Something tickled Amaya on her foot. She was a little awakened, but quickly got over it. She quickly fell asleep again. However, it suddenly returned. Something tickled her gently. She opened her eyes wide. She was fully conscious. She felt something crawling up her leg. It tickled. She froze. She had no idea what it was. What the hell is this, she asked herself. She heard a soft hiss.
She carefully pulled back the blanket. Her heart stopped for a moment when her eyes saw what was crawling on her leg. A snake was wrapped around her leg. It looked at her with his little eyes. It tasted her skin with his vibrating tongue. Amaya forgot to breathe when she saw the creature. She didn't like snakes.
"Ciaran!" Amaya called out.
Amaya tried not to move. Any wrong move could provoke it. She held her breath. Silently begged her heart to stop screaming. It was so sudden and strong. She felt every beat in her whole body.
"Ciaran!" she called to him, but he didn't hear. It was night. He slept. A thick wall separated their rooms.
"Ciaran!" she squealed again, her voice failing halfway through his name.
The snake crawled up her leg higher and higher. It hissed. Amaya tensed and his hiss was incredibly loud. The tip of his tail tickled her skin.
"Hello, little cute snake. I don't deserve your anger. I know I'm not the best person, but don't bite me." Amaya tried to comfort him.
"Just go away," she begged him.
"Please, be a good boy or girl, I don't know what you are, and find something else to entertain yourself with."
"Ciaran!" Amaya screamed, and that was the moment she felt sharp teeth bite into her thigh.
She felt a sharp pain. Through her veins as if a fire had spread. It was burning her from the inside. She was burning. Her body convulsed. She felt as if an invisible force was breaking her over and over. Every cell in her body was breaking down. She was suffocating. She started coughing. She was coughing up blood.
She crawled out of bed and went to see Ciaran. Her legs buckled. She barely kept her balance. She managed to get to the door. Leaned against them. She tried to feel the doorknob. Her vision was blurring. She cried bloody tears. She wiped them off but only smeared them. A trickle of blood began to flow from her nose. Her lips were bloody.
She walked along the wall the whole time. She struggled to stay on her feet. She was weak. Poison was running through her veins to her whole body. She made it to Ciaran's door, but she was running out of time.
"Ciaran." She said his name in a weak voice and collapsed to the ground.
She died.
Death found her again and again.
Prince Ciaran thought he heard Amaya calling his name. He was only dreaming, he convinced himself. She was getting under his skin more than he expected. It wasn't planned. But it could have been useful for the plan.
However, he heard strange noises from her room. It wasn't a dream. He wasn't dreaming. Something was happening.
He immediately jumped out of bed and walked to the door to her chambers. He found her lying in the hallway between their bedrooms. Her face was covered in blood.
He fell to the ground next to her. He took her in his arms. Brushed her hair away from her face. She was cold. She had a blank look on her face. Her eyes were empty, lifeless. He shook her.
"Amaya! Amaya, come wake up!" he called her, but she didn't hear him.
"Amaya!" he shouted her name, but she did not recover.
She was dead. Her lifeless body lay in his arms. She wasn't breathing. Her heart wasn't beating.
"Amaya." his voice softened, a hint of sadness in it. "You said you couldn't die, so prove it to me."
Amaya jerked back to life. How she would hear his words and return to him. She woke up like waking up from a nightmare. Cold sweat ran down her body. Ciaran was still holding her. He held her tightly in his arms. He was the supporting rock that anchored her in the world of the living.
"Amaya," he said her name with relief.
"Amaya." he breathed out as her eyes regained their sparkle and her skin was warm again.
"Ciaran." his name escaped her lips.
She remained lying in his arms. She still hasn't gotten used to coming back to life. It was always difficult to cross that line. The world seemed shrouded in a misty veil.
Normally, she would have immediately snapped out of his embrace, but now she was glad he was there for her.
"What happened?" Ciaran asked her. "Why are you covered in blood?"
"I had slightly rude company in bed," she replied.
"What?" Ciaran didn't understand. "Who?" he asked with a hint of irritation and jealousy.
"Someone left a very nice present in my bed," she said.
Ciaran stood up. He gave Amaya a helping hand. She was still weak. Ciaran had to hold her. He led her back to her rooms. Amaya was leaning against him.
