Word Count: 1416
~Akara
With a bit of Zavian's help, I've managed to track Grey down.
Someone in the men Zavian hired to infiltrate Tai's estate knew of a man who was once asking questions around town about me. From there, it didn't take long to have a note passed onto Grey, who unsurprisingly, hasn't left the Jade Province.
And just like I suspected, he came to the meeting spot I mentioned in the note; about a thirty minute walk away from Zavian's estate.
"I wasn't sure I would ever see you again," he murmurs, coming to stand a few feet in front of me.
"You were meant to run away." I was hoping I wouldn't see him again. Not because he's apparently in love with me, but because I don't trust him. I need to trust my instincts, even if I don't know what my state of mind was during that time.
"How could I, when you're here," he says earnestly.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. This love sick act has to drop soon, I mean, he knows I'm in love with Marek, and I'm to be married to the King, and yet he still follows me around. Its me wonder what more happened before I lost my memory, that he hasn't indulged yet. I need to find out, before it gets me into more trouble than I'm already in.
"Doesn't matter. I need you to do something for me," I exclaim, stepping forward.
Grey's expression lightens. "Anything."
"I need you to find the man who tried to kill me, upon Tai's instructions." The sooner we find him, the sooner he can testify against Tai, giving Zavian a valid, legal reason to imprison him without the public going awry.
Scratching his head, Grey looks off through the trees. "I don't think he will be willing to come forward."
"He won't go to prison, I can assure you," I say. "I want him to testify against Tai."
"The King?"
"Yes. I mean, he tried to kill me!" I exclaims, throwing my hands up. Grey looks confused, that I would want to go against the King, which I'm assuming is because I'm getting married to him. But how can he not see how purely evil Tai is? I'm just going to have to rely on the fact that Grey will do anything for me at this point...
Not because it makes sense, but because it's me.
"Is that really a good idea?" Grey asks uneasily. By doing this, he's putting himself at risk of being caught by Tai, and locked up for a very long time. I want to assure him he will be fine, that Zavian would ensure nothing would happen to him.
But that would require telling him who Zavian is, which may lead to what is going on in Tai's estate right now.
"You just have to trust me with this, okay?"
Grey sighs, running his hand over his face before he shakes his shoulder, as if he's coming to his senses. "Sure...Where are you living now?"
"Someone has taken over Tai's estate, so we are staying elsewhere. Close by," I explains.
He stares me down with those dark eyes of his, looking relieved. At first, I'm convinced it's because he cares about my safety, that it means something to him that I'm not in danger right now. That is, until the edges of his lips turn up in a smile that makes my stomach turn.
"Perfect," he murmurs.
"Why's that?" I ask warily.
He continues to smile, eyes moving my face, to flicker behind me. "Because now I can do this."
Before I have a chance to turn around, something strikes me behind the head, and I feel my body crumple to the ground, unconsciousness whisking me away.
I'm not sure how much time has passed when I finally wake.
My head pounds incessantly, as my eyes slowly blink open. I'm lying on a couch, facing a large window that shows of an impressive city view.
Scarlet Province.
Fuck.
"Grey?" I call out weakly, pulling myself into sitting position, resting my palm against my head. He hit me good...Or at least, whoever he had with him had hit me good.
I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. But this? He's brought me to an entirely different Province, for a purpose I'm sure I'm going to find out soon, as Grey steps into my field of view.
"Ah, you're finally awake." He approaches the couch, although pauses, as I flinch wildly.
"What's going on?" I question, looking around the room.
The apartment isn't exactly lavish, even if the view is. Nothing about Grey ever indicated to me that he was from here, that he was capable of this many lies. And now I'm stuck in an apartment with him, in a Province I know almost nothing about.
"Sorry I had to hit you. I didn't mean to hurt you," he says softly, looking over me.
"You took me to the Scarlet Province," I snap, motioning out the window. Of Province's he could have taken me to, why did it have to be the one I know the least about?
"I had to."
"How long have I been out?" It's daylight out, which it was when he hit me. My entire perception of time and space has been messed with, leaving me feeling vulnerable. I hate that feeling, haven't felt it far too much in my time.
"A day and a half," Grey mutters. I close my eyes. This is bad. Really bad. What is Marek thinking right now? I went into the forest and I haven't returned. Knowing him, he's probably spent all night in the forest searching for me. I just hope he doesn't think I ran, leaving him behind.
"Why...why hit me?" I question.
"I needed you far from the Jade Province," Grey explains. Far is an understatement. I won't be able to get back unless I can convince him to let me go.
"Why?"
He steps forward, crouching down in front of where I sit, clasping my hands with his own ice cold one's. "So I can tell you about what I've done for you."
"I knew I couldn't trust you. I should have listened to my past self..." I get to my feet, creating some distance between us. If he's hit me, or had me hit before, what's to say he won't again, once I speak out against him?
Grey winces, taking a long moment before he chooses what to say. "You only felt that way because I tricked you into killing a Summoner after we visited that woman who told us about you...issue."
I stare blankly at him, letting the information sink in. "You tricked me?"
"I made a plan, to get you to kill one. After that, you suspected it had a lot to do with me, which is why I assume you didn't trust me," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
I look down at my hands, as if I could see the blood once staining them now washing away.
"I thought I was a monster..." My eyes squeeze shut. I thought I was so evil I had gone out of my way to murder a Summoner.
"You did it on accident, I promise," Grey adds.
Despite the overwhelming relief that overcomes me, I grit my teeth as I stare down the man who made me kill someone. It still stands, that I would have rather died than taken someone else's life so I could live
"I'm going to kill you," I growl, advancing on him.
"Wait, whoa wait." He stumbles back a few steps, trying to evade me with his arms stuck our defensively in front of him. "I brought you here for a reason."
"What is it?" I snap.
He watches me carefully, in case I try to attack him again. "I found her."
"Who?"
"The one you were desperately trying to find. I finally tracked her down," he tells me. I pause. He told me about my hunt for this woman, and for so long, it has been lost on me who she could be.
"Who is she?" I ask slowly, already feeling like my world is collapsing with just the look on Grey's face.
"She's the King's mother," he breathes.
💗••💗
Remember that you can always find this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish (:
You will find it under King's Possession Season Three!!
~Midika 🐼💜