Misaii's words made my face light up with hope. Would she really help me out? And… was it worth a shot? I didn't know. But all I knew was that I needed to hold on to any and every piece of information I could come across. If I wasn't able to get out of this endless spiral of events that felt like a nightmare, I needed to at least get to the end of it.
"So…? Do you need my help, my lady?" Misaii asked.
"Yes! Of course, please tell me all about it."
"I… I believe if you are receiving dreams or visions about Dione, then you might be linked to her somehow. And… if you have to know more, you could try to connect to the things that she left behind."
"The things that she left behind?"
"Like clothes, accessories, or even places or people."
My brain went back to when I first had the vision of Dione after touching Vic. Even Vic was close to Dione, so Misaii's theory made sense.
"I will do it."
"But, My Lady, I should warn you- sometimes, these might mess with your reality, and-"
"I know, Misaii. I-I know the consequences."
Misaii sighed and nodded.
"Where do you want to start, then?" Misaii asked. My answer was clear, since I was only missing information about how Malvic and Dione met, and what happened after that, so anything that could tell me about that, was helpful.
"I… would like to know more about Dione and… the one that she got married to."
Misaii's face turned dark for a second, and then she said, "Dione didn't get married."
"She… didn't?"
Though I somewhat expected it, because Dione loved Vic too much to marry Mal. But how did she avoid the marriage when she announced it herself in front of everyone? Was that… somehow related to the end of her story?
"No." Misaii said.
"In that case… I- would like to get in contact with anything that could tell me about Dione's last days."
As if Misaii had been waiting for these words to come out of my mouth, she smiled at me, and touched my cheek.
"Come." She said, as we walked out into the night…
The walk was a little too long. Misaii led the way through the dense forest. My heart was pounding in my chest in anticipation of the unknown. I didn't know what this connection was going to lead me to. The agonizing silence throughout our walk made me have a million questions in my mind. I almost felt like my head was constantly being banged with a metal road due to all the stress I had been carrying thus far.
"We are here, My Lady. I- cannot go any further. But you will see the Lotus dome if you take a few more steps."
"But… why can't you go further?" I raised an eyebrow, while Misaii shuffled a little.
"I- I get… really emotional. I- I'd rather stay here." She said in a low voice. I nodded and headed towards the Lotus dome. Though I didn't hear the name before, it still made my heartbeat faster. Just like Misaii said, as I walked a few more steps, I saw a dome. However, it was on the verge of collapsing.
"What the-"
The dome was tattered. It almost felt like someone dropped a bomb right in the middle of the dome to destroy it completely. I stepped inside the dome. It was open from all six sides. Its walls were shaped like lotus petals, with a small opening on top. The dome was terribly dirty. It was evident that probably no one even used the dome much. Even though it was night, the little crescent moon lit up the dome a little. Moonlight infiltrated through the small opening on top, and I was able to see where I was. And to my horror, right in the middle of the floor, there was a large crack. What was even more horrifying, was that a human's skeleton laid there, bones scattering in every direction, with its skull being pierced in the middle by a huge rusty sword that dug deep into the crack.
"Ahh, finally I get to see you alone, my little angel…"
The rusty voice coming from my back startled me a little, but it took me a second to realize what was happening. I turned around and faced Mal, who stood there grinning widely at me. The hood of the cloak fell off his head, revealing his face. Even though I had expected it, looking at his face made my soul shudder. He looked exactly like Vic, except his eyes were glowing red, and his skin was pale. It was in fact so pale that one could even see his veins through his skin.
"Malvic?" I gulped.
"Mmm… it soothes my burning soul when I get to hear my name from your mouth… but tch tch, it only increases my thirst for you when I hear my name escape your beautiful lips."
I furrowed my brows. I was disgusted by his words, and more than fear, I felt anger in me. Maybe this is how Dione felt when she was around him, but then… Why did she decide to marry him?
"What do you want from me?"
"Me?" Mal said, breaking out into a loud laughter.
"Oh, my little angel. I want nothing… but you." He said, as he took a step towards me, making me move back. He then laughed again.
