Arvin struggled to open his eyes. He was still flat on his back on the floor in his chamber. His head was spinning and a cutthroat pain streaked on his forehead. Immediately his eyelids let him, all he could see was a blur. It was like mist had formed all over his eyes.
He struggled to alert his guards but he could not, leave alone the fact that his chamber was sound proof. He fought through the pain, half unconscious, and managed to get to a sitting position. The room was spinning all that while, at least that is what he felt.
" You are up!" A voice of a lady echoed through his ears. He raised his head up to catch a glance of whoever this person was. He could see a female body frame in front of him, pale skin...probably black hair but he could not seem to locate the face. The face, it was blurry, everything actually.
" Who..." He tried to protest but he could not complete his sentence. A burning sensation cut through his throat and he tried to get rid of it by clearing his throat, which seemed futile.
" Here, glass of water!" The lady pitied, extending a glass of water to him. He raised his hand weakly. Both of his hands were shaking and weak but he managed to wrap his fingers around the glass. The shaking of his hand had him spill drops of water all over himself but saving some for his thirst and his lips sank into the tip of the glass as the life-giving liquid raced down his throat.
" Hello, more water?" She asked.
" Nira?" He said putting the glass aside.
" She's dead!" The lady affirmed, sounding rude than how she began.
He sat on the floor wondering what possible could have gone wrong this time. The security protocols he had in place were impossible to penetrate and for them to be broken by a mere woman, just like that...
It took him a while to finally perceive the news she had just broke.
What? Nira, dead? Thoughts swirled in his mind. For a long time, he thought he would be happy to hear of her death but it felt wrong. They might have not been the best of siblings or compatible with each other or less, normal siblings, but he still cared for her. After all, she was his sister.
" Died a long time ago!" He whispered softly as if to show the lady he was not that type to be intimidated by such, his parents were killed when he was a child and alone in a strange land, it doesn't get worse.
" Hmm, did she?" The lady squatted to him as she teased his faked arrogance.
" Who are you anyway?" He asked
" Open your eyes and look into mine!" She directed.
" I cannot see clearly, what did you do to my eyes, Nira? It is you!" He bargained, contradicting himself and strapping off whatever confidence he had left in him.
The lady smiled briefly as she held his left cheek into her soft pink palm. She stared into his eyes keenly then got up.
" You really need to stop drinking!" She said walking towards his wine table. Several jars stood standby on the table, awaiting to be of service to him, to quench his thirst or desires; whichever purpose he may have found fit for them.
She stood over the table, her eyes scanning through three, four jars- at least what she could count. Her back faced him as he struggled to get up and more so, envision his vision and scare away the blur from them.
His knees were shaking uncontrollably as was the rest of his body. Might be the cold or the impact from the attack on his head. He shut and reopen his eyes a couple of times to clear them but everytime he was stuck in a blur.
" Who sent you?" He asked immediately he supported himself on his feet with the seat at the far end he was.
" You should sit down!" The lady directed pouring some wine into one of the glasses that rested on the table. She took a brief sip and her face described it all, she did not like it, at all.
"Why would someone drink this?" She said wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and walking towards Arvin. He was standing but not upright. Blood had dried up on his face and he seemed even paler as sweat slid through his temples to the left cheek.
The lady took out a rag from her back pocket and wiped his face with it.
" I am your wife to be, to bad I got you miserable my king!" She finally explained herself. The widening of his mouth did not need any explanation at all as was his eyes.
"What was your name again?" He asked shaking his head. A part of him was relieved though, to know she was not some enemy who had wiped off his warriors and targeted him. It was one thing to be killed or defeated by a woman and the other to die vulnerably as a king tucked away in your chambers and your men on an unnecessary errand that had little or no benefit to the realm and the throne.
He stood for a while, patiently awaiting her answer. See, as a person from noble or royal background, one had no choice in who to marry or who to fall in love with and make a family, instead, one would be forced to marry a suitable candidate from another high family with the intent to strengthen the throne and build firm ties and powerful friends.
She took her time to answer. He could not see her clearly but he was sure she was beautiful. Even if she wasn't, her scent and the way she carried herself, he liked them dangerous and wild and pretty. Among those, he had pointed out the basics, it only remained the matter of the face, he was sure he would not mind and it couldn't be that bad.
Caleb was outside the palace when all this transpired. He had pointed out some new faces from his way outside the palace but he did not feel the need to alert the warriors, like he felt they might have been so harmless. It was dark, but not that dark. Apart from the moon that raced in the dark clouds as the night matured, fire torches stalked every corner of the city. He took a turn towards the military camp on one side of the city. Specifically, he was going to meet with the special army team that usually did the dirty works for the king. These men were brutal and stronger, leave alone highly intelligent.
Caleb knew the king was endangered, especially if it was true Nira was within the city walls. Only her would be bold enough to pull a stunt like that. Killing a royal guard was one of the worst ways to die. The things one would endure for killing a warrior would have them beg for death but their wish would be granted when their souls escaped their bodies long before their last breath.
