It has been about a week now living in Karow. My Mother and Yumi are still here so they could attend the wedding of Rezin and Taunii. The days have went by pretty well considering everything that happened. After the second time me and Calum had sex, I started to trust him more and learned to open up to him. He had told me everything about the past with him and I see no evil intent. It will take a lot more time to fully trust him because he still killed people, but I think he can learn to control himself more.
The people he killed he said "was to better our future" and "they would only get in the way." As my Husband and as my King, I need to believe that more than ever right now. If we are going to run two Kingdoms at the same time then I need a solid foundation in our marriage to keep us together and agreeing with one another.
One thing that does concern me is that I am not left alone anymore. He always wants me with him and complains if I want to spend time with someone else. He makes sure I am with someone he trusts 24/7 and won't allow me to step foot outside without him. He's picked up his last habit of making me repeat myself when I talk to him too: tell me you love me, say you'll always stay with me, etc.
He looks like a confident leader in most situations but when I step into the room he stops everything and greets me. Sometimes he'll follow me around like a lost puppy and I can swear I can feel him breathing down my neck. When we are alone at night he wants to do everything for me. He brushes my hair, massages me, dresses me down and up, and even learned how to paint nails (he's awful though.)
I would compare myself to his own personal doll; a toy that a kid would demand to keep even when going to school or the store. I am still my own person though and tell him to stop when he takes his antics too far. I constantly tell him that I love him and it's not a lie. I do truly love him but the feeling of his temperament keeps me from getting too close. When he gets mad his eyes turn red and all hell breaks loose. I have only seen that once when I first arrived in Karow with him and got taken by a group of people. That reminds me, are those people even still alive?
I guess I'll have to add them on my list of murders too. They may have returned back into their skin instead of stone after we left and have broken bones or they could have stayed as living statues. I don't want to think about that.
Today, I have been doing more work as usual across Calum. We are both focused in this small room to get all the information in order. It's odd that it feels like I've spent most of my time in Karow more than Theruma with him and I'm starting to like it here. I like the different atmosphere and the unfamiliar halls that surround me every day. I glance at Calum writing down something and smile. His blue eyes are focused on a task and his eyebrows are furrowed in concentration. He looks back and forth between documents with a slight frown and doesn't look up to meet my eyes.
Someone rushed through the door without knocking and catches both of our attention. The small Burnette girl rushes in and looks exasperated. "Zenon has died! People are looking for me to be the Queen!" Her eyes show fear in them. I don't think she want's the throne or the responsibility of taking care of many people. It is not for everyone and I am sad to see such a spirited girl get crushed by the instant burden.
"Don't worry, Taunii." Calum gets up from his seat and walks over to her, "Rezin will help you take care of your Kingdom. He has lived in a castle for his whole life and know how to do things. If he doesn't..." Calum turns to point at him and me, "you can contact us to help you with anything you need. You are not alone."
He speaks with such charm and elegance that she calms down immensely and nods. "Thank you." She tells him with a half smile.
"Anytime. Now, we need to get you two married before they make you marry someone else!" He says while pushing her out the door. He yells for a servant to come get her and bring her to Rezin immediately to prepare for the wedding tomorrow. She is out of sight and I hear frantic footsteps of people trying to prepare everything. Calum shuts the door and lets out a breath of air before returning to the desk. "This is it."
"What is?" I ask him. He seems to look nervous about something.
He looks at me and puts his hands on the desk in front of me. "We will hold their wedding here and they will be sent away. It will just be me and you here."
"When are we returning to Theruma?" I ask him. Surely we can't stay here all the time.
He looks down at the desk and moves a stack of papers that separate us. "We can leave once I hire an Advisor to run this place while we are gone. I have gathered information about a lot of people and so far I found a few that I think will do an excellent job. I will form follow up interviews today and get someone lined up to work after the wedding. If all goes well we should be able to leave in two days, the day after the wedding, to be crowned in Theruma as King and Queen. Our coronation. How exciting!"
I laugh at his childlike excitement and takes his hands in mine. His face starts to turn pink from my sudden touch and he laughs with me. He remove his hands from mine and grabs some papers of the potential people. "They should be coming soon." I nod and take this as a sign that I should leave so he can interview them alone. As I stand up he quickly looks at me and stands up. "Where are you going?"
