Rhea's temperature had gone down to extremely low levels, but the healers refused to say anything as they rapidly worked around her while she was still unconscious.

I had apparently thrown too much of a 'tantrum' to see my best friend wake up again, repeatedly demanding to have at least water splattered on her face. The royal healer - master of all the healers - seemed so distressed by my presence that it made Aaliyah drag me out of my own bedroom, and now, I was still a disturbed mess as I kept walking up and down frantically in front of my closed chamber doors.

"Eli, she's going to be fine. That hot-headed woman isn't going to leave this world unless the God of Death himself comes down to drag her to the pits of hell. Not that I'm suggesting she deserves to go to hell, but-"

"Shut up, Lia. I am in no state to listen to your careless jokes right now, so I suggest you make your way out of my sight right now before I throw you off the balcony!"

Lia immediately closed her mouth, a flicker of hurt visible in her eyes. She left with a nod and a subtle huff, and I couldn't do anything but slide down the door, leaning my back against it in fatigue.

I drew my legs to my chest, breathing out a long sigh as I thought about Rhea.

What was she thinking?

It was an incredibly lucky coincidence that me and Zyanna found her when we did, because who knows what could have happened if she had laid there unconscious too long with no one knowing where she was.

What if something could still happen to her? If only I could have found her earlier on, then perhaps she could have still been-

Suddenly, the coldness surrounding me became encased by a strong flare of warmth, as a body brushed against my shoulders, coming to sit down next to me.

"Zyanna. What are you still doing here? Do you need anything? Is your stomach-"

She stopped me by gently placing her hand on top of mine, spreading her fingers over my tense knuckles.

"She's going to come back all well, Prince Elijah. You'll see."

I gave her a tight-lipped smile, shaking my head at her. "We don't know that for sure, Zyanna."

"You definitely may not, but I do know for sure. I checked the Princess' breathing before she fully dove into unconsciousness, and what I saw and heard were strong, determined breaths, even when they were fading," She tightened her hold on my palm, smiling at me with a spark of an unknown emotion held far away from her eyes. "I know the difference between a mere faint and eternal rest. The princess is coming back well, whether you like it or not."

Then her smile broke violently, and she leaned closer, intensely studying my face. "Also, this look on your face - just sad and dispirited - it makes you look...horrifyingly ugly," I glared at her, but she only beamed at me with raised brows. "Unscrunch those facial muscles, or you're going to give the poor girl inside an actual attack when she opens her eyes."

I immediately tried to trap her arm, but she scrambled away with inhuman speed, holding onto her bandaged stomach with a burst of vigorous laughter.

My attention deviated from her as one of my chamber doors unceremoniously flew open, thankfully being the door that I wasn't leaning on.

"Your highness," He bowed respectfully, swiping the sweat near his brows. "The Princess of Raglezia is awake and awaiting your presence. We have thoroughly checked her blood pressures and other health variables, hence we are pleased to say that there is nothing to worry about anymore."

The royal healer stood in front of me, a sure look on his face that told me he didn't doubt a bit of what he said, which only made me all the more uneasy about Rhea's state.

"Are you certain about that, Heran? Why did something like this happen in the first place? And what can we do to prevent it from happening again?"

"Your highness, I am certain that we have completely recovered her to a healthy condition, but whether that remains temporary or permanent lies in the Princess' hands. She has asked me not to disclose anything more than that, and I can't do anything but respect her want for confidentiality. I do hope you understand my situation."

I nodded at Heran sternly. "You're excused. Leave a list of the herbal remedies we need with Princess Aaliyah, and thank you for your services."

I turned around to look at Zyanna, who was looking out into the sky as she stood near the pillars.

For some reason, her face didn't turn to meet mine, but her gentle whisper held a calm and composed tone with only a hearable smile. "Go inside, Prince Elijah. I'll be here if you need me."

I entered my chamber, finding myself at the foot of my bed as I rushed in with quick steps and the doors behind closed.

"Rhea." I breathed out, but her back refused to turn around, a sense of empty aggressiveness struggling in the air.

"Do not ask me anything. I'm completely fine. I don't want to hear any questions, because you aren't going to be getting any answers."

I sighed, lowering myself onto the edge of the bed.

"I never said I was going to question you. Turn around and look at me."

"I can't. Even if I try to move my head slightly, it hurts. You're going to have to move and come near me."

I pretended to huff, and took off my shoes, lifting the blankets to lie next to her.

I was still facing the back of her head as I laid next to her, but I knew she could sense my movements as her fingers twitched and came up to tuck the loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"Satisfied, princess?"

I heard her shift with strain, but she slowly turned around, her eyes softly squinting up at mine.

"That was always what you called me, since we were small, even when you didn't know I actually was a princess."

I lightly laughed, reminiscing those carefree times. "When I first saw you, all secluded in your chamber with your little self surrounded by crowns and jewellery, I couldn't see anything else except an annoying plus snobby little princess."

