“Lianne, look at me! Please, look at me!”
Ruen adjusted his hold, anchoring an arm around her head so that her face would lift up.
Lianne’s vision was blurred but she could clearly see the pained expression on his face. She had never seen this kind of expression from him before. Never. It was breaking her heart.
“Please don’t look at me like that, ” she mockingly requested, sounding slightly raspy. “You don’t fit that kind of expression at all.” She gave him an apologetic smile and then coughed up blood.
“No, don’t speak anymore. Rest! The doctor will be here soon.” He placed constant pressure on the wound on her back with his free hand. This, he did so despite having a deep laceration on his left forearm too.
“Ruen…” she uttered in a weak voice. She winced abruptly when she felt the stabbing sensation on her abdomen.
Once that passed, she lifted a hand and placed it gently on his cheek, feeling his warmth against her now cold palm. “You have always cared for me… protected me ever since. Now, it’s my time to protect you…”
Stream of tears spilled from her eyes as she looked at him.
“Damn it, Lianne! That is my duty!” he announced sharply as he felt his panic rise with the sight of her blood pooling on the floor.
“Ruen… you are a great king… and you will… you will do well. Keep this land safe… and prosperous. Save this kingdom… for me…”
Ruen clenched his teeth and shook his head. “Please stop, Lianne. Don’t talk as if you are saying goodbye to me!”
A couple of raindrops hit her face, but it didn’t enliven her now pale cheeks. Her fingers feebly caressed his chin, wiping the beads of water that accumulated on it. She didn’t notice but most of the liquid was not from the rain but from his eyes.
He was crying. The King of Regaleria was crying and it was for her. Only for her.
“I… I heard that the necklace… can still grant a wish… without the blood moon, ” she continued, disregarding Ruen’s complaint. “If it’s true… then… then I…”
“I would wish you to live, ” Ruen finished, hauling a deep breath. “But you aren’t dying, Lianne. You hear me?! You will not die!”
She smiled weakly on his remark. What more could she ask for? This man had given her everything, and most especially her valued freedom. Her loneliness was all washed away and he filled her with love. It was enough. It was truly enough.
The people in the kingdom would need him more; to rebuild their lives that Garlow had destroyed, to give them peace, and provide them protection.
But if she were truly honest with herself, she wanted to be with him! Spend a lifetime with him! Be there for him! Could this desire even be called selfishness then?
A minute had passed, and each second seemed an agony for her. She couldn’t feel anything now as if her body was detached from her head. She looked past him and into the dark sky. The raindrops seemed to move in slow motion.
‘Is this what it feels like to be at the end of the road?’ she asked herself, crying deep inside too.
“My love… Ruen…” she breathed anew.
Ruen squeezed her hand in response, and then without delay, kissed her lips to stop her from talking.
Her lips tasted of blood, raw and metallic, but he didn’t care. He wanted to stop her from spouting anymore nonsense. Wanted to cling to the hope that she would live.
When he pulled back, he uttered, pressing his forehead against hers, “Lianne, I love you.”
“Ruen…” she inhaled deeply, fixing her eyes on his deep brown-green globes, “Find me… find me in your dreams…” then a second more, her eyes finally closed.
“No…” He swallowed a heavy lump on his throat as he held her head close to his chest. His body trembled even more. His tears rushed to meet the ground.
The anguish. The pain. The desperation. Everything seemed to pile up in his heart as he pressed Lianne’s body against him.
“No!”
A strike of the lighting suddenly appeared and then it was followed by the roaring sound of thunder in the distance. It was as if the sky too mourned for her.
“NO LIANNE! Open your eyes!” he shouted on top of his lungs. “Open it… NOW! PLEASE!!!! PLEASE!!! OPEN IT!!!”
His voice sounded hoarse, painfully hoarse. He raised her face and checked her carotid pulse with the other hand.
But no. There was no sign of life. That alone… that alone immediately broke him into pieces.
Lady Faye staggered down the floor, pressing her chest with her hand, and leaned against the foot of the bed to balance herself. She shook her head again and again and sobbed noisily caring not that the two soldiers would hear.
Ruen continued to frantically shake her shoulder but he got no response from her.
Yes. If only he could stop the clock and make the time stand still, he would have, just so he could see her alive. But, he couldn’t… and he knew she would never open her eyes again.