I motion toward the door and tell him I'm going to find someone to hand out with until he's done. He shakes his head and walks up to me. "I don't want you to leave me just yet." He wraps me up in a hug next to the door. "I'll take you to someone to keep you company as you walk."
The opens the door and keeps an arm around my waist as we walk down the halls. I spot Yumi in the library and I point to her. He walks inside and gets next to her chair and lets me go when I am a few feet from her. He gives her the usual speech on how she needs to watch over me with her life and he will come by to take me later. I feel like a child whose parents are overprotective with the babysitter.
She laughs at me when he is out of earshot and give me a book to read with her. I have some good quality time with her as a friend instead of a maid in Karow and when I think about losing her when we give her to her Mom I feel sad. Can Calum just keep it a secret from her and remain how we are now? No, she needs to know this.
Night time arrives and I am lying on our bed, waiting for Calum to enter and sleep beside me. Even though I can sleep by myself now, it has been a habit to wait for him to be next to me before I sleep. It provides some sort of comfort and protection knowing that a powerful man dedicated to me and would do anything to keep me safe is right beside me when I sleep. I look at my ring and see the sparkles from the diamond shine on my eyes. I wonder how much he paid for this?
My mind wanders into the darkness and I remember all the reasons I didn't trust Calum in the first place. Murders, rampages, manipulation... What do I like about him? Dedication, intelligence, confidence, authority, safety, and love. He's never hurt me and he only wants the best for us but I still can't help but think about the past. He told me that his love for me has turned a bit dark, what could that mean?
I need to have a backup plan. If Calum loves me as much as he says then I wouldn't need to do this. However, if he shows any sign that he will not turn good, I will have to disclose all the information I know about him to my Mother and authorities. When I get back to Theruma I will tell my Mother his secrets and he has to own up to them.
If he can be honest with her then I can fully trust him with absolutely no doubts. If he denies any bit of detail, I will have to get out of being with him. I really don't want to leave him but I don't know the future with him and I don't want to be the person who is strung along in a relationship just because I love him at the moment and believed he could change.
I smile at my plan and know it is for the best. Our future now relies on him to tell the truth when we get back to Theruma.
The next day is the wedding for Rezin and Taunii. I spend most of the day helping Taunii get ready with Yumi and my Mother. I wish I had someone I knew helping me but the maids I had were good company. Calum was preparing Rezin and making sure the person he picked to run Karow was competent enough to do the work today.
Everything went by smoothly and it was time for the wedding to start. Taunii is in mid-panic attack at the thought of being married and then having to run off to a Kingdom that kicked her out to rule. My Mother is comforting her as me and Yumi were sent out to get in our places. We are the bridesmaids and Yumi was chosen to be the maid of honor again. Yumi is just a very friendly girl and I am glad she has this opportunity again.
I see Rezin pacing back and forth outside of the door and catch up to him when he turns a corner. He must be nervous because he doesn't answer me when I call his name. I tug on his clothes and he quickly turns on his heel to face me. He gives me a sideways smile and looks down at his feet. "Are you OK?" I ask him.
He lets out a deep sigh and smiles at me. "Everything's good. I'm just.." He stops talking and looks back at the ground. I tell him to continue. "I'm just worried about you."
Me? I furrow my brows together at his anxiety. "Are you happy with Calum?" He asks me a question so silly it makes me laugh. "Of course."
He nods his head slowly. "To be honest.. I planned to take you away from him in the beginning because I knew he didn't deserve you but.." He shakes his head, "Never mind as long as you are positive that you love him then I'll leave it alone."
"You liked me?" I ask him. He tried to get me to stop seeing Calum in the beginning, so was that his way of trying to separate us?
He shakes his head but then nods, "No.. Well yes..." He looks straight into my eyes. "I didn't know you but I liked your looks and personality. I'm a bad person though because I was dating Tauniii at the time still and I shouldn't have had those thoughts. This is why I'm afraid of marrying her."
I laugh at him, "This is just last minute doubts and nerves. Everyone has these thoughts so don't worry."
"Calum didn't." He tell me. I laugh again.
"I'd be surprised if he did." He is definitely not normal so I didn't expect Calum to doubt himself.
"I just want to be sure this is the path I need to take." Rezin says seriously. He takes a step toward me and grabs my shoulders. He leans in to kiss me and I feel my world slowing down. His lips come close enough to brush mine and I panic. This is cheating! I couldn't do this to Calum and I wouldn't want Calum cheating on me either. Calum's mental health is not the best with this type of stuff too so I need to stop him. I quickly turn my head and wiggle out of his grip.
