SOPHIA'S POV
Something blurred everything as I opened my eyes. Within 10 seconds, trees shake to the right and left, and after 30 seconds, the trees standstill. And now I could see clearly.
I found myself on Reuben's back, as a girl, and Jackson walked beside him. Everything that happened to me comes back to my memories. And my brain screams, "don't touch me. My queen. I don't love you. I will eat you. Your highness, I love you. It's my fault. Hold my hand, my wife..." I ignore the thoughts. My throat dried, and I whispered, "I'm thirsty."
"She has woken up," Jackson exclaimed, and Reuben dropped me gently.
"Open your mouth," Reuben said, and collect a bottle of water from Jackson.
"No. I will drink it by myself," I said, and he handed it to me.
Titanic flew here and dropped an eye before Reuben.
"What is this?" Jackson asked him.
"A bird's," Reuben answered.
"For what?"
"I don't know." Reuben looked at Titanic. "For what?"
Titanic wrote a sentence down as Susan reads, "Lago's bird."
"Wow!" Reuben said, "thank you so much."
Titanic continues writing, "you don't need to worry anymore. His power has gone. But next time, before you choose a friend, look for one mirror, two faces Farewell." And it flew away.
Reuben smiles and Jackson said, "Dad."
"What?"
"What's the meaning of 'look for one mirror, two faces."
"People with double lives. Sometimes they suffer, sometimes they make it. Sometimes they suffer, sometimes they make it. And sometimes they're dangerous. Double lives. If you want to know who truly loves you - look for one mirror, two faces."
"They're dangerous," Jackson said, "I understand a bit."
"I heard a story from my father. He said, 'There is a story of a woman who lived long ago, in a simple village, where no one had ever seen a mirror. One day, however, a traveling peddler sold this woman a very odd thing: a small hand glass. Looking into it, the woman cried out, "That's the face of my mother, dead these many years." And in her apron, she carried the mirror, gazing into it. Soon enough, her husband noticed and took the mirror. Looking into it, he cried, "That's the face of a handsome man - my wife has taken a lover!" Distressed, the man ran to the village, in collar and cassock, He demanded to see the picture of her lover. Puzzled, the woman laid the mirror in her pastor's hands. Looking into it, he cried out, "That's the face of a parish priest - and he looks familiar . . . . . ."
Suddenly, someone shoot an arrow at Reuben, he fell, and his chest bleed.
"Dad," Jackson screamed.
"Remove the arrow first," Reuben moaned.
They shot another arrow at his check as Jackson remove the first one. He looked around but didn't see who shoots the arrow.
"He was Edwin," Reuben said. "I can't survive. Please save Sophia and leave my body here. Don't forget to look for one mirror, two-face, my son." He closed his eyes. Breathless.
"Dad," Jackson screamed and cried. "Dad."
Suddenly, Edwin pouch over Susan's heads, she fell, and her swords darted away. Angrily, Jackson attacked him, but Edwin wounded his arms and his sword fell.
Edwin put his sword on my neck, grinning. "You guys should surrender if you don't want me to kill her."
Warrior jumped down from the trees, holding swords and arrows. They walked to us and tied our hands with ropes.
Edwin smirked and said to the warriors, "follow me."
Jackson's eyes cascade an ocean of tears on his cheek as we leave Reuben in rivers of blood. And here, everything looks blurred again. The earth rolled in my eyes and I fell. Fainted. I can't recollect what happened after that.
I woke up in a quiet room, and a chair was making rocking sounds. And then it stopped. And silence filled the room until someone stepped in.
"What do you need from us?" Jackson said.
"Sophia," Edwin said.
My chest beats faster now. I stood and saw Jackson and Susan, tied with a rope on a chair.
"You," Edwin said, looking at me. "You blocked me on social media. Erica wins the car I wanted to win. I will spare your stupid protector life if only you accept to marry me."
"Sophia," Susan said, "don't accept him. Henry hasn't dead."
"How dare you speak? You brat," Edwin said. He walked to Susan and slapped her face.
"Sophia, don't accept him. We would be free," Susan shouted.
Edwin slapped her more and more until she fell from the chair and blood crawled down from her mouth.
The hot air swirled in as the door opened ajar. Owen and the king of indigenous forest people stepped in.
"Your highness," Edwin said, bowing.
"You are so perfect as your father. I would reward you for this," the King said.
"I'm honored, your majesty," Edwin said.
The kind looked like us, and boomed, "where is Reuben?"
"He's dead," Edwin said.
"Great! We need to kill the girl first. She killed the prince. Owen, bring out your sword, and slay her in a minute."
Owen walked slowed, to me. I closed my eyes as he raised the sword.
"No," Jackson screamed, and we heard twice a gunshot. Opening my eyes, I saw blood gushing out of Owen and the King's head.
Edwin laughed. "I can't endure seeing someone like you killed my girl. It's my war. I don't need your help. I served you to serve myself." He spat on Owen's dead body. And he walked to the King's dead body. "And you, you don't have the right to reward me. I will reward myself. You can't have authority over the girl I loved. You are betrayer betrayed by a betrayer." He looked at me and grinned. "Would you still marry me or I killed them?" He directs his pistol to the head of Susan.
