Vandamonth Imperial Palace
The kingdom lay silent under a heavy quilt of white snow, the moonlight spilling across peaks and frozen plains. The air was so cold it seemed to bite at the skin, each breath rising in pale mist before dissolving into the night.
From deep within the pine forests that ringed the kingdom, a sound rose, long and mournful howls that carried across the valley.
Wolves.
Their voices wove together, echoing between the mountains, haunting and wild.
Inside the high gates, torches burned, their flames struggling against the icy wind. Guards pulled their furs tighter, parading around the castle armed with swords and spears.
The kingdom was beautiful, but it was also perilous; every howl of the wolves was a reminder that the wilderness pressed close, untamed, watching.
In the heart of the snow-bound castle, far above the torchlit courtyards, the king lay tucked into his bed of carved oak, heavy blanket drawn to his chin.
His face, creased with age, was shadowed by a moody frown that deepened with every distant howl drifting through the stone walls.
Jarob has been totally displeased ever since he was left here alone.
The chamber was silent. Only the faint crackle of a dying fire of a candle broke the stillness, its glow barely reaching his bed.
Frost pressed against the windows; it was literally raining snow.
Jarob's eyes, dim yet restless, shifted toward the window. For a moment, he seemed to listen, whether to the wolves beyond or to the thoughts gnawing at his heart, no one could tell.
The silence of the chamber weighed heavy; just then a creak was heard, the door to his chamber opened, and Kora stepped in.
Jarob's face became contorted.
"Great! Just the person I want to see."
His gruff voice was laced with sarcasm, and even Kora could tell he didn't mean what he said. She shrugged lightly.
"I also don't want to be here, but we were bonded for eternity the day we decided to spend the rest of our lives together."
Her voice was cold, her blue eyes trailing to where he was.
"You might give up the ghost any minute; let's not spend our last moments quarreling over nothing."
She faked a smile while walking up to him, her steps calculated.
"Our last moments?
Jarob's voice was filled with mockery.
"I would rather you leave me here to rot away."
He retorted scornfully.
"Get used to my face, Jarob, because you will be seeing more of it."
Kora's voice was firm, her gaze darkened, but the glint of dread quickly disappeared and was replaced with a chilly smile.
"I know you don't care; for all I know, you could have been the one who poisoned me. Your presence here will only add to my stress, thereby quickening my journey to an early grave."
Jarob grumbled from where he was on his gigantic bed, looking weak and fragile. Most of his hair had turned grey, and his wrinkled face was swollen with annoyance.
The storm in Kora's eyes loosened, almost weary.
"You think I poisoned you… Jarob?"
She purred, arching her brows as she made her way around his bed, her piercing gaze ravishing him with scrutiny.
She eased herself on the bed beside him, the mattress dipping under her weight. For a moment she hesitated, watching the moody lines on his face, then inched closer until her shoulder nearly brushed his arm.
With slow, deliberate strokes, she let her fingers drift through his thinning hair, brushing it back from his brow. The motion was soft and soothing.
"Of what use are you to me in the grave…hhm?"
Her hot breath grazed his face as she continued to stroke his hair. The rhythm changed; her fingers began to press into his scalp, abrasively pulling it.
Jarob felt uneasy; he knew his wife was capable of anything.
"You are not saying anything… Why?"
At last, Kora tore her hand away, clutching it tightly into a fist against her lap.
Her knuckles whitened, trembling with the effort of restraint. It was as if she were holding back an urge that burned hotter every minute.
The urge to just strangle Jarob to death, to end the frail breath rattling from his chest, and then smile and watch him die slowly.
Jarob sat up steadily, his breath unsteady.
"Let's face it, Kora, I have never loved you or given you the respect you deserved as my wife. You have all the right to hate me."
He was actually discussing this as if it was a normal thing. Kora remained silent, just gazing at him, drumming her fingers lightly on the bed.
"Is this what you want to discuss during your last days on earth?"
She asked, arching her brows.
Jarob sighed; he scratched his beard, then inhaled sharply.
"I am a horrible man." He started off as his eyes drifted away.
