A runaway car came hurtling towards me. "It must be him..." My world blacked out before I could think anything more. The next time I opened my eyes, I found myself on the edge of an ice-made bridge. The ferocious water roared under the bridge, emitting a suffocating stench. "Hi", a hoarse woman's voice comes from somewhere. I turned around back and forth, trying to find where it came from, but had no clue. "Drink this, my little girl, drink this and you will be relieved," the sound kept going. The chilling air from the water made me shiver uncontrollably. "Who are you? Where am I?" I shouted with all my strength, but I couldn't even make a sound. "Drink it... Drink it..." The sound sounded closer this time. A crocodile popped up from the roaring water with a small potion bottle held in its mouth. The water stopped roaring. I felt something had left my body, and before I could control it, my hands reached out for the bottle. I swallowed the potion down without hesitation, instantly feeling warmth spread through me. I looked at my hands, they were now red. There was no pain anymore, just pure numbness. "How do I look?" I asked the woman. "You are beautiful, little one". She stood near the bank of the icy cold water, watching over the river. She was tall and thin; her skin almost transparent from the cold weather. "What's your name?", she asked. "Ale-.... Stygian", I answered. "I am Serenity, your Mother." The sound of footsteps behind me caught our attention. "The King awaits, Stygian, come." We both walked past the freezing waters. I took my hand off of the cold, wet, and slippery surface, trying not to fall on my butt. We walked along the path that lead us to the city of Serenity. We passed by a huge mansion with two gargoyles on top of it. There were a group of people dressed in all black, standing in front of a large castle like structure; it was impossible to tell what color the castle really was. They bowed deeply as we approached them. Serenity walked in first while I followed behind. Inside the castle was even darker than outside. "There is someone who would like to see you," she told me. After walking for about half an hour, we finally arrived at an enormous room with hundreds of people standing on either side of the room. The people bowed again when we entered, "Serenity" I heard somebody call. It was his voice. I couldn't believe how much he resembled Serenity. He was wearing the same dark clothes, with a golden crown placed above his head. I knew he was King by looking at the way he walked and talked. He stopped dead when he saw me. His blue eyes stared into mine, "Stygian! You're alive!" His voice echoed throughout the room. He ran straight towards me. "I thought you died!", he grabbed me. I wrapped my arms around him, holding on to his back as tightly as I could. Tears fell down his face as he buried his head deep in my neck. I closed my eyes as well. After a couple minutes he pulled away. "What's wrong Stygian, why do you cry?", he asked worriedly. "I don't know", I said between sniffles.
I didn't get to explain further. He put his arm around me, and guided me towards a table. I sat down on the stool, and waited for him to say whatever he wanted to talk about.
After some time, I started to notice how quiet the hall seemed. There were so many people standing there staring at me and then looking away quickly. "I'm glad you made it Stygian", Serenity interrupted my thoughts. "Thank you Your Majesty.", I replied. "We all thank you for bringing her home", he turned to everyone else. The silence that followed was deafening. No one had said anything since I walked in. I cleared my throat, "Can someone please start talking?", I pleaded. I heard a few giggles coming from the back of the room, but nobody did anything. "Please", I begged again. "This is ridiculous", another giggle broke the silence. "Why can't anyone speak!?" I shouted. All laughter stopped immediately, "You should have been the last one to know about Stygian, Serenity", a man stood beside Serenity. "No", I shook my head, "I need to know what happened to me". "Fine", Serenity sighed. "You remember what happened the last time you went outside the kingdom?". I frowned, "I don't understand". "Well, you're lucky that you have no memory of what you did", the Queen began. "But I don't know anything about it either", I protested. "Yes you do", Serenity said, "Just like you have memories of everything else that happened after your accident". "Are you saying that I wasn't hit by a drunk driver?", I asked incredulously. "Yes", the Queen nodded sadly, "He tried killing himself and killed several innocent bystanders too". I felt tears forming in my eyes. I looked at all the people in the room, "How did they find out?", I asked. "They know" Serenity answered, "The whole kingdom knows". "And what am I supposed to do about it?!" I screamed. Suddenly, everyone's eyes focused on me. "She deserves to know" Serenity said. "That is your decision", the Queen responded. I looked at him, waiting for him to continue explaining. Finally, he spoke, "When the curse is broken, you will lose your memories until you turn twenty eight. Then the truth will come to light". "Is that all?", I asked, "Or can I go home?". "That is all for now", the Queen stood up from her seat. "You can take her back" I was surprised. What had I done to deserve being taken away to a foreign place, only to die three days later, or whatever happened after that? "Now, if you excuse us", Serenity stood up from his seat, "I believe your fiancé has something to discuss with you".
"Wait, you're leaving already!?", I exclaimed, "Didn't you hear what I just asked earlier! Why does everybody keep ignoring me? Am I not capable of understanding what has happened? And what the heck am I missing out on?" Everyone looked at each other uneasily. "What are you afraid to answer?" I demanded. Serenity was the first person who dared to meet my eye. "My sweet boy, I cannot leave", he whispered softly, "You know the curse". "Yes, I'm aware" I snapped back, "So what are you scared about?!" His face hardened. "You have never experienced a curse before. If you go on alone like this, your heart is doomed. I don't want to lose you, too"
"Do I mean that much to you?", I smiled warmly. He didn't answer immediately. When he did, it was barely audible. "If you don't mind, I would like to stay here for a while longer." I nodded. "Of course, you can stay here as long as you want."