Is this one of my nightmares?
What's going on?
I have to wake up... Now.
But what my eyes saw was crazy. For a moment, I couldn't believe that vision was real.
I convinced myself that the strangeness I live is nothing more than a dream of the effects of sleeping on this huge ship, in a strange place for me.
"My lady! Ran away!"
Rodeon's loud scream tore my illusion, and brought me back to reality.
That masked man, from whom I saw nothing but his bright orange eyes, rushed towards me after pulling his dagger from Rodeon's chest with fatal cruelty.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
Rodeon's scream, his painful moan, broke my heart. His view was brutal... Unbearable.
The masked man approached me with the lightness of a professional killer. I became his next goal after Rodeon.
Silly me... This is not a dream.
If I try to escape, who will save me?
"Princess!"
A voice I never expected to feel so comfortable to hear, it was Dylan's voice.
The lamp in his hand turned on the place, to reveal to us the face of the masked man, who was a little confused and then began to run, hiding around the ship.
"Catch him!"
Dylan shouted, and the knights accompanying him over to me at a quick speed, chasing the fugitive killer.
I rushed towards Rodeon's body thrown to the ground. His intermittent breath is barely heard.
His body, the huge knight with iron will, became as cold as winter snow.
The injury was fatal... The dagger penetrated his chest deeply.
No hope.
I held his rough, cold, hand in indescribable despair.
"Rodeon, can you hear me? Hold on!"
I was asking for the impossible... But I wanted to lie to myself, until the end.
"Princess... Are you okay?"
He asked me, in his last moments.
I bit my lip in pain.
"You're in pain, yet you're asking about me?"
Smile... Tired, tenderly. That look filled my heart with sadness.
He was paler than ever.
"This is... The duty of the knight."
He whispered to her, and then his breath began to fade little by little.
I held him tightly, I squeezed his hand as if I was holding on to his soul, but to no avail.
"Rodeon?... Rodeon!"
I shook him, no response. I put my ear on his chest... He was silent.
"Rodeoon!!!"
I screamed, cried, my strength collapsed.
All the memories came back, they got mixed in my mind, the diphtheria on my heart.
Dylan put his hand lightly on my trembling shoulder.
"Princess, come back to your mind..."
But I wasn't hearing, my mind was somewhere else.
"Where is Rosie?"
I asked suddenly. That absence caused me strange anxiety.
Dylan is frowning. His eyes showed that he didn't know, and that scared me the most.
Rodeon's last words about her, the open room... My spine trembled.
I ran towards her room, Dylan behind me with his lamp, lighting the way.
Everything seemed normal, until I saw the bed.
The white blanket... became crimson.
I approached, I couldn't stop myself.
"Princess, wait!"
His warning voice didn't stop me.
As soon as I lift the cover, time froze.
Her small body was overwhelmed with stabs, countless.
Her face... Deformed, featureless.
She died in her sleep.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
My screams filled the ship, my knees collapsed.
"Why did I bring you with me?"
I started pulling my lock out of my silver hair, in a hysterical tantrum.
"Princess!"
Dylan grabbed my hand to stop me, he tried to calm me down, but I pushed him.
"Go away!... Am I the next target?"
I was confused. Does Rovel want to get rid of me? Why? How?
"Your Majesty, please... It's not us who did this!"
"Leave me..."
I can't even think anymore.
"Just for a moment..."
He said it as he went out, closed the door, and he stayed behind the door, watching the situation.
I stared at the ground, I didn't dare to look at Rosie again.
Now, I'm alone.
Was that Rovel goal?
But no... It would be stupid to ignite suspicions against them in this way.
I sat down, pressing hard on my body.
"I want to wake up from this nightmare..."
Rosie wasn't just a maid. She was one of my late mother's closest relatives.
She loved us sincerely, and accompanied me of her own free will... Now, it has become a memory.
I recovered the clarity of my mind.
No... The killer is not from Rovel.
Then, the sound of feet and whispers outside the room. The knights are back.
I opened the door quickly, Dylan's face tense, the knights' eyes low, filled with regret.
"What happened to the killer?"
I asked with a step.
Silence.
Dylan's body was on his knee.
"He escaped into the depths of the ocean... The sea swallowed him. We couldn't catch him."
The knights followed him, bowed.
If I were a spoiled princess as everyone thinks, cutting arms would be the least punishment.
But I'm not, and my family is not the family that everyone think they are.
The Knights of Rovel not only hated me, but they abandoned their duty.
That's why Rodeon took over the guard alone.
Now, he's dead... And Rosie too.
"I'm not interested in you. Do what you want."
I said coldly, and turned arned.
"Princess, you can't—"
"After this trip, I don't want to see the face of any of you."
I looked at them with my last look, my eyes were red of sadness and staying up late.
Their shoulders trembled, Dylan stiffened his place.
"Pam!"
I closed the door tightly, and left them behind drowning in remorse.
⸻
"Knock knock."
The morning sun rose. The ship stopped.
Dylan, that confident man, was sweating as he knocked on the door.
He had failed.
He didn't really hate me, but his feelings overwhelmed his judgment.
Now, he realizes that he has been guilty.
The door opened... He didn't expect me to be the one who opened it to him.
His eyes widened. I wore a black mourning dress, covering my body.
"A—"
He opened his mouth, then he was silent.
I looked at him, with eyes that had lost their luster.
"Is there a problem?"
"No... No problem."
"We have arrived, princess..."
"Rosie and Rodeon's bodies?"
"We did exactly what you asked for... We'll take them with us for burial."
He reached out to help me. I ignored him, and passed by him as if I was passing in front of a piece of furniture.
Hardened in place. He didn't move.
⸻
I came out of the room, my eyes swollen. I didn't sleep.
The looks of the knights are full of curiosity and tension. Robel's entry in the mourning uniform was like a slap.
They might think I'm exaggerating. But Rosie and Rodeon... They weren't just a maid and a knight.
I needed to say something without saying anything... This was the dress of mourning.
I felt some comfort, now everyone knows the extent of their shortcoming.
I looked towards the port, towards the lands far from Andromed, which had disappeared behind the sea.
The knights began to take down the coffins.
Seeing the coffins of Rosie and Rodeon made the pain renew.
Dylan's steps behind me. He stretched out his hand again to go down. I didn't refuse.
The marina was full of people, and any mistake from me would be a rumor.
I won't allow that.
To be continue…
By: Mave