"Aww, you don't have to worry, darling. I can't touch you until I have a human body. And I can only have one on a full moon, now that I'm out of that curse you put me in."
"What… what curse?" I asked him. Even though this wasn't my plan and this didn't seem like the best plan either, still, maybe he could give me some answers? Mal smirked at me.
"There you go. See? I wasn't the one who was desperately looking for you. You were the one who came desperately looking for me. And well, what can I say? I really am a charmer. Tell me, darling, how much do you want me?"
"I want answers, Mal. Not you." I said firmly, making Mal grimace.
"You still have the sass, hm? That's fine, that's fine! But you won't have it for long, my love. You'll be begging me for mercy when I pounce on you like an animal and enjoy you-"
"MIND YOUR WORDS, MAL." I glared at him. He didn't respond, but smirked wider as if he enjoyed my anger and it fueled the beast inside him. I tried to control my anger as I looked him in the eyes.
"How did you meet Dione? What happened at your marriage?"
I could see Malvic looking me up and down with unclear intentions, and then, smirking, he pulled me closer. His touch on my skin didn't feel human. It almost felt hollow, as if my hands were being touched by oobleck. It made me shudder, and my skin sizzled with his cold, icy touch.
"Ugh! MAL! LEAVE ME RIGHT NOW OR ELSE-"
"ELSE WHAT, MY LOVE? YOU'LL KILL ME AGAIN? WELL, TOO BAD YOU CAN'T! I AM NOT EVEN IN MY HUMAN FORM, DARLING. But just you wait till I am, and then I can show you what I have been holding in for centuries. CENTURIES, DIONE. DO YOU HEAR ME?"
I winced in his grip, as he forcefully made me look into his eyes. His eyes began glowing even more, blurring my vision completely…
"1330: Dione's room.
"I don't understand, why don't you like Vic, Ma? I- I even told you he's a good guy! I know he made a mistake, but that was when he was just a child! Are you simply going to let that cloud your judgment?"
"Dione, I know what is best for you. And Victor is just not the one."
"But WHY?"
"Vic… He…" Mom looked away.
"What is it, Mom?"
"Dione, trust me, Vic can only cause more harm to you, honey. I understand your feelings, Dione, but… I'm a mother. Your safety is much more important to me than your… fleeting love."
"What Vic and I have, mom, is not a fleeting love, I can promise you that. And just because you're against it, doesn't mean that I can't oppose your decision."
"Dione!"
"I am serious, Ma. And I know very well you're against Vic because he belongs to a lower class family and he doesn't have a proper family history. But, Ma, why is it so important when we love each other?"
"LOVE WON'T SAVE YOU, DIONE! STRATEGY WOULD!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAVE ME FROM, MA?"
"MAL-"
"Huh?"
"Mal… Malicious… people." Mom stuttered a little and turned away. I walked right up to her and made her look back at me.
"What are you hiding, Ma?"
"I- what?"
"What did you want to say?"
Mom shuffled uncomfortably.
"Mom, what are you-"
"Dione, please. Listen to me." She said, holding my arms firmly. "I don't want you to go against my decision. Vic is not the right one. He will bring harm upon you, child. There are a lot of evil people that you need to be careful of, and-"
"Dione? Are you ready?" Dad's voice sounded from outside. He knocked a few times and walked in, looking at me.
"Hm, good. Come on out, they're here." He said, as he nudged mom's elbow. She understood, as she took me by the arms and led me out of the room without saying another word.
The living room was buzzing with conversations, and in the center of the room, the groom sat with a few more people surrounding him. My heart sank as I walked into the room. I didn't even have the heart to look up, but I could feel the man's gaze all over me. It made me uncomfortable. Dad introduced me, and mom almost pushed me forward. I was obliged to look at the groom and bow, but as I looked up, my heart skipped a beat.
Sitting on the chair in a royal outfit, was Vic.
Did dad decide this? But… how? He was always against us. And even mom… so then?
"You're beautiful, Dione." He said. I was blushing as I heard his voice… but it took me a moment to realize that his eyes looked different. I stood aside, as Dad introduced my groom.
