C30: Goodbyes - p1

I have removed my mask, but I still have the Ghost Cloak on. It allows me to stay invisible.

The effect of the transformation potion has been removed too. Now, my eyes have returned to the sky blue once again. My hair is back to the snow white. So, I can no longer tell her that fake "Elm" name.

But, I'm prepared. I've already decided what to say to her.

Through the windows, I gaze into her room once more.

She's lying in the bed, face first. She has been sad. Anyone would be sad after that.

I take a piece of paper from beneath my cloak and slide it under the window. It falls to the floor of the Princess's room. She doesn't notice it. So, I do the same trick again.

Tap. Tap.

I tap on her window twice.

She sits up on the bed to gaze at the window. Then, her eyes spot the letter on the floor.

"...Again?" Reya mutters, sitting up on the bed with furrowed eyebrows. She walks toward the window and grasps the piece of paper.

I didn't write a poem for her now. I only wrote a few words.

'Dear Princess. Like the gale of March, I blew to you. But at the end of March, the March Breeze leaves. Please, open the window. I need a word with you.' Those were the words I wrote on it.

She flicks the lock of the window and pushes them open. She leans against the windowsill. "You used me," she mutters.

Reya gazes down at the empty air, her eyes watering. She crushes the pieces of paper within her grasp.

"Why did you leave me…?" She mourns, tears slipping down her cheeks.

I leap into the air and thrust myself forward, leaping over her head and into her very room. Her hair blows back to the wind.

"I am here, Reya," I say to her, standing behind her in her very room.

She turns back with tears filled in her eyes. I remove the Ghost Cloak from my body. I fold it and hand it to her.

"It's not mine to keep. Came back to return it for you," I lie to her again.

She gazes at me in shock. In her crimson eyes, my blue eyes and silver hair reflect. "So… you lied to me? All along? You shapeshifted. And betrayed me, Elm. If that is your name, even."

"It's not, Reya. It's Silver." I reply to her, taking a step forth. The moment I step forward, she steps back.

"It's not necessary for you to be here anymore, Silver. You can go wherever you want. You betrayed me. Now –"

"I didn't leave you. I came back to tell you something, Reya. Listen to me please."

Reya lifts her gaze to me in anger. "Go on, you bastard."

I close my eyes with a sigh, letting her curse me.

"You are a Queen, Reya. And like I said, you have to make sacrifices to be a ruler of a kingdom. If you have to rule, you cannot be selfish. You have to sacrifice something dear to you for the betterment of the people. Your lover should not just be the Prince that you marry. To be the Queen you want to be, this entire Kingdom should be your lover."

Reya does not step forth to receive the ghost cloak in my hand. She's still lowering her eyes, refusing to look at me. I walk to her bed and gently lay the cloak on her mattress.

"Reya. Will you reply to me, please?"

Reya's tears drop to the floor. She rubs her eyes with the back of her hand. "I loved you, El – Silver. Gah! You lied to me, even about your own name!"

"I'm on a path, Reya. To be a King, just like you're on a path to be a Queen that can satisfy your ideals. Mine goes beyond the power you imagine to have. Thus, I set on this quest, which I prefer not to say to you yet. That quest is why I wanted to taste your lips and your body."

"That's… disgusting. You were just using me, after all."

"No. In the little time, I've known you. You managed to steal a part of my heart, as I stole yours, Reya. Hence, why I flicker like this. The love of my life died 200 years ago. She had a heart, just like yours. Wanted to be a Queen. Wanted to marry me, the Prince. But now – she's gone, and I am still here… seeking a path to Godly power that will lend me the power I need to protect everything I love."

Reya's eyes finally meet mine. "That wasn't a lie, was it?"

"No. The whole truth. Just for you."

Reya turns away from me, walking toward the mirror. "Today, I cried harder than ever, Silver. Because you broke my heart, part by part. I was going to wake up in the embrace of my prince. That was what I thought yesterday night. You took me to a heavenly place when you loved me… but now~ I don't know anymore."

