Chapter 37 - Fate

  Years of navigating the treacherous waters of court politics had honed my instincts to a razor's edge. As Daleyza turned her fury towards me, her mouth opening to unleash what would undoubtedly be a blistering tirade, I saw my opportunity. In the blink of an eye, I slipped away, leaving room for only supressed spleen and aggravated choler.

  Once again, I found myself adrift in the endless maze of corridors, my heart a leade in my chest. Each step echoed hollowly, a mog reminder of my solitude as I searched, with increasing desperation, for the familiar fay cherished friends. The walls seemed to close in, their stark indifference a cruel terpoint to the ache of lonelihat threateo e me. Time stretched like taffy, each sed ay of hope and disappoi. An hour slipped by, marked only by the growing heaviness in my limbs and the tightening knot of ay in my gut. At st, my strength faltering, I stumbled to a halt beside a window. My trembling hand found the weathered sill, fingers curling around the edge as if it were a lifeline. I bent low, my forehead nearly toug the cool wood, and closed my eyes against the sting of uears. And my thoughts oher hand, OH MY SWEET BABY LLAMA'S DRAMA, WHO IN THEIR ARCHITECTURAL INSANITY THOUGHT "HEY, LET'S BUILD A STRUCTURE SO MASSIVE THAT MY CALVES CRY BLOODY MURDER EVERY TIME I O PEE?!" LIKE SERIOUSLY, WHICH MEGALOMANIAC GIRAFFE-WANNABE DESIGHIS MONSTROSITY? I BET THEY WERE PENSATING FOR SOMETHING - PROBABLY THEIR TINY RULER! WHEEZE DID THEY THINK WE'RE HOSTING A VENTION FIANTS WHO MOONLIGHT AS PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS? OR MAYBE THEY WERE JUST PLAYING MINECRAFT IRL AND GOT WAY TOO EXCITED WITH THE HEIGHT LIMIT! I'M GETTING A NOSEBLEED JUST LOOKING UP AT THIS ABSOLUTE UNIT OF UNNECESSARY VERTICAL ACHIEVEMENT! WHOEVER APPROVED THIS BLUEPRINT MUST'VE BEEN HIGH ON STRU DUST AND DREAMS OF TOUG CLOUDS WITH THEIR M COFFEE! As I sighed in frustration and stood up, a sudden realization hit me. "Hold on a minute," I thought to myself. "HOLY MAI AND CHEESE, HERE I AM, WADDLING AROUND LIKE A PENGUIN IN AY CRISIS, DRAGGING THIS DRESS THAT WEIGHS MORE THAN MY LIFE CHOICES! WHAT KIND OF GENIUS AM I TO GO TREASURE HUNTING IN A DRESS THAT COULD DOUBLE AS A CIRCUS TENT? CILLIAN, MY DUDE, IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF A WORKOUT PROGRAM? "GET FIT WITH FANCY FABRIC"?" "I'M OUT HERE LOOKING LIKE A Victorian BODYBUILDER, HAULING 5KG OF "FASHION" LIKE IT'S A CROSSFIT CHALLENGE. MY BACK'S SCREAMING "BETRAYAL!" WHILE MY BRAIN'S JUST NOW REALIZING I COULD'VE STRIPPED DOWN TO NORMAL HUMAN CLOTHING HO. BUT NOOOOO, I HAD TO EL MY INNER PACK MULE AND CARRY THIS PORTABLE SAUNA AROUND THE CASTLE!" "TIME TO RETREAT TO MY ROOM BEFORE THIS DRESS CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM. AT THIS POINT, I'M NOT WALKING - I'M JUST PROFESSIONALLY FALLING FORWARD WITH STYLE! GRANDMAS EVERYWHERE ARE PROBABLY WATG ME AND THINKING "AMATEUR HOUR!"" I stood there, my heart rag beh aerior of ice. My eyes, wide and unblinking, betrayed nothing of the tempest raging within. With a fluid motion, I swung my arm to the side, summoning a non-spreading fire that formed a perfect horizontal line before me. My raised arm held the inferno in check, a barrier between myself and the Imperial Knights who had burst in, ons drawn as if I were some feral beast to be tamed. The dance began. Gracefully, I closed my fist, each finger curling with deliberate slowness. I slid to my right, a movement so exquisite it could have been chraphed. The fire followed my lead, drawing away like an obedie. I caught glimpses of the knights' faces, etched with a mixture of awe and amusement. Then, I sensed his presehe air seemed to thi, weighted down by the approach of the very man I despised above all others. My lips curled into a smile so radiant it could have outshohe sun itself."And if it isn't for His Majesty the King," I uttered, my voice a melody of false adoration. I swirled back, my movements a perfect blend of grad subservience. I bowed low, lifting the sides of my dress just high enough to show respect, my smile never faltering. A fwless performance of the Perfect Daughter's Arbsp;"I greet the Kingdom's most Glorious and Radiant Sun of All, His Majesty, the Forever Majestic, King of Domino, Hades Limonizer Vernoke Domino," I procimed, each word dripping with honeyed venom. I watched through lowered shes as he moved forward. His white attire gleamed, the red cape trailing behind him like a river of blood. His light blond hair, cut short, seemed to catch every ray of light, while those ruby red eyes burned with an iy that would cow lesser beings. He was the very picture ality, a king in every sense of the word. A, as I gazed upon him, all I could think was how undeserving he was of such splendor. This