I was in the middle of hiding all the flowers under my bed skirt when V walked in. It startled me but instead of approaching me, he flopped facedown onto the bed. Thank goodness.
"Something is wrong with me." He muttered, holding his head. I pulled my bed skirt down and hid the last remaining flower. If he only gave me one flower it would be easy enough to explain, but over 100 is much too challenging for me. I'm going to need to tell him off... at least until I can somehow change this horrid situation, we're caught in.
"What's the issue V?" My tone sounded indifferent, but he seemed unbothered.
"I somehow overworked myself... I know that I wanted to see you and I was sure I headed to your room, but I ended up going asleep instead." He admitted. I laughed nervously,
"Oh... dear... how odd..." This time my tone did alert him, so he looked at me then squinted and came close to me, grabbing my chin and staring hard at my face. "What?" Is he suspicious of me?!
"When did you get this?" He asked, poking under my eye. I wasn't sure what he meant so I got up and looked in the mirror, gasping when I saw a beauty mark under my eye... this has never happened before... why would I have one? The ritual only works on the Chosen, right?!
"That's weird... I should go and get it checked! I'll ask Cynthea, she should know." He tilted his head and said,
"Cynthea.... so, it has something to do with the ceremony you've been doing?" Wow... he caught on fast.
"Well... I don't know. It's only a guess. Maybe something went wrong this time." He kissed my new mole; instinctively I yanked away in a panic, tripping over my candle sticks and falling into the middle of my mat...he looked perturbed.
"You've been rejecting me a lot lately." After his comment, I averted my eyes and said,
"You just surprised me... plus I need to go now, you know Cynthea is only available in the daytime." V sighed then shooed me away with his hand,
"I just wanted to admire you...Fine, I don't care anymore... just go." I could tell he was upset, usually, I would hug him to comfort him because that would make my life easier but not today. Today I am just leaving and getting answers. Once I was out of the palace and I headed to the intercommunication tower, then waited until Cynthea answered from our secret line. I watched as the hologram of her form in the seat across from me. The process took around 1 second. She has green hair, pale skin almost white, with rosy cheeks and lips. As well as bright red eyes. She smiled the moment she saw me.
"Hey, girl! It's been too long! You haven't contacted me in what... 322 years now?! Wow..." I sighed,
"I am sorry... it's hard getting out of the palace, and I have to have a good excuse to contact you." I wanted to add that V doesn't like me having friends, but I kept it to myself. Once she got my explanation she laughed and said,
"No need to explain yourself to me! What do you need?" I got close to the screen so she could see me as well as possible from her side of the call.
"I... have a mark of power." She got up herself and looked hard at me then said,
"Wow... oh wow." She bit her nails so I figured whatever news she had was bad. "Has the king seen it?" She asked, before answering me. I nodded and said
"Yes," then sat back in my seat and she sat down too, only speaking afterward,
"The Chosen you were with... has um... picked you as his lifelong spouse... which is only possible if you ... you embraced his feelings for you." My eyes widened.
"Wait... you're telling me this is like a wedding ring?"
"Well, you never had feelings for the boys you trained before... so nothing happened." She commented.
"Oh yes, something did! I had constant blackouts, split personalities, I would even hear voices." She smiled, yet somehow looked sad as she said,
"Well... that stopped now, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah, I figured it's because I had been asleep for the past 8 years, maybe the side effects wore off." My reply made Cynthea scoff and say,
"That's something that only gets worse with time, it doesn't wear off... It only happens with spouses who pretend to love their Chosen partner for power and agree to do the ceremony anyway. The energy of the elements from their Chosen Prince wouldn't be able to bond with their soul so it would travel around their body and assault the mind until... death. Usually from suicide." I gripped at my chest, thinking about how I had no idea that what I was doing was so risky, why didn't she tell me about this years ago?! No... it's I who had been out of touch with her... She continued speaking while I was dealing with my thoughts, "This is the reason your episodes stopped, the one you were with," She cleared her throat before adding "The one who marked you. He forced all of the old energies out of your body and then he successfully blended his affinity with your soul. Love can make those energies very ... territorial. He's not letting anything else remain inside of you." ... I thought hard about what she said then I extended my hand and tried to invoke Insinz's powers from all the books I memorized. I visualized a sphere of gaseous poison, applying the desired formulas into the atmosphere and it manifested into my palm. The sphere wasn't as perfect as the one I've seen him create but I was startled by the fact I could make one and shook my hand rapidly. The heck?! How am I going to get rid of this?! "My guess is... he has been affectionate with you before now, purifying you over time... Sadly, you know what must be done." She stated sternly. My eyes widened,
"I do not!" I screamed then I held my head.