"Sophia, don't accept him. Henry- " Her blood gushed out of her head as Edwin pulled the trigger and shoot.
He directed the pistol to Jackson's head, too.
I collapsed on my knees and cried, "Please. I will marry you."
Jackson dropped tears as Edwin called the warrior and told them to bring food for me and Jackson. And then, he walked to me and said, "Helicopter would soon be here. We would travel alone for our honeymoon."
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In the forest, the dried trees fell, and the sun hides her face behind the thick clouds as Titanic shed tears before Reuben's dead body.
Its heart drinks the cups of sadness, and its feeling darted out like a sword, piercing the heavenly clothes. And for a while, darkness loomed upon the face of the sky and it rains.
Thunder traveled from the east to the west, leaving a strange and terrifying noise behind. And then, the spirit of the magician and the spirit of Malcolm popped in among the thunderstorm. Among the noise. And stay still before Reuben's dead body.
"Malcolm," the magician's spirit said, "Look for one mirror, two faces. Sometimes they might be sad, but they are dangerous."
A strange white air swirled out of the magician's spirit and flows into Reuben's nostril. They disappeared as Reuben breath out and the rain and the winds abated.
Reuben yelled out, pulling out the arrow from his chest, and blood flows. He struggled to sit despite his pain, removing his clothes to bind his chest. He smiled at Titanic and rubbed off its tears. Taking small nylon out of his pocket, a remedy to stop the flowing blood, which was given to him by his friend, Roderigo. And then the blood stopped. Titanic dropped the last tear and hurried to one side, pulling a long stick near Reuben. For it knows that Reuben can't stand up by himself.
Reuben took the stick. "Thank you, dear."
And stood up as Titanic wrote something down. "Don't go to the war now. Let's go home first." And titanic flew away towards Jackson's house, and Reuben followed.
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HENRY'S POV
A smoke, filling the sitting room like a cloud and everyone coughed and sniffed.
Erica's father shouted, "where is this smoke coming from?"
"Maybe we should check," I said.
"Alice forgot she was cooking," Erica shouted.
"Oh my goodness," Alice shouted, "the kitchen is burning."
We hurried to the kitchen. The pot of rice is burning. John carried a bottle and Alice screamed, "John, it was not water. It was kerosine. Don't pour it."
Before John understand what Alice said, in anxiety, he poured the kerosine on the burning pot and it burned more. Fire danced, and we ran out. Back in the sitting room.
"You should not have poured it," Alice screamed to John.
"I don't do that intentionally," John snapped back.
The smoke-filled the sitting room more and more. Erica took a long wrapper and darted into the kitchen.
"Don't go," I screamed, following her.
The fire had climbed up to the window, as Erica beat it with the wrapper she holds, extinguishing half.
"Be careful," I shouted.
"It's nothing," Erica said, extinguishing the rest, and his father rushed in with a bucket of water. He wet the window and the pot and everything there became black. Burned to assess.
"Erica gets it off in the first place," I said.
"We should go out now," Erica's father said.
And we walked out, amid the swirling smoke, which was hurting our eyes and nose. Alice and John's faces surrendered into relaxation from intense stress as they saw us moving out with a smile. The main door opened jar as if itself because we didn't see anyone at the door.
"Who's there," Erica's father called.
And suddenly, someone shows himself at the door holding up a gun. "Hands up."
It was the police, they just arrived from the village. They told us they wanted to investigate Edwin.
Here and now, he dropped the gun and dropped his jar. "It's nothing. Let's go in." And the rest show up, gazing at us, wondering what had happened. "Why the noise?"
"The kitchen was on fire. But Erica put it off," Erica's father said.
"Alice, forget she was cooking," John said.
"It's not her fault. We all have slept off," Erica said.
Alice looked at John with evil eyes. "You complain too much. You blamed me whereas you get it worsted."
"I don't know that kerosine was inside the bottle. I thought it's water," John said, defending himself.
"Didn't I tell you?" Alice boomed.
"It's okay," Erica's father said, "let's forget about it."
Outside, a bird landed, and I pointed towards it saying, "See."
"It was Titanic. Reuben's bird," John said, hurrying out. And talking with it. "What happened, dear? Where is my father? Have they seen Sophia?"
We walked out as the bird looked down, writing on the ground with its peak. Astonished, we moved closer to see Titanic's handwriting. It was so clear to read.
And Erica read it out, "Edwin attacked Reuben. He has taken Jackson, Susan, and Sophia away to the indigenous forest people. He had killed Susan, Owen, and their King. And he was waiting for a helicopter to hurry away to another country, where he would marry Sophia. Reuben was on his way here. I'm here to tell you, people, to get prepared and look for him before he escaped. And then, you must carry Reuben with you. Farewell." And it flew away.
We all exchanged glances. Shocked, seeing Reuben sauntering here.