The sky was painted in red. The moon was drenched in blood rain. There was fire everywhere. From the inside out, everything was... Ruined.
"Your Highness..." a royal guard tossed a man in front of Khittan. The man was no longer the same man that the whole castle saw every day. That night, he was soaked with blood. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and with fiery eyes stared calmly at this enemy.
"The uncle," he said. Gazing through the man with his side eyes.
"Kill him," he looked away as the man begged for his life. But, it's too late.
"He must've been hiding nearby. There is no way he can escape this," said one of his right men.
"How's the Bronze House?"
"Prince Yug just finished his task with his battalion,"
"Great. Send the messenger and relay this message," Khittan handed him a small piece of notes.
"House of... Frangipani? But sire-"
"It's a command!" he glared at the man. He quickly bowed and stepped back from this spot.
I'll wipe out the whole family!
:::
"Push, malady! One more time!" the royal matron yelled at her. Karin gripped the red rope and was ready to push harder. She mustered all of her energy and courage.
"Push, malady! Push!"
Her scream echoed through the whole royal chamber of the House of Frangipani. At this strained moment, she fought the death herself. With mixed feelings, she had no choice but to follow nature.
"Uiya..." she called her lady-in-waiting, the most trusted person that she had in this castle.
"Malady!" the woman cried as she shivered in fear.
"If anything happens, take the prince and escape. Sutan can help you. We did arrange everything. Raise my prince as your son with Sutan. Never let him enter the castle, ever again!" Uiya looked at Sutan. The Crown Princess's bodyguard stood there, ready to leave the castle at any time.
"But malady... I'm afraid!"
Karin felt the second contraction. This time, it was severe. She knew the time had come for her to do the final push. She grabbed the red clothes tight and pushed with her remaining energy.
That's when they heard a loud cry. Because outside was almost chaos as the whole castle was building a defense around the room and the castle itself, they couldn't even hear it.
The royal doctor carefully took the child, cut the umbilical cord, and cleaned the baby before handing him to Karin. She stared at the baby, sobbing silently with his stern face.
"It's a prince, malady!"
"Bring him to Uiya. He needs to leave..."
"But, malady, he is the next on the throne!"
"People won't let him live. He will always be remembered as the grandson of a traitor. His mother is a daughter of a traitor. The Crown Prince won't spare him. Believe me, I know..." She kissed the baby a few times before she let the matron hand him away to Uiya.
"Malady... It's not his fault..."
"It's my fault. I'm his mother. And let me pay the price," Karin slowly released the red clothes, and slid to the floor. She waved her hand to the maid who then quickly handed her a rose gold robe. Slowly, she stood up with her wobbly legs and walked towards Uiya.
"Take him away, now! I rather him lose the title, not his life!" she grabbed Uiya's hand. The maid cried as she tried to console Karin. But, the sweet princess just gave her a faint smile.
"We'll meet again, Uiya. I hope I can be reborn as your friend instead of your princess..." Uiya couldn't control her tears anymore. She hugged Karin before Sutan released them.
"We have to go, now!" the man dragged her away from Karin and slowly disappeared from her eyes. With a heavy heart, Karin let them escape so her son could stay alive.
"Princess!!" a man ran into the chamber, panting hard. Karin gazed upon the man, with her eyes full of determination.
"He's here?" she asked, with her monotone voice. The man nodded slowly. She sighed, before tying her robe neatly.
"Princess, don't!" a maid stopped her.
"I won't let my people in vain. I'll face him myself."
:::
She fell on the ground, knees first. As if she surrendered to Khittan. He smirked, feeling amused by the winning. Her body slowly slammed into the floor, but her eyes kept locking with mine.
"Goodbye, my wife..." Khittan withdrew my sword, lifting it so high and...
Another sword clanks against his. Khittan stared at Karin, in shock.
She was wielding a sword as well.
"Think you can kill me, just like that?" she asked. She stood up, with her bloody hands, wielding the sword closer to Khittan's face. The tip of the sword almost hit his nose.
"Don't!" Khittan stopped his Royal Army from interfering in the fight between him and his wife. He chuckled as he threw his armor away. He stepped back a few feet from Karin.
"You're brave enough to ask a duel with me!"
"I'll fight if I know I'm innocent!"
"Your father and The Elder Brother conspired to kill me!" Khittan put a fit.
"He was my father and you're my husband!"
"You're his daughter!"
"But, I'm your wife!"
Tears roll from Karin's eyes. She's at her last straw. Life with Khittan was nothing but a pure love towards him all these years. But still, the man thought that her love was nothing but a pretentious act. All he could think about was her evil father who was trying to stage a coup so the House of Sun could take over the throne and rule.
There was nothing aside from that. No love. Nothing.
"I don't wanna live with the daughter of a traitor! Who knows one day, it's you who kill me by yourself!"
"I would have killed you years ago if I wanted to, Khit! With all those harsh treatment that you gave me, I have a million reasons to kill you!" Karin pulled back her sword.
"You never trust me, don't you?" Karin asked him in between sobs. Khittan stared at her puppy glassy eyes. His heart clenched in despair.
He loved this woman. Ever since the tie-die house incident. He fell in love with her almost every second of his life. It's just his fear of dying ate him alive. Day by day, he loses his trust in Karin, because of her father.
She is innocent, but Khittan couldn't bear the trust issue.
"A traitor will always be a traitor no matter what!" Khittan wielded his sword.
Karin watched her husband who stood in front of her, full of determination to kill her tonight. She closed her eyes, and slowly erased the sweet memories that she had while being his wife.
And, kill the love for him at the instant.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. This time, her gaze changed. It's different.
"Let's see who can stay alive tonight!" she picked up her sword and was ready to fight.
The sword duel began. Both of them dance to the tune of a sword fight. One who tried to be offensive, the other one guarded the best for her life. The duel lasted for quite some time. Both of them were too tired, but it was a matter of life and death.
Finally, there was a room where Khittan could attack Karin. However, it seemed hard for him to do it. He was trying to avoid the space but somehow Karin jumped in and his sword pierced through her abdominal part.
She stopped moving. Eyes tearing while taking the stab from Khittan. He was stoic there, watching his wife fall off to the ground. Karin grabbed his hand and pulled the sword from her body by herself before she collapsed. Her eyes stared at Khittan who watched her die, while silently crying inside.
He let her die just like that.
Not because he hated her.
He killed her because he hated himself for the trust issue that he had for her.
He was actually torturing himself.
:::
"No!"
Both of them yank up from the sleep. Their body jerked away from the table, facing each other with sweaty bodies and tears.
Karin watched Khittan, shivering in fear. The man rolled himself, knees covering his face. She is in deep shock as well. Couldn't believe her dream would turn out to be something like that.
"Khit..."
Carefully she reaches for the man. Khittan is sobbing hard. Karin sighs as she slowly pats his shoulder.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" Khittan finally hugs Karin. He is crying heavily, making her shoulder soak in tears. Karin hugged him tight, trying to console him from the fear that he had been through.
It's hard to describe the whole situation in words. Even the feeling is... Uncertain.