[ E L I A S ]
I was not the King, I was not a magician, I was not a ruler in that moment.
I was just the man in love.
And I just saw my love die in front of me. I killed her not literally but it was my fault, my sword and she died for me.
I have never felt this much pain before as I gasped with the excruciating ache running through my body. My chest was about to explode, my body refusing to co-operate as the energy left my legs and I stumble down. Her eyes closed, life left his body and devastation crashed over me.
I was angry, pained, lost and disappointed. I refused to listened to the cries of people around, I refused to let them control me as I came forward gathering all strength and came closer to the poll. I untied her and her limp lifeless body fell into my arms.
And I cried like I have never cried before. My body trembled with shivers that ran through as I let all my feelings come out in form of furious tears. My head was buried in her neck and I held her closer, she can't leave, she will not leave.
I will make sure of this.
I rose up from the ground and noticed the eerie silence even with the crowd around. Norman was next to me and he whispered, "Don't waste her sacrifice and do something impulsive brother."
I growled in anger as he reminded me of her death and the reason for it.
But I loved the woman and I will not act like I didn't even for my sake. Her face was still covered in a mask and I suddenly had an idea.
"Call Agnes and Mel, whoever is on our side," I muttered instructions to Norman who nodded without question.
Without addressing the crowd I was about to leave when the ground resonated with a shout,"Long Live the King."
They meant me, she made sure I was trustworthy again and she made me a king to be loved.
I sighed and offered them a weak smile just to repay Alisha and walked away with a resolve to do what she intended me to do.
***
"Elias, you are not paying attention, " Mel shouted to my face and earned an icy glare from me.
Alisha's body was lying right in front of me and her pale face was unsettling. My tears refused to stop and I never thought I could cry this much. The hollow in my chest was an aching gap that refused to make me breathe comfortably.
"I feel terrible right now." The words tumble out of my mouth.
"And that is why we need to make you better." Mel offered.
"No, ruling over magic or people might be my goal but I want her back or you do know I could kill myself." I threatened Hecate.
"Not a big help Elias, you have generations of doppelgangers." She said but my threat scared her.
"I want her back," I yelled out my decision kind of scaring the ones present.
"This is a big loss Elias, she died for you so that you can have a better future, not so that you could whine like a baby." Mel scolded me.
"You will find love again," Agnes added.
And the words made me furious. Alisha said the same thing and it reminded me of how she just ended up saving me too many times to even count. She started as my bodyguard and she served her post well. I would rather die without her, that is how my heart constricted in pain felt right now.
"Pain is making you foolish Elias," Mel added a flair to my anger.
How could they say this when Alisha was gone, dead? Can they not feel the pain that I was feeling?
"Then let's kill the evil Magic god first," I said with a feel of hysteria.
Apparently, the heinous crime of killing closest to my heart made me open a chance to black magic. They forced Alisha to do this through their plans now they will realise they messed with the wrong person.
I confronted Kirk in prison we threw him into after Alisha- did- what she did.
He was no match for the amount of darkness flowing through me in that moment. But Matthew was stronger who Agnes got out in this timeline made the fight actually worthwhile. It was not a stupendous showdown of two powerful magicians. It was more like him defending himself as my rage and magic attacked him relentlessly.
I killed him without a remorse or second thought as the red smoke from my hand engulfed him and his spells leaving no trace of the powerful god of magic, at least in this century.
I didn't even stop to question as I finally killed the evil with little effort realising my extent of power.
***
I knew it was not a dream even before it started. But it felt like one.
I was standing in a castle that smelled of blood and death. The stank air made bile rise in my throat and my hands reach out to sword next to me but it was gone.
"It will be useless anyway." A gruff voice said out of darkness.
And then the place lighted up with dull red light like blood splattered on the wall that was dull grey with no portraits or additional decorations. Just black iron lamps that were reflecting the red light on the walls around.
"Who are you?" I asked the most important question.
I walked closer and saw a man sitting on a golden throne. He was old, with greying hair, a face that was intimidating and his aura so powerful that he had an invisible shield around him.
"Hades." He answered and I waited for fear to sink in but it never came.
I was too angry for fear to take over.
He was the god of death and Alisha was dead, it was simple.
"I want her back," I declared looking clearly at his eyes which were unsettling due to the raven black colour and it was like staring into the depths of endless darkness.
"Of course you do. That what love does makes you foolish and blind."
"I don't remember asking for your opinion." I snapped at him.
He chuckled lightly but there was nothing nice about that chuckle.
"I am generous to powerful people Elias." He stated and I felt a flicker of hope in me.
"But you will ask for something in return," I added in a dry tone obviously knowing where this was going.
I have dealt with similar men in court.
His conniving smile answered my question.
"I need to maintain a balance in this world Elias and for that something needs to be done."
"Sure whatever makes you happy. Now give her back so I can leave this godforsaken place."
"god is right here." He tried to humour me but I just glared at him.
"I will give you Alisha back if you forfeit your generation of doppelgangers. As long as both you and that other awful god of magic live, this fight will never and since he is not the fool here making a deal, it seems you need to give up.
Present you will live as long as normal people live, you will have magic but no more doppelgangers. This will be your last life. If you agree to this term Elias, I will give Alisha back." There was a softness in his tone that surprised me.
I will be giving up generations of magic and in a way letting Matthew win but it was a decision without hesitation as I shared my decision with confidence.
"I agree." My words made his eyes widen in surprise with an incredulous expression on his face.
"You thought I wouldn't?"
"This is a big sacrifice, Elias." He was offering me a chance to rethink but no re-thinking was required.
