The Princess and the General Part III

====The King will be the mind, spine and fingers for his Kingdom and Queen.===

His whole body is sore and the coldness from the floors and open windows covers him, leaving him trembling and searching for warmth.

It happened a few days back, he was combing the mane of his steed when someone punched him in the stomach and deprived him of breaths by covering his mouth and nose, parting him from his consciousness and rendering him utterly defenseless.

Hero's closed behind bars, only a dirty and worn out coat was covering his almost bare body. His undergarments were also rid from him, and his whole body is shaved including his head, arms and legs.

He's naked and shaved, signifying that he's shameful and needs to be punished and caged.

At first he asked himself why him of all people. He thinks of different things and many reasons and hypothetical answers to all of his questions. But one day someone did, no, a guardsman did.

"Queen Hua Ping ordered for your slow death at the first full moon. It's a week away from now, and it's because Princess Pai He removed her robe for you…"

And that's the only words he wants to remember from the man. The other details were too shameful, too embarrassing, that even he had to curl himself into a ball and cry.

He never thought that he'd die like this.

Being executed in public for loving someone, for letting that someone come into your life, and her into yours.

He expected to either die on the battlefield or in training with his comrades, but like this… It may be stupid, but he doesn't regret it. Loving Pai He is the most precious memory he has and always will be.

"And the Queen will be the strength and protector of the King."

Pai He holds onto the knife tightly, her fingers clenching and feeling the leathery handle of the weapon. She demands for the guardsman to keep quiet, and to not look at what she's about to do.

Whatever happens, he's ordered to remain still, silent with his eyes shut.

The Queen then enters the dungeon full of prisoners. Some are appointed to die, and some are damned to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. Her trustworthy maid and consort told her that Hero is caged on the lower brothel of criminals, where the prisoners will be executed and public, and of course, their death is meant to be celebrated.

After stepping inside the halls of the lower brothel, immediately she hears the pleas and cries of different criminals all at the same time. Some of them use their families as a reason to live, and some of them just simply want to survive the horrors of being publicly executed.

Pai He sees a man on the far corner, skin so pale and smooth compared to the others. She knows that body oh-too-well. Knows that shape and form more than anybody else…

"Hero." And when the said man faced her with a flat expression but wide and surprised eyes, she instantly knew that he was the one she was looking for.

===They reign, they love, they fight. And when they die… They die together.===

The General lays his head on the Queen's lap, her soft uncalloused hand stroking and caressing the other one's jet black hair. Pai He hums a melody which they used to sing together during their childhood.

It's a Japanese song that Hero's mother taught them, and at the end of the song, when she taught them how to sing it, they've made a promise to sing it together whatever age or matter it is.

Hero lets himself indulge in the sensation that is Pai He's fingertips brushing and pampering his abused scalp.

Within the days of torture he was forced to eat live insects. His skin's bruised with different kinds of torture weapons and his tongue is ripped out by one of the men who were torturing him.

He mused that he could've died with the torture alone, but long years of military training made his body stronger compared to others. Though he's almost as weak as a newborn child, he's unlike the others who beg for mercy. He just sits there and lets them do what they do though it hurts.

"You're going to die today…." Pai He reminded him, the Queen's voice all raspy and choking mostly from crying. Hero reaches up and wipes the tears from Pai He's face. Words cannot be said, and simple actions would take a lot of energy and effort from such a weakened man.

Nevertheless, he ignores everything else, and just continues to wipe the tears away.

"You shouldn't be passing this way…" The Queen said through a soft, tired sigh. "Should die because you're old. Die in the field. Die because of an accident or die because the world is about to end. You shouldn't be leaving me like this, my love."

Hero nods a few times, feeling the Queen's continuous tears falling down on him.

He can't say that he's sorry, nor can he say that everything will be okay… So instead he just hugged the Queen with all the energy he has, which is not so much.

"My Love…" Pai He called out, but this time more sorrow lingered in her voice and her hands began to tremble. "… If you died by my hands then I will be the one to witness your death, then my soul will receive the punishment for your sorrows as it should be from the start." Pai He grabbed the knife which was tucked under her Hanfu, and she pointed it against Hero's upper right neck afterwards.

"… If you let me… then die by my hands…. Then I shall follow you by taking my own life…." Pai He nudged the knife in closer, piercing Hero's skin slowly. "Let's meet in the next life…. My soul will forever be looking for you."

Another push with enough force, the knife pierced through Hero's flesh, penetrating inside until blood cascaded down from the knife down to the Queen's robe. And eventually… Hero closed his eyes.

Pai He didn't scream, nor did he let out a pain shriek of sorrow… The Queen only held Hero's lifeless body until her lover's body heat was gone, indicating that his soul has part from his flesh and his body is nothing but a mere empty shell.

After praying to the God's to guide her lover's soul she didn't bother to wipe the knife off Hero's blood. Pai He pointed it against the underside of her jaw and before she pushed it in deep, she kissed Hero's lifeless body farewell.

A sign of them finding each other's souls in the future, and when the circumstances and moment is right…. To have their much yearned happy ending.

+++++

"Patient number '0231, Astrid Starling, come out!"

A loud thundering voice resounded from the shady, shabby and deteriorating room. She screamed from the end of the corridor. And when no one answered, not a sigh nor a snicker, the head nurse named Juanda paced the dark corridor. She did not mind the flickering lights that's going on and off, nor did she care about the eerie darkness and faded walls. She soldiers down — and goes to the farthest room. Pissed off, and had enough of the lunatic hiding behind it.

Room number 6-A.

Juanda knocked on the door, hiding a stun gun behind her. "Astrid Starling…" She whispered the 'lunie's' name, as the nurses called her. Short for lunatic. And when Astrid did not answer, Juanda began banging on the door. "Astrid — I am warning you!"

Behind the metal closed door which was four inches thick, the woman named Astrid Starling jolted up from her bed and frowned. She tried to get up, but gravity was proving to be a little too cruel. Her arms brushed against a sleeping woman beside her.

The arsonist named Peanut. "Watch it, bitch!" Peanut hissed and distastefully pushed Astrid down, disrupting her balance.

She tripped, from one foot to another and her head slammed against the dirty toilet. 'Fuck!' She hissed to herself and looked at the woman who was laughing and pointing at her. If only she could fight — could stand properly, for sure the smile on their faces would turn upside down and they'll end up bloody.

"Serves you right to be covered with shit, you loser!" Peanut hissed. "You're lucky I didn't make you bleed."

A bloody drool slowly dribbled from the side of her mouth. With a groan, Astrid slowly stood up from the ground, casting her eyes away from the three women who were laughing at her.

As she was about to push herself up, a loud cry escaped her lips when her fractured hand gave up on her. She heard a pop and slipped again. "AH —" The poor woman cried and tried to prop herself up with her other hand. She had to force herself to get up, even if it took all her energy.

Because peanut was looking at her with such bloodlust. And she didn't want to be the subject of her amusement again.

"Look at that piece of shit trying to get herself up —" Peanut pointed finger at her with a ghastly smile. " —she looks like a zombie! A mother-fucking zombie who rose from the dead!"

The other patient, who was called Dogg, laughed. "Yeah — she looks like the oldest piece of meat here. A rotten corpse!"

They laughed at her once again, making her wince. And Astrid covered her ears and gritted her teeth. Gnashing them together as she closed her eyes shut, imagining she was deaf.

"Do you think you're beautiful?" Ferra mocked. "Didn't you say you were a model? Now — you're a clown!"