"Yes, you do! There's no way Vetro will let this go! I am helping you because I pity you but girl... your life has just gotten a million times harder. I'm here to make things easier not harder." No... no! I don't want to see him hurt, I can't. The rules would dictate that I tell V right away, repent, and watch Insinz's execution. V would never let me go... I'm not allowed to love someone else. The only other thing I could do is send him far away, which is only a temporary fix.
"Cynthea! I will not have him die on my behalf! He will live a full life, with or without me!" I rose from my seat and added "Thanks for the chat." Before ending the call... It seemed like she had more to say but I don't want to listen to it anymore. What can I tell V?... I need something believable to buy time... no... it's time I stopped hiding behind lies and became proactive. I strolled into the palace and headed straight to the chosen wing. Once inside Insinz's room, I closed the door. He was hunched over his desk fiddling with something but jumped when he heard me behind him and turned around to face me with a nervous look.
"Hey there..."
"I am sorry to the highest degree!" I said sternly, he stared at me in confusion, so I rushed over grabbed him by the collar yanked him down to my level, and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back, hugging me tightly and lifting me from the ground slightly.
"... Now I am more confused... happy but confused." My heart was filled with joy and after I was back on my feet I said,
"I am sorry... I knew I loved you but... I did not believe you when you said you loved me... I am a troubled and cynical woman... I don't know why you want someone like me." He laughed, then I released his shirt and looked at his face.
"That's no reason to apologize... I know you, Tana. I know what I signed up for." I was touched and wanted to hold him more, but I knew I had to get out what was on my mind,
"You... left your mark on me," I blurted. He looked at me then mumbled knowingly.
"Your eye..." He touched my face and said, "It wasn't intentional."
"The expert says... it means we're true lovers... so doing the ceremony... was different this time... that's likely why you look different too." He folded his arms and closed his eyes for a few seconds while tapping his foot, then finally remarked with,
"Well... that's good right?"
"It's not! I mean it is but..." He put his finger to my lips, so I quieted, then when he pulled his hand away from my mouth and moved it behind my head, tangling his fingers in my hair, and kissing me deeply, my knees grew weak and a fire lit in my chest, so he had to catch me to stop me from falling over. Insinz then laughed while squeezing me close and said,
"I wasn't expecting you here so early, sit on the bed, I just need a few minutes." I'm not sure what he was talking about, but I sat down anyway. I wonder if he understands the severity of our situation. A few minutes later he turned around and held out his fist in my direction.
"What am I supposed to do with that?" I asked and he laughed again and said,
"Open it." For a moment I just looked at him, then I slowly pried his fingers open, and inside his palm was a gold chain necklace with a back heart-shaped pendant. Inside the pendant, I could see things glittering like stars and smoke moving around. I felt myself starting to cry again so I pouted and forced the tears back, "Can I put it on you?"
"I... I'm not allowed to wear jewelry" I answered, and sniffled as he took my response as a yes and clipped the necklace onto my neck.
"I knew... being with you wouldn't be easy... I am aware of your history, but I still want to be with you... I am prepared to make it happen" He kneeled in front of me and intertwined our fingers, "Never take that off... with it I can always look out for you." Is this necklace supposed to somehow protect me?
"You don't know what he's capable of," I whispered, and then I held the pendant in my fingers.
"Yes, I do." He corrected. "Also... I think you should see the physician,"
"Why? I feel fine." He huffed then grinned and said,
"Alright, suit yourself." Because he responded that way, I got up and headed straight to the clinic to get a check-up and what I found out was, I was pregnant. Insinz didn't pull out even once but it's been so long since I had children that I didn't even worry that this could happen. It wasn't even 10 minutes later when V was informed. I felt the building quaking as soon as he got the news. The issue is, I haven't given him children since this war began and the only time, I managed to get pregnant in the past is when I disassociated so much that my hormones got confused. Genetically both he and I are Infaniyans. We were banished before Angel's blessing (One that only gives children to parents who both desire it) but still, it is hard for me to get pregnant when there's only one-sided affection involved... 8000 years with no kids looks bad. If I can't prove this child belongs to him, I'm not sure what he'll do.