IT WAS HER 13TH BIRTHDAY, on the 2nd day of the 10th month of the year, when Avyanna asked me to take off the blindfold I usually use to cover my eyes so I don't accidentally use the power within them! She was my best friend, the sister I never had, even though she was two years older than me, we became inseparable and I loved her more than I ever loved myself. But I didn't want to do that.
You must be curious about the reason why I have to always cover my eyes. It's simple, my eyes can see when and how someone will die. I just have to look at them in the eyes.
Now you must understand why I never wanted to do it. But she was stubborn and told me that she would only accept that as a birthday gifted and that if I kept refusing it, she would stop talking to me. All the Royals I've met are quite persuasive, but Avy was the best out of them on that matter.
And so, after she spent her party annoying me to do it, I gave in. I hadn't seen her face since I was 3 years old, when I awakened my eye-power and the enhancement of all of my senses that came with it, it has been 8 years since it happened. From that moment onwards I had to depend on my 4 other senses entirely, so even though I cannot see with my eyes because of the eye-band, I know everything that was happening around me. And I am very conscious of other people's energies and smell, so I can tell who is who very easily as if I was seeing them.
Not only that but it's been just as long since I saw myself in a mirror. I don't know what I look like these days, and I'm not interested in it either. I only know that my long and curly hair is blond like gold and my eyes are red like blood. Although they say I look like my mother, who died when I was 3.
Yes, she was the first death I saw. It traumatized me, my family, and everyone else.
The Princess took me to her castle which was located in the southern wing of Soleil Keeper, the Royal Palace, and locked the door. "Come on, Thya. Put a smile on. If you keep that stern expression one, it seems that I'm obligating you to do this."
I arched my eyebrows. "But you are! How do you expect me to smile when I'm about to see how and when is my best friend going to die?"
"Okay, you have a point. But I still want to know. I can't hold my curiosity anymore!" Why is she so adamant about knowing this all of a sudden?
Clenching my teeth, I closed my eyes trying to prepare myself for what was to come, and then I began to undo the tie of my blindfold. "Open your eyes, Thya," she asked gently, knowing very well how hard was this for me.
I avoided her eyes, trying to absorb how gorgeous she had become. Her wavy hip-length black pitch had fallen like a waterfall from her shoulders and her skin was even fairer than I remembered, she was about a head taller than me, inheriting her height from her family. And finally, my eyes landed on her lilac eyes glowing like a pair of jewels and my heart skipped a beat.
• • • • • •
She was laying on her bed as if she was sleeping when I saw a doctor come in with a pitiful look on his chubby face. "Poor kid, she was only 14. Who knew she, of all people, would have the Rosé disease? Tsk, now that brother of hers will rise to the position of Crown Prince. She had such a bright future ahead, and it ended just like that…" Then he came closer and stared at her immobile body, "At least, she died pure!"
Then a maid came in and asked him exactly what I wanted to know. "Was it painful, doctor?" I knew this girl, it was Emilia, Avy's nanny. Her eyes were swollen probably because she must have cried her ass off.
"I'm not going to tell the Royal family this, but," his eyes got darker, "painful is an understatement. This girl went through one of the most painful deaths. I don't know how no one knew this, because she must have been vomiting blood at least three times per day. Not to say about the fact that the symptoms must have appeared when she was 12 or so," no way-
Emilia fell to her knees, pale. "If we knew about this before… could anyone have found a cure?"
"Unfortunately, no." He spoke with a sad voice. "This is the worst part of the Rosé disease, Miss. It's impossible to be cured. That's why it's known as a godly punishment."
"But the Princess never did anything that could make the Gods angry," she cried.
He sighed. "As if she needed to do something, Miss. Everybody knows the Gods are quite unreasonable," and with that, he left.
Leaving Emilia crying for her dead Princess on the ground.
• • • • • •
I felt the cold and wet blood tears coming down of my eyes, and when my knees got weak, I fell to the ground. Unable to speak. Unable to stop looking at Avy. Unable to stop the tears.
"Sorry for making you see it, Thya." She spoke gently and knelt down with me, caressing my hair. "I haven't told anyone yet, and I don't plan on telling. But I wanted you to know. I wanted you to prepare yourself!"
I feel like dying.
After a million years, I managed to say, "Have the symptoms appeared?"
