, I will send a pigeon friend right away.' 

Before he left, I told him one more thing. 

'I must speak to Russell.' I emphasized that I must, because I really must. I didn't want to talk to him, I didn't need to talk to him, I had to talk to him to explain the reality of our situation. 

'Your Majesty, that's not a good idea.' 

'You don't understand, Rythel, if I'm going to be engaged to someone else, he...' 

'He would never have been a possibility anyway.' 

My mouth opened slightly, not expecting that statement. 

'What do you mean by that?' I expressed my discontent. 

'I mean that no person in the royal family has ever married a commoner, it is always arranged marriages to secure alliances between Kingdoms.' 

My heart shrank a little more, if that was still possible. 

I had never considered marrying, it was not really my priority. But since I met Russell all my ideas about love had changed. We were friends, we understood each other, we took care of each other. I felt that that was how love was supposed to feel like and I didn't think anyone else would be able to make me feel that way.