Chapter 15

She was still dreaming, though the environment changed abruptly. She wasn't inside the cell anymore, this time she was inside the fancy room. The glitter gold, the royal symbol, the familiar feeling. She knew the room way too well.

This room was like a wonderful royal drive recluse. The walls were a deep gold that pulsed in the light, sprinkled with various royal paintings, mostly the new king of the Kingdom. She didn't know when the new king replaced every royal line tree on the wall. She doubted she would be impressed by the sudden change of environment and suddenly having a new husband when the old one had just been executed not more than a week ago.

Through her large bedroom window above her head came the strong light of the dawn, the gloominess that drowned her spirits. There's no song of the birds nor the song of the cricket. It was empty outside, the same as her heart. She moved deep inside the bed, closing her eyes slowly as the sound of her own beating heart accompanied her.

Through the glass was the ever-changing art of the sky, the clouds that brought infinite images of beauty. However, she couldn't bring herself to be grateful or rejoice. For all, this place was her new confinement place. She was locked inside her own bedroom against her will. So, she rested in bed, awaiting a nightmare to dance into her nightie brain, to bring adventures of torment, ordeal, misery, and agony.

Playing like a broken movie, reminding her of the reason she was breathing. The bleeding of the Royal family and the husband. And now her own brother. Became a slave of her brain. Killing her inside little by little. She wished nothing but death upon her already. Though the man beside her wouldn't agree if she ever expressed her true intention. This man was crooked, lunatic, obsessed, and unstable. One wrong word from her, only God knows who he would kill.

She felt the strong arm snaking around her body and brought her back closer to his chest. Then, the wet sensation pecking from her back head, slid down to her neck very slowly and lazily before it went to her shoulder. She could feel the excitement in each kiss as if he was appreciating her existence beside him.

"I need to go soon. I need to kiss your lips." The soft voice whispering at her ears very dearly as the hand playing at her long hair bang.

A dim smile flashed across her face from beneath a ream of hairs. It created slight dimples on both sides of her cheeks. Even though it was gone quickly, it was still there. She dipped her head down to her knees and ignored the soft breath at her ears. Seducing her to comply.

"My queen~" Begging the half-naked man behind her. Closing the remaining gap between them. Her back hitting the buff chest of his.

Elizebeth just cast her eyes to the side, the bitter smile dissipated over time. Her cheekbones moving then slanted sharply at her mouth. Each of her shoulders curled in, towards her chest. She hardened her body. Each of her fingers was together with one another, holding herself together amidst her fragility.

"My queen, look at me." Pleading the man, circling his hand behind her back in an attempt to see any reaction from her and at the same time to get what he after.

Rather than being happy to be called the title, it's only anguish inside her. The sadness drained through her rather than skating over her skin. It traveled through every cell to reach the ground. She tried to filter it yet strangely enough, no matter how many times she wiped off the dust, instead of pure feeling, it kept getting ugly.

She couldn't accept anything. Even when she was under the arms of the said 'new husband'. Her other family was suffering yet she was lazing around in the same space as her old room. It's downright tragic rather than thrilling.

"You hate it, my queen? I thought by residing in your old room, you will settle down quickly because of familiarity. Am I too tactless or dumb for this? Should I prepare another chamber for you? Maybe fresh up your mind? Will you love it?" He kissed her neck again, this time a bit longer than before. The sense of longing in the wet kiss, she could feel it only it wouldn't reciprocate.

"Will you look at me if we change space?" Asked the man again without stopping. His hand caressing his outer arm maybe to appease her.

Yet her sadness was like a hollowness. She couldn't tell what was worse, either to be inside his arm or helplessly fell under his arm easily like a cheap woman.

TOK! TOK! TOK!

"My Lord. I apologize for interrupting your rest." One of his personages knocked on the door and by the voice alone, he was so reluctant to do so. "We got an urgent call from our allied kingdom that the magicians attacked the eastern continent in a single night."

"Shit!" The man behind her back cussed loudly yet tightening the gripped of his hand. "My queen. I have to go now." His voice lingering her eyes a bit longer as the soft lips landed on her earlobe. "Be a good girl. I'll give you everything you want." He then reluctantly got up from the bed.

Elizebeth felt the dipped bed slowly rise as the tough body completely off from the bed and got ready to entertain his people. The sound of clothes clashing and the metal decoration at the scabbard hitting the hard floor. After some time, she heard the metal sound echoing inside the room, walked away from her.

"I'm going now, my queen." Bid the man farewell before carefully opening the chamber room and shut it close in so much care. If she discerned the longing stare behind her back, she chose to ignore it as usual. Frozen at the same place.

