"Ahh, shit."
As I tried to stand up from the ground, crusing as my vision felt blurred out.
Thud.
"Urgh..."
He punched me again, hitting me straight on the jaw, knocking me to the ground once more, as my mind turn hazy again.
Bang.
Another ringing sound resonated as he punched me again.
"Urgh..."
I groaned as he sat over my chest, his knees pinning down my hands, making it impossible for me to move.
With my blurry eyes, I looked at him.
A tall boy around the age of sixteen with a handsome face and darker raven-colored hair and eyes. Eyes that held cold hostility towards me.
Bang.
"Argh..."
Without saying anything, he struck me again with so much force that my face turned to the side as I felt dust in my mouth.
Bang.
"Fucking bastard!"
He punched me again, cursing loudly, while his weight on my body made it hard for me to breathe.
Bang.
"You have to go around and mess things up, don't you!"
Again, he punched me, and pain started to register in my brain as warm liquid filled my mouth.
Bang.
Crack.
"Argh..Huff..huff.."
But my brain soon turned to mush as he hit my vital spot; he struck me on my temple so hard that a cracking sound resonated in the area.
I lost consciousness for an instant, then pain started to clear my mind as blood soon trickled down my forehead.
"Aimar! Leave him."
As my vision turned blurry and my brain pounded with a splitting headache, another person came to my rescue, forcefully moving the boy who was sitting on my chest.
"Urgh..."
I forced my body sideways as I rolled on the ground.
"Hahaha."
A weak laugh left my mouth as I felt the pain in my skull.
What did I do to deserve it?
Fuck, it makes me want to just run away from all this shit.
"Hey, Az, Az, talk to me." As I tried to stand up, the boy who rescued me arrived beside me, gently tapping on my face.
"Ahh.....Oliver," I mumbled weakly as I looked at him, who looked exactly like the one who attacked me, "help....me...buddy."
"Yeah," saying so, he helped me stand up and gently placed me on the bench.
"Sigh...."
A tired and exhausted sigh left my mouth as I leaned against the bench, my gaze on the sky.
"Cough..... Should have gone.... Easy on me.... Aimar."
Coughing, I mumbled as I looked at the one who attacked me.
"Shut up!"
As he paced in front of me, he shouted, his bloodshot eyes glaring at me as he walked towards me.
"Enough, Aimar!"
As the guy tried to attack me again, his twin brother Oliver blocked his way, protecting me.
"You know what he did yesterday, don't you!" He grabbed his brother by his collar as he shouted at him.
"I know that! So shut up and sit down." Oliver, being the big brother between the twin's, shouted back as he made Aimar sit beside me on the left side while he took the seat at my right.
"So, what did you do yesterday?" As we all sat down silently, Oliver asked, looking at me.
"You said you know what I did," I replied, my gaze still fixed on the clear sky as I tried to stop the blood from gushing from my forehead.
"I want to hear it from your mouth," he insisted, leaning on the bench as well.
"..... First princess asked me to kiss her knuckles," I mumbled after a few seconds of silence.
"And?" he prompted.
"And..... I refused."
"And why did you do that, idiot?" Aimar glared at me as he asked.
"Tobias was the one who kissed them before.... She was asking me to indirectly kiss him," I mumbled, still gazing at the sky.
"Pfft."
"Don't laugh, fucker," I glanced at Oliver in annoyance as he let out a muffled laugh.
"That's not all you did, right?" Unlike his brother, Aimar was still glaring at me.
"..... I asked the third princess for a dance," I mumbled, my gaze turning vacant as I looked at the sky, "And.... she refused."
"Then you threw a glass of wine in her face, right?" Oliver said, and I nodded in agreement.
".....And yeah, I forcefully tried to kiss her as well," I mumbled as both of them fell silent.
"....Haah... Why, Azariah?" Oliver mumbled, placing his hands over his face, "Why did you do that?"
"...She hurt my fragile ego," I replied, remembering her, "And I tried to take revenge for that."
"You are sick, Azariah," Aimar spat in disgust, glaring at me.
"Haha...you both know me from childhood... Guess I really am sick," I mumbled with a light chuckle.
"You antagonized two of the three candidates for the throne in one day, Az. It's not a laughing matter," Oliver glanced at me, speaking seriously.
"Three," I mumbled, and for some reason, a twisted smile came to my lips. "I punched Archie in the face as well."
"Fucking bastard," Aimar mumbled, but he still looked at me worriedly.
Well, no matter how much he tries to deny it, both of them cared for Azariah until the end.
Since childhood, both of them have been friends with him, and even when Azariah turned into a bastard, they didn't turn their backs on him, unlike the rest of them.
"Where is Christina?" Oliver asked after we all sat in silence for a while.
I touched the ring on my left hand instinctively, my gaze still on the sky as I replied, "...To the moon."
"And Avril, haven't seen her in a long time," Aimar asked, looking at me.
"She is with her," I replied, trying to hide my complicated feelings from them.
"Christina.....She won't be happy when she hears what you did," Oliver said with a low tone.
"When is she ever happy with me?" I asked with a smile as I closed my eyes.
"You don't deserve her, Azariah," Aimar again spat in disgust, but I didn't reply, remaining silent.
Yeah.... I don't deserve her.
I don't deserve anyone.
I might die alone.
Again.
"Anyway, we are going back, come with us," Oliver stood up, trying to help me get up.
"No, let me be. I want to be alone for some more time," I replied, shaking my head, making him halt his movements.
"Are you sure?" He asked me again, his tone filled with uncertainty.
"Yeah."
"Okay, and call me if you need someone's company," I nodded at his words as he walked back inside the church.
Christina Shea Mendonca.... My fiancée.
And
Avril.... My older sister.
I don't know how I will react when I see both of them.
"I just hope I don't get emotional and do something that I shouldn't," I said dryly as I looked at the sky.
"I want to sleep," mumbling, I closed my eyes.
But as soon as I did, a strange sensation washed over me, as if the very fabric of reality was shifting around me.
Startled, I opened my eyes, but as soon as I did, I was stunned to find myself surrounded by a blinding aura of light, so intense that it seemed to pierce through my very soul.
But even in this holy place, I felt only one thing...
A primal sense of fear...
Fear so strong that it made my whole body go numb.
Because...
Death....
Death was staring at me...