Chapter 49

Time was irreversible. As things happen, you would not be able to pause, rewind, and correct a thing. I realized that as Vanessa slid to the ground, devoid of expression on her face. There was no laughter. The usual jokes were gone. She was simply there, unmoving. In order to avoid looking at her rigid form, I glanced at Ronaldo, hatred coursing through my veins.

"What have you done?"

He looked proud of his achievement as he loaded the bow with another arrow. "It's your fault Cybele. If you didn't want her to die, you should have left her somewhere else. Somewhere far from you." The laughter he made sealed my deep loathing for him. "You don't get it do you? Everyone close to you either die or get hurt. You're a magnet for bad luck. Wouldn't it be better if you kill yourself?" He aimed the arrow at me.

My knife came flying to thwart his assault. I was running straight at him before he had the chance to reload. My vision turned red. I wanted his blood. His death. Not his surrender. Feet clashed against arms. Movements were made. We were both trained. He as a warrior guard. Me as a Queen. And for all intents and purposes, an assassin.

My vision blurred as he punched me on the side of the head. I crumpled to the floor. Though his breath was ragged, he still managed to gloat as he walked like a predator to me. "Give it up Cybele. You were supposed to die that night. You got lucky then, but your luck ran out today." He laughed. "Aren't you happy that you'll be seeing mommy and daddy soon? Oh, and that blonde girl too."

"Stop it," I whispered, covering my ears. "She's not dead."

He kicked me on the ribs. It felt like something cracked. "She is dead. You'll follow soon. And then that black haired girl." He paused. "Princess Talia too. Queen Esmeralda has no use for someone weak like her. We'll be building a new empire where weakness is not allowed." He produced a knife from his pocket. Despite the little light that the torches offered, it still gleamed, as if warning me of how dangerous the situation was. "Any last words my Queen?"

No words were needed as I kicked him hard on the shin. The action took him by surprise that he stumbled backward to the wall, until he fell down. Pain radiated on my side as I crawled to him. My curled fingers found his throat. "I hate you the most!" Hot salty tears involuntarily poured from my eyes. "You were supposed to protect us. We trusted you." Crying was a weakness. Yet tried as I might, hearing and seeing him opened fresh wounds in my heart, adding to the pain he made when he killed my parents.

He choked and gasped underneath me. It was strangely satisfying to see him like that, dying with my own hands. Just when life was about to leave his eyes, he managed to grab hold of my arm and twisted it before reversing our position. He coughed as he dominated me. "It was your parents fault for trusting me. They never should have done that." He yanked my hair, pulling my head up. Ronaldo then slammed me on the floor. I have never felt so vulnerable and in pain as I fought to maintain consciousness.

Talia's voice rang in my head. "Tell me about the story of the sun and moon." I smiled. She was the of beauty that day, looking like a fairy in her gown and flower crown. We danced. We talked. Love was in her eyes as we exchanged vows. Her sweet smile would be replaced by tears if I died. I have caused her enough pain throughout the years. We should spend the rest of it happily. Alive.

In spite of the torture and aches, I forced myself to fight. To stop what Ronaldo was doing, elbow his face, and throw him off me. "I didn't know you still have something left in you." He wiped his bleeding mouth. "But I won't make the same mistake twice. I'll only leave once you're really dead."

I pushed myself up and leaned on the wall. It was no use to think about my broken ribs, my pounding head, and the large hole in my heart at the realization that one of my friends have died and my Princess could be hurt at this moment. I shook the bad thoughts away and focused on the enemy. Only one of us would make it out of here. I was determined to be the victor.

"Saying your prayers?" He ran at full speed to me, looking like a raging bull. I pulled the torch from the wall at the last moment and pierced the other end in his flesh. He glanced down in astonishment. His left shoulder was starting to tinge with red. "It will take a lot more than that to kill me." The light from the torch died as I wrenched it from him. He screamed in pain in the darkness. I was sure that he moved away.

Since the next torch was meters from us, I was blind in the dark, clutching the wooden pole. I closed my eyes to use my other senses. There was no sound apart from my beating heart. A shuffle. There. A movement on my left. I slammed the useless torch in that direction. Gotcha. "Oooof!"

The wood was tugged from my hand. The next thing I knew, something was hitting the back of my knees, forcing me to fall. "Think you can run away from me child?" He was back to choking me. His grip was tight. I was seeing stars in the pitch-black tunnel. "Just give it up already!" he bellowed. "You're making my job so hard."

"Nnnnn." Gasp. "Eeever." I tried to pry away his fingers.

"Die!"

We were thrown apart by a blast before he could make good on his promise. Dust and debris sprayed on my face. I coughed. What was happening? I wiped my face using my shirt. Another blast from the opposite wall. It was deafening. I covered my ears as a ringing sound vibrated.

Men and women ran inside the tunnel from the hole that the blast made. They were holding weapons of different kinds- rifles, gun, knives, machete. Something told me that they weren't the enemy, and clearly, Ronaldo knew that too. One look at them had him running outside the hole on the right.