In the bed, she had fallen victim to her own thought. She was in the middle of self-pity. If she had to describe her feeling, the sadness like death by a thousand pricking needles on her fingers, for every time she remembered her loss it was another prick to her damaged mind. None were enough to kill her but over time the accumulation bled her of the humanity she had once had. She once was convivial and prodigal natured, now she was just despair and melancholy.

Not knowing anything around her, she just waited for someone to help her while burying herself in the victim playing and crying to her heart's content. Contrary to impostor Elizebeth, the original Elizebeth was so annoying and a scumbag. It was always about her alone and not anyone else.

'Pathetic.'

After some time, she heard a few commotions outside her bedroom, yet it was still not enough for her to move around, and peeked to see what was going on. She was like one of a kind. One not like any other. Plainly annoying and stupid. The screams and the fight were right in front of her now. A chill ran through her spine as she heard the yell from outside.

"Just kill me. Just kill me. Just kill me." She repeated the sentence again and again like a mantra. Cupped both her ears to shield them from the yell outside. She shrank her body into a small ball as she awaited her fate on the stranger's hand. She didn't care anymore. Just kill her.

The fight only lasted for a few minutes before the voice died down. There's a bunch of shoes hitting the floor but she didn't care the slightest. If anything, she made herself smaller with tears. Disconnect herself from reality, shutting all herself.

BANG!

Those individuals opened the door angrily, making Elizebeth raise her head to take a look subconsciously. Maybe in her head, she wanted to look at them straight into their eyes and beg them to kill her or probably thank them for voluntarily killing her.

Yet what she saw was completely what she hadn't expected. There's a man stepped inside the room, a man fit and handsome to his eyes. The black hair, the identical hazel eyes with her grandfather, the light skin the same as her father, gaunt face too. There was an urgency as he entered the room and she reacted the same.

"Brother Indulf!" She cried harder than before as she rose from the bed for the first time today and went straight into the warmest hug of the brother of hers.

"Eliz!" Indulf embraced her into his arms. Hugging her sister closely with a relieved smile.

"Brother. Brother. You are here!" The tears kept spilling from her even when she wanted to stop them.

"Yes, baby. Brother here." Indulf kissed her head continuously until he had enough. He then proceeded with scanning his sister briefly. "You look well." Comment him.

"I am." She agreed. "But not Brother Kyle. He- he-"

She could not stop hearing tears anymore. The image of her dead brother Flashing inside her mind.

Indulf frowned. He hugged his sister once again. "I know. I know. You don't have to force yourself to remember."

"Commander. He's almost here." Told one of his subordinates.

Indulf nodded and looked into her eyes. "We need to go. Can you run?" Indulf asked without wasting any more time. Time was fickle right now. They needed to move out of the castle ground as fast as they could.

"I can. Let's go." For the first time since the impostor, Elizebeth or Olivia witnessed the dream from the third person's point of view; she saw the light of the lady's face.

"Great." He kissed the head for the last time before running together with his subordinates following the secret path they knew.

"Where are we heading, brother?"

Indulf looked around while sneaking towards the dark entry. The underground passage that only the royal knew and consequently, he too knew. "Out from here. We are heading to our turf. Father and Brother Demien are waiting for you over there."

"Okay." Elizebeth wiped the tears off and her face full of determination.

"But you need to go alone." Added Indulf as if it was nothing.

"What?" Her round green eyes quivered hearing the news.

"We have another victim in this castle. I have to save him for your safety in the future."

"What?" She still couldn't grasp the reality just yet.

"Mark. Take her away. Lead her to my father and brother." Indulf commanded his subordinates without looking at his sister. He then looked around before stopping at the two split paths in front.

"Brother?" She was hella confused now.

Indulf looked at her now. She clasped both of her shoulders and said, "meet father and brother. Don't bother about me. I'll be okay… probably. I don't know and I don't care. But YOU! You need to be safe. Listen to father and brother while I'm doing my job here. Meet you if I'm still alive. I love you, sister." He kissed the forehead. The hot lips warmed her terrified heart but it was in a second.

"Brother…" She almost teared up a thousand times again.

"Go!" Indulf however wouldn't let his sister finish. He ushered his people quickly and gazed at her warmly as she was being carried like a princess by the man named Mark. "You take care of my sister, yeah. I'll slit your neck if you fail your job." Warned him sternly. The calm voice that he spoke with Elizebeth was long gone and replaced by the stern voice fitted between superior and their underling.

"Yes, commander," Mark answered him with military-likeness.

"Go!"

Mark acted accordingly without delay. Moved stealthily in Elizebeth inside his arms sobbing annoyingly.

And no one knows the fate of the third son of the duke of the kingdom. Not even Elizebeth in her dream.