~JAPETH'S POV~
There was once a time when Japeth expected to attend his brother's wedding.
Rhian and Sophie wold be married and while Japeth had dreaded the idea of his brother and his father's ex girlfriend being husband and wife, he also had hoped that their marriage would truly be the last step Rhian needed to take to attain the powers of the One True king and grant Japeth's only wish.
But things had changed. Japeth's Expectations had been long thrown out the window. Because now he was going to get married to Sophie, not Rhian. He was going to fulfill the prophecy and grant his own wish.
Japeth stared up at the inky black sky of his thinking place, watching him and Aric's initials swirling about the darkness as if giving him hope that him and Aric would be back together soon enough.
But if there was anything Japeth knew, it was that hope didn't last forever.
Beside him, he heard a soft groan. He looked over and watched Sophie stir. She was curled up on a green cloud. Her skin was sweaty and her hair fanned her face. Evelyn's white dress was no longer white at all. Instead, the white had morphed into a deep red color, the same scarlet red as the spot of blood that had seeped from Sophie's stab wound.
Sophie had fallen unconscious from the pain. Japeth didn't have time to take her back to Camelot with her being injured and his enemies still out there. So he had conjured up his thinking place to shield them from the world and nurse Sophie until she was at least strong enough to move on her own.
For now, all Japeth could do was bandage Sophie's wound with a Scim to stop the bleeding. But if her fever didn't go down soon, Japeth feared she wouldn't make it through.
And if it couldn't get any worse, Japeth knew him and Sophie's time in his thinking place would be limited. The air was thin here. If they were to overextend their stay, they would be in big trouble.
So Japeth struggled to come up with a plan to evade his enemies and marry Sophie without a hitch. It wouldn't be that hard really to rush to Camelot and throw a last second wedding.
But there was something holding Japeth back.
He had never anticipated that Sophie would regain her old memories before him and her were married. But then she did and as soon as she did, the only girl Japeth had ever grown so close to was gone.
And what was Japeth to do now? Why was he delaying bringing Aric back just because he'd lost the one person who'd helped him through his pain over losing Rhian? The one person who made him feel not so alone.
Japeth felt a mixture of emotions stir in his gut. He hated that Sophie was back to loathing him. He hated that he couldn't just bring Aric back knowing that Sophie was no longer faithful and devoted to him. But it wasn't just her faithfulness and devotion that Japeth had grown so fond of. He'd grown fond of her supportiveness and her companionship.
Unfortunately for Japeth, Sophie no longer wanted to support him or be by his side.
The old Japeth might've been fine with that. In the past, he would've accepted Sophie's newfound disdain for him and would laugh at the thought of Sophie having a sliver of compassion towards him.
But indeed, things truly were different. For Japeth. For Sophie. For everybody.
"I hate you."
The voice was laced with bitterness. The words felt like daggers piercing into Japeth's already broken heart. The cracks thickened. There was only hurt, no anger. Just raw pain. Guilt.
But instead of expressing how upset he was and instead of lashing out at Sophie with his scims to make her believe he was still the monster he knew she'd always believe he'd be, Japeth instead turned his head to her where she lay helplessly on that green cloud glaring at him with her green eyes and said, "I hate you too."
He was not surprised when he watched Sophie flinch at his words. He'd broken her by "tricking" her to fall in love with him. Yet she had broken him too when she'd regained her memories and spat in his face.
"Just let me go, Japeth," Sophie muttered. She writhed on the cloud with a sudden burst of energy as if she'd suddenly regained her strength, but then she fell back, still weak.
"You know I can't do that," Japeth told her, shaking his head. The thought of Aric burned in his heart like a forever wound that would never heal.
"I loved him." It was Sophie who spoke. Her voice was broken and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She never looked like such a mess with her hair tangled and her skin ashen and bloodied. "And I don't mean I loved him like I loved Rafal or Teddy—I actually loved him, despite everything he did."
Japeth couldn't stop himself from shaking at the mention of his brother. His grief matched Sophie's own. She just lay still as death, her face drenched in tears as if she couldn't find the will to even move. All she could do was continue to speak, her sorrowful gaze fixated on her true love's murderer.
"You killed him and then...Then! You stole his face, his crown, his girl. You took everything from him. This would've never happened if you had just stayed banished," Sophie spewed, her green gaze tearful but her voice trembling in anger.
"This would've never happened if he had agreed to bring Aric back," Japeth defended himself. But no matter what he said, he knew deep down Rhian's death would never be justified in Sophie's eyes.
"Aric, Aric, Aric! What the hell is it about Aric that makes you want to throw everything away for him! He stabbed Rhian in the head! Tried to kill my friends. Killed Lady Lesso!" Sophie spat. If she had the strength, Japeth knew she would've gotten up and belted him in the face for everything he'd put her through just in his pursuit for love.