Cain watched silently as Lianne’s left hand dropped down the ground with the necklace around her fingers. He knew it would happen. It was only a matter of time. The depth of the blade that penetrated her flesh was enough to kill a human, that fact he most surely knew based on experience. If it was Ruen’s flesh, he would have rejoiced, but it wasn’t the case. However, he smiled an oddly victorious smile and then spoke with much confidence.
“Huh, if I couldn’t have her, then no one will.”
Hearing this, Ruen stood up after placing Lianne’s lifeless body on the floor. His face looked sullen and a dark glow filled his eyes. He cast a sharp glare on Cain to which the latter only grinned in response.
“Now, you can’t have her, ” he stated.
Ruen flinched a brow, bent to pick up the general’s sword lying a couple of inches away from Lianne, and walked straight towards him.
Cain intuitively pulled his hands from both of the guards hold, but they didn’t let go.
Lady Faye, although in the midst of mourning, upon seeing the King, quickly stood up and walled herself blocking his path. This was the best time to be as reasonable as she could be.
“Your Majesty!” she exclaimed. “This is not the answer! I implore you! Don’t taint your hands!”
“Get out of my damn way, woman, ” Ruen icily commanded, giving her a grim look.
Seeing that there was no hope, the governess only stepped to the side to let him pass. She couldn’t blame him. If he wanted to avenge the princess’s death, who was she to stop him.
He brought up the blade and positioned it ready when he reached three feet away from the general.
Cain stared at him and then gave a derisive smile. “Huh! I never thought you’re a dishonorable person. Killing a man without a fight. You’re a coward!”
Ruen gritted his teeth, pressed the tip of the blade on his sternum, and neared his face just a couple of inches from him.
“I don’t care a damn thing. All I just need is for you… dead, ” he retorted, using the same sharp words Cain had used earlier.
He then thrust the blade deep on the general’s chest, pushing it even deeper so that the blade’s tip would exit his back.
It was a horrific scene, one that Lady Faye couldn’t even witness. Kneeling down beside Lianne’s body, she tightly closed her eyes and allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks.
The guards, hiding their surprise, continued to hold Cain as he knelt weakly on the ground; his head facing down the floor, his blood oozing out of the wound and his mouth, and his eyes were half-open. He coughed up blood, and although he was desperately trying to breathe, he managed to release his last sentence, “Remember… this is not the end… My death is not the end!”
Ruen hissed. He cared less of Cain’s threat. What could a dead man do anyway?
A soft light suddenly emanated from the emerald stone in Lianne’s bloodied hand.
Lady Faye noticed it first, and it was only after the light shined brightly enveloping the whole area with a warm green that Ruen noticed it too.
He turned to his back and fell astonished when he stared at the emerald stone now floating in the air and exuding tiny flecks of yellow light. The flecks then grouped all around Lianne’s body, cocooning her, shielding her from everyone’s eyes.
Like a mad man, Ruen ran towards her after realizing what the light meant.
‘Is this the power of the stone?!’ Ruen asked himself in surprise.
“Lianne!!!”
Kneeling down, he cradled her lifeless body close to him as the flecks of light continued to shine. This time, it enveloped him also.
With the blinding light, he closed his eyes and opened up his other senses.
Seconds later, he felt his surroundings shift. He knew immediately they were on a different plane.
They were both floating, suspended in the air as if gravity was taken away from them.
Then, a light feeling overtook him. It was the kind of light feeling he always feels whenever he sees the princess’ smile. The feeling of warmth, of freedom, of passion, and of love. It was banishing all of the sadness in his heart.
He continued to close his eyes, letting the weightless feeling overwhelm him.
Stream of tears started to run along his cheeks again.
Many were the memories that he had reminisced during this time; from all the way back when they first met in the greenhouse, their studies together, the parties they had attended, just them being close – hand in hand, lips locked, immersed in each other’s eyes – and finally to the time when they had their nights of passion together.
All of these memories were precious to him and he would keep them in his heart forever.
“Ruen…”
He suddenly heard Lianne’s voice whisper his name. It was soft and without any trace of pain.
He quickly opened his eyes and saw the blinding light no more. Instead, it was replaced with a soft glow of emerald green.
Although Lianne’s voice was near, he couldn’t see her anywhere. He however felt warm arms embracing him, putting him in a contented state.
“Find me in your dreams…” Lianne whispered again.
Ruen nodded and smiled serenely. He wasn’t worried he couldn’t see her. He knew she was with him and that was enough.
“I will…” he answered, lifting his chin up and closing his eyes.
Soon, they were going to see each other again and this he was sure of.
The End