"Yes! It started on my last birthday, Thya. In the beginning, I didn't know what was happening, but then it began to happen every day, and although I managed to hide from everybody, I realized what it was," before I could say something, she held my hands. "You have to swear on our lives, that you won't tell anybody. Especially no one in my family," she can't do this to me.
That only made me cry more. "They are all going to hate me when they discover that I knew it and didn't tell anybody, Avy. All of them love you more than anything. You are our future Queen-" she covered my mouth with her hand.
"Thya," her voice was so gentle that broke me. "I am dying. I only have about a year left. There's no way of me being the next Queen!"
"I…"
"Promise me! I'll only believe in you if you swear on my life that you won't tell anybody!" I felt my whole body trembles.
Biting my bottom lip, I cried, "Okay, Avy… I… I swear on your life that I will never tell anybody. Not even… not even a soul!" She hugged me but I felt like my heart was shattering even more.
Getting up, I stared at her and my tear came out like waves in the angry ocean. "I… I need some time… I…"
Just like that, I ran away from her chambers, catching my lilac blindfolded on my way and putting it back in a clumsy way, not caring about the fact that I was tainting it with my blood tears.
When I was reaching the Royal inner garden of the main residence, where her parents live, to be alone, I ended up hitting the shoulder of a person a little taller than me. And when I sensed his energy, I realized it was Prince Daisuke, the King's only son and… next King after Avy's death.
"And the oracle called you a well-behaved child!" He mocked, and when I felt his eyes on my face I tried to turn my head away but he held my chin. I heard him gulping. "Blood tears…" he said to himself. "What did you do, Eileithya?" I hate when he calls me by my middle name like that instead of just Thya like Avy does. "Who's death did you see?"
"That's none of your business, Your Highness," we never had a good relationship, but it wasn't bad either. It was neutral. I felt bad for lying about this because it was totally his business.
"Why are you so shaken?" Why are you so damn curious?
"Because I saw somebody's death, dumbass. Now leave me alone. I don't like to be near you. You don't like me, I can feel it, so get out." He giggled.
"Quite bold of you to tell me to get out of my parents' garden, Eileithya!" Ugh.
"Then stay! I don't give a damn. I'm out of here," then I left from where I came in, but he held my arm.
"Wait! Whose death did you see?"
Breathing heavily, I turned my face to where I sensed he was. "If you don't leave me alone, Prince Daisuke Maël Maximillian," I started. "I'm going to take off my blindfold and see your fucking death! Do you want that? Because I wouldn't mind!" He released my arm and took two steps back.
"As a Prince of this Kingdom, I order you to-" look at this annoying guy, can you believe him?
I heard rushed footsteps and then Avy's smell surrounded us. Oh no.
"Thya! There you are. I've been looking for you since you left the ball. Where were- Oh my Gods, are those blood tears? Did you… did you see someone's death?" She knows how to act.
"She did! But she doesn't want to tell me who it was, sister," now he's using a gentle tone… bastard.
"Leave her alone, Dai. She must be shocked," she came closer and took my hand in hers. "Did my little brother bully you, Thya?" He's just a year younger than her, but she loves to use that card.
"Yes…" I cried.
"What? How is that bullying? Come on, sis, you can't believe this liar!" He will be so broken when she dies… just like me, he loves her more than he loves himself.
I can't even imagine what he's going to do to me when he realizes that I knew everything. But there's no coming back. I promised her, so I won't tell anyone. And in the future, I'll handle the consequences.
"Dai, can't you see Thya's state? Don't you realize the burden she carries because of this damn power? Would you be able to handle it? Would you be able to know how and when your loved ones and everybody else will die and maintain your sanity?"
"Whatever. She has a damn blindfold for that reason. She's stupid to take it off," he's right.
I was stupid, but it's not like I was able to not do what his sister asks me to. Especially on her birthday. "Leave him alone, Avy. I don't care. No one will ever understand what I go through, and it's better that way! Now, please, let me go. I need to go to my home, or I'm going to crazy here."
She squeezed my hand as if saying yes, "You can't use your position as a Prince to order her to tell you, Dai. That's not something a rightful Prince should do," and he's the next King at that.
I let go of her hand and left them alone, but not before hearing them say:
"I'm sorry, sis."
"It isn't to me that you should be apologizing, Dai!" As if he would ever say those words to me.
His big-ass pride would never allow it.