"This is Malvic. A reputed noble from the neighboring kingdom. He is Misha's relative. I looked at Misha, who stood next to the groom and smiled affectionately at us.
"Malvic? But…" My thoughts were cut short, as I saw the man approach me. His eyes lingered all over my body, and I couldn't help but shy away.
"This couldn't be Vic… not at all. Then… who was he?"
The man proceeded to run a finger along my cheeks as I moved back. He smirked at me, putting his hand down.
"I like her." He said, as my dad and mom smiled wide. They were clearly glad that he liked me, but did they care about me?
"I don't." I said, as the room broke into a round of chatter.
"Uh- D-Dione, I- I think… you should go, are we… Are we done with her?" Dad said as he nervously fidgeted with his fingers. But I stood still.
"I said what I said. And that is my final verdict."
"Dione!" Mom shouted.
"NOBODY CARES, DIONE! SHUSH!"
"I care, baba. And that's all that matters." I said, looking right at the man's eyes. I could feel my words hurt his ego, for he clenched his jaw, but he was smirking at me as if it was a challenge for him. I turned around and left the room proudly, not stopping to look back.
All throughout the day, I stayed in my room. My mind was still occupied by the thoughts of my parents forcing me to marry someone that I didn't even know, and thoughts of how similar Malvic looked to Vic… even their names were similar. Were they… somehow connected? It was almost midnight when I decided to sneak out. The thoughts of my marriage clogged my mind and I was desperate to meet Vic.
I walked out into the open, and in no time, I was at Vic's secret hideout. Though I didn't expect him to be there, I still knocked on the door. Vic was still there. He opened the door, and froze for a second as he saw me.
"Dione? What are you doing here at this hour? Is… Is everything alright?" He said. I pushed him aside and walked into his room. He closed the door behind us and came up to me.
"What happened? Are you okay? You look-"
"Desperate?" I turned to Vic and pulled him closer. Though it took some effort on my end to do that, Vic still pressed close to me.
"Yeah… kind of." He said, as he held me by the waist. I sighed a little and closed my eyes for a few seconds, inhaling the scent of his body, as I then looked back up at him.
"Do you love me?"
My question was too blunt. Vic furrowed his brows questioningly.
"What? You know my answer already, Dione." He said. I shook my head.
"I want to hear it from you. Tell me, do you love me, Vic?"
Vic pulled me closer and gently kissed me on the lips.
"I love you, Dione. I love you more than myself." He said, and hugged me tight. I rested my head on his chest, but then pulled away and grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him onto the bed. He was a little confused, but he didn't resist. I was desperate for Vic. I wanted to get lost in the moment completely and not think about anything else. I wanted to be with Vic and no one else.
I climbed on the bed and got on top of Vic, unbuttoning his shirt.
"Dione…"
"Shh…" I put a finger on his lips and silenced him. He lay on the bed and held my waist as I went down on him, not breaking eye contact. Small moans escaped his lips and he jerked his body as I touched his inner thighs. I went downwards as my tongue played with the most private parts of his, making him even more excited. He gently grabbed me by my hands and pulled me up, as he held my face and kissed me deeply. Our tongues intertwined, as I moaned into his mouth. I closed my eyes and kissed him passionately like this was the last time. His hands soon lingered down my back as he unzipped my gown. I ran a hand down Vic's chest as he roughly pushed me down on the bed and got on top of me. The sleeves of my gown fell off my shoulders, as Vic passionately kissed my neck and down the collarbone. I ran my fingers through his hair and pressed his face onto my chest. I moaned as he opened my gown and kissed me down every part of my body. He reached down and moved my legs apart and touched me with his fingers. I moaned loud, as he covered my mouth with one hand. Vic almost covered my whole body with his, and while his fingers played very skilfully on my privates, he kept kissing me down my neck and biting me roughly. I moaned louder into his hand, as his fingers got faster down there and in a moment, I climaxed on to him, arching my back as my body shuddered a few times and fell limp. Vic kissed me again on the lips and smirked.