man, this tyrant who wore a , was nothing more than a pretender in my eyes. I remained bowed low, my eyes fixed on the gleaming bck boots before me. Suddenly, without warning, his right hand reached for my face from the left. Every instinct screamed at me to recoil, to defend myself, but something deeper, a voice I couldn't quite pce, urged me to stillness. I shut my eyes tightly, surrendering to the moment as his fingers grazed my cheek. My eyes fluttered opeing his gaze. In that instant, my world tilted on its axis. His face remained as impassive as ever, a perfect mirror to my own carefully crafted mask. But his eyes... those ruby depths seemed to pierce through every defense, every lie, every secret I'd ever harbored. Panic cwed at my throat. HE IS READING THROUGH ME. READING IT ALL. The realization hit me like a physical blow. NO. HE KNOWS IT ALL. Memories, pns, fears I'd buried so deep I'd almost fotten them myself - all id bare before him. NO NO NO. The truth crashed over me in waves. HE K FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. But what was "it all"? What terrible knowledge did he possess? My mind raced, trying to catalog every transgression, every rebellious thought. Before I could make sense of it, before I could even draw breath to speak, he moved. In one fluid motion, his left arm slid behind my back. I felt the ground disappear beh my feet."AH!" The excmation burst from my lips, equal parts surprise and indignation. I found myself cradled in his arms, lifted as easily as if I weighed nothing at all. "h wha whaaaa?" I stammered, my carefully structed poise crumbling to dust. Heat rushed to my face, painting my cheeks a vibrant crimson that spread to the very tips of my ears. I was acutely aware of every point of tact between us, of his strength, of my own vulnerability. Yet through it all, his expression remained maddeningly serene, as if holding his daughter - his nemesis - in su intimate embrace was the most natural thing in the world. My heart thundered in my chest, a war drum of fusion, fear, and something else I dared not name. In that moment, suspended in his arms, I realized that the game had ged. The careful dance of deception and duty we'd been locked in for so long had taken an ued turn, and I was no longer certain of the steps. AND ALL THE FREAKING KNIGHTS WERE JUST STANDING THERE, WATG LIKE IT WAS MEDIEVAL FLIX, PROBABLY WISHING THEY HAD POP AND TAKIAL NOTES FOR THE KINGDOM'S GOSSIP NEWSLETTER! BRO, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LOVERS' MOMENT, NOT SEASON FINALE OF "KEEPING UP WITH THE CASTLE-DASHIANS"!!! HOW MANY WAYS DO I HAVE TO SAY "PUT ME DOWN"?? DO I NEED FLASHCARDS? SMOKE SIGNALS? A CARRIER PIGEON WITH A POWERPOINT STRAPPED TO ITS BACK??? MAYBE I SHOULD HIRE A TOWN CRIER TO FOLLOW US AROUND YELLING "SHE SAID NO TO THE DRAMATIC LIFT" EVERY FIVE MINUTES??? My ihoughts screamed in protest, a cacophony e and revulsion that threateo burst forth at any moment. Despite my best efforts, I couldirely suppress my disgust. My lips curled upward in an unmistakable expression of distaste, my fingers g tightly into the fabric of his shoulder. I tilted my upward, desperately trying to put even the slightest distaween us, my gaze fixed on the ornate ceiling above.trol yourself, I silently anded, f each breath to e slow and steady. This is just another move in our endless game. Adapt. Overe. Slowly, painfully, I wrestled my emotions bader trol. If I wao extricate myself from this promising position - and quickly - I would need all of my wits about me. I couldn't afford to let my true feelings show, not when I was quite literally in the palm of his hand. With deliberate care, I lowered my gaze to meet his, though I kept my raised high. It was a delicate bance - a show of relut acquiesce without plete submission. I couldn't help but stare, my brain short-circuiting from the sheer visual assault before me. One moment I was existing in a normal, munday, and the - BAM! - I was fronted with a human being so impossibly radiant that my entire nervous system went into plete meltdown. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, TOO RADIANT!!!!" The scream tore from my throat, part terror, part pure sensory overload. My hands flew out in pure panic, smooshing against his face with the same frantiergy as someone mashing aor button during a fire arm. My neck, meanwhile, decided to go full interpretive dance mode - bending and twisting like an overcooked spaghetti noodle, desperately trying to escape the blinding magnifice before me. "SWEET MOTHER OF UNI GLITTER, MY RETINAS ARE BURNING!!!!" I mentally shrieked, my internal monologue hitting decibel levels that could probably shatter gss. EXCUSE ME??? Whely did this person upgrade frur human' to 'walking sor fre'? And why was he just standing