"I hope Aggie and Teddy stop you. Better luck I hope you put me out of my misery and then you'll never get your precious Aric back that way," Sophie said.
Japeth couldn't keep the tears from welling in his eyes. He knew Sophie was probably reveling in his sorrow, but he couldn't control the way his heart sunk like a pail being lowered into the deepest darkest bottomless abyss of a well.
"I will have Aric back," Japeth insisted. He shook, tremors raking through his body. His scims writhed.
He didn't need Sophie's mercy or her encouragement to motivate him to fulfill the prophecy. He knew what had to be done. He'd won the trial. That made him the King. Camelot was his. Aric would be his too. The sooner he married Sophie and burned the last ring, the sooner Aric would be back by his side.
Japeth would just have to find some church where a priest would be. He didn't have to throw a last minute wedding for him and Sophie for the whole woods to behold. If he went back to Camelot, that's where Tedros and Agatha would go to try to foil his plans.
Sophie, for the first time since getting stabbed, seemed to be getting a bit better. That meant she had just enough strength to partake in a wedding.
Japeth lurched forward on his cloud, and him and Aric's initials in the blackened sky lit up, ablaze with fire. The flames lit up the darkness, and firelight flickered across Japeth and Sophie's faces. A fire burned in Japeth's broken heart.
"I know I hurt you. I know I lied. I understand that," Japeth admitted in the silence. He stared at Sophie wearing his mother's dress. A mother who was now dead. Sophie loved Rhian, and Rhian was dead too. It seemed everybody Japeth ever loved was dead. But not for long.
"I'm sorry," Japeth breathed. He choked, his emotions betraying him. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt you, Sophie. But you must understand, I did it all for love. To be with the one person who understands me for who I am. Wouldn't you have done the same thing for love once upon a time? For Rafal? For Agatha? We'd do anything for those we love and yet we hurt those we love as well. It's a never ending cycle. But no more. No more will I well in the solitude and the loneliness. I'm choosing love. I'm choosing to break that cycle and love with my whole heart, even if you believe I'm nothing more but a heartless snake."
Japeth's words hung in the air, and for once Sophie didn't have any remarks to give. She stayed silent. To her, the woods was now doomed, about to be in the control of a snake who'd murdered and lied his way to the title of king. To her, her friends would be murdered and she'd be stuck married to a monster.
But Sophie could think what she wanted to. She had no choice in the matter. Japeth wished she would accept it at least. But she never would accept that Japeth wasn't the monster everybody thought of him as.
"I can't wait any longer," Japeth murmured.
Without a beat, Japeth reached for Sophie, picking her up in his arms as his thinking place crumpled before him, vanishing before his very eyes before his feet finally touched solid ground.
It wasn't long before he found a church by some miracle in the outskirts of Ginnymill. The structure was sound on the outside, and yet the inside was a mess.
The cobblestone floor was dirtied and it seemed like a whole layer of grime covered not only the floor, but the broken wooden pews as well. The old musty smell of mildew was pungent, overpowering Japeth's sinuses. Seeing the thick mass of dusty cobwebs in every nook and cranny, he was sure everybody had left the church a long time ago.
It seemed like no one was there. But then, the distinct sound of a door creaking open caught Japeth's attention and his gaze landed on the back wall. He watched a wooden door open and a middle aged man emerged, his body draped in long robes, the shade of gold. But the golden color was faded and there were tears in the fabric and dirtied stains as if the man had fished his outfit out of the garbage.
The priest saw Japeth and Sophie standing there in his church and he jumped, startled at their presence. He leapt back, almost stumbling backwards on his buttocks and rested his hand on his heart as if he had suddenly been overcome with a great deal of physical pain.
"Oh, dear lord in heav—heavens!" The priest stammered. He took in Japeth in his gold and blue regal suit and then stared at Sophie in her reddened dress, the color of blood. "What—what brings you here, my children? My apologies for my reaction, but I've received no visitors in such a long time."
Japeth drew forward, and a flash of recognition lit up in the priest's eyes. "Your maj—your majesty!" The priest blurted, recognizing Japeth as the king of Camelot.
"I need your services, father," Japeth said. He looked back to be sure Sophie was still there and hadn't run off. But she was sitting upon one of the dirtied benches, having lost all her dignity and Grace, a solemn look on her face.
"What services do you require, sire?" The priest asked, composing himself. He bowed respectfully and Japeth resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Even Weeks since posing as Rhian, Japeth still wasn't used to being treated like royalty.
"Sophie and I wish to be married, and you're going to marry us," Japeth stated flat out.
The priest looked at Japeth strangely as if he'd grown two heads. "But your highness," he began. "Shouldn't you marry at Camelot and have all the woods witness? I thought that was the plan all along—"
"I want us to be married now," Japeth insisted, his voice cutting. He was fed up with waiting. He needed Aric back now. He needed one last victory against Tedros. No more waiting. The time was now—right now.
