My eyes flickered suddenly, as a tiny ray of sparkling white light flashed bumped into my eyelids. I initiated a struggle to move, and to my utmost bewilderment, I moved up effortlessly. The lethal injuries inflicted by Malena had vanished, and my arms felt so flawlessly smooth as though I had been dipped in whipped cream. My casuals were gone and I discovered myself adorned in a peculiarly multi-colored royal medieval gown. I stood up instantly and looked around. I was standing in a shapelessly lengthy corridor engulfed in white light. The air surrounding the place was soothingly warm and emitted the ravishing fragrance of saffron which enticed my senses thoroughly.
I looked ahead in the direction that I had gotten up, only to notice the stout elderly figure of a nurse standing motionlessly with her back against me. I seemed to gravitate in her direction. Reaching her, I noticed that her eyes were fixed on an oblong golden door that stood nearly a mile away from her. I began parting my lips to speak, but before I could form any word, she abruptly turned in my direction, leaving me startled.
“Talia,” she uttered loudly, with a glistening smile on her old, yet, energetically youthful and glowing face. “You sweet innocent little girl…you courageously fearless young woman. Let us walk,”
She tapped lightly on my shoulder and gestured me to walk beside her. I was baffled beyond words but decided to follow her lead.
“Nurse,” I piped in softly, as we had walked for a while in what seemed like an endless corridor.
“Yes, my dear,”
“Where are we?”
“Ah, that is the priceless question isn’t it?” she acknowledged, chuckling softly without halting. I, on the other hand, could only manage a nervous half-smile. “You are in the hallway between the mortal and the eternal world,”
“Am I dead?”
“Not quite yet, dear girl. Malena’s intention as you already know wasn’t to kill you, as long as she has taken away your soul,” she explained, getting my mind back to the scenario of the castle’s trauma that I had just escaped from.
“Nurse, why me?” I demanded loudly moving my head towards and desperately looking for answers. “I mean there might have been a billion girls during that era across England, so why did the prophecy choose only me? Just because I am the princess of the Windsor Castle?”
The nurse instantly came to a halt at that point, and surveyed me intensely through her icy grey eyes, while chuckling louder than ever.
“Princess Talia… well it’s time for me to tell you, what I should have revealed to you a long time ago. Saying that she snapped her bony white hands, and a golden bench emerged out of nowhere. “Let’s have a seat and chat, my love,” she gestured warmly, and I sat on the magical bench, while she seated herself slowly beside me, with her miraculous torso turned slightly towards me.
“Please tell me, nurse,” I urged her earnestly, unable to hold my serene inquisitiveness any longer.
“You were the eighth child of His Highness King Eric and his wife Queen Margaret. The previous offspring of the misfortunate royal couple either died in the womb or left this world battling mysteriously incurable diseases within the next few days itself,” she narrated, her expression turning rather grave and her chuckle evaporated. “Your father was the most empathetic and loved of all the rulers that ever ruled Windsor. He was the embodiment of goodness and ultimate courage, who never shed a tear in his life. He was the greatest king of all time and the most devotedly loving husband. The only king who would disguise himself every night and wander his entire kingdom to solve the issues and hindrances faced by his subjects, especially the underprivileged ones. The only flaw that he possessed, was his disbelief in the Lord of all worlds, as well as the supernaturally maleficent powers that roam the earth alongside the human race.
“You mean, he was an atheist,” I asked, and she nodded earnestly, unable to take her icy eyes off me, even for a second.
“And then, that wretched night occurred,” she took a prolonged pause, gazing into mid-air with utmost apprehension.
“What happened nurse?” I whispered, unable to bear the sickening silence that had entered that soothingly tranquil atmosphere. Abruptly, the nurse got out of her motionless statue, slowly placed her palm on my forehead, and my eyes shut.