"Rezin this isn't like you. You are cheerful and in love with Taunii. Don't doubt yourself because of me." I pat his arm, "Plus we both know that Calum would kill you if you kissed me."
Rezin starts to act normal again and laughs, "Actually I'm afraid I'm already dead."
I furrow my brows again at him and wonder what he is saying. My mind becomes fuzzy and I hear loud footsteps behind me. A flash of black hair passes by me and the next thing I see is Calum roughly pushing Rezin to the wall of the empty hall. Calum is holding Rezin up by the throat and presses hard enough for Rezin to pass out. Calum takes out a knife hidden up his sleeve and I see a glint of light bouncing off of the sharp blade. He brings the knife to his brother's stomach and Rezin's eyes widen.
My world stops as I see Rezin coughing up blood and Calum laughing maniacally at him, "You know to never touch my wife. Why did you do it, Brother?" Calum takes the knife out and stabs him two more times before turning his head to me. "Anyone who dares touch you will be eliminated. Anyone that may disturb out future together will be destroyed, understand now Y/N?"
I can only shake my head but my face is distraught. I had witnessed a murder right in front of me. He drops the body onto the ground and takes calculative steps toward me. I try to step back but a wall had appeared behind me. How the--?
Calum lets his bloody hand rest on my cheek and he kisses the other side. "You are mine."
My vision grows dark and I can only see his dark smile coming closer to me.
"F o r e v e r."
My body shakes and I sit up quickly on the bed. Was that a dream? I looks around and don't see Calum next to me. I get out of bed and see that I am already ready for the wedding. That couldn't have been real! I am ready for the day so I couldn't have just woken up from a dream..
I look over to the clock on the wall and see that it is 10am. The wedding doesn't start until 5pm and I would have to be down by the doors at 5:10. This must have been a dream then because I haven't even walked down there or helped Taunii get ready. What if it is the next day and I just didn't change??
I run out of the room and bump into Yumi. "Oh! I was just about to get you. Did you over sleep?" She laughs at my lateness and sees my panicked state. "Are you okay?"
"Just a bad dream.." I tell her. We walk to Taunii's room together and I have a major sense of Deja vu. Everything that happened in my dream happened in real life. Taunii ended up having a panic attack and my Mother comforted her as me and Yumi left. I decide to stay with Yumi this time and not go to Rezin. There is no way my dream could have been this exact. Calum wouldn't do that to him, would he?
I watch as Rezin paces back and forth and then turns the corner. This is the part of my dream that I would have caught up to him but I stay put next to Yumi. She chats about how nice the food is going to be because she helped decide the menu. I start to relax and enjoy her company until Rezin puts a hand on my shoulder and gets my attention. "Y/N."
I slowly turn to face him and he asks if I can meet him in private. I let him take me to the exact spot that we were in my dream. "What's up?" I ask him casually.
"I'm nervous about ruling Jomalia. Will I accepted like Theruma accepted Calum or will I be hated?" He asks me as if I know all the answers. He should probably ask Calum if he wants to know the future.
I shrug my shoulders, "I can't tell whether or not they will like you at first but I do know that they will adore both of you when they see your hard work." He seems to calm down at my reassurance. "Plus they know Calum from my Kingdom so they will be more open to you than any other weirdo off the streets trying to take Taunii."
"Are you calling me a weirdo?" He frowns.
I hit him in the arm. "You know what I mean, Rezin."
He laughs and grabs my shoulders. Oh no. My dream is going to come true isn't it? He squeezes my skin and smiles at me. "Thank you." He leans in and hugs me. I stand still while he holds me, afraid of what would happen if I hug back. Rezin seems to notice my tense figure and he loosens his grip on me. "It's okay. You can hug me. I'm your brother now, remember?"
I place my arms around him and return the hug. I'm just paranoid because of the dream that was oddly similar to today. Maybe it was only the same in some parts because it is a typical wedding procedure. I knew I would help Taunii get ready and my brain could only guess that Taunii would freak out before the wedding because she is a soft girl. Yes, I am just paranoid. But why?