Perhaps it was anticipation that made Japeth's scims stir—anticipation for Aric's return. Or maybe they were excited at the sight of the priest's fear. The smell of fear clung to the priest and perhaps Japeth's scims wanted nothing more but to reveal themselves and scare the priest even more.
"King Rhian, might I suggest—" the priest started.
Japeth snapped. His gold and blue suit fell away as his scims flew off his body, zipping past the priest's head. The priest's gaze widened in horror at the sight of Japeth standing there in his suit of scims. The priest saw a snake, a monster, standing right there in his decrepit church.
The priest turned to run, but the scims that zipped past his head barred the door, preventing the priest from escaping.
Japeth stalked forward and the priest stumbled back, bumping into the altar and almost knocking it over.
"Marry us," Japeth hissed at the priest, not in the mood for resistance, "And if you try to disobey or run away, I'll have my Scims gouge out your eyes!"
The priest shook in fear. Hesitantly, he went to the altar and opened the Bible sitting on the altar before he began to speak, his voice trembling.
Japeth gestured for Sophie to come over. She didn't budge so one of his scims launched itself at her. She was too weak to resist as it curled around her wrist and guided her forward until she was facing Japeth, the both of them in front of the altar as the priest loomed behind it.
Japeth realized him and Sophie had no rings to give to each other. So two of his scims morphed into two matching scales rings which magically turned gold. The makeshift ring wasn't as beautiful as Rhian's diamond ring that Sophie wore on her finger now. But it was the best Japeth could manage.
"We are gathered today for the marriage ceremony between..." The priest trailed off, not knowing Japeth and Sophie's names. It was clear to the priest that he wasn't Rhian.
"Japeth," Japeth grumbled, gesturing to himself before he squeezed Sophie's wrist tight, "And my bride to be, Princess Sophie."
"Full names?" The Priest asked, cowering away when Japeth gave him a withering glare.
"Rafal Japeth Sader," Japeth snapped, his patience wearing thin. "Sophie, witch of woods Beyond. Just go with that, and hurry up. Time is at an essence."
The priest nodded quickly and went on, his eyes roaming the pages of the Bible before him.
"We are gathered here today for the marriage ceremony between Rafal Japeth Sader and Sophie, witch of woods Beyond," The Priest said. "Um...any vows?"
Japeth resisted the urge to snap the priest's neck right than and there.
"No vows," Japeth said. "Just get to the actual kissing part and we'll be good."
"O-okay," the priest stammered, flipping through the pages before he stopped and looked back at Japeth standing there. "Do you, Rafal Japeth Sader, promise to take Sophie as your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?"
Japeth didn't hesitate. He grabbed Sophie's left hand and forcefully gripped it as the blonde witch struggled to get away from him. He held her tightly as he slid the gold ring onto her finger.
"I, Rafal Japeth Sader, promise to take Sophie as my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death does us part," He said, his voice clear.
The priest turned to Sophie and asked the same words. Even as Sophie shook her head feverishly, Japeth grabbed Sophie's chin in his hand and forced her to look him in the eyes.
"Do you want me to kill all your friends, starting with Agatha?" Japeth asked her, his tone dangerously low. Part of him hated the thought of threatening her, but he knew nothing he could do would change Sophie's views on him. Sophie shook her head quickly and Japeth loosened his grip. "Than say it."
"I, Sophie, promise to take...Japeth as my husband, to have and to hold..." Tears ran down Sophie's face as she struggled to repeat Japeth's words, sliding Japeth's own ring onto his finger and when she was done, Japeth turned to the priest.
"Than by the power invested in me I pronounce you husband and wife," the priest finished, watching Sophie slide Japeth's ring onto Japeth's finger. The priest glanced at Japeth. "You May kiss your bride."
Japeth pulled Sophie close and his lips landed upon her's. There was no love behind the kiss. Japeth could feel the weight of the wedding band upon his finger, and he wanted nothing more but to rip it off.
It wasn't like the kiss the two of them had shared days ago when Sophie had saved him from his insanity. That kiss had been unexpected. A surprise. Sophie had loved him then and Japeth had hated her.
But this kiss was expected. This kiss, this marriage, was yet another price Japeth had to pay to get Aric back. But unlike last time, Japeth cared for Sophie, not in the sense that he loved her, but in the sense that he was grateful for her and he appreciated the bond they shared while her memories had been lost.
Japeth didn't think of Sophie's lips on his own. He didn't think of Sophie's attempts to break the kiss. Instead, he thought of Aric. His lethal violet eyes, his spiked black hair and pale cheekbones—not Sophie with her green eyes, blonde locks and soft dewy golden skin.