I spotted Brooke the same time that she saw me. The momentary surge of victory that I have felt from seeing our allies was replaced by dread and fear. She ran to me quickly and helped me up. "I was separated from Talia and the others." Brooke dusted the soot from my face. "The Princess went for Esmeralda, but I assure you that Lance and Alex are protecting her." She glanced over my shoulder. "Where's my Vanessa?" I didn't answer. "Iris? Where is my Van?" She searched my eyes. "No. . ." Her voice was broken.

"It was my fault."

She took a deep breath. "Where?" I pointed to the direction where I left her. Brooke swallowed hard. She was trembling, trying to keep it together. "Okay." Another deep breath. "Okay Iris. I will get Van while you do your thing."

"You can hate me now."

Her eyes reddened. "Are you bloody kidding me?!" Brooke wiped her tears angrily. "None of this is your fault. We've told you that a million times." She focused on me. "You look hurt. Can you go on? Should I accompany you?"

"No," I said hurriedly. "I'm bruised all over, but I don't think it's anything serious." I could still stand up. Nothing was broken except my heart, though I had a suspicion that my rib area was turning blue. Besides, I was alive. And Van wasn't, I thought with a sinking feeling. "Go to Vanessa and. . ." I choked. "And get her body out of here."

"Alright." She held my gaze. Brooke was trying to be strong. "See you later."

When Brooke and I parted, the sound of screaming and war registered in my head. For a moment there, nothing mattered but our conversation. But right now, I had a job to do, and that was to kill Ronaldo. I clutched at my side as I ran out the hole that he went to. Brooke said that Talia was safe with Lance and Alex, so I need not worry about my wife for now. They would protect her with their lives. If I wanted to see her soon, I would have to do my revenge quickly.

The path lead to another part of the palace. Bloody hell. My ancestor's home was filled holes and damages. I strengthened my resolve. It could be fixed in the future. I would rebuild this place with my people. I followed the holes on the wall until I reached the garden. It was barely recognizable. There were rubble of concrete, dead guards and civilians, and from the near distance, smoke. It hasn't been long, yet it smelled like rotting corpses already.

I was careful not to step on anyone as I made my way deeper into the garden. Where was he? And where was everyone? I saw someone's figure on my right. It looked like him. I ignored the pain that spread on my side as I followed the snake. What I didn't expect was he was hiding in the next corner, waiting for me with a gun. I lost my balance as I maneuvered away from him.

I fell down hard. He smiled contemptuously as he came to me. "Your parents must be very disappointed in you Cybele. Not only did you lose the throne again, you failed to protect everyone too." He pointed the gun at me. "I'm tired of this game we've been playing for more than a decade. It's time to end it."

"Stop right there."

Ronaldo glanced over his shoulder. More than twenty guards surrounded us. They came from out of nowhere, brandishing different weapons of their own. Ronaldo smiled in welcome. "Ahhh. Brothers. You've come in time to see the execution of the country's biggest criminal." He gestured with his gun at me. "That's the person who kidnapped the princess and plans to overtake the throne."

A guard pointed his gun at Ronaldo. "We know who she is. Lower your gun Ronaldo, or I will shoot."

"I'm not sure we're on the same page here," Ronaldo said as he studied the group. Something dawned in his eyes. "Wait. Are you a new guard?"

The other one shook his head. "I doubt that you'll remember us Ronaldo, but we were the guards that should have protected Princess Cybele and the fallen Rulers." He cocked the gun. "We belonged to your team. Remember how you told us to leave the villa, saying that it was the Kings order? Then after learning that everyone was dead, you had us fired from our jobs so you could cover up your crime." His smile was devoid of humor. "We're here to do our duty now. You will never touch our future Queen again."

Ronaldo's face was aghast. "Fellas, let's talk about this."

The one in command turned to me. "What do you want us to do with him Your Highness?"

Two guards helped me up. I have fallen a lot today, but never would that happen ever again. It was a promise to myself. I didn't even glance at Ronaldo's pitiful form as the others closed on him. "Bring him to the people. They will be the judge and executioners." I breathed a sigh of relief as they dragged him from me.

"This is not over Cybele!" he screamed. "I will kill you! I will kill everyone you love for Esmeralda!"

How badly I wanted to chop Ronaldo's head off. How badly I wanted to strangle him until his eyes turn blue, his mouth spilled his own guts, and his skin turned purple. Instead, I focused on the guard who knelt in front of me. The people would punish Ronaldo for me. He deserved whatever was coming for him.

The guard spoke. "What are your next orders Your Majesty?"

"Bring me to my wife."

Everything that happened next felt unreal. It was like walking in a daze. A nightmare and beautiful dream combined into a strange hazy world. Ronaldo was punished as expected. The angry mob managed to find a horse and tie him to it while he walked in a sort of parade where people were free to throw things at him, hurt him, and shame him. His manner of death involved two horses pulling him in different directions.