"You were a hungry little kitten today, huh?" I nodded as I shyly hugged him, burying my face in his chest. I was panting and sweating, and my face was burning as I kept blushing. Though I longed for more, Vic didn't want to go more than this till we were together. Vic and I lay on his bed for a long while, only covering ourselves with a blanket. I lay peacefully on his chest, worrying about absolutely nothing. Nothing else mattered to me when I was with Vic.
But then, a loud bang woke us up. It came from outside his hideout. Vic got up first and got dressed and I did the same. He was about to open the door, but for some reason, I was scared. I held his hand, but he looked at me with a reassuring smile and then walked out. I followed him and stood at the door, watching closely. There seemed to be no one outside. Vic took a few steps out, and just when he turned back around at me, someone hit his head. Vic winced in pain and fell to the ground.
"VIC!!!" I screamed in horror as a bunch of guards came and caught Vic. I ran towards him, but before I could get to him, someone walked in front of me, as I bumped into them. I looked up to see Malvic smirking at me.
"Malvic? WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS? LEAVE VIC RIGHT NOW!"
"Oh, darling, don't you worry about him. I'm here for you, now. He won't be able to harm you in any way, okay?" He said as he touched my cheeks. I slapped his hand away and tried to walk past him, but he roughly grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him.
"Agh!"
"Tch, tch. What's the hurry, little angel? Won't you spend some time with your fiancé?" He said and leaned closer and whispered, "Or do you like him more than me, hm?"
"MAL! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER, YOU FREAK!" Vic screamed. Malvic simply glared at the guards who began hitting him.
"VIC! NO! LEAVE HIM! I SWEAR TO ETERNIA I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!" I said, as I tried to free myself.
"Throw him in the dungeon." Dad said. I turned to look at him.
"Dad? Dad what are you-"
"He is really getting out of control, Sir. I told you. He only wants to be with Dione for her body…" Malvic signaled a few guards to search Vic's hideout, and they soon returned with my hairpin that they found on his bed. I shut my eyes and looked away, feeling disappointed in myself.
"TAKE HIM AWAY. NOW!" Dad's voice thundered. The guards kept beating him as they dragged him along. Vic kept shouting in pain, and every whiplash tore me down. I was wailing, trying to get out of Malvic's grip, but I couldn't.
"Shh, shh. Don't cry! You don't look good when you cry." He said. His voice didn't even reach my ears as I kept trying to cope with my emotions.
"MALVIC LEAVE ME!" I said as I forcefully pushed him away and ran to Vic, holding him tight. I was sobbing, begging the guards to leave him, but they were only following orders.
"Dione… Go away… I- I'll be back, Dione. I… agh… I promise." Vic said, forcing a smile. Blood was dripping down his face, covering his shirt in red. Vic began coughing up blood in no time as the guards kept hitting him mercilessly. Every muscle in his body ached as they dragged him along, but I kept holding on to him, until my father grabbed me by my hair roughly and yanked me away.
"WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG? TAKE HIM AWAY, I SAID!" He shouted at the guards, who took Vic away.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, DAD?" I screamed, as I pulled myself away from him.
"Why am I doing this? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, DIONE? HOW DARE YOU COME CLOSE TO THAT GUY WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR MARRIAGE IS FIXED WITH MALVIC?"
"I AM NOT GOING TO MARRY MALVIC, DAD!" I shouted. Dad came up to me and slapped me hard, making me fall to the ground.
"How dare you speak to me like that? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR AUDACITY!"
"I dare because I have the strength and courage to do so. And I WILL NOT back away."
"You are crossing your limits, Dione. Don't you forget that your place as a woman is at Malvic's feet! Be modest!"
"My modesty does not require me to live at someone's feet, dad. And especially not his." I looked disgustedly at Malvic, who was smirking at me from the side as if this was a show he was watching.
"I swear on Eternia if you embarrass me anymore, I WILL DIG A GRAVE FOR VIC AND BURY HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU."
"You can dig a grave for him, father. But you should know that I would go with him too."
