DEATH?

"FATHER, please believe me!" My voice quivered, desperation lacing every word.

My father, King Raene, stood there, his eyes cold and unyielding. He hated me. To him, I was nothing but an evil woman, a curse upon our family and the kingdom itself. A daughter he regretted giving life to.

"Please, Mother! Look at me! I didn't do it!" Tears blurred my vision as I desperately tried to get my parents' attention, to find a glimmer of understanding in their gaze.

I was overjoyed when my father started walking towards me. "Father! You believe me, right? I would never hurt Kaelixe! He's my brother! Please, Father, tell them to let me go!" I tried desperately to crawl towards him, my hands reaching out, but one of the knights struck my head so hard that my face hit the unforgiving stone floor.

My vision darkened, and I could feel the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. With tremendous effort, I raised my head again, my left eye now obscured by a veil of blood.

Through the haze, I could faintly make out my father's silhouette. I waited for him to command the knights to release me. I had known this moment was coming, but a part of me hoped that the love of a father for his daughter would conquer all.

But when I heard nothing, when the silence only deepened, my heart sank. I struggled to look at my father's face, searching for any hint of pity or understanding, for something to hold onto.

Ten years. It had been a decade since he had looked at me with any semblance of kindness, and those memories had grown faint. But even in this moment of despair, I clung to the hope that his gaze would soften.

His eyes, however, held only rage and disgust. I closed my eyes, my body trembling, and a twisted, broken smile spread across my bloodied face. I already knew the outcome of my story, the moment I had heard the sound of my father's sword being drawn from its sheath.

"Why do you despise me, Father?!" I yelled, tears mingling with the blood on my face, as the question that had haunted me for so long poured from my heart. My voice was a raw, desperate plea, a futile attempt to understand the unbridgeable chasm that had torn our family apart.

My father's silence felt like a dagger through my heart, and my vision blurred with fresh tears as he turned to address the watching assembly.

His voice was dripping with contempt as he spoke. "Raelixe, you've dishonored this family and brought shame upon our land."

Those words echoed in my mind, a brutal reminder of my father's disdain. "Your birth was a sin of mine to carry for the rest of my life."

His declaration struck like a thunderbolt. The pain in his voice resonated with the agony of a father who believed he had been cursed by his own blood. My existence, once celebrated, had transformed into a burden, a source of shame that had darkened his heart.

I was the living embodiment of his regret, and those words cut deeper than any sword. The silence that followed was heavy with the weight of our shared suffering, the divide between a father and daughter too vast to bridge.

"Your punishment will be carried out by me."

The words sent a shiver down my spine.

As I looked into my father's eyes, I saw no hint of hesitation or compassion, only the unwavering determination to see this grim task through himself. The man who had once cradled me in his arms as a child, now stood as the executioner of his own flesh and blood.

The realization that my father would be the one to end my life, to sever the final tie between us, filled me with a mixture of despair and disbelief. The bond that had once united us as family was now shattered beyond repair, and I had become an enemy in his eyes, deserving of the harshest fate.

The air grew heavy with the weight of my impending doom. I had pleaded my innocence to no avail. Not my father, not the people who had once revered me as their princess, believed in me. The kingdom had cried for justice, and I was to be the sacrificial lamb at the altar of their demands.

"In the halls of the home of the angel, Haniel, I, King Raene Herschel, bear witness to your grievous betrayal. By the shadows of treachery, you stand stripped of your title as Princess of the Kingdom of Haniel. For the malevolent act against our cherished crown prince, Prince Kaelixe Herschel, and for sowing seeds of discord within our realm, you shall be sentenced to death." He raised his sword, an heirloom of our royal lineage, gleaming with sinister intent.

I clenched my teeth, holding back my tears. My heart pounded in my chest, and I prayed for the end to come swiftly.

As the blade pierced my heart, so did my father's words. "I have never loved nor wanted you. And I am certain that not even the devils will want a useless wretch like you."

In the final moments before darkness claimed me, a chilling numbness crept over my being, the sharp sting of the blade fading into a distant echo. The haunting words of my father echoed in my mind, casting shadows over memories of a time when I, Raelixe, was the beacon of hope for our kingdom, and laughter filled the halls of Haniel.

Tears mingled with the blood staining my cheeks, each drop bearing witness to the physical and soul-deep pain that consumed me. Betrayed by those I loved and the cruel hand of fate, questions tormented my thoughts. Had my unwavering love for my people blinded me to the darkness that lurked within our midst? Had my relentless pursuit of perfection made me an easy target for deceit? What sin had I committed to deserve such a cruel fate?

A bitter wave of realization washed over me, recognizing my greatest flaw: my naivety and steadfast belief in the inherent goodness of others. In my quest to fulfill the expectations placed upon me, I had failed to see the envy and malice that festered in the shadows, waiting to tear apart the very fabric of our family and kingdom.

As the veil of darkness threatened to engulf me entirely, a newfound clarity emerged from the depths of my despair. I had become ensnared in a relentless cycle of seeking validation from others, losing myself in the process and forsaking my own happiness for the fleeting approval of those around me.

Regret weighed heavily upon my shattered spirit as I longed for the impossible — a chance to rewrite the tragic narrative of my life, to mend the broken bonds and rediscover the path once filled with hope and promise. With every fiber of my being, I yearned to turn back the hands of time, to seize every precious moment, cherish every smile, and protect the fragile bonds that had been so cruelly torn asunder.

In a voice thick with sorrow, I whispered, "Angel Haniel, grant me a second chance at life. Let me mend the broken threads of my destiny." As the desperate plea left my lips, I descended into the embrace of eternal night. Or so I thought.

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