I woke up in a panic
My entire body felt as if it had been run over by a cart
And in a way, it had been. I had a painful headache that seemed to get worse when I turned my head. My entire side had been bruised I found myself wincing as I tried to sit up. The air still lightly smelt of burnt ash
" Ash?" I whispered to myself
Then memories of last night came flooding in at once
I remember holding on to kai's hands before I fell asleep
I quickly shot up and searched the room for him but my eyes were still adjusting to the light
" Kai!" I yelled
There was no response
He wasn't in the room at all
"Kai!" I called out once again
I didn't mean to fall asleep but my body was just so exhausted from the past few days. I fell asleep while kai was in need.
I remembered his tear-stained face while I was falling asleep
I wanted to hold him but I knew that he just needed to be grounded before anyone tried to comfort him
I searched the room but I didn't see any traces of kai whatsoever
Tears slowly began to fill my eyes. I didn't mean to leave him.
So many scenarios were running through my head
As my vision cleared I realized the room had been cleared and there wasn't a single trace of what happened last night. My hair had been rebraided and smelt of roses
I tried to figure out what happened but I couldn't connect any dots
I jumped to my feet getting up ready to look for kai
I started walking towards the door when it suddenly flung open
A confused and concerned kai stood in front of me
He had on his usual all-black uniform and his hair was pulled back tightly in a bun. In his hands, he had apples and a jar of honey in the other.
" Luna!' he yelled
His eyes searched the room until they landed on me
He ran towards me dropping everything onto the floor because he saw me crying
Grabbing my face with both hands
"What's wrong?" he spoke quietly almost like he was afraid of hurting me
I opened my mouth to respond but I was at a loss for words
We had been friends but I've never seen him so worried
" Luna what's wrong why were you crying?" he asked once again.
His eyes staring straight into mine
"I-i-i couldn't find you?"
Kai's eyes widened
"you were crying because you couldn't find me?" he questioned
I realized how close we were to each other I could feel his breaths against my face
He quickly stepped back like he realized what I just had
He cleared his throat and fixed his posture
" You were crying because you couldn't find me?" he questioned in a more composed fashion
" yes! I was worried" I whispered to myself realizing how childish I must have sounded
He didn't say anything he just looked back
" are you okay?" I asked
He seemed taken back as a whole
A silence filled the room and we were left just looking at each other
I realized how much we have been through in these past few weeks and how close I felt to him despite all our interactions being life or death. This was the first time we'd had an actual conversation.
" Are you okay?" he said looking at me
For a second I forgot about my injuries
I nodded my head and walked back towards the bed to sit down
" We need to talk"
"About what?"
"Well apparently we are to be wed in a couple of months kai"
He remained silent
He seemed to be quite a lot more often
"It was the only way to save you" he seemed kind of hesitant
"I understand that, it's just that we need to figure out a plan I would never want to force you to be married to a woman you didn't love for the rest of your life," I said looking into kai's eyes
He slowly pulled his eyes away from mine and onto the floor
" There is no way you can get out of this marriage the entire kingdom now know about it. The only other way out is for you to be executed and me being punished for lying to the royal family"
My breath was caught in my chest
We have to go through with this wedding
The thought of Kai surrendering himself to me
His future
His love to a woman he didn't love at all
I don't even know if I can love him the way he wanted to be loved.
" Kai we have to confess"
"What?' he questioned
"We have to confess! This isn't real, we aren't real, you can't be forced to call me your wife"
He seemed taken back
" Luna I just told you that you would die?"
"I don't want you to act as you love me for the rest of your life. That is a fate worse than death" I finally yelled
" what if we have children, could you love them with a mother like me" I continued
I felt tears filling my eyes
I've accepted that I would never find love
In my village rose was sought after by many men in the village. She had received too many marriage proposals. She was beautiful how could they not.
She walked with poise and danced with grace
Rosie was the best dancer I had ever seen
But she was held back because of me
I couldn't provide enough for her
She didn't have enough for a new dress for every date
And if people found out her relation to me
To the village whore
A woman believed to be a witch
My dark appearance my unusual hair.
My odd presence
She would be better off without me here
Kai would be better off without my presence
"I will not do that to you" I whispered
" what about you," kai said underneath his breath
" huh" I responded with
" what about you luna" he snapped at me
" from the moment I met you, you had been fighting. You fought for that soldier's honor, you protected your sister, you saved my life, you defended your little friend in the arena. When will you start fighting for your self" he continued
I forced my eyes to the ground
I think we know that we both know why I don't fight
I realized he was angry
The temperature in the room was warmer
I had made him angry
I needed to apologize
"Kai I'm -"
" Until you learn to fight for yourself I will do it for you"
With that, he turned on heel and stomped out of the room
The fruit remained on the floor
And the jar of honey for some reason remained unopened
He was right
He was just trying to help me and I couldn't see that
I quickly ran out of the room after kai
I entered the dark hallway and saw kai
I started to move towards when I saw an armed wrapped around his waist
As I got closer I saw princess lulia with her lips pressed against his
I gasped out loud without thinking
Kai pulled away from lulia and looked back at me
I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach
My face felt warm with embarrassment
I didn't mean to interrupt
" Sorry," I said turning on my heels and walking in the other direction
"Luna stop" he called after me
I didn't turn back
I couldn't
There was a burning feeling at the back of my throat. I don't know why I'm feeling like this
Sad?
Embarrassed?
Disappointed?
I could hear them arguing behind me but I tried to block it out I kept on moving towards the bedroom door
" Lulia I love her!"
I immediately stopped in my tracks
Did he say what I thought he said?
I turned back and saw him running towards me while lulia stood there just looking at me
Within seconds kai's lips were on mine
He wrapped his arms around my body and kissed me as I had never been kissed before
I was shocked
I didn't know what to do
I don't know how long the kiss lasted but when he pulled away lulia was there
It was just him and i
We looked at each other and no one said a word
My face felt hotter than it had ever been and my lips were beginning to swell
Without thinking
Without reacting I pulled my body away from kai and walked away
I left him in the hallway
And walked to God knows where
I had just kissed the crowned prince of the kingdom of light
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How did yall feel about this chapter
the kiss had me feeling some kind of way