FINALLY, LAST MOMENTS IN ORODEN
IN THE BASTARD PRINCE'S QUARTERS OF GRACE
That evening, while the other royals were commemorating the recent nuptials in the Great Hall, a certain half-Shade was torn between marching out of his bedchamber without making eye contact with a single soul, and abandoning the insane Shade waiting by the kingdom's border to avoid losing all he had come to gain.
Damn her, Judah thought in agitation, stashing an extra shirt into the drawstring bag with unnecessary force. Damn that short, persuasive maniac.
The queen-sized bed creaked as he packed in the last of his clothing, and Judah had to restrain himself before his next shove collapsed its quivering wooden frame.
Sighing in frustration, Judah tightened the bag's strings in one pull and contemplated for the umpteenth time whether or not he was truly in his right mind.
What on Gregon's Land have I gotten myself into?
He couldn't believe he was forsaking a life of luxury to embark on a meaningless journey that might ensure his never-return.
All for a Shade he barely knew.
That sole reason was what baffled Judah beyond his mind's reach. He had no idea who Naomi truly was or if she could be trusted. But like a fool, he was about to follow her to his impending doom.
He knew it didn't make sense. By the Supreme, Judah knew he was being a complete halfwit. But there was just something about her, something so compelling that called to him.
Something surreal.
It could be that he hadn't been around a fellow Shade in a while, so he would be more attuned to the first one that crossed his path. That did make sense, but Judah highly doubted that was the case.
He had the strange feeling that the invisible pull that linked him to Naomi was capable of being strong enough to coax him into doing anything that may or may not cost him his life. Just for her.
Which, one could understand, was a bit of a problem.
Confused and more frustrated than ever, Judah released his hold on the drawstrings and rubbed his eyelids with his right forefinger and thumb. He then proceeded to mumble to himself with uncertainty when the soothing motion didn't seem to be doing him any good.
"The Supreme help me," he chuckled lightly and without humour, "I'm going insane."
Almost immediately after he'd uttered those words, the door to his private quarters groaned at its hinges and Judah felt the aura of the little witch before he even heard her speak.
"You might be," Kora replied to his comment as if it had been directed at her, shutting the oak barrier softly before she took one step into the dimly lit bedchamber.
Her sudden appearance, in addition to her irritating voice, prompted an exaggerated sigh out of Judah, who was in no mood to have a conversation with the intruding shoe-mould.
"I'm afraid you have caught me at a very comprising position, Your Royal Highness," he drawled, dropped his fingers from his eyes, and grabbed the drawstrings once more, effortlessly hoisting the bag over his shoulder. "I haven't got any clothes on."
Judah moved away from his bedside and stopped in front of the mirror, giving his hulking, handsome frame one last look before he set his sights on the glorious, dark green coloured ceiling.
His stomach sunk. He was surely going to miss all this.
It took only a couple of seconds for Judah to realise that Kora hadn't replied to his nude comment, and this coerced him into turning to see what exactly had succeeded in silencing his pestering half-sister.
The first thing he noticed was that Kora hadn't stepped away from the door, and he couldn't quite place his finger on the thought, but the Oroden princess didn't look herself.
Her long silver hair curtained each side of her pale face, and the nightgown she wore appeared to be of the same shade as her ghostly appearance. As usual, she stared in his direction, never right at him, so he forced himself to assume that she was just having another irksome episode.
Noticing her standing quietly with eyes shimmering in their normal silver, Judah cocked his head to the side and continued to study her. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if she realised that she had yet again barged into his bedchamber without knocking.
And that little pervert had the audacity to chide him when he'd done the same.
"Pervert," Judah muttered, then frowned when Kora still refused to react, starting to get slightly agitated.
"I said, I am naked."
She blinked, as if just realising where she was, before opening her mouth to say, "I did what you asked."
At that change in tone, Judah's heartbeat lost track of its pacing. However, he took the misstep as a product of anticipation and exhilaration. Not fear.
Definitely not fear.
"Good. Very well then."
Sucking in a deep breath after a failed attempt to relax his nerves, Judah took a step towards the door, prepared to leave his beloved private chambers without looking back, but the next words that echoed from Kora's mouth halted his movements just before he could pass her by.
"Why are you doing this?"
That single, harmless question was what made Judah pause. He stood right beside her then, mere inches away from the barrier that would be a step further into an uncertain future.
Why was he doing this, she asked. Well, that was certainly a question he by far did not have a cheeky answer to. And although reeling from her recent inquiry, Judah didn't need to be a genius to picture what was wheeling in that strangled mind of hers.
So, to avoid sounding like a fool, he began to disregard her comment with a simple shrug of his shoulder. That was, until it registered a second later that she would miss the action, which then resorted to him changing the topic to relieve himself from the discomfort.
"I hope you are aware," he cleared his throat and transferred the bag's burden onto his right shoulder, feeling a tad bit uneasy for some peculiar reason, "that you might not see me again, little witch."
"I am aware," she replied with hardly any emotion, which he had to admit, wounded his pride far more than he cared for. It also stole the words from his mouth, leaving him speechless in Kora's presence, something that had never happened before.
Lord, this is getting a tad bit awkward.