If you have loved anyone you will understand how I felt.
"You always seem a little lenient with Hecate though." I couldn't help but complain.
This made him laugh out loud, "She prefers magic over her life Elias and she gives a bit each time she makes a deal with me. How do you think you got this personalised meeting with me?"
She gave him magic for me, the importance of her part of the sacrifice hit me hard. Even though she was so against it, she gave me chance to make a choice myself. The mother bone in her body was soft no matter if she was a powerful goddess of magic.
"But she is the goddess of magic, you can't take the magic away from her." I retaliated.
"It's not how it goes Elias, magic for personal pleasure is forbidden. She is paying the price for it. No anyone can walk in to meet the god of the dead and walk out alive. Hecate will always exist but now just as goddess somewhere above looking down at you but not as someone you can see and interact with. She will be without a form to exist and will be just pure energy."
"What happens to Mel?" I asked concerned for her.
"She will be there when you get back to give a final gift and then bid a farewell. If it makes you feel any better she doesn't die."
"I thought this was a dream." I stared at Hades carefully.
"Oh, this is a dream Elias, because miracles happen only in dreams."
And with this, my eyes snapped open and I inhaled sharply. The pleasant fragrance of candles made me sigh in relief as I realised I was back to my room now.
***
A funeral was a dreaded ritual for those who lost a loved one. It is a time of acceptance that someone you loved died and is not coming back. It is the horror of the person being taken away from you. So obviously I didn't attend it.
The one I love was not gone and hopefully, last night was not a dream.
Hades had to be real after all that I have seen.
I sat in my room seeing the orange golden hue spread in the blue morning sky and reflect every shade on my window. I saw the morning silence being replaced with the usual chatters of the day and time ticked by. Norman came once to drag me to the funeral but I couldn't do that. I had no courage. I have seen her die and it was a scar I will carry forever, I did not want to see her being buried under the ground.
That might just break me more.
It was when the sun hit its peak and glaring down at all of us, Agnes and Mel came to meet me.
Agnes has already lost her power while Mel was losing it soon.
A word will be insufficient to thank them.
"I leave you now Prince," Agnes said in a formal tone.
She has protected my mother, taught me in the library when I was very young.
"And so do I." There was a brashness in Mel's tone though as if she was pretending to be strong.
Before I could form eloquent words to bid them a proper farewell, Mel said, "Your gift will arrive next week."
I was not interested in her gifts but I obliged with a forced smile.
"Was it a dream?" I asked, sure enough, she knew what I was talking about.
"I hope." She answered with a sorrowful look.
And got up to leave. Agnes, on the other hand, bent down to give me a hug.
"You were like a mother to me," I mumbled as she patted my head like a kid.
"I am glad I was that." And I saw them leave with Mel hiding her tears.
***
"Your pulse is weak highness." The court physician said in a concerned tone as I sat there after addressing the court in the morning.
"You are killing yourself on purpose." Norman who is seldom angry seemed furious as he started pacing in my room.
"A week has passed and you don't seem to eat properly, you are either reading, attending council meetings or practising with weapons. When do you sleep?" He yelled at me.
"I can't sleep, Norman." The defeat in my tone was obvious to make him look at me with sympathy.
"She is gone and she would not want you to live like that." He tried the famous trick of what a dead would have wanted.
"And I want her here, so don't always get what we want right?" My tone was cold and I felt guilty for snapping at Norman.
"What about the ball of victory?" He said with a scathing hateful tone.
The ball was in honour of me taking the throne and getting rid of evil magic. The irony was lost here.
"I will go obviously as the dutiful King but for few minutes."
"Father is still plotting you know." He informed me and I nodded because I didn't care if next set of assassins came to kill me, this time I will not fight back.
"And I am your official wingman for tonight or so everything thinks that I am staunch when it comes to you." He grinned at me.
I pulled myself up and put on a velvet waistcoat not bothering to wear anything fancy to the ball. Norman didn't object knowing well enough about palpable emotions. I was literally being dragged around, weakness gnawing at my body.
I spent my nights now at the cave thinking of some magic on working and taking me back to Hades and throttle him for lies or to Mel for telling me a solution.
And daytime I fulfilled the duties of the King.
The courtiers eyed me awkwardly as I entered the palace ballroom in nothing ostentatious to wear. But they still bowed and greeted me. The pain might have been reflected from my being because they did not approach me or tried to aggravate me.
The party commenced and music started flowing while I stood there in a secluded corner unlike a King with a glass of liquor numbing my senses and my pain. I closed my eyes and prayed hard for someone to either attack me now or to take me to Hades for an urgent meeting.
The sound of a large thud made me open my eyes and I saw a masked assassin being knocked out right in front of me as someone hit a knife right on his chest. Shock rippled through the crowd as another attempt to kill me just played live for them.
I looked around for my saviour when my eyes landed on someone being thanked and congratulated for saving King's life. As the crowd drifted away and my saviour turned, her eyes met mine with a familiar mischievous glint.
I was speechless as my heart just thudded with a rhythm in my chest.
"Can't survive a day without me, your highness." Alisha stood there in an elaborate dress only princesses wore mocking me with her luscious smile.
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NEXT UP: EPILOGUE
Alisha was so not dying people, she was the kick-ass bodyguard and Elias needed him in his life. He did make a real big sacrifice of all the power he held but then again he loved her more than that.
Share your thoughts on the almost ending with just epilogue left to answer your questions.
Any queries, feel free to ask :)
Hopefully, this chapter was nice to read.
And Epilogue will be updated on NEXT WEDNESDAY as per the schedule.