13 TWELVE

ALANNA

"Why are you here?" He asks and looks away, his shadows thickening and spreading around us. "I noticed the shadows in the sky" I say and he closes his eyes, not saying a word. "Can I sit beside you?" I ask and when he doesn't respond, I quietly make my way to his side and lower myself onto the couch. "You're really daring, Alanna. Not many people would attempt to come to my private spot and sit beside me especially when I'm in a horrible mood" he comments with his eyes still closed. I swallow hard and lower my gaze. "You surprise me, Alanna" he says and my cheeks turn pink. This is a complement, right?

I slowly look up and gaze at him. He doesn't look angry. If anything, he looks blank. But then, I notice the way his hands are clenched. Something is bothering him deeply, I can tell. "What's wrong?" I ask and his eyes fall open. "Three of my royal council members tried to kill me today" he says and I gasp, my eyes widening. "What? How?" I ask and he sighs, his shoulders slumped. "They used cursed magic on me, thinking it would kill me but I killed them. I ripped their heart out of their bodies and smashed their eyeballs to bloody pulps. I'm so angry, Alanna. I really don't want to hurt you right now" he says and I gulp, my stomach churning with unease.

"You won't hurt me." I say and he clenches his jaw. "The truce is useless, Alanna. I can hurt you"

"But you won't" I say and his eyes darken."Want to test that theory now?" He growls and I give him the sweetest smile that I can muster. His expression falters and I move forward and embrace him, placing my head on his chest. He stiffens, muscles tensing up. "It's okay. I know you need a hug" I say and slowly he relaxes in my embrace. "They don't understand you. They don't understand how broken and torn you feel on the inside. They don't understand the overwhelming urge to scream that you've buried deep within you. They don't understand that you're in so much pain and you're sick of it all. You keep pushing everyone away because you're afraid. You're so afraid of hurting the ones you love, so you push them away and make them hate you. But I understand. That's why I'm here" I say and he gazes at me with awe in his eyes. "How can you say things like that? How can you be so.... different?" He asks, his voice hoarse. "It's just who I am, Zeron. I'm here for you, don't push me away"

We remain like that in each other's embrace until he whispers something in my ear.

"I'm so sorry, Alanna. I know I'm going to hurt you and there's really nothing I can do about it. I'm really sorry for trapping you here"

We pull apart and I stare at him, worried about his sanity, if there is any left. I can see the pain in his eyes and I desperately want to take it away. The circles under his eyes seem to have become darker. It seems to me that he hasn't been getting any sleep and that doesn't make me feel any better. He suddenly rises to his feet and moves towards the staircase ."You should go back to your chambers, Alanna. You've messed with my head enough" he spits and I freeze. What the hell just happened?

"Leave!" He yells and I stumble to my feet, horrified. I move towards the stairs and begin to descend it. Then I turn to look at him one last time. He's crying. He looks away when he notices my gaze on him. "Ze-"

"I'm sorry" he mutters, lowering his gaze as tears roll down his cheeks endlessly. "What are you looking at?! Leave already?!" He growls and tears fill my eyes. He's fighting himself.

....

ZERON

There's this unexplainable pain in my chest. A pain that began as soon as I saw the look of hurt in Alanna's eyes. She probably doesn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. I know this because for the past six days, she has been avoiding me. I shouldn't feel so bitter about it, right? But, I'm miserable. There's one part of me that enjoys her company and I can't admit it to her face. These past few nights, my nightmares seem to have worsened and everytime I close my eyes, the nightmares begin. Then, I awaken in cold sweat few minutes later. I feel like a zombie. Who am I kidding? I've felt that way for years. I open my eyes, wincing when I'm met with the sight of the winter morning sky. Usually, I never get to sleep till dawn but today, I seem to have slept past dawn. The next thing I notice is how hot my room is. My skin is soaked with sweat and my breathing is laboured. I push myself to a sitting position and immeadietly regret it. Pain shoots through every bone and marrow in my body, black dots blurring my vision as my head begins to spin. My body goes limp and I fall back to the bed, pain shooting up my spine. A groan leaves my lips as tremors soon begin to run through my whole body, quickly draining me. I bite my lower lip, upset that today is one of my 'sick days'. I try to get up once more but I end up failing. A frown creases my brows when I realize that since Alanna's arrival, I haven't been this ill. Perhaps my body has decided to punish me for the way I'd treated Alanna. The knock on the door startles me and my eyes fly open. "Your majesty, will you have breakfast in bed today?" Albina asks from outside the room and I scowl. "I'm not hungry" I hiss and she sighs. "But, you haven't been eating-"

"Leave me be" I growl and she let's out another sigh and walks away. The pain in my body soon begins to escalate to the point where I'm struggling to breathe. Am I dying now? If I am, I really don't want to die a slow, painful death. I've been suffering for decades, death should at least cut me some slack. Soon, there's someone else knocking on the door. "Zeron! Get your ass out of that bed! You have a meeting to attend to" mum says and I sigh. I slip out of bed and take off my night robe. "Mum, just leave me alone" I say with a gruff voice. "Zeron! Open this door!" "No" I sigh, grimacing as blood fills my mouth. I double over and heave painfully on the floor. Blood splatters on the floor and on my white pants. "Zeron? What's going on in there?"

"Not-"Another wave of nausea sweeps through me and I heave again, my chest heaving. "Zeron!" I stumble towards the door but I'm unable to get to the door due to how weak I am. So, I send my shadows to open the door. The door slowly creaks open and mum storms in. Her face goes pale when she sees me. With a cry of dismay she rushes to my side. "What do you want?" I spit, my vision going hazy. But before she can give me a reply, my knees buckle and I fall forward into mum's embrace. Then everything goes black.