Chapter 13 | | An End Or A New Beginning
BA-BUM
BA-BUM
BA-BUM . . .
I can hear someone's heartbeat. Oh wait . . . that's my heartbeat.
- - ◇ - -
"Ariel!" a young girl in her teens, with long blond hair and blue eyes, looks so distressed and so defeated. She stares down at the floor muttering, "Where are you!?"
- - ◇ - -
"No, no . . . Ariel- I mean Princess Ariel," a man with red hair and light grey eyes kneels, as if denying something. "She's here, I know it! I just saw her!"
- - ◇ - -
"Her mana . . ." a boy with long dark black hair and red eyes looks back oddly. "Her energy . . . I can't feel it anymore."
- - ◇ - -
"Ariel. Princess Ariel isn't here . . ." a boy with white hair says with a surprised look. A man who seems quite similar to the boy with white hair leans in close to the boy with a low and hushed voice.
"Who cares where that useless Princess went!" the older man growled. "But what you did today; chasing after Princess Athanasia like that, you could have angered His Majesty with your actions!"
- - ◇ - -
"What the hell are you talking about, Felix!?" a man with short blond hair and cold blue eyes shouts.
"It's true, Your Highness!! Princess Ariel was here!!"
"What are you talking about!?" the blond haired man exclaims. "I don't know a Princess Ariel!!"
- - ◇ - -
"She's gone . . ." a man with short black hair and black eyes runs his hand through his hair staring off into the distance. "Now this is gonna get interesting . . ."
- - ♡ - -
The sound of my calm breathing makes my eyes flutter open. When I've finally gained conscious, I clutch my chest without any hesitation and realize my arm has been bandaged up. I look at the ceiling and realize I'm a fancy bedroom.
But this wasn't any random fancy bedroom, I'm in my bedroom in the Iron Empire! I carefully sit up, clutching my bandaged chest.
It was the afternoon as the sun shines through the balcony doors. I clutch my white sheets as my head throbs like crazy.
*Click!*
I look over at the sound of my door unlocking as she strides in.
"My my my, finally woken up have you?" Arlene sneers. "Have a nice slumber? It's been a week now, so wake up."
Arlene de Vasnette.
Queen of the Iron Empire. With long brown hair and green piercing eyes she'll steal any woman's man - if she wasn't loyal to her husband. Her young features may fool you, and it is true; looks can be deceiving.
I glare at Arlene and sense that something was not normal. I watch as she takes a seat on one of my sofas, crossing her legs, smirking.
"What's with the glaring?" Arlene rolls her eyes. "Is that how you great your hard working mother?"
I sneer. "Hard working? If anything, you're probably torturing the maids with countless hours of nonsense about Papa."
"Say what you want you impudent child," Arlene glares. She abruptly stands up and strides to my bed. She brings her face close to mine. "I have everything I want in this life, and I will not let some brat like you take it away from me!"
"The heck are you taking about?" I grit my teeth.
Arlene breaks into crazed laughter, grabbing a hold of my hair. "I'll let you on a little secret my dear child . . ."
"I'm not from this world . . ."
A gasp escapes my lips. Was Arlene from my world? That couldn't have been possible, could it? "W-Where?" I mutter.
Arlene sneers. "From a little small world called South Korea." My eyes widen at this news. We're both from South Korea! "I was miserable there," Arlene continues. "Pathetic almost, until I found a book at my doorstep."
"W-What type of book?" There wasn't any way Arlene could have had, "The Lovely Princess" book right?
"A fairytale called The Lovely Princess."
My head spins trying to process everything. "Well enough chit chat about me, I didn't come to spill my secrets. I came to talk about my dear husband~" Arlene coos dreamily.
"W-What?" the anger inside me gets subdued once I've heard about Papa. "Is he okay? How is he doing? Let me see-"
"Are you deaf?" Arlene growls. "I never said he's awake right now but he is to be, very soon."
"Then why am I in my bed? In my room? In my palace? In my Empire!?" I shout.
Arlene grabs me by the hair again and pulls me towards her. "Because I want to make you suffer. Making you suffer for taking my beloved's heart away from me!" I wince at the pain from her intolerable screaming.
"You'll be trapped in this room forever! For eternity! You'll rot in here! I will not let you go near him!" Arlene breaks in angry shouts.
"It's your fault Papa doesn't love you!" I retort, slapping her hand away. "I'll find away to break out and save Papa from you, you bitch!"
*SLAP!*
My left cheek stings as Arlene stares literal daggers at me. "Whatever plan you came up with your little Prince Charming it will never work. And when I make you suffer, your pathetic Prince Claude won't come to your rescue!"
A confused expression plasters on my face. Everything until now that's been coming out of Arlene's mouth - I've understood. But this? I don't understand what she means by Prince Charming. Who-
"Who the hell is Claude?"
Because the only Claude I knew, was a cold hearted emperor, the one inside a book called, "Lovely Princess," and the only Claude that kills his daughter, Athanasia de Alger Obelia.
- - - -
- ◇ E n d ◇ -
o f
A c t
1
o f
| |
P r i n c e s s
O f
W a r
- - - -