Though it was a modern world, people who were filled of hatred and anger could be very dangerous. As for Esmeralda. Talia, together with our friends and supporters was able to corner her mother. The former Queen had no other choice but to surrender and return the throne to its rightful owner, me. I would get to her punishment in a while. For now, I was happily sitting near the river, scrawling on my journal.

It has been six months, I wrote. Things have been peaceful. Some parts of the palace that were destroyed during the uprising were nearly reconstructed. Our wounds have almost healed. I would always have that scar on my back as a reminder of my parent's death. Talia would always have the same reminder on her throat. Brooke was still flawless despite receiving bruises and scratches. The pen hovered over the paper as I thought of the next words.

"How about Van? What happened to her?" someone whispered beside my ear. I continued writing on my journal. From time to time, I would see the ghost of my friend, smiling at me, joking like she has never left. Though it pained me that she was no longer in this earth, her memory lives on forever.

I stared at Van as she snatched the notebook from my hands. She frowned. "Why are you acting like I'm really dead?" She waved the journal in the air. "This is frustrating your highness. You even wrote about it. What will my Brookey baby say if she read it?"

I held out my hand. "She won't say anything because she's not a snoop like you."

Brooke appeared from behind a tree. She smirked. "You're really lucky that you were only poisoned that time Van. If I didn't come to your rescue and noticed the signs of poisoning, you would have been long dead."

Van nodded. "And I'm very grateful for that. Let me make it up to you in bed. Kama Sutr-" Brooke's eyes widened. "Just kidding." I chuckled at their foolishness.

"Iris," Brooke said. "You should be preparing by now."

I glanced at the sky. It was nearly nightfall. I had a lot of things to do. "Yes." I stood up. "See you later."

"Don't forget this Your Majesty." Van handed the journal to me.

"Thank you." I placed my bookmark on the latest update. The bookmark I've been keeping for years. "Bye."

That night, when the moon was high in the sky, I watched eagerly as Talia was brought to me, struggling against her captors. Van and Brooke tried to hold their laughter as Talia bucked and moved, while her head was covered with a black cloth. They were holding her firmly, preventing her from running away or hurting herself. "Where are you taking me mongrels?! Cybele! Cybele! Help me!" They removed the cloth. She blinked in confusion as she met my eyes.

"I'm so sorry my Queen," I said to my wife as I offered my hand. "It's very amusing."

"You got to stop kidnapping me like this."

I crossed my heart. "Swear that this is the last time." I gestured around. Everyone was there. My adoptive parents, Lance and Alex, Chandra, my aunt Lizzie, and people who counted, including the judge. We were by the river, under a beautiful floral arch. Talia was surprised to see everyone there.

"What's going on?"

I knelt in front of her. "We've exchanged our vows and our hearts Talia, but I haven't formally proposed yet because of our circumstances." I looked sincerely at her grey eyes. "I may be the Queen of this country, but I have little to offer except my good looks and killer personality." Van snickered.

"I will have the desire to kidnap you from time to time, even though I said not to. But if you say yes again, I will read you a story each night until you fall asleep. I will play with you in the garden to your heart's content. We will tend to each other's scar till we die. And I promise to never let anyone kidnap you aside from me."

"How can I say no to such offer?" She pulled me up. "Just as long as you don't feed me porridge, I will follow you anywhere Cybele."

The second exchanging of vows occurred during a lunar eclipse. As the earth's sun and moon collided, so did the celestial bodies from above. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. I still had a smile on my face after the celebration was over.

Brooke hugged me tight. "I'm happy for you."

"Where are you going now?"

Van came to us with a dopey smile. "Back to the villa where we're guarding Esmeralda." She elbowed me softly. "You should go there from time to time. Say hello to your mother-in-law."

"I will." I left Esmeralda's punishment to Talia's hands. Her decision was to imprison her mother in the same villa where Esmeralda had my aunt held and killed my parents. The place where it all started. Van insisted on guarding the place. Since Brooke didn't want to stay far from her, they agreed to stay there. I had a cabin built for them near the villa so they could call it their home.

Van whistled as she looked at Talia's direction. My wife was talking to my parents. Talia glanced at me as if she was aware that we were thinking of her. "Bet Queen Talia wants to have that Cybele goodness right now."

I nodded. "I should probably go to her."

"You should. Farewell your highness." I rolled my eyes at her before heading to Talia. Farewell she said. We would always see each other.

When the congratulations were finished, and everyone went their way, Talia and I sat alone underneath the huge tree that we loved. She was curled to me while I stroked her hair lovingly, thanking the stars that our adventure was coming to a close. At least the adventure about the throne. Having children was not quite the same.

"I love you Talia," I murmured.

Her eyes shined. "Not as much as I do." She smiled. "Tell me a story?"

I nodded. "Once, there was a princess. She fell in love with a girl who loved stories like this." Talia adoringly stared at me while I continued recounting our own tale. A crazy but lovable tale of Kidnapping The Princess.

Fin