She smacked my shoulder, making me grasp her wrist with a comical shriek of protest. "Hey! Those are just honest words. And maybe, just maybe, you were also slightly pretty. Calling you a 'princess' was also my first words of insult to you, so I guess it sort of stuck."

"You act as if you were a perfect little prince, you petty monster."

I gave her an offended expression, still holding her wrist next to mine. "But...princess, I was perfect."

She smiled at me, her fingers peeking out of her closed palm to rest itself against my white shirt.

"You still are perfect, Elijah. More than you could ever realise."

"Well, thank you for that much-needed boost of confidence, but this doesn't mean you can crawl your way out of a scolding for what you did today. Do you know how scared I got when-"

Rhea completely ignored my attempt at making her talk about the fright she gave me today, and simply rolled her eyes at me instead.

"Eli, do you remember what I would always tell you when we used to build forts of cushion in your chamber? Even when we were young, I'd never fail to remind you that I didn't want to always be a princess, and play pretend games just as a princess. I told you that, one day, I'd be a queen."

"And every time, I would tell you that you would become a real queen one day, and a very beautiful and powerful one at that."

A tired sigh left her, as she started playing with the collar of my shirt.

"Tell me now Eli, do you still think I could be a queen? A beautiful and powerful queen, just like you said?"

I fully shifted to look at Rhea, placing my palm on her forehead to feel her temperature.

"Why are you asking me these questions? Are you in need of an ego boost too? Or is this a symptom of a soon-to-come blackout?" I grinned at her, bringing my hand back when her temperature was thankfully normal.

She quickly took a hold of my wrist before I could fully return it to my side, and tightly held it near her body.

"When will you ever understand?" She asked, with an unusual tone of pleading in her voice.

I furrowed my brows together, cocking my head at her. "Understand what?"

Her eyelids fluttered with a strange tremble, as she tentatively opened her mouth to answer, looking as if she was counting the seconds in her head.

"Pardon me, but am I interrupting something here?"

Rhea practically flew away from me, finding herself all the way at the corner of the bed, clutching the blankets.

My mother was standing at the entrance to my chamber; a strongly stoic posture that even her shadow failed to imitate, while she held herself with a peculiar look directed at Rhea.

"Mother. What brings you here?" I questioned with a composed look.

Before my mother could respond, Rhea hurriedly but elegantly pushed herself off the bed, and curtsied. "Greetings to the Queen of Yandestine. A million apologies for not being able to greet you when I arrived, I truly hadn't expected to be held up with the happenings around here."

"A million apologies? Though that would be hilarious to listen to, it is something the both of us lack the time for, and I wouldn't want to expose your current state to such an activity, darling," My mother winked at her with a smirk, and shook her head. "Get some thorough rest, because we would very much like to return you to your father in one piece."

My mother's eyes swivelled around to meet mine, and she nodded her head. "I would like to speak with you privately, Elijah. An important matter has risen, and we need to attend to it immediately."

Rhea's voice rushed in frantically with a hint of pride. "Your majesty, I would very much like to help, I know I can assist-"

"I just recall telling you to get some rest, Rhea, and that's exactly what you're going to do. For your sake, try not to intervene in matters that do not need you." Though my mother's voice didn't rise a bit, her previous tone of playfulness had completely disappeared.

Rhea quickly looked down at the blankets and nodded, while I reached out and held her hand softly.

"We don't need another fright like before, which we are still yet to discuss, Rhea. Nevertheless, I need you to be healthy and conscious at all times, okay? If things become dull before I get back, try building a cushion fort, yes?"

I smartly escaped her vicinity before the subtle glare transferred into something worse, chuckling as I walked toward my mother.

I stood in front of the Queen of Yandestine, someone I hadn't seen for over a week, which only meant that she had been busier than ever before.

She was always trying her best to hold down all the chaos from getting out into the kingdom through dangerous rumours, never failing to be an inspiration with every action.

I could tell that something bad had happened or was about to happen, from the way she kept folding and unfolding her arms, despite her face betraying none of her thoughts.

Whatever it was, I knew I'd stand by the orders of my parents - the rulers and the two people that I owed everything to, and that was something I held closer to myself than my own life.

