[ HOW CAN SHE THREATEN ME ]

Marcus straggled to breath as he was pushed under the water by an unknown entity. He thanked his stars his neck was let go of after a while, just when he was about to lose it all, giving him a chance to breath.

Getting out of the water, all he could see was a pair of small fire spots which was during with furry. He couldn't believe that was Azura, and his instincts told him there was something or someone behind those burning spots of fire.

Marcus's supernatural powers was of the dark attribute, but he was sure he had not seen any darkness as dark as the one he was in. It was daytime and there should at least be a ray of sunlight in the room, even if all the lamps goes of but there was non.

"If that is not Azura, who could that be?" He asked himself inwardly, but he was wise enough to know that was not the time to find out who it was, he needed to save his life. Crowing on the floor, he was lucky to find his robes in no time, and he needed no one to tell him what to do next.

He runs out of the Queen's room in a hurry as he wears his robes on the way. Some of the maids in the residence saw him as he was running like a little boy who just saw the thing he fears the most, but dare not to say anything. They could just hide their smiles from him and gossiped when he passed.

The pair of small spot burning fire continue to burn for a while before going off completely, but Azura knew it owner was still in the bathroom. She shrank her body into a ball on the floor out of fright, with the eagle still in her embrace as if to protect it from who ever it was that was in the bathroom with her.

Even though she couldn't see nor hear anything, she sensed the presence of someone close to her. She was afraid to the bone and her heart beat quickened.

She wished she could disappear from the bathroom but how, she can't even make a wish, what if something goes wrong again, what else will she have to sacrifice.

"Stay away from me, I can burn you, don't think you can scare me with that small fire, I can do more than that." Azura said but the shaking voice she spoke with betrayed her.

She hoped for a reply but nothing, placing the eagle back on the floor, she stood up and started throwing her hands around, just incase she can touch something, but there was nothing she could see or feel.

The darkness in the room lightened up a bit by the sunlight that got a chance to enter the bathroom after a while, and Azura used the opportunity to look around to see who was there with her. But to her surprise, there was no one with her, and even the eagle that saved her was also gone.

Lora came running into the bathroom in no time, and when she saw the splash of water on the floor of the bathroom, she knew something bad might have happened. She had lots of questions in her head but, since she saw the King running out in a frightened mood, she was convinced her queen handled the situation well.

Azura was lost in her own world as Lora and the other ladies took care of her, she kept looking at the floor where her maids were cleaning the water that was splashed on the floor. "Was that a human or not? And if it was a human, who was it and why didn't he let me see him? Is he the owner of the eagle?"

Dozens of questions was running through Azura's mind, distracting her from the things going on around her, and she had no idea when she even got into her bed after she was taking care of by her ladies in waiting.

Taking a flower from the flower vase beside her bed, she smelled it and smile like a child, forgetting everything else bet the one who saved her. "Am sure it was a man, and he's the owner of the eagle, Gideon." She said to herself and lay on the bed as she drifted off to sleep.

__________

In the dense forest far up northeast of the kingdom, the only mansion there was literally on fire, a man in a mask kept pacing to and fro, smashing everything that his hands touches. An eagle who could not move stay in his bed and kept praying for something or someone to calm the heart of it's owner.

"How can she threaten me? I just saved her and that's what I get in return? I'll let that demon of a man molest her next time, and we'll see if she'll call for help or not." The man in a mask said loudly, fuming with anger.

" I've never wrong her but she wants to burn me. me?" He said and got a reply in his head from his pet, " You did."

" Yes I know I did. Just ones, but she can't burn me because of that." He asked turning to his pet.

" What are you afraid of? She burning you or the fire she'll be burning you with?" The eagle ask in his masters head, but he didn't respond so it continue. " Which fire can supersede the hell fire residing in you, and if that hasn't burn you up, then why worry about the fire in a woman's kitchen?" Gideon said to it master telepathically.

"I know ok. You don't need to remind me all the time that am a monster. If I can, I'll get rid of that devil in me, but what can I do, I don't even know why it's there." The man said out of frustration, throwing the mask he removed from his face out the window.

He let his hair down and it fell to his shoulders and back, almost reaching his butt. In just a flip of his fingers, his appearance changed completely. An angelic looking man, with long black hair.

Wearing a red and gold royal outfits around his waist, and hugs heavy golden jewelries with lots of precious stones and crystals on his upper body, a princely golden crown with different kinds of gems.

Everything looked perfect for him but one thing. He did not understand why his eyes had to be red in color, when it was forbidden in all the three kingdoms he can live in, except for the one he can't even find his way to.

"When will you let her see you?" His pet asked in his head, interrupting his silence thought.

"She just did." He replied simply, knowing the she his pet was referring to.

"I don't mean that, I mean you as in you, your real self." The eagle replied.

" If she couldn't handle that, and even wants to burn me, then what will she do if she sees me like this? The man said as he started removing the robe from his body.

"It not like she hasn't seen you like this before, you just have to help her remember." his pet said again shifting it week body a bit on the bed.

"Her people know me as the man in a mask, she knows me as her husband but from another life she lived. And you, you've always known me as a prince, from a kingdom I don't even know. So which Me do you want her to see?" He asked his pet looking so frustrated as he continue to talk when he didn't get any answer from his pet.

"This, and how will I explain to her? That am from a kingdom I don't know and over there red eyes are not forbidden as you say?" He said angrily pointing to his gem-like red eyes which kept glittering.

The eagle had no more to say, puting it head under it's mighty wings, it pretended to be sleeping, just to get away from it masters active volcano-like anger. He had no intention to awake the devil in hm, even even his anger.

Seeing that he was just talking to himself, he stormed into his bathroom to freshened up in his large bath pool, wishing the cold water could quench the burning fire in him.

__________

Azura open her eyes from her sleep, thinking of waking up to a beautiful day, but what she wanted was not what she got. Her room was in total darkness, stopping her from seeing anything in her surrounding. Thankfully she was still on her bed, or was she imagining things.

She thought of stepping down from the bed to find her way out, since she's been calling for her maids and ladies in waiting but non of them seems to hear her, but her feet felt nothing like floor underneath it.

Fear, panic, negative though and everything scary, started dropping into Azura's mind one after the other. She was falling endlessly and needed something to hold on to, but nothing was visible. Her worse nightmare came true, she was in the absolute darkness again, but who will save her this time.

The hand that dragged her out of the darkness and even the blinding lights, the voice that encouraged her to get out of the darkness, or the pair of small burning fire which saved her from Marcus? Which ever it was, she knew she had just two options.

Either she saves herself which will be faster, or she wait till someone saves her which might not even happen. Out of habit, she started kicking her body trying to swim up, just incase she has to be the one to save herself. It felt like forever as she kept swimming upwards, but no sign of a light or a savour appeared.

"Why do you keep coming here if you don't want to stay?" A manly voice asked her from the darkness, scarring her even more than she already was.

She turned to the direction of the voice slowly, hoping it was her savour but nothing like it. A pair of small burning fire welcomed her sight, but when she kept looking for a while, she realized it was not a burning fire, but a pair of red eyes, which burn and glitters even in the absolute darkness.