The game part 2

The moment my eyes met his, I knew he had been tainted into something immoral and wild. My father was long gone, instead long fangs, red bloodthirsty eyes greeted me with a huge smile on his face, almost drooling at my sight.

His clothes were half torn and were in a wounded state. He had long clawed marks from his left shoulder to his stomach, and he looked like he was on the verge of death, but anyone knew on the verge of death, any beast instinct would go wild.

This wasn't a witch, this was.... a monster.

He jumped down with dominant force, creating a large thud that fazed me. I was trembling with fear, my body barely steady. 

I kept on slowly moving back with my sword pointed at him. Although I wanted to close my eyes, wrap my arms around my head and run, I shouldn't. The tainted one never should feel that they were at power.

As he stared at his prey up and down, his smile seemed to have gotten wider and wider. He was glad to see me, to see a blood bag, to see his meal.

With each breath or movement, his upper body would flinch in pain, yet his facial expression never swept away, and he kept grinning.

Not only did he look demonic, his power could have been one, too. If he had a memory of how witches use their magic along with this newly obtained monstrous power, he would be indestructible and my chapter would end today.

As time passed, his blood gushed out more, and he got more desperate for my blood.

He was coming close, and I kept walking backwards like a coward.

"A werewolf, vampire, goblin? What are you?!" I yelled. I just wanted to check if he was even capable of communicating. Surely enough, my voice wasn't going to reach the King's ears.

Hearing my voice, father twisted and turned his head almost like an animal. He got on fours and widened his eyes, his smile getting even wider while his mouth foamed, his drool formed strings before they detached and smudged his body and the floor.

 He roared at me loud enough to make my ears ring, before sprinting towards me. I gripped the sword tighter, ready to defend myself.

The whole time he ran towards me, he still had the same creepy grin. The game of cat and mouse had long started.

 Goosebumps reappeared again and my legs felt like noodles. "Today was supposed to be a celebration that had this turned into." The world around me seemed unsteady.

I had never fought with anyone or even used my powers. I was as good as dead.

After being tainted, one cannot go back. I had two choices, one again, die or kill.

Just thinking about the outcome dampened my eyes as my tears bobbled down my cheeks. I saw father was about a foot away from me. Before they could roll down to the floor, he took his claws out to attack.

He jumped ferociously at me with his fangs completely out. He wanted to shred me into pieces. His eyes turned redder as each second passed. He was getting frustrated.

The more mad he seemed, the quicker he seemed to have gotten. He kept attacking me left and right with me, barely able to dodge it.

I was sure we were very noisy. Swords clashing, jumping, screaming, growling, and heavy pants could be heard even outside the room, despite it being loud enough no one was outside to hear and get help.

He was getting quicker and more desperate while my hands were barely sturdy. His swift attacks didn't give me any time to think. Avoiding his claws was hard enough already.

Slash* his claw dug into my shoulder while I could do nothing but swarm in pain.

He took his other claws out directly, going for my heart. 

My mana heart started cycling faster, my whole body heated up, my sword glowed bright enough to blind both of us, my hands moved by instinct and **stab.

His heart got stabbed, a burning sensation covered his heart. His whole body trembled in immense pain as he screamed in agony, and his eyes widened and appeared as if they would pop out. His mouth was wide open, trying to gasp, but all he did was cough out blood. He kept staring at me with an agonized look.

My heart wavered seeing my own father suffering in pain because of me. The sight made me numb that I couldn't feel the injury I had just gotten moments ago.

I clenched my sword, and with a tight grip, pulled it out. His body collapsed on the ground, his eyes fixated on me.

He bled more and more until, eventually, a pool of blood surrounded him.

His red eyes turned normal and once again he was back to the person he was. A tear escaped his eyes before they finally shut tight, forever.

I gulped, almost throwing up at the sight. It all happened so quick.

The king's physical appearance morphed back to who he was, the monster that almost bit my shoulders off turned into a helpless king.

A child who killed her father, with a title like that, I would have been better off dead.

I had done it. I committed a sin that would never wear off my shoulders. My whole life I was called various nicknames, 'spare', 'the fake princess', 'failed one', and now the title of traitor would follow my grave. My story would go unheard. People like to believe what they see and right now, everything was going against me.

I knew once someone entered here; I was going to be framed. Soon, the banquet would turn into my trial, and maybe I would get executed today.

I was clueless. Why me? Why today? Why? why? why?! As questions swarmed my head, I realized I had to escape soon.

As the blood pooled on the floor, I wondered if I would ever recover from this.

Nothing was important to me from this moment on. I had lost the one thing I had, the title of princess of the witch kingdom.

As I stared at King's cold body, I wondered how many people would be after my throat. Thousands? Millions?

"Do I even have anything to lose from this moment on?" I thought, loosening my grip. The sword vanished in thin air, glittering a green faint light.

I scoffed at myself and the situation. With the king's body looking like this, it would appear as if I had assassinated him with a heart filled with grudges. The kingdom had nothing left for me.

"I guess this is what it took me to get my freedom," I sighed as I looked at her cold father's dead body once again.

"Sorry," I whispered, knowing no one heard that. A simple sorry like this wouldn't ease the guilt and pain I suffered.

"Time was really a bitch... In seconds it made me a murderer."

Putting my hands on the door, I closed my eyes and chanted, boom**. 

The door opened.

People would be here in a few minutes to look for their king. I had to escape. Now.

I jumped down from the balcony while the vines assisted me. After doing their job, the vines disappeared, leaving no traces.

Over the years, I barely knew 3-4 spells. My grandmother taught me those while telling her the stories about the first-ever witch.

Grandma was the only person in the entire palace who didn't treat me like an eyesore. She was a famous witch, but soon she lost her power and was banished to a cold palace.

A few yards away was a vast garden. 'The queen's garden', it was forbidden for people to enter. But for now, it would be the perfect place to escape from.

Once people began searching for me. The path I took would be obvious, but for now, avoiding the workers was my priority, and this was the best route.

Before the fight for the throne began, the palace was peaceful. I would often sneak here while playing hide and seek with my siblings, so I knew all the pathways, shortcuts, and a hole in the wall that would directly lead me outside. The hole was big enough for an adult to enter if they crawled. Without wasting a second, I began spiriting there.

I pushed the bushes aside, and there it was. Thankfully, no one had patched up this hole. I lay down completely, getting ready to get out of here.

"Well, hello there?"

I flinched and stood back right away, summoning my sword once again.

"Grandmother?" I whispered. It shocked me. Why was she here? Why now? After all these years? I furrowed my eyebrows and clenched on my dirty black dress, controlling my emotions. I wanted to cry while hugging her, forgive her for leaving me, ask what happened to her, but there was no time.

Time was my greatest enemy. It kept on escaping, not letting me even grasp it for a while. 

"Look at you, my child," she said, as she stared at all the blood patches in my clothes.

I stood quietly. What could I even tell her?

"Zelda, your wound!." her voice got louder.