Back in the chamber the two were bonding. She was yet to say her name but she surely was both heartless and kind. I mean, she had just killed an innocent man and made him lie to the king, blurred the vision of the king whether temporarily or permanently and she took care of the king as if she was born to do so. She even vowed to protect the king not only from enemies, but also from himself. According to her, his drinking did more harm to him than good, even if he protested that the drinking drowned away his childhood trauma. Understandable, but she did not buy his story. She felt as if he tried to justify his unbecoming behavior and she was not ready to let him let himself down as a king.
Aville, was her name. She was the same age as Nira and almost the same size and characters. She was the last born daughter to the Lord hand of King Edmond and she was with him in the wedding turned funeral at great Pines.
It was her sister Daville, that was to be wedded that fateful night. Like Nira, she was a sucker for matters of love and weddings and boys but she seemed to find a certain connection with Arvin, the first time they met in the wedding.
Arvin was away at the farm, not sure exactly what he was doing there but he strolled through the pines and flowers that beautified the land of great Pines and the castle. He had ditched the royal guards assigned to him, and threatened another who saw him make his escape. Likewise, Aville had done the same, except the threatening part, well she was heartless but not as Arvin at that time.
She approached him. At first, he ignored her, trying to walk away but she persisted.
" You are stuck here with me, I don't like you anyways. Don't get it wrong!" She said to him when he had started walking away. Unexpectedly, the twist was they quickly vibed, not on matters sexual or otherwise, but of how the rules and restraints of being from high families irked them.
Them ditching the wedding was a blessing in disguise as it happened, they were now standing face to face with each other, in a palace and their families unfortunately dead or exiled.
***
The special warriors came inside the palace in a rush only to be humbled by five men that seemed to be Aville's men. The special warriors were almost fifteen but the five managed to hold them off for a while until she revealed herself. It is like she was a force, immediately she came out to where the unnecessary war was, everyone stood still and the fight was off.
Arvin sat on the bed, all smiles. If it was her then he was sure she was beautiful and a perfect match for him and the throne. The great Pines was known for its military superiority. They did not have a lot of warriors but half their number would cause great havoc to an enemy thrice their size.
The very first time he had set eyes on her, his body did it all. He could feel it, even though they were just kids then. Her eyes were distracting and her well shaped nose and face structure made him lose his mind and hand over his heart to her without much struggle. He could not be the usual self around her. He knew she was getting him crazy when he could not stop obsessing about her. Everyday, he would think about her, a boner would surely pop and her to be his wife was some kind of news. He felt as if he was no longer interested in finding his twin. Whatever the case, he was not going to feel lonely or scared. If Nira dared to come for him, he surely had his own version of her.
Him and Aville had gotten betrothed during the wedding by their parents, even if it was not announced or made official. They had the freedom to chose their own paths after the death of their parents but they chose not to. Them being bonded by marriage was enough definition of freedom already for them and they felt perfectly fine with that. Several weeks, they had been in touch through letters before the night she finally showed up and she made a remarkable meet up.
When she went back to the chamber, he was asleep and she though he was so cute when vulnerable. It was only a matter of time before she was his queen and the entire queen of the five kingdoms of Bernbute.
***
Nira looked over at the moon from her window. It was almost midnight. Hansen was dead asleep, snoring loudly. Her eyes were fixed deeply on the moon. It was the first night winter free. The winter season had ended abruptly and strangely but folks of Neeka did not mind though, all they cared for was their freedom and it seemed they had it already.
She seemed she could not find sleep. She was so restless as her heart pumped furiously in her chest. This feeling had only one meaning. It was kind of which she had the day her parents were murdered. She remained still for a while, focusing blankly on the moon.
" Silion!" She whispered.
She wasn't sure why she called out her name but something must have happened to her. She was connected to her in a way, ever since their little fight in the house, courtesy of an argument and Welter. Silion might have thought she did not torment her but she must have been wrong. She felt everything she did, even when she had the most intimate moments with Josh, she felt those.
For Silion to be aware of Arvin's army before they arrived, it was her. Most of the decisions Silion made, especially about protecting herself, it was Nira behind it all. It is like she was both her and her sister, coexisting in two separate locations in the same timeline. That day when Silion almost made her kill herself, she banished Silion's soul from her and replaced it with part of her, so she was her in a more friendly form.
" Hansen!" She called out, roughing him up to make him get up. He immediately sprung from the bed and firm on the floor. She liked it in as much as it felt strange.
" We have an errand, my sister is in trouble!" She explained to him. He seemed to understand her this time. It had been three days they stayed under the same roof and she was teaching him about language, employing her gifts when it required her to and slowly he was growing competent. He could understand but he was yet to be able to speak it.
They hastily parked the things that they might need on the way and sneaked out of the town carefully on a blind errand to save Silion from whatever she had gotten herself into. It was blind since they had no idea of where she was but Nira was sure she was in trouble. It was only a matter of time their forged freedom from the web of Welter was noticed and they hoped to accomplish their mission before it expired. It was only a matter of time.