Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your entire world feels like it's blending together all at once, as if your brain is about to burst into tiny little pieces.
They say when you are about to die, there is a brief moment when your entire life flashes before your eyes. Am I dead?
'My …My what?' I couldn't believe my ears.
Mikael pulled a long face, 'Are you doing alright, my queen? You have been asleep for an entire day and now you act and look at me as if you have seen a ghost.'
'What about Silas?' The question wrenched out of my mouth.
'Silas?' He paused to think, 'And who could that be?'
When I said my life was nothing but a very sick joke, this is what I meant.
I feel suffocated, I can't breathe.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I bolted out of the room and headed to the throne room hoping Silas was there but my greatest fear became my reality. Silas is gone.
'Your highness?' Lord Ayke strolled into the room, 'The king shared his concerns regarding your health, is everything alright?'
Father!
I sharply circled around and strode to him, 'Lord Ayke, uh where is Silas? You of all people should know where he is or what happened. Why isn't he here? Why does nobody remember him?'
Lord Ayke glanced around warily, leaning, 'My queen, I suggest you keep your voice down. If someone overhear you talking about another man, you will be executed for having an affair. And, who the hell is this Silas you are asking about?'
'No!' I ejaculated, 'Not you too! You have to know, please no!'
'Aria.' He reached for my hand.
'No!! Let me go.' I yelled, dashing out of the room.
I kept running into the woods, the palace guards came after me.
I reached the cliff, glanced around, 'Silas? SILAS? Please no!' My stomach hurts, my heart hurts, my head hurts; whom do I turn to, where do I go? What do I do?
I dropped down to my knees as I wept.
A hand squeezed my shoulder, Mikael knelt before me, 'I do not know who this… Silas is but, I would like to believe he is no longer a part of your life.'
I sharply meet his gaze, 'What does that even mean?'
'It means …' he glanced around, 'This kingdom, the people and I, you belong to us. You are the queen, MY queen, I am your reality, I am the only man you can afford to think of in your life, the only man that should be in your dreams. I am your husband, your king and you are mine. So …'
He wipe the tears off my face, 'This Silas, whoever he might be, let it go!' It sounded more of a threat than a request.
How did my fate turn against me like this? I have so many questions and yet, there is no one that can answer them.
A week later…
I kept my self isolated in my chamber and strictly avoided meeting Mikael. I was swarmed by shock, despair and a lot of anxiety. Was the life I lived with Silas really all in my head?
I stirred in the bed, staring at the ceiling, 'Who can I talk to?'
'The king has arrived.' The head maid outside my door announced.
I sharply get to my feet and rushed to the door to put the lock on but as I grabbed the knob, Mikael pushed the door open, knocking me down to the floor.
'Holy …' He was startled, still reached out his hand, 'Are you okay?'
'I am good.' I didn't take his hand and got up on my own, 'What are you doing here?'
'You are my wife and I cannot believe it has been a week since I last set my eyes on you. I was worried.' He said, advancing further into the room, 'You suddenly collapsed after our wedding and the next day you wake up asking about another man. I mean, it wouldn't be real if I could witness all that happen to my face without feeling a sense of …Jealousy.' He slowly faced me, 'Whatever feelings you had for that man should be completely erased out of your heart and him, out of your mind. I am the king and you are my wife, I need an heir and you will have to give me one.' He strode over to me, gazing deep into my eyes,
'I do not wish to force myself upon you, it will be animalistic of me but …You are leaving me no choice Aria. I am a man too with a heart. I promised your father to take care of you and I will do just that but I was also promised a wife and you will have to perform your duties as one. It is not a request.'
I felt like crying staring into the once warm eyes that brought a smile to my face. How did Mikael change so much? Where can I find Silas?
'We have to start acting like a proper family. You should come out for the feast tonight.' He commanded, shooting me an unreadable glance and sailed out.
I dropped down, clutching my chest as the tears flow down my face, 'Where are you Silas? How can you do this to me? Why? I need you, I really need you, I love you!' The words exploded out of me, 'I love you Silas, I wish I had told you, I wish I had showed you. I can't do this, please, please, come back. Come back to me.'
After crying my eyes out, I managed to get dressed. Sienna escorted me to the great hall - people gathered: lords, knights, women from reputable families. I settled down next to Mikael on the high table. The people who kept their heads down at my arrival now lifted them up with excited smiles.
The music started again, men and women locked hands and danced to the lovely tune. At the end of the room, my eyes caught whiff of a familiar face - the old woman that attacked me. She shot me a cunning look before disappearing into the corner.
'Excuse me.' I said, getting to my feet and went after her.
'Anything wrong?' Sienna asked as she stayed closely behind me.
'Nothing.' I faced her, 'Go back, I need to handle a private matter. I will be back before you know it.'
'Forgive me but the king ordered me to specifically stay by your side no matter what.' She explained.
He's keeping an eye on me? Who gave him that right!
I cussed silently, plastering a reassuring smile on my face, 'Look Sienna, if he is your king, you are forgetting I am YOUR Queen. Disobeying me is as much disobeying him, so how about you do as I commanded and quietly head back before I completely lose it.' The fact that I said all that while maintaining my smile and composure must have really frightened Sienna. She gave me a vigorous nod and briskly strutted off.
Shook my head, took a deep breath and swiveled only to find myself meeting a pair of enigmatic blue eyes.
The old woman stands before me, she is no longer one-eyed.
A devilish grin washed down her face, 'So the trickster has finally won. I did warn you, didn't I? Fate is a cold bastard.'
Finally!
I glanced warily around me, leaning over, 'How comes you are the only one who remembers it?'
'The question you should be asking is, how comes you even remember him at all? Your role as his keeper is completely over and so every connection to him should've been severed and yet, here you are, desperately searching for him. Are you perhaps …' her lips curved, 'In love with the dragon?'
I frowned, 'Tell me what you know.'
The old woman shrugged and said, 'I cannot find that which is invisible to my eyes but maybe you can. You've always had the gift of seeing things that weren't visible to anyone else!'
How does she know that?
She turned to leave but I grabbed her, and as I did, the room before me started moving, slowly dissipating right before my eyes. Shocked, I released her arm and tripped, falling, hunkering down on a chair.
This smell, this atmosphere feels way too familiar.
'Tea?' Lady Camelia's voice forced me to look up with a baffled expression.
What just happened, did I travel back in time to that night I got attacked? Ever since that night, everything changed, Silas disappeared the day after and Mikael took his place. If that old woman brought me back to this night, there must be something important I missed.
Camelia noticed my sudden pale face, 'Are you feeling okay? You seem… out of it!'
Like a maniac, I started laughing with no control, almost falling out of my seat - startling the life out Camelia.
'My lady? Your highness, is something perhaps wrong?' She looked concerned.
I paused, took a deep relaxing breath and fixed her with my eyes, 'I have never been so sure of anything in my life but tonight …things had just gotten interesting.'