"Let's go, Mother."

~~~

If a simple haze ever became a catastrophe, this is what it would feel like.

It blinded me, swallowing my senses, and left me with no choice but to melt into a puddle of my own abashed reveries.

Whenever I thought nothing could surprise me anymore, I was instantly reminded to believe otherwise.

"This simply cannot be what I think it is."

An hourglass stood on the table; the taunting curves decorating it being sharp enough to cut and the two glass bulbs were sinfully carved in the shape of hearts. A little snake was built onto the top of it, pointing its crystal head at its surveyors.

But, that wasn't what made me exchange glances of dismay with my parents.

It was the substance that designedly flowed from the upper bulb to the lower one, drop by drop, the glint of the liquid wickedly teasing the narrow neck it freely slipped through.

"It is, unfortunately, exactly what you think it is unless our naked eyes are being tricked."

Blood.

Droplets of blood, every bit of it raw and real.

I ran my hand through my hair with tension, trying to figure out what kind of mental game we had become repeatedly ambushed into.

"This fluid isn't any different from what runs in our own bodies, but the origin of it - the body it once belonged to, that's what matters to us." My father uttered, his mind seemingly caught somewhere I couldn't reach out to.

It was a surprise because he hadn't spoken a word since me and my mother had entered his chamber - a place that held a perfect flame to a disastrous mess, where papers were strewn across every corner and nook, shards of mirror joining the mayhem with the legs of tables and chairs that seemed to have been smashed against each other repeatedly.

The criminal that started all of it stood in front of me, staring at the hourglass with prisoned breaths and unblinking stormy eyes.

"Tell me what happened, Father. Tell me what you need, what I need to do, whatever it might be."

Though none of him moved an inch at first, his eyes forcibly plucked itself away from the hourglass, coming to look at me.

"A reversal of time would be the only thing I need at this moment, son. To change what has been happening in our kingdom, to prevent the kidnapping of Rayson, to just...change everything."

My mother's eyebrows rose, as she sent him a curious glance dangling with a string of desperation, one he refused to receive and answer.

"Father, the time we lost to our past, we cannot retrieve back. The time we have in our hands right now, we cannot afford to lose, and definitely not through trying to dissect the meaning behind your words. So, please, tell us what happened clearly and completely. Where did this object come from?"

Once again, he didn't say much. Neither did he lay out ambiguous sentences, and instead silently took out a letter from his pocket, and put it in front of me, on the only table that had survived his wrath.

Oh, no.

I internally repelled myself from the want to immediately grab the new letter and rip it open.

I truly didn't want to do this again, because I knew perfectly well how it would feel after the words within it would become stained into my memory.

Forcibly pushed into the same circle, that created the familiar haze of torture around me, and I knew the capturer - that wretched female that wrote these - would pay my mind no mercy.

Only this time, I wondered who the true writer behind this letter was.

All of a sudden, a hand enveloped itself over mine, and I traced its origin back to my mother, who gave me a knowing look.

"I haven't read it yet, Elijah. We can hope the words in it stay as mere threats and nothing else before we stop the female behind it."

Though she didn't stay anything out loud, I could tell this letter was different, from the way her eyes kept anxiously wavering around my father, constantly flickering and fidgeting as if she was prepared to watch pieces of him shatter and fall.

I carefully picked up the letter and shared a troubled look with my father.

This couldn't be any different from the previous letters.

I slowly unfolded the paper, the thickness and texture of it confirming it was from the dancer and no one else.

I'm sure my father's putting himself under mental pressure for nothing, it will all be fine and-

Time.

Truth.

Honour.

The first part, you don't have. The second part is something you've forced yourself to accept even though you know you're the one that spun the lies that disguises itself as the truth.

And because of that, you've completely sacrificed the third part, and you damn well know that.

Do you realise what tortures you?

The facade of peace you've created, and the fact that it could all crumble in front of your very eyes, makes your nerves beat and throb.

Sebastian.

I will not repeat myself.

You know what I want from you, and I can make it happen myself without a single dose of your consent.

But I've heard there's this strange sense of satisfaction we get from watching an enemy voluntarily uncover his own grave and fall into it.

Your royal advisor is prepared to spill certain throne-threatening secrets. His blood dripping in that hourglass is pure proof that he will without a second thought and the only reason I'm still holding myself back is because-

Count your seconds, Sebastian.

The past is coming to haunt you, and so am I.

Rela is waiting for you.

The wind struck my fingers violently, and the finished letter flew away from my hold, landing at my father's feet.

"Father-"

"I need you to leave."

My mother's gaze tried to break into his fiercely held focus but nothing seemed to get to him as his eyes bore into the blank sky lurking outside the windows.

"Sebastian, listen to me-"

"Lucia. Leave. Now."

Seconds of tight, painful silence passed.

"Lucia, please."

His fingers were gripping the golden-plated window sill so tightly, I was afraid it would become fractured and decay into fragmented pieces.

My mother and I hesitantly turned away, and walked towards the door, the silently read words echoing across the walls of the room.

As our footsteps traced its way out of his chamber, we both realised that no one but my father knew what was happening.

The doors of the chamber slowly closed after we stepped out, but at the very last moment, just as the last sight of my father was about to be shielded, my eyes caught something I wished it didn't.

Abandoned tears fell from a pair of eyes, each droplet appearing akin to the curves of the blood tainting the hourglass.

The King of Yandestine was breaking.

***

So, what's the tea? What do you think it is? ☕️

Stay blessed and curious,

OceanaCamerons 🌹🌹🌹