Chapter 49

Ying sent one of the warriors to tell Sylvester that their sister, the Queen, was dead. The warrior in his own capacity, went out discreetly and searched for Sylvester and after searching for two nights, he couldn’t find him. He returned home!

“I couldn’t find them my lord. It seems they have moved on to another part of the region. According to the word I heard from some of those outside our wall, they had successfully chased the barbarians and other regions who had joined in the fight out of this part. Maybe they’re somewhere else, we do not know” The warriors narrated.

Ying knew they couldn’t keep Naomi lying there anymore longer. It was time to bury her before she started to smell. He thanked the warrior he had sent and proceeded to make the burial arrangement for Queen Naomi.

That same day, she was buried the proper way according to the way a queen should be buried in their tradition as to the custom.

Desire wouldn’t stop crying and she had refused to eat, despite the fact that she was pregnant.

“Desire, you need to take something, at least for the baby, please!” Fei begged, hoping Desire would change her mind and not keep on endangering the love of her child.

“We all know how hard it is to lose two friends, Desire. My own parents were killed before my own eyes but still I moved on, you can do it too, please, just eat something” Fei kept on begging, not giving up on her friend.

At some point, Desire touched her growing baby bump, trying to think of the war would be over by the time it was born. She doesn’t want her child to grow up in that type of environment.

“I’ll take it from here Fei” Ying collected the food from her and sat down close to Desire. He held her hand and smiled at her.

“Naomi, Fang and I grew up to be close friends, we all grew up together in this mansion. After I was adopted by Sylvester’s grandfather, I was treated like a member of this family, with love, care and affection from everyone. Fang used to come from her region to play with Naomi and me. Even though I was the oldest in the group, Sylvester teased me about it day and night. Fang had taken a liking to Sylvester since the first day she had visited this mansion with her father and set her eyes on him.

Their engagement was made years later and this brought them closer to each other. Sylvester loved her more than a sister and I loved both Fang and Naomi just like a sister too but I always knew Naomi loved me more but I couldn’t give her what she wanted. She was my sister! I just couldn’t love her that way. This gets her mad at me most of the time but I always managed to get through to her.

By the time grandfather died, Fang and Sylvester’s love had blossomed. Then at the beginning of tragedy, the King started his troubles with the family and we lost our father and our sister. On the same day, I thought I had lost Naomi. When Sylvester begged me to stay with her in the palace, I knew I had to give Naomi a second chance. It was two years later that she revealed the truth to me; she hadn’t really loved the king. She had only gone there to marry the King so as to save her family from his grip but what she didn’t know was that her father was already killed and her sister had already committed suicide.

Naomi lived with that guilt for years after finding out what had happened to her family. She carried that guilt for years. Anytime she got pregnant for the king, she always found a way to abort it, saying she couldn’t carry the monster’s baby in her stomach. She had her own female warriors, whose main purpose was to protect the interest of women who had been disgraced or going through agony in this region. Kim Chui was one of them” Desire’s head snapped up at the mention of her friend’s name.

“Kim Chui was the one who informed the Queen that Li Wei was going to visit the Harem the next day and it’ll be possible he took a liking to you since you were innocent and new to their way. It was the Queen who sent a message to Sylvester about what was going to happen. You weren’t the only ladies they’ve helped around here, so many others knew an angel came to their rescue at the hardest and darkest moment of their lives but they never knew who they were. Well, I do know. If people worship goddess then I’ll worship a queen Naomi and Kim Chui for the rest of my life because to me they’re goddesses”

Desire cried at Ying’s story. She knew he was right. She had been lucky to know these amazing women during her lifetime. They both shared similarities but it’s a pity that they both had to die just like that.

“Instead of sitting at a spot and wailing and mourning, why don’t you keep on living and celebrating their lives? Tell their stories to your baby that you know some women; the warriors of light” Ying took a mound of the food in his hand and stretched it towards Desire who collected it and swallowed.

He gave her the whole food and watched her eat.

“They lived a full life, no need for tears anymore. Eat Desire, don’t punish the baby for an unknown sin” Ying encouraged her to keep eating.

“Do you want me to send words to Sylvester that you're pregnant with his child?” Ying asked.

“Would that be possible?”

“We’ll just have to leave marks for him, here and there. He’ll know it is urgent”

“No, it’s not necessary”

“Why?” He asked surprisingly “He might not want the baby. It’s best if I don’t let him know. His heart is with Fang anyways” Desire explained.

“Fang is a manipulative woman. She sees herself as a seductress whose only job is to keep on seducing Sylvester till she succeeds and becomes his wife. Sylvester didn’t mean to push you away, Desire. He was sorry he did. He was sorry he believed Fang for s minute and he regretted his actions”

Desire continued eating, drank her water and refused to give a comment on what Ying had said. Her heart, body and soul longed for him. Hearing that he regretted his actions was enough for her to relieve herself of the burden of trying to hate him for days.

“What happened between Fang and Sylvester?” Desire asked.

“Manipulation, lies, cheat, deceit and hatred. Fang made Sylvester believe that Li Wei raped her then stabbed her to death, when she was having an affair with Li Wei despite their engagement. Li Wei knew Sylvester could kill him when he found out that he had raped her, so he ran for his life. We later found out that Fang was hale and hearty, all she wanted to do was turn Sylvester into an idiot” Ying explained

“While some women try to save the world, others try to ruin it”

“Life is like that Desire and it’s all about picking your side; good or bad”

Ying returned to his post and every other person continued theirs as they all waited and waited for months, hoping good news would enter through their gate someday.

Desire whimpered when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

“Are you okay, Desire?” Fei asked “I just felt this sharp pain but it’s gone already. I’m fine, Fei. Don’t look so worried”