Chapter 5: The Sword of Life

♪~"Well time to have tea with Dad!"~♪

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"I leave you alone for five minutes and you make a deal with the devil?!" a very furious Gabriel fumed at me. 

After the lady gave me instructions and a sword (a really heavy one at that), we departed, she retreated back into the forest and Leviathan grabbed my hand teleporting us just outside the bar. The sensation of it had me vomit again. 

"Wait, how am I supposed to let you know that I had slain the beast?" I had asked the lizard-like man, to which he just chuckled. 

"Never mind that, when you had finished, I myself will come to you," was all he said, then with a big grin and a bow, he snapped his fingers and was gone. 

'Off with that Devil'

Few minutes later, as I was examining the beautiful long sword, the intricate design at the handle, when a hand grabbed my arm and spinned me around to face them. I was almost going to slashed their face when I saw that it was Gab. Instantly I moved the sword away from his face and tried to hide it behind my back. Which I wasn't doing a good job of. He noticed the weapon and his furious gaze turned even more angry. 

"Where were you?" those words were demanded through clenched teeth. 

And so I had to tell him the whole story from the moment he went out to get fresh air. The more I tell him the more his fists curled tightly, and when I reached to the part where I struck the deal and shook hands with the lady. Well let's just say he didn't like it, in the slightest. 

"What was I to do? Not make the deal?" I fired back. 

"Yes, Reena. That's exactly what you should do!"

"I can't Gab, this warning, it could be important!" 

"I don't care about that! Reena this deal, you could die!" 

"You don't get to decide that for me!" He didn't say anything at that but he did stared at me with those judgemental eyes. I know I shouldn't have done a deal, with someone as dangerous as Leviathan but...

'There's always a but...'

"He offered to tell me a warning, and it involves me and why Father hasn't talked to me in years," I said slowly, wanting him to understand, willing him to. "I can't just walk away from something like that, in all my years I just wanted that one answer, and I had to answer it myself, then comes someone saying that they will answer it for me instead. And you think I should just give it up?" 

Hearing the despair in my voice, Gabriel's expression softened, he knows my pain, knows what it feels like to be not seen, taken care of but not cared for. For love, be in love and not loved back. I desired for that one love and it was not given, it was taken. 

"Maybe you should talk to your Father," he said softly, as though carefully implementing the idea for me to take it. "The King has been asking for your time." 

My face hardened, my throat tightened, just like that the pain dissolved and another anger took its place. An anger so deep, I just couldn't speak, couldn't think. Closing my eyes I took deep breaths. 

Inhale...Exhale...

Inhale...Exhale...

Inhale...Exhale...

"Let's go home," I said at last, it's would do no good arguing here in front of a bar and besides it's getting late. 

The walk back home was silent. Occasionally, Gabriel will stop attempting to say something, then shake his head and keep walking.

Eventually we arrived at the palace and I saw Lazaro standing by the gate waiting for me, no doubt. I sighed, turning to Gabriel to say goodnight when I saw that he had slinked away, without saying a word. I watched him go, then walked over to Lazaro who escorted me in after giving me a shawl to hide while wiping the dirt off my face. The guard said nothing about the sword I'm holding but a look of awe crossed his features when he laid eyes on it. 

As I was heading to my room, I saw a small maid pacing impatiently in front of it. I picked up pace, she noticed me and bowed lowly before handing me a sealed envelope. The seal was in green. 

My eyes widened in shock, a gasped escaped from me. 

'I know this seal' 

I handed the envelope back to the girl, without opening it to read the letter. I already know what's going to be in it. She looked at me when I thrusted the envelope to her, I gave her a small stiff nod, without smiling. 

'Well time to have tea with Dad!'

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My maids, attempted to take off my clothes but I waved them away, throwing the sword on my bed, I undid my clothings, then stepped carefully into the warm bathtub. 

Before closing my eyes, Leviathan's evil grin and the handshake between me and the mysterious lady crossed my mind, making me shiver against the hot water surrounding me.

My head felt heavy, my eyes droopy and the next second, I fell asleep in the bath. Not before the green sealed envelope crossed my mind and off I was to dreamland. 

Few hours later, someone was shaking me so vigorously that I attempted to try slapping them, but they caught my wrist in the exact same place Leviathan did, I immediately became more alert and sat up straight, startling the person in front of me. Opening my eyes, I saw that the person was none other than Allelia. 

"Why did you do that for?" she demanded. 

Getting out of the once warm tub, I didn't answer her and snatched the soft towel, wrapped it around my body and another one for my hair. While doing this, I saw the sword that I had thrown carelessly on my bed was gone and is being clutched tightly by my sister. 

I sigh, knowing what comes next. 

"How in the world did you get the Sword of Life?" Hearing that I hit my left foot and almost fell if I didn't stopped myself in time. "Are you alright?" 

"What did you say?" I asked, paying no mind to my throbbing foot and turned to Lia. 

"I-um...I asked if you're alright?" she stammered, confused.

"No, no, before that. The Sword of Life?" 

"Yeah, that's the name of this sword...says so here at the hilt." 

"But isn't the Sword of Life considered a myth? Just a legend that the maids use to tell us bedtime stories about?" 

"That's what I want to know too. Where did you get this Reena?" 

Again I didn't answer, instead I moved away from her and went towards my wardrobe, pulling it open I started sorting through the hanged clothes. I took out my nightgown, and put it on. Lia knew that I am hiding something but pushed no further instead she kept staring at the sword, then took it between her hands, stroking the intricate designs at the hilt. 

"It's majestic, never would have guessed that I will be able to hold it in my hands," she whispered. I flopped myself on my bed, then patted the empty place next to me, but she sat at the edge of the bed still holding the sword. 

"Father paid another visit, well more like he delivered something through a servant," I told her, while laying my head back onto the pillow.

Her head snapped up, the sword in her hands momentarily forgotten.

"What did he sent?" 

"You know the envelopes I always take and read from my mother's locked drawers?" I asked.

"Yes," she answers slowly, a frown forming on her face.

"Well I may have failed to mention that those were love letters between mother and--the King," I finished. 

Lia shook her head in disappointment. "So what about it?" she sighed.

"I think," I stopped for a moment making eye contact with her, "well I think he knows that I've been reading those." 

"What makes you say that?" 

"The envelope for the letters were always sealed in green, like always--today I received an envelope with the same coloured seal." 

"He sent it, knowing that you will not ignore him this time," Lia said grasping the situation. 

I nodded. "But all this time I've been wondering that, what does he want to tell me that would force him to send that seal?" 

"Maybe he wants to talk about the marriage?" 

"Maybe," I echoed. "But one thing's for sure, I am not going to like it."