"…Thya!"
The word echoed faintly in the depths of my mind, but I couldn't understand anything, lost in the swirling chaos of my thoughts. The voice calling me sounded distant, muffled, like it came from the other side of a thick veil. My body felt detached from reality, my feet numb against the cold floor, and my breathing uneven, as if I were drowning in my own despair.
"Please, Your Majesties!" I finally found my voice, though it trembled as I spoke, raw and cracking under the weight of my desperation. "I don't want to be a noble anymore. I don't want to be a Princess anymore. I can't—" My voice broke as a sob escaped me, but I forced myself to go on, each word feeling like a knife scraping against my throat. "I can't spend twelve months living here just so your son can torture me! I… Please!" My plea hung in the air, trembling like a fragile thread about to snap.
Suddenly, I felt a presence that hadn't been there before, a warmth and weight that steadied me, pulling me upright as my knees threatened to give way. Strong hands lifted me from where I had crumpled, and then, without warning, a firm grip tilted my chin upward. My blurry vision struggled to refocus until my gaze met his face.
It was Rai.
"…Nsomi!" he called my name, his voice insistent, sharp. It cut through the fog in my head, but I still couldn't shake the suffocating despair. "Nsomi!" he repeated, louder this time, his tone edged with something between frustration and concern.
"What do you want?" I spat, my teeth clenched so tightly my jaw ached. My voice came out harsher than intended, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
He turned his head toward the King and Queen, his expression shifting into something apologetic, though it was clear he was barely holding back his anger. "I'm sorry for my next words, Your Majesties," he said, his voice low and deliberate. But then he turned back to me, and all his restraint shattered. "What the fuck do you think you are doing, Nsomi Eileithya D'Arcy?" His tone was biting, laced with fury. "How dare you—how dare you ask the King and Queen to strip you of your titles, to throw away everything you've ever been? What did you see, Thya? What could possibly make you act like this?"
I didn't answer. My teeth clenched harder, and I felt the tremor in my hands spread throughout my body as his words struck me like daggers. The King's deep, authoritative voice broke the silence. "What do you mean, Prince Izan?" he asked sharply. "Did she see someone's death again?"
Before I could respond, Daisuke's acidic laugh cut through the room like poison. "It seems like she's addicted to destroying people's lives!" His words dripped with venom, his tone mocking. I wanted to scream at him, to claw that smug look off his face. Can't he shut the fuck up?
The Queen's voice came next, harsh and abrupt, slicing through Daisuke's laughter. "Who was it, Prince?" she demanded, her words leaving no room for hesitation. "Whose death did she see?"
Rai's eyes bore into mine as he spoke, his voice quiet but deliberate. "When I came to see her with Aeneas this morning, we found her blindfold on the ground." His jaw tightened, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "Her face was wet with blood tears."
"And she was in front of the mirror!" Aeneas cut in, finishing the thought Rai couldn't bring himself to voice. His words hung in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and foreboding.
The chamber fell into an eerie silence. Even Daisuke, who always seemed to have some cruel remark on his tongue, stopped breathing. The oppressive quiet pressed against me, and I couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't a laugh of humor—it was sharp, bitter, almost manic. I raised my brows and looked around at their stunned faces. "Why are you all so silent? It's not like I don't know that all of you want to see me dead."
They ignored me, their attention fixed on Rai. The Queen leaned forward, her expression unreadable but her voice urgent. "What did she see?"
"When is it going to happen?" the King asked, his voice tinged with a rare trace of unease.
Rai hesitated. "She refused to tell us," Aeneas answered for him, his frustration evident.
"Although she said that she's still going to live some decades," Rai added, his gaze locking on mine, searching, probing. "I believe she's lying."
To my surprise, the Queen rose from her throne, her movements sharp and deliberate as she descended the dais. She stopped in front of me, her piercing eyes narrowing as she spoke. "Tell us, Eileithya. Tell us everything."
I tilted my head and smiled—a grin that felt like it didn't belong to me, sharp and mocking. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," I said, my voice laced with defiance. "But I refuse."
"You—" the King began, his voice rising.
"Don't get me wrong, Your Majesty," I interrupted, my tone steady and cold. "But this has absolutely nothing to do with any of you. It only concerns me. And no one in this world will make me tell you. But don't worry—death comes to everybody. I'm no exception. I'll die when I have to die." My voice carried a finality that silenced even the King. I held his gaze, unflinching. "One last time, I'll ask you. Will you reconsider my wish, Your Majesty?"
The Queen's answer was swift and final. "No." The King echoed her.
"Okay," I muttered under my breath, shoving Rai away from me. My hands shook as I wiped the tears from my face, my voice cracking as I spoke again. "At least you know how hard you tried, Thya," I whispered to myself. But the words carried in the chamber, and their stares turned heavier, more scrutinizing, as if they were all questioning my sanity.
I forced a laugh, bitter and hollow. "Thank you. For nothing," I said, bowing deeply before straightening. "I'll excuse myself now, if you allow me, Your Majesty."
Both the King and Queen nodded stiffly, their faces unreadable. Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked out of the chamber. My steps echoed in the hall, my thoughts a chaotic mess that drowned out everything else. The faces of the people I passed blurred together, but their fear was unmistakable. They all recoiled as I approached, their wide eyes filled with terror, as if they thought I might destroy them all on a whim.
I didn't care. Let them be afraid. Let them think what they want. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore.