As Lucinda and Xylek exit the portal, they appear in a room that Lucinda doesn’t recognize. A wooden bookshelf rests against a wall and a love seat is next to it. A massive bed lays in the corner. And a wooden door on the opposite wall. There are no windows in this room. Adjacent to the bed is a desk and a chair. On the desk is a small plant. It looks freshly watered.
Xylek lays Lucinda in the bed. He lifts her skirt up just a bit, but is swatted at by the princess.
“Let me look,” he says, as he gently moves her gown. “I only want to see the scar right now.”
Lucinda cries out in pain. She wants to be angry and filled with rage for what the council has done to her. But each time the rage builds, the wound begins to radiate and burn deeper into her flesh. She props herself onto her elbows and looks. A pink scar wraps around her ankle and up her calf all the way to the knee. Disgust fills her emotions now.
“This isn’t good,” Xylek says.
“No shit,” Lucinda groans out through clenched teeth. “What did they do to me?”
Suddenly, the door opens. Zakasi walks in with a scowl on his face. As recognition comes to his features, he softens. Then urgency. Swiftly, he approaches the bed.
He moves Xylek away and looks at Lucinda’s leg. “What happened?”
“Lord Gunther set her leg on fire.” Xylek says without hesitation.
“What color fire?” Zakasi looks worried.
Xylek thinks for a moment. “I think white.”
“Fuck,” grumbles out Zakasi. “This isn’t good. Lucinda, I need you to get angry.”
“I’ve been angry and ready to beat some ass for a good while,” she starts, then winces in pain and cries out once more. “But it gets worse.”
Zakasi stands and shouts, “Damn it.”
“What is it?” Xylek worries.
The gentle giant turns back to Lucinda. “Can you focus on your mother? Maybe a happy memory?”
Lucinda nods. She steadies her breathing. She thinks of her mother. They walk through a garden. They are picking flowers. The sun is warm. It is peaceful. The pain begins to subside in Lucinda’s leg. But the burn still lingers.
“How did you do that?” Lucinda asks.
“They put the scar of wrath on you.” Zakasi stands and walks to the desk. “I have the same punishment for picking fights in the military. The last time I let my rage control me, I hurt Xylek.”
Xylek nods, solemnly. “I have a massive scar from him losing his temper.”
“I need you to think happy thoughts. And not let your rage consume you.” Zakasi places his hands on the desk and looks down.
“You expect me to be a constant ball of cheer?” Lucinda grumbles out. The pain begins to flare. She quiets her rage by thinking of her mother again.
“If you don’t want to be consumed by the scar, I expect you to keep your anger in check,“ says Zakasi. “I just don’t want you to have the scar to take up your entire body.” He lifts up his pant legs. A fleshy, pink scar wraps like vines up both legs. As he releases his trousers, he lifts up his shirt, revealing the same scar half way up his torso. “If you keep the anger at bay, it stops the spread.” he says putting his shirt down.
“If this is how it has to be, I’ll try,” Lucinda says with labored breathing.
“Get some rest. You look exhausted.” Zakasi says calmly.
Lucinda closes her eyes. Maybe she does need a nap. As sleep begins to take her, she hears Xylek whisper in her ear, “I’m sorry for slowing us down.”
When Lucinda wakes, she sees Xylek sitting at the desk, looking over some papers. She gets out of bed, walks over and peers past his shoulder. He looks back and notices the princess.
Lucinda looks confused. “What are you looking at?”
Sighing, Xylek leans back in the chair. “Maps of the human world. We should be safer there than in Hell.”
She nods.
“How’s your leg?” he asks looking up at Lucinda.
Lucinda looks down and back to Xylek. “Still tender,” she says. “But better.”
Xylek nods. “That’s good.” He pauses, thinking about what to say next. Standing up, he turns to Lucinda and says, “I want to apologize.”
Lucinda looks confused. Xylek runs a hand through his hair. “I slowed us down today. I didn’t know they were going to hurt you and thought it was just an angry mob.”
“Xylek,” Lucinda starts to say, but is interrupted by Xylek.
“No, it is my fault. If we were just a bit faster getting out.”
Lucinda interjects. “Xylek, stop. It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t know what they would have done. For all I knew, they were going to lock me up.”