"I don't need anyone to say it to my face; I know what people think about me, and maybe that is why the gods have decided to snatch my soul from me when my age is not ripe."
He sounded mournful, but Kora rolled her eyes while he wasn't looking.
"The most painful thing is not my death, Kora."
He said, turning to look at his wife, who had zoned out long ago but now feigned a frail smile.
"It's the fact that Mirak is going to rule after me, and he is much worse." Jarob concluded, then laughed bitterly, his gruff voice crackling in the air.
"The people of Vandamonth are going to wish I never died when my son sits on that throne and has someone beheaded for saying anything bad about his reign of terror!
Jarob laughed hard; Kora was simply mesmerized. She blinked her eyes rapidly to make sure she was just hearing things.
"Is that all you have to say?"
Kora managed to press the words out of her lips, suppressing the anger rising in her chest.
"What will you have me say?"
Jarob asked, eyes wide, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"My son is going to be the worst ruler there has ever been; I know that. I have accepted it, and you should too."
He said casually, as if it was something to be proud of.
Kora glared at Jarob with disgust before turning away.
"As his father, you should try to straighten his path and talk some sense into him."
she said, rising to her feet.
"Mirak's path has been crooked since the day he was born; no amount of talking can put him on the right path. The best part is that he doesn't listen to you; I am guaranteed my soul will rest in peace with this thought."
Kora wanted to explode, but she swallowed her anger. She flipped her hair backwards before crossing her hand on her chest. She was now circling around his bed like a predator.
"Your empire, everything we have built all these years, will crumble the day you are laid to rest in the ground, and you sit here blabbering rubbish!
She shrilled, already slowly losing her mind. She raked her fingers through her hair, then pointed her index finger at him.
"You are the most shameless man I have ever come across. Absolutely shameless!
She said, throwing her hands in the air, pacing to and fro.
"Yet you loved me anyway."
He answered calmly. Kora stopped pacing to and fro and then turned to look at him from where she was standing across the room, already reaching out for a jug of wine to drink away her anguish.
"What did you say?"
She questioned in a whisper, not wanting to believe what he had just said.
"You heard me right, Kora. I don't know about now, but I knew there was a time you used to love me. I never told you this, but your love gave me strength, and together we were unstoppable…." He said,
"And what did I get in return?"
Her voice was shaking, her eyes already clouding with tears she was fighting to hold back.
"I spent my life right beside you, gave myself to you like some sacrificial lamb, and what did I get for it, Jarob?!
She took a candle lamp and then smashed it on the floor, her eyes red with anger. Jarob was calm, his gaze lowered; he didn't flinch at her reaction; he expected it.
"You got nothing."
He admitted it, and Kora smacked her lips together and then nodded at his words. A tear rolled down her cheek. Kora turned away from him; she didn't want him to see her like this, weak and pathetic.
For some reason admitting his mistakes made Kora emotional; that was the very thing she had always wanted him to do. But now he was probably days away from dying; it didn't make sense that he was saying all these things to her; it was of no use anymore.
"I never deserved you; you deserved better, Kora."
His voice reached her ears from across the room, and she shut her eyes and allowed the tears to flow freely.
"That is why you should be happy I will be dead soon; you can finally have your freedom."
Kora scoffed; her vision was already blurry through the haze of her tears.
"Freedom? Oh please!
I am bound by my responsibility to serve you and the realms. The only day I will be free is the day I join you in the grave… Jarob."
She whispered.
Those were her final words before walking out of the room. Jarob watched as she left; again he was confined in silence, left to his thoughts.
Slowly, he lifted both trembling hands and pressed them to his head, fingers digging into his thinning hair as though he could claw the torment out of himself.
His shoulders bowed, his chest heaved, and for the first time in many years, the weight of his own choices broke him.
His voice cracked into the silence, barely more than a whisper:
"I am sorry…"
The words trembled, carrying all the years of pride, silence, and unspoken love. He regretted his actions more than anything. For once he wished he could say these very words to her, but he never did.
Today he wasn't just a dying king; he was also a husband mourning what he could never give back.
If only he could go back in time, but he can't, and now it's too late.