Ciaran looked around her bedroom but saw nothing.
"What am I supposed to find here?" asked Ciaran.
"I have a snake in my bed," Amaya told him.
Ciaran looked at her startled. "What snake?"
"I don't know," Amaya replied. "It was a snake. It was red and black and white."
"It's a king snake," Ciaran said horrified. "It is very poisonous."
"I already found that out," Amaya said.
Amaya tore herself from his arms and walked over to the bed. But her legs refused to obey and betrayed her. If Ciaran hadn't caught her, she would have fallen to the ground.
"Is it always like this when you die?" Ciaran wondered.
"I'm still fine now. I'm getting used to it." Amaya replied. "For the first time, it was terrible. It took me days to recover."
"Then how did you keep it a secret that you can't die?"
"Even one blessed by the gods can get sick."
"I thought you couldn't die," Ciaran remarked.
"I said fire won't burn me, not that I can't die," Amaya corrected him. "I have died many times. It's like a curse. Because I cannot die, I die all the time."
"A reminder of what I ran away from," she added.
The snake was still lying in Amaya's bed. He was wrapped in a ball. He must have been asleep. There was no hissing through the room. Amaya wanted to approach him, but Ciaran stopped her.
"Do you want to die a second time in a row?" he told her.
Amaya stepped back.
"What we're gonna do?" she asked Ciaran. "We can't leave that snake here."
"You will wait in my rooms," Ciaran told her. "I'll call the guards."
Ciaran took Amaya in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. He put her in his bed. She rested her head on the pillow. She watched Ciaran leave. Her eyes were heavy. Her eyelids fluttered. She fell asleep before he was out of sight.
Ciaran went to the guards who were on patrol. He ordered them to find someone who could catch snakes. They immediately obeyed their prince's orders. Ciaran also woke up General Marcellus.
"What's going on?" the general didn't understand why the prince was causing such a panic in the middle of the night.
"Someone tried to kill, Amaya," told him the prince.
The general laughed. "Who would even try?" he said. "Everyone is afraid of her. No one is stupid enough to go near that witch."
"You know she's not a witch," Ciaran teased him. "However, someone is clearly not afraid of her and tried to kill her. She has a king snake in her bed."
"Apparently, someone really doesn't want her alive," said the general in shock.
"From now on, there will be guards standing outside her chambers and mine at all times, and they won't let anyone in without my or her permission. After they catch the snake, look around the chambers to see if the person has left any other surprises there." Ciaran gave the orders. "And find out who it was."
"Where will the witch stay while we catch the snake?" the general wondered.
"At my chambers." answered the prince.
The general eyed him suspiciously. "Are you sure you didn't have a hand in getting it in her rooms?" he asked him.
"I wouldn't risk her life for that." he gave him a murderous look. "If she dies it's over."
Ciaran returned to Amaya . She slept peacefully in his bed. Her hair fell onto her bloodied face. She was not like the other girls who braided their hair in complicated braids. She always wore them loose. He liked it when they blew in the breeze. Amaya was wild at heart and soul.
He sat down on the bed next to her. He shook her gently.
"Amaya, we need to wash the blood off you," he told her.
"In the morning," Amaya said in a sleepy voice.
"Now," said Ciaran. "Before anyone sees you covered in blood."
"These are your chambers, you decide who sees me," Amaya said.
A fleeting smile bloomed on Ciaran's lips. He took Amaya's hands and pulled her out of bed. She reluctantly went with him.
Amaya took a towel and began to peel the skin off her face in front of the mirror. The dried blood did not go down. Ciaran gave a fleeting laugh at how she was trying. He took her hand and sat her on the edge of the bath. He dipped a towel in warm water and began to gently wash the blood from her face. Amaya closed her eyes and let him do whatever he wanted. His touch was too gentle.
"You're kind of tame today," Ciaran joked.
"Don't get used to it," Amaya told him.
"Why is the snake called the king snake?" Amaya asked Ciaran.