Xylek goes to speak again, but Lucinda holds a finger to his lips. “No, not your fault.” she says softly.
Lucinda turns and returns to the bed. Her leg still hurts a good bit. Putting pressure on it makes it tender. She sits down on the edge of the bed, then lifts her gown up. The scar still lingers on her leg. A part of her thought it would fade, but that wouldn’t be the case. Then, she suddenly remembers something. Lucinda looks at the charcoal gown she is wearing. She is still in her mother’s wedding dress.
She exclaims in disbelief. How could she be so careless? Now, without help, she must find a way to get out of the tightly laced corset. Suddenly, she thinks of something. What if she asked Xylek?
“Hey, Xylek,” she awkwardly says.
Xylek hums looking away from the maps on the desk.
“Will you,” she begins to say, trying to make this as less awkward as possible. “Will you help me out of my corset?”
This makes Xylek raise an eyebrow. “You want me,” he says as he points to himself. “To help you.” he points to Lucinda. “Unlace that thing?”
Lucinda nods slowly. “That’s it. Just unlace it. I can undress myself the rest of the way. I just want out of this gown.”
“You want me,” he repeats as he points back to himself. “To help you.” he points back at Lucinda. “Unlace that thing?” He crosses his arms against his chest. “I don’t think that’s very appropriate.”
Becoming frustrated, Lucinda says, “It’s not inappropriate. You won’t see anything. I just need you to unlace my corset.”
Xylek shrugs. He stands and walks towards the bed. Sitting beside Lucinda, he begins to untie the tight lace. Lucinda holds the top of the corset, preventing it from falling forward and revealing her chest. Xylek tugs and pulls at the lace, releasing it inch by inch. Lucinda can feel herself relax and be able to breathe properly again.
Once finished, Xylek stands up. “Your change of clothes is on the shelf.”
Exhaling deeply, Lucinda says, “Thank you.”
She then shoos Xylek out the door. After he exits, she presses her back to the wooden door and sighs in relief. ‘Finally, some peace,’ she thinks to herself. She slowly slips out of the gown, neatly folds it and places it on the foot of the bed. She then slips into the dress she purchased from the street market. The lavender colored dress with the puffy sleeves and billowing skirt, looks as beautiful as the moment she bought it. Lucinda tightens the chord in the front of the bodice.
Xylek knocks on the door. “Are you decent?”
“Yes, you can come back in,” Lucinda says.
Xylek opens the wooden door. As he enters he notices Lucinda’s dress. “Who’s the plebe now?”
Lucinda laughs, remembering she called him that in the clearing. “I bought it in the market. Do I look like a peasant?”
“Not with the hair.” He points to the ribbons and flowers in Lucinda’s hair. “You still look like a princess with that stuff in your hair.”
Nodding, Lucinda begins to remove the flowers and ribbons. A knock startles the two fugitives.
“Everyone clothed?” It is Zakasi.
With a grin on his face, Xylek shouts, “No.” Lucinda smacks Xylek in the chest.
“Ignore him,” she says.
Zakasi enters. In hand, he carries a tray of food and a lovely teapot with matching cups. Xylek gathers the maps and puts them on the bookshelf. Zakasi places the tray onto the desk. He takes the teacups and arranges them on the desk in a line.
Pouring some tea into each cup, Zakasi says, “You slept a while. But I did learn some things while you were asleep.”
Lucinda’s interest peaked, she asks what he learned about what had happened at the palace. Zakasi hands Lucinda a cup of tea and leads her to the couch. The two sit down and Zakasi takes a sip of his tea.
“First off,” he begins. “You should know your father has been imprisoned. They captured him not long after you disappeared.”
Lucinda grimaces. She takes a deep breath, trying to keep her anger in check. “Is he alright?”
Zakasi nods. “From my understanding, they only threw him in the dungeon.”
“Who started this?” she asks.
“Well,” Zakasi begins. “It was a culmination of many things. Mostly, it was the council.” he sips his tea, then continues. “But some demons in the other circles didn’t like how your father was trying to rule. A lot of demons thought he had gone soft. As to when is the real issue. Some say the coup was being planned since your mother passed. Others say it was after their marriage.”
