A brutal scene (2)
The next morning.
Cameras were flashing while Anastasia and I hugged at the entrance of the airport whilst waving at our fans.
Nearby I heard an Austrian reporter say, "I am Finn Müller and this is the 10 O'clock news on Das Erste. I'm here, at Vienna International Airport, as thousands of fans of the young aristocratic couple, Ho Kang and Princess Anastasia, gather to say goodbye to Ho Kang. He will soon be returning to South Korea and continuing his studies there. While the House of Romanov announced plans to do many cordial visits to South Korea and have the young couple stay in contact, who knows when Ho Kang will be back in Austria. It leaves many of their Austrian fans who have had the privilege of watching the couple in Vienna over the last few weeks, feeling heartbroken.
Now, Let's talk to one young fan about why they're so crazy about this couple."
The 'young fan' in question was a teenage girl wearing a shirt that said 'HONA' in big pink letters. She was carrying a large homemade sign that was decorated with the words 'ich liebe dich!'
"What's your name?"
"Hi, I'm Mary West" She gave a large goofy smile and her pink braces gleamed in the sunshine.
"You're the leader of the HONA fan club, could you tell me what HONA means and why you're so obsessed with this young aristocratic couple. Why do you think they have become a worldwide phenomenon?"
"Yes! Well HONA is their ship name, it's 'Ho' from Ho Kang combined with 'Na' from Anastasia Romanov. It's their couple name!"
Finn professionally smiled and nodded.
She continued, "You know I too, a few months ago, never thought I'd be a fan of two children. Especially a young rich couple in an arranged marriage. I'm normally very much against old systems like that. I dislike elitists and the monarchy and I hate the class systems. I normally see people being obsessed with Royal couples and I think, what! You know, it's so stupid, royalty is more irrelevant than ever these days. These people are only popular because they're rich!"
Mary's face turned a slight pink as she spoke loudly, "When I saw on the news that two children as young as 8 were getting engaged I was outraged. I thought shame on their parents, using their children for diplomacy in 2011. Ridiculous. I searched things up about them out of anger, fully prepared to hate-watch...but then I was just amazed."
"What amazed you?" Finn asked he seemed generally curious.
"Firstly, Ho Kang is a genius. I saw videos of his musical performances and read articles about him and I became fascinated. Then the union itself also stunned me, I mean the House of Romanov is no longer in power but they still used to be royal. As rich and intelligent as Ho Kang is he is still technically a commoner like me and you. You know, 'nobles' love to 'keep it in the family,' all of them marrying their cousins and whatnot. This type of engagement is really breaking class barriers. I mean, I'm sure both parties, the adults, are getting something out of this but it's groundbreaking. Not to mention Ho Kang is Asian, I mean the Romanovs are Russian and technically also Asian but when was the last time that you saw an interracial royal couple. It's not that common. And if there is such a couple they're usually vilified in the press, but who can criticise a genius like Ho Kang."
A torrent of words streamed out of Mary's mouth and she walked closer to the camera as she spoke more passionately, "Then Ho, he is so polite, he treats Anastasia with such courtesy and they are both such beautiful children. I mean beautiful. So very gorgeous stunning individuals, like they both won at getting good genes. They're living a life that you and I will never be able to understand and I just find it fascinating and I think that's why the world is also fascinated. And you can also feel the chemistry between these two. They really like each other, it's weird but it makes me believe in love."
"Do you also feel like crying along with some other fans?"
"Crying? No, they're dramatic. It's a shame to see Ho Kang leave because the people have become so attached to seeing them here, but they will continue on. Obviously, he will come back, his fiance lives here for crying out loud, the people crying over this need help."
Finn laughed and then asked, "Do you have a message for Ho Kang and Princess Anastasia in case they see this interview later?"
She practically jumped, " Yes, yes. I want to say that I wish them peace, prosperity and I hope they can prove that love lasts and is real. I want them to be happy and an enduring couple like the Queen of England and Prince Phillip."
Finn nodded and was just about to comment on this when something came through on his earpiece. He quickly turned to the camera and made a sombre expression.
"This happy scene is interrupted as news breaks that the infamous Cager, the serial child murderer, has finally been stopped. The Killer has finally been identified as John Kramer from Rennbahnweg. For a whole year now John has made Parents fear letting out their children into the streets of Vienna as he claimed twenty victims across the city. While his capture causes much relief, the circumstances surrounding his discovery is causing tensions to rise. I will now cut to Reporter Julian Schneider who is at the scene."
The cameraman made a few hand signs and then said "Cut"
The moment the Camera stopped rolling Finn hurriedly looked at his phone, exclaiming 'Woah, what a brutal scene!"
At the same time, the whole atmosphere of the airport seemed to change.
People quickly looked at their phones and began chatting amongst themselves, some gasping in horror at the gruesome photos circulating online.
"What's going on?" Anastasia asked one of her bodyguards, noticing that people had stopped cheering for us.
"Some awful things on the news your highness, you don't need to know about such things" the bodyguard whispered back.
Later on, she found out that the man we murdered, John, had been discovered earlier that day and it was all over the news. For many people in Austria, it was a shocking event. Vienna was known as a very peaceful city with a safety index of around 75%, it wasn't known for crime. This horrifying paedophile that was roaming the streets was the worst thing they had seen in decades and had been haunting the people. But now, even though he was captured, they had a murderer on their hands.
I had thought it would take longer for his body to be found but John was discovered by one of his customers.
John made money by selling the photos of his victims on the dark web, and on the side he also sold heroin.
Two hours before the news came out, an addict named Dennis who was a regular customer, wandered into the alley where the Van was parked.
He knocked and was surprised when no one answered because he knew John practically lived in his Van. He pulled at the door and interestingly it was unlocked and easily opened. At that moment flies burst around him and the smell of decay quickly followed. Since it was warm in the vehicle John's decomposition had hastened and Dennis was greeted by the sickening sight of a body covered in maggots.
In disbelief he took photos and posted them on his social media, asking his friends if he was 'tripping' or if it was real. The photos quickly went viral online, and people began reporting the pictures to the police. Dennis tried to run for it but he was caught by the authorities.
And that's how the crime scene had gone viral and images of our murder soon filled the mobile screens of everyone in the city.
While people read about this news in horror, wondering who could have killed the man, I went to board my plane.
Anastasia hugged me one more time before I went, I loudly said for all the listening ears, "I'll write to you I promise" while I whispered in her ear, "Now we have a secret, and I have all the evidence so if you don't want to get in trouble be a good girl until we meet again."
There was a hint of defiance and annoyance in her eyes, but she still nodded.
I didn't trust Anastasia, but I knew she was tightly in my grasp. We were bound together by a secret now, and I knew she had enjoyed all the things we had done. If she wanted to do it again with me, she would need to be obedient.