10 NINE

ZERON

  The coppery smell of blood clings to me as I saunter down the palace halls with my silver sword dripping red. The maids and the guards all avoid my gaze as I walk by and I don't really care. All I want is Lochan's head on a platter. But so far, he's done a good job at masking his location. I've been interrogating fire witches about their kingdom but it seems to me that they are all ready to die for their king because they won't tell me anything. That's okay, I'll keep killing them until I find Lochan and get rid of him for good. Alanna on the other hand, is going to regret deceiving me. I walk into my chamber and take off my cloak, letting it fall to the ground. My bloodied shirt goes off next and so does my pants. I walk into my wash room still wearing my undergarment. Soon, I'm relaxing in the water filled bathtub that smells a lot like roses and cinnamon. I close my eyes, ignoring the fact that the water has turned red as a result of the blood stains on my body. Someone knocks on the door and I sigh. "What do you want?" I ask and the door creaks open. Valdrin walks in with a pensive look on his face."How are you holding up?" He asks and I look away, letting my eyes slip close. "What does it look like?"

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, your majesty" he whispers and I clench my fist, still not opening my eyes. "Doing what?" I spit. "Pushing everyone away from yourself" he mutters and I clench my jaw. "If you're here to scold me about the way I live my life, I think you should leave" I growl and he sighs. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried about my bestfriend. You're worsening by the day and it kills me that I can't do anything but watch" he says and I slowly open my eyes. "You don't get it, do you?" I say with a growing smirk on my face. He frowns, confusion written all over his face. "Get what?"

"Your bestfriend died a long time ago, Valdrin. He's gone and can never come back. This is what I am now and I don't care if you see me as a horrible monster. That's fine because that's truly what I am. Now, leave!" I growl and he slowly walks out of the door. I stare at my pale hands which are marked by black veins. A small grin curls my lips. This is my life now, this is who I am.

...

ALANNA

My fingers grip my cutleries with so much force, my knuckles turn white as the thought of stabbing the witch in the eye with my fork before stabbing her son in the heart with the knife crosses my mind. I've never hated anyone this much in my entire life.

"Are you alright, dear?" Rohanne asks and I force out a counterfeit smile. "I'm fine, I'm just really full at the moment" I respond and she nods. "You're married to the king of the ice witches" she points out, gesturing at my ring clad finger. "Yes" I reply and she frowns slightly.

"You could've just refused him, dear. He's a monster" she comments and I stiffen. "A monster? I-I didn't know. No one told me anything" I say, with the intention of playing along.

"Poor dear, you don't have to worry. You're safe here. He won't be able to find you and hurt you" she says with a sickening smile on her face.

"How do you mean? I mean..... if he's so powerful and dangerous, how can he not know where I am? What if he finds me and kills me? I really don't want to die!"

"We have strong protective wards here, Alanna dear. Besides, he can't sense us because we are in an entirely different realm; a realm of ash and fire" she whispers and my heart sinks. "You mean there's another realm apart from the the monster's kingdom?" I ask, my eyes wide. Inwardly, my heart is thudding madly and I really can't believe that she's falling for my presence and drama. "Of course there is. But you really don't need to concern yourself with that" she responds and my smile falters. I was so close to figuring out how to leave the palace. "I thought witches exist as covens and not kingdoms" I say and she shrugs. "Yes, we used to, until war broke out among the covens. All elemental witches decided to unite with their kinds and they all chose a leader for each kind. But then, we decided to move out of the human realm and raise our own kingdom. You must be exhausted from traveling through the portal. Lochan, why don't you take our wonderful guest to your chamber where she can have a good rest" Rohanne says and rises to her feet. She leans over and presses a kiss to my cheek. With that, she walks away. Lochan grins at me and takes my hand in his when I eventually rise to my feet. "It seems like my mother likes you. Come on, you should get some rest" he says and leads me all the way to his chambers. I yawn in pretence and lay down on his bed, feeling totally irritated. Lochan watches me while I pretend to be asleep and after a few minutes, he walks out of the room. I lie in his bed waiting for the sounds of his footsteps to fade away and when they do, I sit up immediately and hurry out of bed. Quickly, I dash across the room and carefully open the door. This time, Lochan had been careless enough to leave it unlocked. Weirdly enough, the hallway is desserted. This only worsens my anxiety and as I walk along the desserted hallway, I feel like my heart is really going to explode from how hard it's thumping. I finally get to Zeron's brother's room. I quickly open the door and walk in after knocking on the door briefly. "How did it go?" He asks, turning away from the small window which is virtually the only source of light in his room. "It wasn't worth my time" I reply with a sigh and he limps towards me. "We have to escape today, Alanna. I overheard one of the fire lords saying that Lochan is planning to seal the realm to prevent anyone from leaving or coming in" Talon says and I stiffen. "How do we escape then? I have no magic. I'm just a mere human" I whisper and he shakes his head. "You're not a mere human, Alanna. You're my brother's wife. A woman who is courageous enough to marry a demon is not a mere human. You can do this" he says and I let out a slow exhale. "What do I have to do?" "Thought you would never ask" he says and grabs my arm. He steers me out of the room and transforms into his feminine state. "The plan is simple but it'll only be effective if you're brave enough to execute it"

"I'm ready" I say.

"Fine. Go eastward. Find the Queen's chamber and pluck the flame rose. Hold onto it until it becomes ashes" he says and I raise a brow. "That's it?"

"That's it. Now, go" he says and I nod. "Whatever happens, don't let go of the flame rose!" He whisper-yells. I give him a quick nod, trying to push away the negative thoughts that are quickly flooding my mind. There's a lot of things that can go wrong. I might not be able to find the Queen's chamber and I might get caught. I take a deep breath as I quicken my pace.

'I can do this' I mutter, the words repeating themselves in my head like a mantra. To my surprise, no one's at the East wing of the castle either and believe me, I find it really odd. Soon, I arrive in front of an open double door with lilac curtains that are pulled apart at the entrance to reveal what looks like a lavishly furnished royal chamber. Framed photos of the queen herself, decorates the walls of the room. As soon as I step into the room, I instantly smell smoke and cedar. Then, I see it. Standing almost ten feet in height is a tree bearing rose flowers that are a mix of red and grey. This must be the flame rose. I move towards it and pluck one of the roses. I stare at it, confused when nothing happens. I narrow my eyes when I think of how easy it was to get here. This is too good to be true. It can't be that easy. Suddenly, a burning sensation shoots in the middle of my palm and starts to spread up my arm. I gasp in shock, tears filling my eyes as the pain increases by the minute. I look up at the sound of footsteps heading towards the room. Rohanne and her son walk in with a grim look on their faces. The rose in my grip begins to turn to ashes and I whimper as my palm turns an angry shade of red. "Not so fast" Rohanne hisses and raises her arm and points in my direction.