Lucinda grimaces deeper. She sets down her tea and ponders a moment. “What about me?”
“That was the tipping point.” Xylek chimes in.
“He’s right,” says Zakasi. “After your mother passed, they noticed your behavior deteriorate. They say you have a temper problem and are unfit to be ruler.”
Lucinda chews her lip. “How did you find all this out?”
Zakasi chuckles. “Demons are quite talkative after a few drinks. Especially royal guards.”
This little quip makes Lucinda snicker.
“There is more,” Zakasi says, setting his tea down. “The stunt you pulled the other day, trying to set the inn on fire?” Lucinda nods sheepishly. “That’s what set it all into motion.”
“You mean to say the princess here started this whole fiasco?” Xylek chimes in, standing from the chair.
Zakasi bobbles his head. “Yes and no. She is the reason they moved forward. Not the reason it started. Remember how the council had that big announcement?”
“Vaguely.” Xylek glowers. “Something about engaging the people in the ending tribulation.”
“The council started this and had been planning to do so for a long time.” Zakasi stands. “That tribulation they wanted to end for every demon was the reign of a, and I quote, ‘Unfit ruler and his arrogant daughter.’”
Lucinda grips the couch. She knows the pain is about to explode. How dare they call her arrogant? She tries to think of her mother, but rage builds. Her people hate her. They hate her father. Right as the pain begins, sorrow sinks in. Has her actions really caused so many people to hate the royal family? The sorrow alleviates the pain for now.
As she loosens her grip, she lowers her head and exhales in defeat. “Where do we go?”
Zakasi kneels and puts a massive hand on Lucinda’s tiny shoulder. She looks up and sees he is trying to look at her. His emerald eyes glitter in the dim light. “You go to the human realm. Hide there and wait.”
Xylek scoffs. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you.”
Lucinda breaks away from Zakasi, standing and stomping towards Xylek. “What happened to being sorry?” she shouts at him.
Zakasi puts his face in his hands and shakes his head.
“If you just learned to control your damned temper, none of us would be in this disaster!” Xylek exclaims in anger.
“If you stayed away from me in the first place, you wouldn’t have to be part of it!” the pain erupts and Lucinda screams. She collapses onto the floor.
Zakasi kneels to Lucinda. He tries to calm her with soothing words and gentle hair strokes.
“This is your fault.” Lucinda growls in pain to Xylek. “I wasn’t angry until you started this fight.”
Xylek is stunned, her words cutting like knives. “You know what? I’m out of here!”
Zakasi stands up. He grabs his brother by the arm and squeezes. “You were ordered to keep her safe by the king.”
“There is no king.”
Tightening his grip, Zakasi growls. “Now, I'm ordering you.” He looks Xylek in the eyes. “Where is this coming from?”
“When I agreed to watch the princess, I was not expecting the last few days to go into utter chaos!” Xylek exclaims.
Zakasi silences Xylek with an authoritarian tone. “But you do know what will happen if you walk out now. This is just the start of the chaos. She can be taught control. You taking offense to her misplaced anger will simply fuel her fire.” he loosens his grip. “Brother, you know this as well as I do. Please, keep her safe.”
“But why me?” Xylek argues.
“Because you took the job. And the king said for you to keep her safe.” Zakasi kneels back to Lucinda and lifts her. He carries her to the bed. “You did start the argument. And I am finishing it.”
Xylek leans back against the chair and huffs. “I won’t be apologizing.”
Lucinda grips tight onto Zakasi’s sleeve. “It hurts,” she groans out.
“I know, I know.” Zakasi lays Lucinda in the bed.
Xylek softens his posture. “Did I really bring her this much pain?”
Lucinda breathes heavily trying to calm her rage. She lays in the bed, incapacitated by her own emotions. This is a turning point in Lucinda's life. How long has she been angry and for what? To be held responsible for the council’s actions? To set ablaze a place that made her mother happy? To pick fights? Her mother wouldn’t want her to act this way. Her mother would be disappointed in her. Maybe she does need to work on her anger.
Exhausted by the pain, Lucinda is taken by sleep once more. But as she drifts to slumber, thoughts of her mother still linger in her mind.
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zDgK0PA3m