Rezin is my brother in law now so I should fee comfortable with him too. He lets go of me and laughs. "I guess I should go in there now." I nod and watch him leave the hall and go toward the corner of the hall and turn. I can only guess he is going to the big doors leading onto the red carpet down to the Priest. I sigh and cross my arms. I need to forget about the image of Calum killing Rezin. I know Calum had no problem killing anyone in the way of our future, but would he kill his own brother for just thinking about being with me?
Just as I was thinking, someone places hands over my eyes and says, "Guess who~" behind me. I giggle and turn around while saying, "Calum~" He laughs at me and says "Correct!" while smiling big. I hug him and he returns it. No, he couldn't possibly kill out of jealousy for me.
"I heard what you two talked about."
He heard? Which conversation? The real one or the dream one? I can't tell by his voice and I don't dare look into his eyes. "You were very comforting to him, thank you."
I let out a breath of air that I was holding and smile at him. "Did you get an Advisor for us yet?" I ask him to change the subject. He nods his head and looks frustrated.
"Yes but I'm still iffy about leaving my Kingdom in the hands of a new person." I rub his back and pout in a playful manner.
"Poor baby... Life must be so tough.." I says and laugh as I can't keep my composure for too long. He smirks at me but he doesn't look too happy still. I boop his nose and he follows me when I start walking to the big doors to go inside the wedding hall. We wait for the people controlling the wedding to call our names to walk in together. I expected Yumi to be the maid of honor but she isn't. Yumi is just a normal bridesmaid and was paired up to walk in with another servant from Karow after us. Me and Calum are both the Maid of Honor and Best Man.
Our names were called and we stand on the red carpet and walk down the isle together, arm in arm. We have to split once we reach the end to go to our prospective spots on either side for the groom and the bride. Calum's arm tenses when he was supposed to release me and he kisses me on the cheek before letting me go. The crowd 'Ahhs' at us and I roll my eyes. He is such a hopeless romantic.
The wedding goes by perfectly and Rezin and Taunii look beautiful together. The reception starts right after and we sit next to them at the table. This is the same table we used for our wedding and we have the same people with us but with different seating. Calum places his left hand on mine and our rings shine together. A blue glow forms on both rings and a calming sensation flows through me. I look up to Calum for answers and he just winks at me.
"Can't spell Calum without Calm." That's it, I officially hate him.
I can do with the forced love, manipulation, murders, and everything else but when bad jokes are thrown into the mix, I'm out. I roll my eyes and sigh but he just laughs at me. I look back into his eyes and forgive him. I couldn't hate those eyes which melt my heart.
Rezin breaks us out of our stare fest and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Wanna dance?" My heart jumps at his request and I remember the horror from last time. I shake my head, "Dance with your wife."
"Ah but Y/N I want to dance with you to warm up." He says with a slight pout. I look up to Calum to save me
but he just smiles at me with closed eyes. He lets go of my hand and lets Rezin take me. His eyes never leave my body though and stares at us going to the dance floor. What was I thinking, Calum didn't save me last time and won't save me this time.
Rezin had gotten much better at dancing and is doing pretty well. He is actually almost as good as Calum now. He leads us to a crowded area and spins me out of sight from Calum. I can tell that he will get annoyed at this. Rezin spins me and guides me around the crowd so that we are in sight of Calum and then out of sight and then back in sight. I think Rezin is doing this on purpose.
"How many minutes do you think we have together before Cal rips you away?" He laughs. I laugh with him.
"Minutes? Boy you're lucky if he gave us seconds." I tell him. We continue to laugh until Rezin stops and puts on a serious face.
"I'm going to tell you this really quick so listen to me." Rezin says. His eyes are focused on mine but he continues to dance around the crowd, this time fully out of view from the table. "You need to make up your mind about Calum soon. Either love him with all your heart and accept him or you will have to face a terrible future. He is not stable and will break without you. You will break without him now too."
"Break?" I ask quickly.
He shakes his head as if he can't talk anymore and darts his eyes around quickly before landing back on mine. "You're in too deep. I came into your room when you were done dressing and spoke to you before you left with Yumi."
"No you didn't, I was sleeping." I tell him. Why would he lie to me?
"Yes. You were dreaming." Rezin starts to smile and laugh, "I'm so lucky to be married happily just like you are. We both got a fairytale ending!" He giggles with his eyes closed and spins me around. His attitude just changed mid-sentence. I wonder if Calum had come near us and he had to stop talking and sure enough a person clears their throat behind us. I let go of Rezin and take a step back so that I fell into the arms of the person behind me, obviously Calum. Rezin smiles at us and gives a salute to Calum. He then shouts, "BREAK DANCE!" and starts doing strange movements again like he did at my wedding but with more flair and passion. I try to back away but Calum acts as a wall behind me. Soon he starts taking steps back with me and we reach the table with my Mother and Yumi. Taunii must have gotten up to join her new husband.
