Chapter 1

  The Ancient Kingdom slept soundly as its King did not.

  High up in the illustrious palace towering over its subjects on all sides, inside a bed chamber, the faint sounds of wailing echoed in the long halls. There was no one around to hear these sounds as the queen had ordered hours ago that all staff and guards steer clear of her and her husband’s room, leaving her and one other alone for the night.

  In the queen’s room, adorned with tapestry and marble sculptures hand-carved by seasoned artisans whose studies date back to the beginnings of history, the queen leaned back into the upholstery, her tousled hair hiding her weary eyes.

  For the past few hours, she had been weeping for her husband and his present condition; she couldn’t believe the state he was in now. She waited patiently as someone was at work ensuring his safety. She knew, regardless of her husband’s condition, that it was over. Either permanently or for a long time, her heart would stay frozen with no one’s warmth around to thaw it.

  Luck was on her side that night as the woman tending to the king had emerged.

  The woman, frowning with dead eyes on her sweat-covered face, hair disheveled and hiding the whirlwind of emotions warring inside her, clenched her fists as she sauntered out of the room.

  “Is it done? Is my husband okay?” the queen asked, shooting up from her seat and rushing over to the woman.

  Inhaling a deep breath before answering, she stared at the queen through her hair. “Yes... It’s done. You can go check for—” the queen pushed her aside and entered the room.

  Nearly tripping, the woman scolded as she looked back at the queen striding into the chambers, holding back a groan to avoid being heard. As much as she wanted—fantasized even—at the prospect of giving the queen a piece of her mind for making her deal with her husband when she herself knew very little about what she was doing, she knew better than to try, lest she put up with more annoyances than she was accustomed to.

  Such was the life of Lyaikomi.

  The queen braced herself. She stopped when she got to the foot of the bed and saw the pile of blankets near the edge. She knew her husband was underneath the sheets. Her hand rose slowly with hesitation as she fought with herself on whether to lift the sheets, but relented, knowing she would be postponing the inevitable.

  She leaned down to the bed and grabbed the ends of the drenched silken sheets and pulled upwards to gaze down at her husband. As the light from the moon filtered through the glass dome ten meters above the floor, the light shone on the face of the fallen king, who stirred from the soft light,looked up at his queen. He cried softly and reached up towards her before the queen dropped the sheets with a muffled shriek at the sight before her.

  Why did this have to happen? Surely there had been a way out of this? Was there something they had overlooked, or another option that could have prevented this from happening? But what’s done is done. There was nothing else to do but deal with everything now while her beloved was unavailable to rule for the foreseeable future.

  Her soft cries of anguish turned into pure rage as she screamed, pushing statues to the ground and digging her fingers into nearby furniture, tearing them open until the room was filled with scattered innards.

  Her outburst startled the king, causing him to scream in fear as he had little idea of what was happening around him; his head was still fuzzy, and he was struggling to adjust.

  “Silence! Be quiet!” The queen demanded with tears running down her face.

  The demand fell on deaf ears as the king cried louder in fear.

  Try as she might, the queen couldn’t silence him, no matter what. Eventually, her patience ran out, and she shot an arm out toward him to shut him up. “Don’t!” Lyaikomi shouted, her hold on the Queen's wrists threatening to break them if she had the mind to. “Leave them alone, Raisikio! They don’t even know what’s going on.”

  The Queen's eyes narrowed at the audacity of this girl to put her hands on her. “What did I say about touching me, Girl? "Said Raisikio. “If I didn't need you in this moment, I would have you writhing in pain.”

  Lyaikomi stepped back and distanced herself from Raisikio.

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  The queen would have smirked in glee at the girl for learning her place, but couldn’t. The damnable glare the girl always gave her whenever she was around made it impossible to do so. Even now, the girl defied her as she always has, deep down refusing to submit to her completely.

  The queen looked away from her and back to her husband. She spared a few more moments to glance down at the huddle of blankets on top of him before darting her head towards the door and walking away. She reached down and picked up some loose clothing belonging to her husband and pushed the door open. She looked back at the girl standing idly in the middle of the room.

  “Lyaikomi,” she said, waiting for the girl to turn her head towards her. “As I've told you before, from now on, you will be looking after him and protecting him from harm until he can wake up. If you fail and he gets hurt, even a scratch, you'll have to pay the price. Do I make myself clear?”