Finally giving in, Judah twisted his body to the side, staring down at the top of her silver head as it only reached the centre of his chest. Which was, he reckoned, an inch higher than Naomi would ever dream of achieving.
"Well?" Judah prompted at her stoic expression, one that made him grow nervous by the second. Nervous and agitated.
What was wrong with him?
"Well, what?"
Judah cleared his throat again. "You don't have any more questions? Nothing else to say?"
Kora remained where she stood, still facing the inside of the bedchamber, and from his angle, Judah could see the folds that marred her forehead.
He waited for her, but she didn't utter another word.
What aggravated him most was that Kora hadn't moved nor spoken much since she had stepped in a few moments ago, knowing fullwell that never seeing him again was a valid possibility.
But Judah wasn't going to let her nonchalant attitude get to him. Not in millennia.
If she felt the desire to pretend as if he was of that little importance, or had not existed for the past four months, then he wasn't going to waste time yearning for a stupid response.
His pride prickled again, and this time, sinking further than he'd ever thought it possible.
"Well then," Judah clutched the drawstrings tighter and turned on his heel, clenching his jaw, "I'll see you whenever fate deems—"
"Wait."
Judah caught himself, a flicker of something akin to relief twitched in his chest. However, he banished the feeling and tilted his head in her direction once more, refusing to give a care to what she had to say.
"Did you forget something?"
If Kora heard the sarcasm in his voice, she chose not to pay any heed to it. The only thing she did do was to extend her left hand, revealing a bound object. One he had not taken note of.
"Take this." She waited for him to reach for it before releasing the object into his hands. It appeared that perhaps, she wanted to say more, but instead held her tongue, only to free it seconds later with a sigh.
"You should know," she began, her once cool voice laced with a hint of persistence, "when you told me you wanted a coach prepared for a lifelong journey to suicide, and to tell father of your plans to leave the kingdom unannounced, I naturally didn't take you seriously."
"Naturally," he murmured, peering down at the little bound book in his hands, knowing what its contents were without even having to tamper with the wound rope.
"But," Kora continued, stealing Judah's attention from the object in his hands, "now that I am certain of what is happening, and where you're going, and with whom you're going with, I must plead with you, Judah."
A strange expression suddenly ensnared her entire face, and an unusual green tint lit in her eyes.
"Judah," she repeated his name, but this time, a wave of apprehension wafted through him when her eyes made contact with his for the very first time.
That caught him dead on his feet.
"Judah," she whispered again, "I'm not certain what your future holds, but whatever you do and no matter what happens, don't give in." With an urgency he never knew she possessed, she took a desperate step forward and clutched the front of his tunic, punctuating the depth of her prophecy into his mind, body, and heart. Seizing them of all coherency.
Judah could only stare dumbstruck, not being able to move nor look away, as her gaze captured his with an abnormal intensity.
"Whatever happens, Judah, please," Kora persisted, the green tint in her eyes glowing brighter with each word.
"Don't fall in love with her."
*~~~*
OUTSIDE THE PALACE WALLS
BEFORE CROSSING THE KINGDOM'S BORDER
Naomi viciously tugged the hood of the black cloak she wore with her left hand, almost tearing the delicate material.
For the second time that day, the bastard prince's tardiness was grating on her nerves.
If it weren't for the fact that she had to forsake the comfort and warmth of Oroden's inner palace walls to avoid being caught, she would've remained within them to await the other Shade's approach.
But instead, she had to walk from the palace, across the town, and all the way to the border just to quietly blend into the darkness and exercise patience.
Patience for a certain non-magic bearer who had promised to be at the border before dusk could fully pave way for the eerie night to conquer the remainder of the sky. A certain someone who had also assured her that the border guards would be taken care of.
Yet there they were; four Oroden-crested knights marching along the border like a bundle of incarcerated imps in a manner that didn't hesitate to worsen Naomi's mood, albeit unintentionally.
Meanwhile, the border stood tall and proud, casting a bewitching white light upon the earth before it as it swirled and stirred in place.
Naomi was hardly aware of its enchantment though, as she'd already seen it before. What rather had her attention was the single road that led to it, the road that Prince Judah was supposed to be riding on.
Nevertheless, despite the anxiousness threatening to consume her once again, Naomi kept her mind focused and devoid of any doubts. That extremely difficult task was greatly rewarded when she spotted two dark, distant figures approaching.
Her initial troubled instincts were then overshadowed with excitement when the two dark figures suddenly morphed into three, with a large rectangular-like silhouette trailing after them.
Not daring to make a sound, Naomi took a step out of the bushes she'd camouflaged behind, and with skilled agility, jumped onto the back of the coach after it had ridden past her hiding spot.
Prying the backdoor open just a few inches and slipping in through the crack, Naomi barely concealed her thrilled grin when she heard a familiar voice utter from the rider's seat just as she sealed the entryway.
"Henceforth, Naomi," Judah had slid open the spyhole situated at the front of the coach and proceeded to speak through the small gap, "you are my mentally unstable little sister, and we're travelling westward to seek a sorceress capable of healing your very contagious ailment. What do you say to that?"
Without missing a beat, Naomi strode across the fairly spacious coach towards the spyhole to lean against the wood next to the opening.
"Make me your twin sister, and we have a deal."