"There is a legend," replied Ciaran. "Allegedly, once upon a time, an ancient king loved the earth goddess, Flora. But then he fell in love with a human woman. He loved her as he had never loved anyone. He was willing to sacrifice his life for her. When Flora found out, she was furious. She loved the king with all her soul. He promised her eternity together. She gave him her whole heart and he broke it. As punishment for his betrayal, she turned him into what he was inside. She turned him into a snake because he was only a liar promising her fairy tales." he told her the ancient story.
Amaya rested her head against Ciaran's chest. She sighed deeply.
"You are the worst enemy," she said.
"Why?" Ciaran couldn't understand.
"Because you're too nice to me," she replied.
"And that's bad?" he asked her.
"Within the fact that we're enemies, yes," Amaya said. "But maybe that's your tactic. I'm sure you have ulterior motives that you're not letting know. The real reason you kidnapped me, Prince Ciaran. I just can't figure out what it is."
"You have the ability to see into people's heads, why don't you find out?" said Ciaran with a wicked smile.
"I see the memories, not your evil plans. Your thoughts are hidden from me." Amaya said unhappily.
"You didn't try to get into my head anyway," Ciaran remarked.
"Because if I knew everything about you, it wouldn't be fun anymore," she replied.
⸸
Amaya woke up in the morning in the arms of Prince Ciaran. She was lying on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat. She felt the touch of his hands on her body. She wiggled slightly. She purred contentedly like a cat. She looked up at the prince.
"Good morning, little goddess," he wished her.
"Good morning, little prince," she wished him sleepily.
At that, she pulled away from the prince sharply. Ciaran laughed.
"I'm sorry," she said, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear.
"For what?" Ciaran couldn't understand.
"For using you as a pillow," Amaya retorted.
"What makes you think I don't like it?"
"You should tame those thoughts," Amaya told him. "I hope my room is safe now without any surprises."
"I'll go find out," Ciaran said, disappearing from her sight.
In a short while he returned to her. He also brought her clothes.
"That snake seems to like your bed. It's still in it." Ciaran said with a mischievous smile.
"Why is it still there?"
"Guards couldn't find anyone to catch him at night, so they stayed to watch it so it wouldn't run away. It'll be gone in no time," he promised her. "Then they'll search all your chambers to make sure there aren't any more surprises waiting there. But you should have your rooms back by dinner."
"But I won't mind if you stay here one more night," added Ciaran.
"I'd rather not," Amaya said.
"I should warn you that from now on there will be guards outside your chambers at all times," said Ciaran.
"Are they supposed to guard only my chambers or me again, every step of the way?" she shot him a suspicious look.
"They are supposed to guard your chambers so no one tries to kill you again," said Ciaran. "I promised you as much freedom as I can give you, and I will keep my word."
"But I'm still locked in a cage anyway," Amaya said.
⸸
Amaya was walking in the palace gardens. Colorful flowers decorated the flower beds. The blue sky was without a single cloud. The sun was shining brightly. Its warm rays caressed Amaya's skin. The green crowns of the trees cast pleasant shadows. Zariah kept her company, but not a very pleasant one. Tension and anger emanated from her.
"I can sense something on your tongue, Zariah, so don't hold it back and say it," Amaya told her.
Zariah hesitated to speak at first, but finally spoke. "The prince spent last night in your chambers and when I looked for you in the morning I found you sleeping in his bed," she said condemningly. "You seem to have find a liking in Prince Ciaran, Amaya."
"Whose bed I'm in and who I sleep with is none of your business, Zariah," Amaya retorted.
"You are supposed to be the queen, Amaya, not the princess of an unwanted prince," Zariah said.
"Maybe Fate decided otherwise," Amaya said.
Amaya wanted to leave, but Zariah pulled her back. She looked at her worriedly. "Did Fate reveal something?"
"Fate is fickle like all gods. His ways are unpredictable," Amaya replied.
"I'm sure you have a different destiny than this, Amaya." Zariah said.
"By the way, I only slept at Ciaran's bed because there was a snake in mine," Amaya remarked.
"How did the snake get in there?" Zariah horrified.
"Someone tried to kill me," Amaya said. "I was safe with the prince."
"But he is your enemy," Zariah argued. "How you know, he didin't get it there?"
"Who is friend and who is enemy anyway?" Amaya let the question hang in the air.
"You can trust me, Amaya, and you know it," Zariah assured her.
Can I, she was asking herself.