He thought of the one person who mattered most in his heart. The one person he'd fought for time and time again.
Aric Lesso.
Aric would be rolling in his grave if he saw Japeth kissing Sophie now, marrying her. Aric had always thought of girls as weak and incapable. He would just loathe the idea of Japeth marrying any girl, let alone Sophie of all girls.
But this was the last step. Marrying Sophie was the last thing and perhaps one of the hardest things Japeth had to do to bring Aric back.
It'd all be worth it once Japeth had Aric back by his side. Japeth's heart would no longer be broken. He'd be happy.
Japeth and Sophie's lips floated apart and it was as if a sudden burst of power washed over Japeth. An ethereal glow emerged from every crook and cranny of the church and Japeth sought the ring hidden beneath his scales.
The markings of Tedros's silver ring were aglow, but the light flickered in and out as if the storian was holding onto the last bit of magic it had left. Japeth's hand shook as he glanced at the priest. "Get me a match, a torch. Something!" He ordered.
The priest hurried to do as Japeth said and Japeth didn't tear his gaze away from the ring, glowing with life.
"Don't do this, Japeth!" Sophie screamed, but her voice sounded distant. Japeth felt a hand latch onto his arm, and he wrapped his fingers around the ring, concealing it to protect it. Sophie clung onto his arm in desperation, her green eyes wide in tears.
"You'll kill everyone! Teddy, Aggie! Stop!" Sophie pleaded, but Japeth was holding on too tightly to the ring. She couldn't get it out of his grip.
"I need this, Sophie," Japeth breathed, looking into her eyes. "Maybe in another life, you think Tedros will have beat me in the trial and cut off my head. But I'd like to think that in another life, you would've worked with me to help me bring Aric back because you would've understood the strength of love. In another life, you would've let me love Aric instead of trying to take that away from me."
Sophie gaped at him, at a loss for words.
"But in this life, I bring Aric back," Japeth told her. "I wish things could've been easier for the both of us. I wish you didn't see me as just a monster. But it's not that simple. And I know I can't beg for your forgiveness, cause I know nothing I'll do will make me earn that forgiveness. So hate me all you want, but you were my friend, Sophie. Now, you're my wife and that's final."
The priest returned with a match. Sophie scrambled to grab the match and discard it, but one of Japeth's scims her back. Japeth struck the end of the match against the ground and watched the flame spark to life.
He uncurled his fingers around the ring and lowered the flickering flame over the ring. The flame lit up the engravings on the ring and the ring seemed to take on a life of its own, trembling in his hand. It was The storian's last desperate plea for mercy.
But the Storian would get no such mercy from Japeth.
So Japeth lowered the match further and the fire licked at the ring. Silver melted into Japeth's palm, burning his skin and the smell of charred flesh filled the church. But Japeth didn't stop. He kept the match in place, watching in breathless awe as the ring combusted into flames and when the fire died out, there was nothing that remained in Japeth's hand but a pathetic pile of ashes.
Japeth felt his body buzz. Every inch of his flesh sizzled in heat and the ashes magically floated off his palm and swirled around him, a gray black mass of dust that enveloped his body from head to toe.
It was as if a fire had lit up in Japeth's heart, the flames spreading inside him, lighting up every bit of him. He chocked on the ashes, and he twisted his eyes close, struggling to get used to the overwhelming sensations encompassing him.
In the darkness behind Japeth's closed lids, he glimpsed his every desire. Every desire he'd ever had, floating in the abyss. There was his desire for his mother's love before she'd left and abandoned him and his brother behind in Arbed House. His desire to be loved by his brother instead of hated for making their mother leave. His desire for Rhian to have brought Aric back. For Rhian to not be dead.
But most of all, Japeth saw his desire to bring Aric back, his greatest wish. This desire burned brighter than all the rest and Japeth reached for it with his ashen hands.
Japeth's fingertips touched the fire, and he flinched at the burning heat of the flames against his flesh. But his hope remained and he pushed on, further and further, clinging to the thought of Aric's return.
And before Japeth knew it, he was lost in the darkness and the heat. Lost somewhere between darkness and light. And before he knew it, he was consumed.
The fire and ash consumed him, leaving nothing in its place but pain and fear, yet hopefulness and love too.
Indeed, there was nothing left of Japeth but fire and ash.
———————
Heyooo. FINALLY FREAKING UPDATED AT LAST! Geez.
I'm sorry for not updating in for so long. I'd honestly had massive writer's block and I've been dealing with too many distractions and I've had no motivation for this. 😅
But I hope you guys liked this chapter and I have no freaking clue when the next chapter will be. So you guys might gotta wait a few months again. Sorry.
Anyway, how'd you guys like the chapter?
Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote!
Thanks for reading.
—Alexis Peters ❤️