A Sister's Longing

Rion wiped Anwen's tears and said, "No. You are my sister and I will always love you. So stop crying."

"Is that true?" Anwen looked at Rion with her wet eyes.

"Of course," Rion smiled.

Anwen hugged Rion again.

"I love you very much, Brother," she said.

"Me too."

"Brother, don't hate me, okay."

"No. Never."

***

Little Anwen, who was thrown from the horse, was now eleven years old.

From behind the pillars of a dark room lit only by two torches in the corner, Anwen peeked out.

CRACK!

CRACK!

Anwen was shocked and shuddered every time the whip struck the body of a woman with golden hair and purple eyes, whose wrists and legs were bound by chains.

CRACK!

"Cough." The woman vomited a lot of blood. The blood covered almost all of her chin and seeped down to her neck.

"Why did you have to do all this …? Sob …" Anwen wept as she watched her mother received a hundred lashes.

Time passed. After the room was quiet, Anwen came out of her hiding and walked over to her mother, who was standing with her hands and feet bound by chains.

"Mother."

Helen, who was so weak, raised her head to look at Anwen.

Anwen's hands clenched tightly.

"Why? Why did you have to do all this, Mother?! Because of you, Rion beheaded sister-in-law. Because of you, sister-in-law and Knight Lucas had to lose their lives and because of you, Mother … sob …" Anwen screamed in annoyance but then she started to cry. "Because of you, Rion is suffering so much right now, and so am I … sob…."

Helen looked at Anwen with eyes that were difficult to open.

"If you're here only to say that, then go," she said coldly, which stunned Anwen.

"Mother …" Anwen stared at her mother in silence for a few seconds, then turned to leave, but before she took her first step, her mother spoke up.

"When you meet Rion, tell him that I'm not sorry for what I did," she said, which made Anwen clench her fists again.

She felt sad and upset at the same time, because her mother did not regret her actions at all.

Anwen lowered her head, looking at her own feet.

"I … I didn't know that my own mother is so evil. I can only hope that your soul will rest in peace," Anwen said, hardened her heart and then walked away.

***

Anwen's sleep was restless. She tossed and turned. Odette, who sensed Anwen's movements, woke up.

Anwen was still dreaming. All she saw were fragments from the flashback of her past.At this moment, Anwen saw a flashback of herself standing facing the flames that burned her mother.

"Aaah!"

"Aaaaagh!"

The screams of her mother from the fire sounded very heartbreaking. Anwen had mixed feelings at that time. Her eyes stared blankly at the shadow of the woman wailing in pain and rolling around in the fire, until a few moments later, the woman stopped moving and her screams were no longer heard. The flames then burst out even bigger.

"MOTHER!"

"Anwen?"

Anwen screamed very loudly and woke up with a start. Odette, who was next to her, awoke in surprise.Anwen was panting and she broke out in cold sweat. Seeing Anwen's condition, Odette immediately grabbed the teapot on the bedside table and poured some water into a glass.

"Drink," said Odette as she handed the glass in her hand to Anwen.

Anwen accepted the glass and took a few sips of the water.

"Anwen, did you have a bad dream?" asked Odette, after putting the glass back in its place.

Anwen nodded.

Odette stared at Anwen intently. The girl's face was pale. Ever since they met, Anwen had always looked cheerful, excited, and very brave, but right now she looked tense and scared.

"Sorry, Miss Ody, I woke you up," Anwen said after she had calmed down.

Odette shook her head, smiled, and said, "It's okay. Anwen, did you have a bad dream about your mother?"

Odette remembered when Anwen woke up, she was screaming for her mother.

Anwen nodded.

"What did you see?" Odette asked again.

Anwen turned to look at Odette, but she didn't say anything.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. But if you do, you might feel better," said Odette

Anwen got out of bed and walked to the window, and Odette followed him.

The stars could be seen decorating the night sky and the breeze that touched the skin felt cool. For a few moments, they were standing there in silence.

Odette patiently waited for Anwen, who seemed to want to talk.

"Miss Ody, I am the daughter of a snake," said Anwen after fifteen seconds of silence, and her words made Odette's eyes widened in surprise. But Anwen's next words shocked Odette even more.

"Six years ago, my mother was burned alive. She received the punishment of burning for conspiring to make my brother, Rion, sentenced his wife, my sister-in-law and Knight Lucas to death."

Odette was really surprised to hear what Anwen had to say, but she decided to continue listening.

With a sad look, Anwen looked up at the sky. "My mother was obsessed with wanting to bring Rion down and make my brother, Aiden, ascend the throne, but her plans to overthrow Rion were always thwarted by my sister-in-law, Rose, and Knight Lucas."

"Why did your mother want to overthrow Rion? Isn't Rion her son too?" asked Odette.

Anwen shook her head. "No. Aiden and I have different mothers with Rion. Rion is the son of the first queen, Her Majesty Queen Ahana. My father married my mother after Queen Ahana died."

Now Odette understood. It turned out that Rion and Anwen had the same father but different mothers. Anwen's mother wanted to overthrow Rion, because Rion was her stepson.

Anwen continued her story, "My mother committed many crimes, but the peak of my mother's crimes was when she made a conspiracy that brought down my sister-in-law, Rose, and Knight Lucas. Rion really loved my sister-in-law Rose, and Knight Lucas was Rion's best friend."

She added, "Because of the conspiracy made by my mother, Rion had to sentence the woman he loved very much and also his best friend to death. It had been six years since that incident happened, but until now, Rion has not been able to forgive himself."

Tears started to well up in Anwen's eyes.

"In the past, Rion and I were very close. But since that day, when all the truth was revealed, Rion never speaks to me again. I …" Anwen started to bite her lower lip. She looked like she wanted to cry but she tried to hold back her tears. "I really miss Rion."

"Anwen ..." Odette spoke softly.

Anwen wiped her tears roughly. Even though she had tried to hold back the tears from falling, but she failed. The more she held it back, the more it poured out. But she was surprised when her hand was suddenly held by Odette.

"Miss O–" Anwen was surprised again when Odette suddenly hugged her.

"It's okay. Just let it go. If you want to cry, just cry. Cry until you feel relieved," said Odette, stroking Anwen's back.

Anwen's purple eyes that had been wide open in surprise, slowly narrowed. Then she started to cry and sob.

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From the author:

What happened six years ago is so intense. I feel really sorry for Rion.