"DIONE, YOU-"
"Mm-mm. Sir, calm down." Mal finally spoke in his ever so calm and cold-blooded voice, and came up to dad. "It's okay, don't worry. I'm sure Dione needs some time. We'll give her time. There's still time till the next full moon. I'm sure Dione will fall in love with me by then, just like I love her madly." He said as he kept looking at me. A strange fire burned in my soul that made me want to destroy everything. I was crying, but I felt my energy stronger than ever. It was as if I could dig into my energy, and direct it towards them, burning them to ashes then and there.
"I will not marry you."
"Oh you will, sweet angel. You surely will. You can go around searching for hope, but you will have to come right back to me, Dione. To your one and only lover, Mal."
His malicious grin was etched in my heart, as I went out to seek answers from Eternia. All I knew was that I had to save Vic, and if needed, also finish Mal."
"Current Time:
Mal wasn't holding me anymore when I regained my senses. It was still dark outside. I looked around for Mal, but heard sobs coming from somewhere around the corner. I took a few steps in the direction.
"I really loved you, Dione. Vic and I had never gotten along well, but that had nothing to do with my love for you. It was pure. I loved you throughout. But you… you didn't love me back. You only loved him… Him!!" Malvic sobbed, trying to get his point across.
"That's not how you love someone. You were torturing me."
"Was I? And do you know how much YOU tortured me? Do you know? Do you remember how you trapped me in this dome for CENTURIES? DO YOU REMEMBER MY SCREAMS THAT NIGHT? DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU PROMISED TO MARRY ME AND THEN KILLED ME? YOU WERE A TRAITOR, DIONE! A TRAITOR! AND NOTHING ELSE! I LOVED YOU, BUT NOW I HAVE NOTHING IN ME BUT HATRED FOR YOU, DIONE. AND HUNGER TO FEED ON YOUR SOUL."
Mal's shadow became more violent and his voice became more hoarse, as he then rushed towards me with the speed of light. I screamed and looked away, and fell to the floor, but at the same time, a bright light blinded our vision.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER, MAL!"
I turned around and looked at Vic, who was bearing the same glowing scepter that I had seen at the festival of Eternia.
"Vic?" I whispered, as Vic almost shooed Mal away with the scepter.
"Moon!" Astra came to me and helped me. I was shocked to see them both there. Did Misaii send Astra?
"I WILL DESTROY YOU, VIC! AND I PROMISE I WILL DEVOUR AND DEFLOWER YOUR ANGEL RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES. AHHHH I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE!!! I CAN'T WAIT! I WANT TO FEAST ON YOUR SCREAMS WHILE YOU BEG FOR MERCY! I WANT TO ENJOY YOUR BLOODSHED! I WILL FINISH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, YOU TRAITORS! AHHHHHH!" Mal's screams almost shook the whole dome.
"NOT ON MY WATCH, MAL." Vic screamed right back at Mal. Mal cackled in his inhuman voice.
"OH YEAH? LET ME SEE, LET ME SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO. LET ME SEE WHAT YOUR LITTLE WITCH GIRL CAN DO. LET ME SEE!"
Mal raised his hand towards the sky as a violent cyclone rose around us, and reached to the sky. To my horror, days and nights began shifting in the sky. Mal laughed out loud.
"THIS IS MY GAME NOW. MINE!! I WILL WIN, AND YOU WILL LOSE! DO YOU SEE THE DAYS CHANGING? THAT'S BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO CHANGE." He said. I looked up again as the moon changed phases in front of my eyes, and when it stopped, it was almost a full moon. It was almost like a sequence in a science fiction movie, except, it really was happening in front of my eyes. The ground shook violently under my feet, while the days and nights almost merged together and the sky turned blood red right before my eyes. Deafening roars and desperate screams coming from outside the dome shook my soul. What was happening?!
"TWENTY FOUR HOURS, DIONE! I WILL GIVE YOU TWENTY FOUR HOURS TO THINK AND DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO BE MINE. I MIGHT BE A LITTLE GENTLE IF YOU CHOOSE TO BE WITH ME. BUT IF NOT… YOU WILL SEE HOW YOUR FATE TAKES YOU TO YOUR DOOM!!!"
Mal's voice died out. The cyclone died out as well. Vic, Astra, and I stood there in complete silence, taking in the depth of the big threat hanging over our heads.