Hope
“Look here, princess. It is too late and I am too tired to deal with your antiques for today. If you really want to raise up this matter this night, take it up with your husband.” Orion said to me with a hint of tiredness in his tone.
“You look well and able to answer my question. So please do.” I stretched my lips wide.
Orion sighed heavily, then pinched his nose, as though he were thinking of a quick and efficient way to get rid of me. Like he shook all those thoughts out from his head, he dropped down his hand and pressed his palms against each other.
“Good night, princess.” He said quickly, sidestepped me and attempted to go up the stairs. I quickly jumped two steps ahead of him and pitched right in front of him, blocking his way.
He sidestepped me once again, I closed the gap and blocked his way. We did this a few more times till he got the hint that I wasn’t going anywhere till he answered my question.
“All this time that you’ve been spending to throw me off, you could have just told me where my sister was. Is she fine? Has the Morati knife been found?” As I asked those questions, I internally prayed to any god who was listening that Orion would tell me that he had no clue where Light was.
It was better not to know where she was than to find out that I have been lied to all this time. I knew it was a bad thing to wish that my only sister’s whereabouts were still unknown but it would give me hope that she was not the villain in the grand scheme of all things.
“What is it to you? Why are you asking such questions?” Orion suddenly said, alert. I blinked, briefly taken aback before I was able to recover myself.
“Why wouldn’t I ask such questions? My sister could be out there fighting for her life while I’m in here, living the life that she’s always wanted.” I felt a pang of guilt in my chest as I spoke those last words.
Suddenly reminded that none of this was mine. That I was supposed to be back in the human lands, meeting up with potential husbands so that they could marry into the family and I would be taken up with the task of giving birth to the next Vitalis princess.
A bitter bile formed in my throat. Did Light hate me for getting married to Darius instead of her? Her own sister getting married to the one true love of her life? Or was the ‘love’ she felt for Darius never there to begin with?
“What are you talking about? Do you think this is all a joke? You and that sister of yours?” Orion’s face had turned red with anger and the confidence that I had been using to speak with him and look at him eye-to-eye, suddenly went poof into thin air.
“W-what do you mean? What joke? Do you think I would ever joke about the safety of my sister?” My voice went an octave lower, the weight of guilt pressing down on my shoulders.
“Safety!?” Orion repeated with a manic tone. Without giving me any time to respond, he roughly gripped my left forearm and pushed me upwards so that I could stare into his rage-filled features. “I knew you were in on it on all this while.” He spoke in a vicious tone, more to himself than me.
“In on what? What are talking about? Have you guys found Light? Is that what this all is about? Where is she? Where have you kept my sister!?” My heart thumped loudly, raced rapidly. I struggled to break out of Orion’s grip but with no success.
“Where is she? Did Darius order you all to lock her up somewhere? How long have you guys been keeping her for? What has she done? You all are monsters! How could you-”
“Are you trying to say that you’re not aware of the fact that your sister is a wanted criminal for openly revolting against the Moratian crown?”
Time froze after Orion said those words. I quit my struggle as all the strength in my body turned into nothing but weakness. Everywhere had gotten so quiet that I could hear the sound of my heart shattering into a million pieces.
“What?” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
Maybe I heard Orion wrong. There was no way he said that Light was a criminal. That was impossible.
A scoff escaped from Orion’s lips as he let go of my arm and used his arm to push back his hair which was out of place, courtesy of the strong winds blowing around the castle at this time of the night.
“You really didn’t know,” Orion muttered to himself. “Of course, you didn’t.”
“How does it feel to know that the sister whom who hold in the highest regards is the same person who has now broken the treaty between humans and Lycans? The same person who has been gathering up an army of rebels that are going round the place killing people and causing a nuisance for commoners of both human and Lycan kind.” Orion said.
My heart continued to shatter.
“That’s not true,” I whispered. I still wanted to hold on to that shred of hope that Light was my dear sister who wanted nothing more than to be happy. Who hated violence. Who loved Lycans. “You’re lying.” I said to Orion, my eyes blurring with tears.
“Light wouldn’t do that. Light would never do such a thing. She has no reason to rebel! You’re lying!” I increased the pitch of my voice as I went on.
There was no way Orion was telling the truth. My sister. My twin. My other half… She was not a traitor. She could be anything else in the world but not a traitor!
“You don’t believe me?” Orion lifted his nose, then tilted his head down to one side. “Or are you just pretending not to believe me? Are you trying to say you had no idea the things that your sister has been doing?” Orion accused.
I shook my head slowly. “Light wouldn’t rebel against the lycans. She has no reason to. She loves you people!”
Orion rolled his eyes, as though he was irritated at the fact that he was explaining things to me. “It’s very hard for me not to believe that you’re working alongside your sister. You could be her inside spy for all we know. And once you had enough information, she would come to take you. Just like she tried to do before.”
Just like she tried to do before?
“What does that mean? What are you saying?” A line of thought revealed itself to me but I refused to believe it.
“The assassin? Are you that dumb? Don’t you know how to connect dots? Funny how she would send for you if you weren’t part of her plan.” Orion said with a spiteful tone.
Before he completed his sentence, I was already gasping into one of my palms. She sent for me. The assassin wasn’t meant to kill me but drag me over to wherever she was. How could she do this?
What did she think she was doing? This was serious. She was breaking a treaty that was supposed to last for years to come. Where did that put me? If things broke out in an all out war, I would be the first to die.
I looked at Orion. He wouldn’t waste a second in killing me if his king ordered him to. Just like he did with those maids that day. He would make my death so effortless. And all at the cost of being related to the girl who broke the treaty.
“I-” I tried to say something but after that first sound, nothing else could come out. Would you call it shame, or anger, or betrayal that I felt?
And Darius. When was he going to tell me all of this?
“You’re trying to say that my sister is leading a rebellion?” I asked slowly to confirm. One final confirmation that would piece everything together.
“I’m too tired for this,” Orion said in a mutter, then attempted to walk away from me. I blocked his way one more time with a fierce look on my face.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? So if I hadn’t pestered for answers no one would’ve told me anything? Is this the reason why that councilman, Thaddeus or whatever you all call him, tried to kill me that day?
“You all just kept this information to yourselves so that one day you would kill me when the war would be announced. Is that how you all think so little of me?” As I clenched my fists, I realized that I was still holding onto Light’s note.
I tensed up. If anyone saw me with the note now they would think that I was really plotting with Light.
“Tell me. Give me an answer. I could bet all the jewelry in the world that this was all Darius’ doing.” I puffed out my chest as I spoke, quickly taking advantage of Orion’s attention on my face to hide the note inside the pocket of my tunic.
“And who do you think you are that we would discuss the matters of the kingdom with you? The queen?” Orion jeered.
Something else shattered inside me. Maybe it was my pride or maybe it was just my entire being. But I flared with anger.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I’ve had enough of you for one day. If you want to rant and whine into someone’s ears, go to your husband.” This time, Orion didn’t give me a chance to sidestep him because he left so fast and by the time I glanced behind me, he had already disappeared up into the stairs.
I squeezed my fists tight. Orion was right. If anyone were to answer my question, it would be Darius. I just wondered for how long he was going to keep this truth away from me if I hadn’t gotten it from Orion. Then in broad daylight, he would try to commandeer my entire life.
Blinded with fury, I flew up the stairs and made for Darius’ room which I had never been to prior to this day. Without knocking, I pushed the door open with my hand.
Nothing would’ve prepared me for the sight I stumbled upon.