"You want to try and kill me again like last time?" Laila glares, taking a seat by the table, not without making sure that Oma sees her grab a knife. The woman had lost her hair...interesting.
Smiling, Oma lifts her hands, in surrender, replying, "It was not my fault that you picked the wrong choice, Laila."
"You were only focused on getting an heir for either of the kings, while I loved the man you wanted me to give up on."
"...And...where has that landed you?"
Laila doesn't reply. "Mr. Godfrey will soon be back, don't expect me to act as if I know you. You'll be labeled a thief, upon his arrival."
"I am your sister,"
"I have no sister, Oma. She died the day she pushed me down the hill."
"It was a small hill, I knew you'd survive."
"Either way, my sister died that day."
"Impossible, Laila. If your sister died that day, then you wouldn't have set her free when she was imprisoned in the dungeons."
"You were already mad! What was the point of you rotting in there, and soiling King Xerxes' floors!"
"No Laila, you set me free because I am your sister."
***
It was late in the night after Laila and Stephan had gone to see the princess and her child. Strangely, there were no guards on duty that night, and it was the perfect opportunity for her to see Oma. It seemed the gods were on her side because even the keys were left there. Laila thought it was a trap and waited around but nothing happened. Taking that as her cue, she crept inside, making sure that one could hear a pin drop.
It wasn't hard to find her sister, as she was wailing like an injured dog, against the metal bars that trapped her in a small area.
She must've heard Laila's footsteps, because she immediately stopped, pressing her head against the metal, screaming,
"Xerxes, My Love, I knew you'd come for me! I'm right here!"
Oma sees Laila approaching instead, making her scream!
"It's just me...Lady Oma."
The woman laughs out loud, pulling at her hair. Laila cringes, seeing the fallen locks on the floor. Oma's eyes were threatening to pop out of her eye sockets...the veins in them were creepy. From the dried-up spit all over her mouth and chest to the scratch marks designing her arms and legs...Oma's appearance was one Laila never knew she would see in her life.
Tears pricked the girl's eyes, as she watched her sister's madness increase with every passing second.
"You're crying?!" Oma laughed, her smile wide and terrifying.
"You don't even deserve my tears," her sister replied, turning around, wiping them away.
Feeling overwhelmed with pent-up anger, Laila turns back around, "YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME!" she yells, kicking the metal bars, startling the insane woman.
"This could have been avoided if we just stayed with that witch! Who cares if we smelled like decaying animals?! WE HAD EACH OTHER! Why did you throw that away? What out here was worth leaving me behind?!"
Oma says nothing, watching her sister's first mental breakdown.
"And then you killed her! Why?! Because of some stupid love potion that didn't even last up to FOUR MONTHS! What about being queen drew you to such lengths?! What about being queen prompted you to push me down that hill when you were AWARE that I loved the king? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"
Oma looks down at her hands, scratching them.
"...He raped me"
"What?" Laila asks in shock.
"Him and his brother...raped me."
Laila shakes her head, trying to understand, "Oma who raped you-"
"I DON'T KNOW! I don't know their names, gods I can't even remember their faces! I just know they were brothers. It was when I left...I got a place to work to make some money in Sheath. It was a place they served drinks, and I was called 'Queen'.
"Queen! Two men by the other end are looking for you!" Celestina, a co-worker said to me as I had just finished serving a table their drinks. Nodding, I walked past her and saw two men sitting in a dark corner.
"How can I help you?" I asked with a smile on my face. The first man smiled, licking his lips. His beard was untamed, his belly pregnant with beer, and it was clear he was drunk.
"My brother and I...we want to have some fun with you," he said, reaching out to hold my hand but I took a step back, gently refusing their advances. His brother got up, a younger man, who had an untamed beard as well, but certainly did not have a potbelly, he was even attractive.
"I am sorry about my brother, I'll take him out. Please carry on," he said with a sweet smile. Nodding, I went about my business, and they finally left...but they didn't.
My work was over and I had pleaded with Celestina to wait for me, as I closed up that night, since it was my turn. She said she would be waiting for me outside, but when I stepped out, she was nowhere to be found. I decided to walk towards the back where the owner had given me a place to stay. It was basically the store unit, but it was more than enough, and certainly kept me secure, as it had its own lock.
I couldn't make it to the storage unit that was not more than thirty steps away.
Both men appeared out of nowhere, one grabbed my mouth as the other tore my clothing. I pushed, kicked, bit, anything I had to do, to get away, praying that I would see anyone, pass by, even Celestina.
The man that I thought was nice, was a demon. He pushed me to the ground, and I hit my head against the stones. His brother held my legs open, and once I tried to scream out, I felt a cloth stuffed in my mouth...it tasted of vinegar. It was clear that I was betrayed, because I saw Celestina right there, looking at me. She was the one that put the cloth in my mouth.
I was wide awake, as both of the men took their turns groping me, entering me, and kissing my body over and over again. I didn't even know when I passed out, but I am sure it was when they turned me over, ramming inside from behind.
Laila is a crying mess from hearing her sister's story...she could not believe this happened to her.
"She told me I was no queen, and this is a lesson to never think I am better than anyone else. That is why I was determined to become queen and trust no one along the way...I was damaged, I couldn't even trust myself...that is why I could not trust you. I wanted to come back immediately. Run back to the hill we played on, but I knew once that witch allowed me to leave, she would never let me come back. I wandered around till I ended up in Moore. So...here I am, Celestina was right...I am no queen. I can't wait to die," she says laying on the ground, her eyes watering.
"...You could have told me."
"Are you deaf...or do you have selective hearing...I.TRUSTED.NO.ONE!"
"What you did to the princess is still inexcusable. What you did to me is still inexcusable."
"I know...that is why I don't care...Laila, I'm not sure you understand...I have no remorse for anything I have done. Maybe if I was not raped things would have turned out differently-"
"It wouldn't have."
Chuckling, Oma says, "I know. I would have still met the king one way or another, and still had the urge to become his queen and give him an heir, just like the one you're carrying."
Laila's breath hitches, looking at the woman, lying in her hair.
"I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Laila...I am not a fool."
"How did you know...that I was-"
"Pregnant? Maybe our 'abilities' were actually tapped into when we turned eighteen. It didn't matter if we were on the hill or not-"
"That's not true. I have no abilities-"
"You do, and that's why you can never be with your beloved king."
IT'S THE OFFICIAL DOUBLE UPDATE FRIDAY!