I think about what Rezin said. He must have been the reason that I fell asleep and had a vision of today. Does he think that Calum would act like that and kill him if he talked to me like that? I look over to Calum and he smiles at me. Maybe Rezin was just warning me of his tendencies of jealousy so I could stay away from any unwanted deaths. I need to love him with everything I have or I will have a terrible future? Well obviously I have to love him then.
Something inside of me still wants to rebel. I have one shot when we return back to Theruma to tell my Mother everything. If Calum agrees with all his wrongdoings then I will stay with him. If not, I will be forced to leave him. Calum slips his arm around me and lays his head on my shoulder and I lay mine on his head. He has told me everything about him so I should be safe with him. Is there anything he hasn't told me about? I think back to everything we have been through together and my mind stops on the game. What was that? I want to question him about it but I don't want to disturb the peace we have together. I think I remember wondering how much of the game tied into real life somehow during a passing conversation about the ripped card.
Let's see. What was my first card? 'Tricked by the Mystery Guest' must have meant me tricking Calum as I was a guest in his Kingdom when I snuck in? No that is a long shot... Calum did trick my Kingdom into thinking he was Prince Zenon to meet me. That must be it.
'Captured' could be... Hmm. I wasn't captured until Zenon took me but there was a lot of cards I had... Calum also mentioned when we played the game that "This is probably the happiest timeframe to live in" for something. Captured must mean that my heart was captured by him because there was a time that we started to like each other. 'Dark Truth' is referring to me finding out about the King's plans to combine the Kingdom's and I started to distrust him. This is probably the timeframes he was referring to, the time where I genuinely loved him without any murders or drama.
'Lost in a Maze' is next. Lost in love? Lost in the confusion of love. This is where I started wondering if he was right for me because he killed his Father. When he killed the Advisor it was 'Bed Rest' because he made everyone think I was sick and trapped me all alone in a room. What was next? Oh yes, 'Rage.' We both had this card. 'Rage: Wolf drags you to its den' was probably when I was kidnapped by Zenon and Calum completely lost it and killed/poisoned two people to find me.
This leaves 'Fall off a Cliff: Land in a deserted island' and 'Acceptance: String-less Puppet: Puppeteer builds a glass shelf.' Well this is easy, 'Acceptance' must mean that I will accept him eventually and we will live happily. Rezin has nothing to worry about now! But the puppet thing is unnerving... What about 'Fall off a Cliff: land in a deserted island?" Is he going to push me off a cliff!? No he wouldn't do such a thing, especially because we barely even leave the castle. What could it mean? Maybe it just hasn't happened yet so I don't know what timeframe I am in yet. As long as I have 'Acceptance' I have peace with our future. I must still be in the 'Rage' zone or the beginning of 'Fall off a Cliff.' This game is weird..
Okay now for Calum's cards.. 'Second chance at life' is when Calum decides that I am his second wish instead of his Mother. Or is it a second chance to be good instead of evil when he was cursed? He got a second card and it was something about finding a jewel. He told me before that I was his jewel, so the card means that he finds me. So the first card must be him getting cursed and the second is to find me in his Kingdom. 'Storm: Lose a valuable object' is probably losing my heart when I started going against him. 'Manipulation: Pick up a good card.' Oh god that card can go to any situation.. 'Success: Place the jewel on a ring.' That one is probably marrying me. 'Rage: Win back your Jewel' is him winning back my heart? Has he done that already? Yes I think I can safely say he has my heart again.
'Control: Gain +2 happiness' means he is going to control me? Is that the sleep thing with the music box? But that doesn't go along with the timeline.. 'Dreams: Pick up final happiness point' is him getting a happy ending maybe? I think this game is still going on and that is why I can't figure this out.
This is so confusing! I wish I could know all the answers right now but I'll just have to wait. In the meantime I sit with Calum beside me and enjoy the night. Everything seems nice and perfect tonight. I wonder if everything will be as perfect in the future?
The game. . .
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This is another informational chapter so you can know more of the secrets of the story :P