I gradually step toward the Princess. She doesn't walk away from me now. Not anymore. I stand behind her, gazing at her from the mirror. Her eyes are lowered, not set in the mirror like mine.

"I was betrayed. I gave you all my honesty, and you betrayed me in a snap. How could you say those things with such ease?" She mutters, gazing over her shoulder.

I slide my fingers at the sides of her waist. She doesn't push back anymore. I put my lips near her soft snow-white earlobe and I whisper in her ear, "When you get older, your heart gets colder."

She gazes up at the mirror now, putting her crimson eyes on me. I'm behind her, wrapping my hands around her waist.

For a few seconds, she remains silent. Finally, she asks it from me.

"Betrayer, do you still love me?"

I kiss her on the cheek with my cold lips. She closes her eyes.

"I love you, Princess Reya. You managed to waver my heart, which I wasn't prepared for. Hence, this is happening right now. Reya. Believe me or not… I love you."

She grasps my cold hands embracing her waist. "I know I loved you. But if you still love me… I can love you, too."

"But like I said, Reya. I am on a journey. To seek the power of God. To become an Archmage. But in this journey, I cannot take you with me. The sacrifice I told you before. Do you know what you have to sacrifice for the betterment of the Kingdom?"

"You?"

I turn her around and push her against the mirror. She gulps, gazing into my eyes.

"Once my journey is over, I shall return to you, Reya. And then, this kingdom and you. I will take both. Don't worry, you will own this kingdom. A Queen would stand here. Not a King. Your seat will be in the highest order. Not a king. Would you wait for me… Reya? For your lover?"

She stares at my sky-blue eyes as if she's seeing a deity before her. "I… I am –"

Before she can finish, I kiss her lips. She grasps my hair and kisses me even harder.

Then, I break the kiss to let her finish. She breathes in my lips, her cheeks flushing. "How long… should I wait? And – you're telling me to not marry anyone until you come back?"

I narrow my eyes. "No, Reya. I'm not what you have to sacrifice. It's a few years of your time… which you shall be spending married to a King that your father suggests. That is what you'll have to sacrifice Reya, if you want me — and the Kingdom of Muri."

She turns away from me again. "That's…."

Her eyes twitch in pain. I press myself against her, feeling the side of her waist. "To be the Queen you want, this is a sacrifice that you must take. And Princess Reya, there's no way in Hell I would let you go. You're someone I love now. I must protect you. So, what I told you is a must… Princess. Can you please ~"

I caress her cheek and turn her eyes to me. "..please, wait for me. We both seek happiness, right? Then, you must wait for me. Just these few years. After that, you shall be my Queen, my love."

Her heart beats as I add the last words. "All that, for your love?" She asks me, sliding her hands to my neck. "Just for you…" She kisses me and bites my lip, hard.

I can feel it bleed a little. She licks it off, savoring the taste of my small pain.

"I love you, betrayer. I don't know why, but you at least accepted that you betrayed me and told me the truth unlike any other." She kisses me hard on the lips. She's throwing herself on me.

I gradually step backward as she pushes me. "Marry another prince until you come back, huh? That's what it takes to love you?"

"Yes," I smile at her.

She pushes me into the bed and climbs over my body. "Have you ever made love in a royal bed, Silver?"

"All the time when my wife was alive," I reply to her, sinking my body into her heavenly mattress. This feeling reminds me of the time I made love to Luna.

"I'll make her feel safe then, now that you're with me," she whispers to me, kissing me hard on the lips. "Before you go… Silver. Make love to me one last time, so that I'll be satisfied for all the years that you'll be gone. I hate this life. At least satisfy me the way you satisfy best."

She unlaces my pants. "You worried that you won't get my size after you marry the Prince?" I ask her.

She narrows her eyes and leans close to my face, grabbing my erect sword. "I don't think I'll ever fuck those tiny dicks after what I had last night. I just want you. So, you better come soon or I will destroy you the next time we meet."

I smirk at her. "There won't be a next time if I destroy you right now."