Chapter 14.

Kamaria's POV.

*Flashback*

"Will he wake up?" I tried to sneak a peek at the body lying on the floor. Papa moved between me and the body, blocking the view. He went on his knees then reached out for my hands. He held my two hands in his.

"He will. Kamaria, listen. No one should come to know about what happened." His one hand cupped my cheek.

"Why, papa? You said I did not do anything. He was about to beat you." I cooed, looking at the hand caressing my cheek. I pulled my hand out of his gentle hold to hold the hand caressing my cheek.

"Kamaria, I know. But no one can know about this nor your dreams. They-"He closed his eyes and opened them.

"Look into my eyes," I moved closer to papa and placed my hands on both sides of his cheeks. I fixed my eyes on his.

"I am." I cooed.

"Good. Say it with me. I will not tell anyone about this or my dream." I nodded before repeating what papa had said.

"Good, go to sleep." He stood up, holding my hand in his. He led me outside his cabinet.

"He is not waking up." I tried looking at the body, but papa shielded me.

"Where's your crown?" I began looking around for my crown. Papa hurried toward his desk. I walked towards the body lying on the floor.

The man's eyes were wide opened and completely white. His body had turned grey, I screamed. Papa picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"This happens if you don't wear your crown, Kamaria."

*End of flashback*

I would be lying if I told you that I was unaware of my reality. I knew already at that age that I was like the people in the folklore of our people. The people who used magic to bend others' will in their favor... Back then, I suspected that I was...

A witch.

Now I knew I was one. According to the folklore, people like me were evil. Yet, I could not find any trace of evilness within me. Yes, I killed. That was in the name of my people. For more than a decade, I lived in complete ignorance of who I was. I ignored every sign, even when it was in front of me.

Ade was right.

It was now that I could put all the pieces together. Papa was trying to protect me all along from myself. I was unable to comprehend the fear and anxiety in his eyes. He wanted to keep this side of me away from the world.

I wished I could discard whatever Shani told me in my dream, but she did make sense. After my papa's abduction, Shani came to offer me a bracelet. She said it was a gift from papa. Shani made me promise that I would not take it off. She took my tiara with her. It was after years that I realized the importance of the bracelet. Strange things happened when I took the bracelet off.

It was only now that I realized that my tiara, was crafted with the very same metal as my bracelets. The tiara and bracelet both suppressed my powers. I looked at the bracelet on my arm, wondering how it would be like to use my powers.

The image of the corpse I left in the forest haunted me. This time it hit harder because I knew who I was. I killed them with one shot. I remembered how Ade looked at me...His voice lingered in my head.

This is who you are...Death.

A searing pain exploded in my chest. I held closer to the hilt of the bloody sword, marked with Shani's blood.

She left me with the memories of my dreams. I stayed up all night in fear of having to go through it again. It took all of me to force myself into not thinking about the dark clouds. I did not want to remember them.

Shani had said that Nyoka had killed her...I was sure he killed her for being a witch. The question on my mind was, would he kill me too?

Papa made me promise to keep it a secret, then the next thing I knew, I could no longer remember the event of that night and my dreams.

I wanted to explain myself to Nyoka and my whole family. Even I was not aware of who I was. The memories of that night were erased from my head. The only thing I remembered back then was the dark clouds and the conversation I intruded. Besides that, I knew nothing.

Maybe they wouldn't believe me, yet I prayed that they could see the truth in this confusing story of mine.

A twinge of guilt swept over me as I thought of Kondo. He wasn't back at the Kingdom. He might be out looking for me. Of all the people I was afraid of revealing my true self to, Kondo was number one. Kondo hated witches.

Kondo's parents were rumored to have been murdered by the witches. He was enslaved by them, up until my papa came to rescue him. He never confirmed those stories, either had he denied them.

What if whenever he looked at me, he saw their faces?

I would hate to see Kondo live every day to hate my face. We might have been rivals, but Kondo lived to protect me as a repayment to my papa.

The sunrays announced the arrival of the fiery sun of the Imanu kingdom by its soft beam of light. The guards retreated. The darkness was gradually overcome, by the gentle sun rays.

They are afraid you would steal their shadows.

Shani's words were still in my head, constantly reminding me of who I was.

I looked at the sky from the tree. I never had the right words to describe the beauty of the sunrise. The golden sun rays across the sky carried the promise of life in the way it opened the flowers, making them shine with glory.

The sunrays had awakened the beauty of the valleys, mountains, and the sky. The journey of the sun through the sky had begun. Mine also had to.

As beautiful as the sunrise was, it was unfortunate for me. There was no more darkness for me to blend into. I had to get off the tree and find a hiding place.

I wandered through the unwelcoming streets of my Kingdom. So much had changed in such a short span.

Everyone was going about their own business. Everyone seemed on the lookout for something.

I was under the shade of a tree when I saw a couple walking by. They held each other's hands affectionately as they walked side by side.

The woman was gently touching her bulging stomach, she was pregnant. The man also rubbed her belly. It was a beautiful sight. Their deformed shadows dragging behind them had caught my eyes. There were two people, yet I could see three shadows behind them. The woman's shadow was right behind her, as well as the man's. A third shadow was on the man's right side, it was of a woman, and she was holding hands with the man.

I looked back at the couple, then back at their shadows. I didn't know how I could see it. I wanted to unsee this, another impossible thing to do.

The night of papa's abduction, I saw the shadows of the guards move suspiciously.

I should have known. There was a traitor in the house. It must have been the same person who sold us out to the Adeleke. I had to warn Nyoka.