TRIAL OF DOOM
" What!!!" They chorused.
" Yes, it's true." Sabbath assured.
" But that's literally impossible! How can this low-life be my soulmate? She doesn't even have powers! Why'd you have to do this to me!" Damon shouted, shaking Sabbath by the shoulders.
Kimora felt hurt when he called her a low-life, but it was true anyways.
" But it's true. And stop shaking me, I'm not the one who chose a soulmate for you. The gods did." Sabbath returned, separating herself from him.
Damon turned sharply to Kimora, in a heart-stopping way that she flinched as she stared right into his red soulless eyes.
" Get this straight. We can never be soulmates, not in this world or the next. I never want to see you around me because if I do... I might just end you without thinking. Don't think of yourself as my soulmate because I didn't choose you, the f**kin' gods did. So pray to the gods that they break the bond between us on time, or else I don't know what I might do to you." He spoke heartlessly, and her eyes slowly filled up with tears as his words broke her heart.
He vanished right in front of her, and Kimora looked down as her tears quietly dropped on their own.
How could he be so cruel? When she thought she finally got a strong soulmate to protect her, he just had to reject her like everyone else. Why would he be so heartless? What exactly has she done to offend him, to warrant this hatred towards her? Her mind was filled with various questions like this.
" It's okay, stop crying." Sabbath comforted and patted her shoulder from behind. Kimora let everything out, bursting into more miserable tears.
" Look at me, Kimora." She said, and Kimora wiped her tears before slowly turning back.
Her eyes widened as she beheld Amber instead of Kimora. Kimora wanted to smile so badly... But she couldn't. She was overwhelmed with shock.
" I'm still the same Sabbath you met, Kimora. I can take any form I wish." She explained.
" But why didn't you tell me on time? You knew he was my soulmate, so why didn't you warn me about it? Why'd I have to discover this painful way?" Kimora muttered hurtfully.
" I had to let you find out this way, because if I told you... Things might have been worse than this." Sabbath told.
" So, what am I gonna do now? What's my purpose in the Institute if I'm not even loved by anyone? Why am I even here?" She asked.
" To fulfill your destiny, Dear, never forget about your destiny. The Institute is here to guide you on your pathway to your destiny, and so is Damon. You're loved, Kimora. Don't say that anyone doesn't love you. You already have a loyal friend by your side who cares about you no matter what, so how could you say that you're still hated?" She said, and Kimora stayed mute.
She looked down, but Sabbath immediately raised her chin up to look into her face.
" I've said it before, Kimora. You're a beautiful soul... A flower that stands beautifully on its own. You'll be fine if you stay strong till the end." She promised, and Kimora nodded.
" But what do I do about Damon? Won't he kill me if I return to the Institute?"
" He can't do anything to you, trust me. Once you get hurt, he'll feel just the exact pain you feel. Your souls are connected to each other, strongly. So all you have to do is make him fall for you, hard." She said and added a tricky smile.
" Fall for me?"
" Yes. Once you make him fall for you, he'll have no choice but to accept you as his soulmate. He'll care about nothing else but you, trust me." She assured.
Kimora wanted to smile in appreciation... But she just couldn't smile no matter how she tried. It was as if she was also cursed to not smile.
" Thank you, Amber." She said instead.
She turned back and left the hut, and Amber folded her arms with a sigh.
ROYAL PALACE OF EUPHORIA KINGDOM
The Royal Dining Table was filled with numerous delicacies and mouth-watering dishes, waiting to be devoured by the members of the royal family as the sweet aroma simmered in the air.
Everyone except the King Devon was already seated. They all waited patiently for him to arrive before eating anything.
Trumpets started blowing, signifying the arrival of his Majesty. He walked majestically to the royal table and sat down.
" You can all eat your dishes." King Devon gave his consent, and everyone dug into their plates immediately.
Prince Eric was just picking on his food uninterestedly. The Queen Mother noticed this and stared at him questioningly.
" Eric, is there something bothering you? Why aren't you eating your food?" She asked, and everyone dropped their food just to look at him.
" I'm fine, Mother. There's nothing to worry about." He lied, and they all resumed their foods.
Princess Rose just wasn't buying it as she eyed him suspisciously across the table.
" Brother, I know that look on your face. It only happens in a billion years when something is really bothering you, so spill the beans." She pressed him, and he looked at her.
" Alright, you got me. If you really wanna know, it's about something that happened in the Institute today." He said.
" Tell me all about it." She replied, taking a fork of spaghetti into her mouth.
" I took a visit to the Institute today, and I'm happy to tell you that it was in great shape. But on my way to the Institute, a heavy downpour occured and by then I was at the marketplace. I told my carriage to stop when I saw this girl in a cloak standing in front of the wall..."
" Wait, do you mean the wall that divides our realm from the human realm?" She interrupted him.
" Yes, that same wall." He replied.
" What was she doing in front of the wall? Absolutely no one is allowed to come near it for any reason. She definitely has a mission." She was quick to assume, and Prince Eric gave her an unserious look.
" She's nothing like that. Infact, I might just say that she's just a sacred gift from the gods that I was lucky to find u deR that rain. She was so pretty... I couldn't even think straight after seeing her today. My mind has been totally wrapped around her." He confessed.
" Awwn, my Dear brother Eric has fallen in love." She teased, and Eric only smiled.
" You won't believe who else I met today at the Institute." He slightly changed the topic.
" Who's that?" She asked.
" Guess who it was." He replied.
" C'mon bro, you know I'm not that good at guessing. Just tell me, I'm dying of suspense." She whined with her mouth full.
" Damon." He answered, and she almost choked on her food as she coughed everything back into the bowl.
She was quickly given a glass of water, and she gulped it down in a rush.
" What the f**k did you just say?" She exclaimed quietly.
" You heard clearly what I said." He retorted.
" How would you meet Damon in the Institute? What the hell was he doing there?" She asked.
" He was standing right in front of the girl I told you about. And you won't believe what happened next, he said that she injured him." He narrated further, and Rose almost stood up from her seat to scream.
" What!" She exclaimed.
" I couldn't believe it myself either. She looked so ordinary. When he grabbed her, I wasted no time and tried running to save her, but he vanished before I could get there." He completed the story.
" Oh my gosh." She palmed her mouth dramatically.
" What horrible things could he have done to her? She won't be safe in his arms, you know what Damon can do." She said.
" I know. I sent a search party to find them, but no signs of their whereabouts were found. I just had to let it be." Damon sighed.
" Let it be? Let what be? Brother, you're going back to that Institute tomorrow, and you'll find Damon and make sure that nothing happens to that girl. Got it?" She said dictatively, and Eric stared at her speechlessly.
" Why are you being so bossy?"
" Because she did to him what he deserved. I expected her to have done more, but that injury was still enough. I love her already." She smiled.
" But Damon isn't as terrible as you're thinking about him." He pointed out.
" I know. But sometimes he could be such a reckless and jerky monster, which is the one thing I hate about him." She returned, going back to her food.
Eric sighed and stood, leaving the table. The other Royal family members just exchanged glances and shrugged.