there, looking like a geous statue that had fotteire cept of human unication? What kind of supernatural glow-up attack was this?! My brain, in full panic mode, started iating with the universe. "Dear iagement," I thought, "If this is karmiishment for that oime I ate my roommate's st cookie, I FORMALLY AND DRAMATICALLY APOLOGIZE. Just please, for the love of all that is holy, stop making him look like a Renaissance painting that actally came to life in high-definition 4K resolution!" He remained perfectly still, radiating an otherworldly beauty that seemed designed specifically to short-circuit human prehension. My poor heart was doing Olympic-level gymnastics, simultaneously wanting to run away and wanting to stare forever. "This is not fair," I wao protest. "Some of us are just trying to have a normal day, and here YOU are, existing like a walking, talking visual cheat code!" My hands were still pressed against his face, a futile attempt to block out the pure, unadulterated aesthetic assault. But who was I kidding? No human hand could block out this level of magnifibsp;Universe: 1Me: Absolutely decimated I slowly removed my hands from his face, my heart pounding so hard I was sure he could feel it. With a mixture of embarrassment and desperation, I quickly ed my arms around his neck, slumping against his shoulder. My face burned hot enough to melt steel as I pressed close to his ear, whispering in a voice so low it was barely audible: "Daddy, put...............me....down." Each word felt like it was being dragged out of me, heavy with mortification and a plea I couldn't quite disguise. As I finished speaking, I ced a side g him, still pressed firmly against his shoulder. To my horror, I saw the er of his lips quirk upwards in what could only be described as smug amusement. My cheeks, already flushed, somehow mao turn an even deeper shade of red. I was certain that if embarrassment could be fatal, I'd have expired on the spot. But instead of putting me down as I'd requested (begged, really), he started walking forward, his right arm hanging down on his side. The knights, silent as shadows, fell into step behind us. And there I was, still being carried like an rown infant, my dignity left somewhere far behind us. At this point, I decided to give up trying to uand or question his as. Ohing ainfully clear: this man was not operating on any sane wavelength I could prehend. And frankly, I no longer had the energy or mental capacity to waste on deciphering his twisted logibsp;Sned myself to my fate, carried through the halls like some bizarre royal parade, silently praying for the sweet release of a sudden sinkhole to open up and swallow me whole. Because surely, being swallowed by the earth would be less mortifying than... whatever this was. "So Fenris, Eamon and Idris are dead, huh?" He excimed, I didn't see what sort of expression he made though. I remained pressed against his shoulder, my face still flushed as I respoo his inquiry about Fenris, Eamon, and Idris. Despite my embarrassment, I mao provide a cise expnation of the situation. "No," I said, my voice muffled against his clothing. "They just got elbowed out by the barbarians in the process of hunting those beasts that attacked the carriage." "Hmm. I see. Then that's a relief," he replied, pausing briefly before adding, "I'm gd to see you back." I could hear the smile in his voice, though I couldn't bring myself to look at his face. His words, seemingly geirred a mix of flig emotions within me. Part of me wao believe in the warmth of his wele, while another part remained wary, remembering all that had transpired between us. I snuggled around his ned ed my arms tighter than before. No words came out of my mouth. But............he is going to die in a few months. But the question is, do I want him to die? Does he really deserve death? Wait.........what sorts of thoughts am I even having? Of course he deserves to die, it's because of him that my moth-. Daleyza was responsible for that though. My thoughts became slightly calm. Uncle just showed up to the throhe reason our Empire reduced to a Kingdom, was surely not because of him, was it? If he desired the throne so much, he wouldn't have wa's downfall, if he did, then the Kingdom would've been in an even worse state. As for his reasoning behind so many es and kids..........the reason he used bck magic............I don't know it. My eyes lost their focus as the realization hit me. Was I really hating this man for su unclear reason? Had I bee a fool like my mother who's lost her sanity? I'm I loosing my intellect just because I'm surrounded by morons like her? or what exactly? "You are dismissed." he annouo the knights trailing behind us, snappi of my spiraling thoughts. I raised my head, watg them turn and walk away as he tinued on. To be tinued...