  Lyaikomi said nothing as she looked at the bed, thinking to herself about what she would have to do for the foreseeable future.

  Raisikio smacked her across the face. “Do I make myself clear!”

  “Yes! Yes, I get it!” Lyaikomi snapped.

  Raisikio stared down at the girl, making sure she knew she understood. “Be sure that you do.” She strode out of the room. “Take care of all other business before the night is over. I'll take care of the staff and alert the people soon about the king's condition; I’ll inform them that an enemy has attacked the king.”

  Lyaikomi begrudgingly sauntered over to the bed before Raisikio spoke up. “And remember: If he gets hurt and people see him, they’ll—”

  “I know!” Lyaikomi shouted.

  “Don’t talk back to me. I could have you killed!”

  “Do it!” She stared at her, arms held out. “Do it!”

  If it were anyone else, the queen would have had their head on a pike for talking to her like this. Unfortunately, she couldn’t kill the girl like she wanted to. Perhaps someday she would, but not now.

  She wasn’t allowed to.

  Raisikio stood near the entrance for a moment, “Get to work. Take the path I talked to you about and make sure nobody sees you. Return soon, or I’ll get Bellonokor to deal with you. You hear me? He'll get the bones!” She said, leaving Lyaikomi alone with no one else but the king nearby.

  She walked over to the edge of the bed, lifting the sheets so she could get a better look at the king.

  or rather, what was left of him.

  Staring down at them, their body and mind weak and defenseless from what had happened, she entertained certain thoughts as to what to do to him. Too many to list. Too many to think about anything else.

  Caught in a daze from her thoughts and feelings colliding and warring with each other for supremacy, she was utterly unaware that her hands were inching closer and closer; hands spread out until they curled themselves around the king’s soft neck.

  She could do it. All it would take is a minute—possibly even seconds—and she could do it. Heck, it wouldn’t even take that. A mere flick of her wrist, and she could have done it, like snapping a fresh piece of celery in two. Her heart raced with desire. This was her way of getting back against him, the queen, and everyone else. She didn’t care about what would happen to her afterwards. She would gladly tear everything down and go down in a blaze of defiant glory, knowing she’d have left a permanent scar in all of them that would never fade from their memories.

  She had the strength in her body for it, but as the king gazed up at her fondly, eyes half-lidded and yawning, hand reaching out to grab hers, she found she did not have the strength of heart to go through with her planned execution.

  She pulls her hands back like she touched something hot, wrapping them around her torso as she steps back.

  “What is wrong with me!” She whispered to herself as her body shook, “I can’t do this. H-he doesn’t deserve this. He's as much a part of this as... But he’ll. He might be just as. No. He wouldn’t be. He could be better. But he’s. I don’t have any reason to. But...no, I said I would. But how can I—”

  She took a deep breath, trying to focus and figure out what to do now. Things had changed for her and everyone else on the island, and she couldn’t be sure what would come from it. She had many things she wanted to do in this moment, all of which would continue to fight inside of her for the longest time.

  This much she would be sure of.

  She supposed all she could do was wait and see what happened. Only when she’s had enough time to think would she act. Until then, she would bide her time and hope she was doing the right thing.

  She looked back at the king, who had fallen asleep, gazing down at his sleeping form with a frown and arranging the blankets around him so he could rest and wouldn’t fall off while she was away for the night.

  Content with the king’s sleeping arrangements, she gathered some supplies from the room the queen had prepared earlier, storing them inside two bags. Picking them up, she walked over to the bedroom door and scanned the halls, checking to see if anyone was around. She knew she couldn’t take the route Raisikio told her about yet. She had to make another stop before she could leave the palace for the night.

  With the coast clear, she gave one last glance behind her where the king slept.

  “I’ll deal with you later.” She whispered before running off into the hallways in a hurry.

  Now alone in his chambers with nothing but silence, the king of the Devakians, the true master of the world and all within it, finally nodded off. The warmth and security of the silk blankets wrapped around him as the world around him began to move and act without his knowledge.

  But these were problems he—Saikougott—would have to face when the time came. For now, he was sleepy and needed to rest.

  He snuggled into the sheets, enveloping his new infant body with their warmth, and drifted off to sleep.

  Until Tomorrow would come for him and his cherished people.

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