Folding her skirt as she walked through the corridor, Lyne's mind was filled with questions as to whether Zeidan is only putting up a show. She needed answers to a lot of questions but it seemed hard to ask.
The corridor was as empty as her inner self and she wondered if, at the end of her tunnel, there will be light just like the end of this passageway. Either way, it was either she lived as a second choice or not. She remembered his words about Luana having access to the Onyx room.
Have they been that close? Is she the stumbling block between two lovers? Maybe she needed to let them be. What's with the whispers, knowing each other's likes and dislikes, and taking her along to important places? This is a pure truth that cannot be denied. She is definitely the second choice.
While still deep in thought, she didn't realize she had gotten to the corner when she bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said lowly as she made to touch the person's feet to apologize like she would be made to do back home. Forgetting that she was now in a different place. But the person moved back as if disgusted by her hands than her act.
"You want to touch me?"
She recognized that voice. Luana.
Rising, she looked at the woman who was about a few inches taller.
"I'm sorry." She bowed slightly and she couldn't miss the satisfaction on her face as she did so. All that filled her mind was her life in this new world and so she isn't ready to exchange words.
"I'd accept your numerous apologies if I was a dummy. Stop being a hypocrite and go about your daily activities."
Luana spat.
"It's just a harmless apology. Take it or leave it, I don't care." She turned to go when her voice stopped her in her tracks.
"You must be feeling a little too on top of getting married to the King of a prestigious Kingdom. Well, Lyne, may I remind you that you have no place here." Her voice sounded confident and there was silence at first as the words simmered down Lyne's ears and finally to her mind.
She was right. She doesn't belong here. Turning back, she forced a smile.
"I didn't beg to be here either."
Liana scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh. Like you had a choice."
"I didn't have a choice when I saw how he cared for me."
The other woman's face changed and her countenance fell and this assured her that indeed Zeidan had shown her undivided care. Clearly, this woman doesn't look like one who gets such treatment often from the King.
But her next words felt like stone poured into sandwiches.
"He has to care. I mean, he has to show that he cared. He wouldn't want your father refusing to give him the army because he didn't care for you."
"It's not an act, I'm sure."
"Oh, sweetheart. You must be so confident given how he married you. It doesn't guarantee that you'll be the Queen."
"Whether it's all an act or it's real, I don't care. At least, for once, I got something I've never had before. That's progress. I didn't let my thirst for power blind me from facing realities." With this, she turned away, tears burning her eyes.
As the sun went down, her heart sunk the same way. She reached out on the lawn and sat there on the grass, allowing the tears she has been holding to roll down her cheeks. If it was all an act, then she must have been a fool.
But then, Zeidan doesn't look like one who would fake feelings.
A few moments later, she heard footsteps and for a split second, she wished it was Zeidan. As a hand touched her and she turned, she realized it was Wikh.
"Oh, hey." She called at the tall lanky man who now wore a shirt bigger than his figure and a pair of black pants.
He sat beside her, his eyes sunk in their sockets like one who has seen hell and back and, as she wondered, the Onyx.
"What bothers you, my child?" He asked, his tone holding a surprisingly caring manner with which a father will speak with a daughter.
"Nothing, Mr. Wikh. I am just thinking of how cruel fate is." She replied, looking down at her dirty dress and realizing she doesn't even care. Not like she is a queen anyway.
Wikh pursed his lips as he stared at her for a while before dropping his hands on the floor behind him for balance.
"You see, sometimes, we tend to blame fate for every little thing that we begin to lose the power to change our future."
He started to say.
"What do you mean?"
"Look at me, child. We don't decide what fate chooses for us, but we can decide what we choose ourselves. Let your choices reflect what you want. If you want something, go for it. And if you don't want it, let it go."
"And what if our wants seem to be out of reach."
"Do you know why villains keep winning in this world?"
She shook her head.
"It's because their zeal for achieving their goal is usually stronger than their opponent. They believe it's either they get it or they die."
Something else clicked inside her head about Zeidan's accusation of this poor man.
"Do you support the zeal that these villains have though?"
"What?" Wikh looked at her sharply.
"No! I'm just of the opinion that if our zeal can be like that, we will get what we want in this life."
"What do you want, Mr. Wikh?" She inquired from the old man who sat up and cleared his throat.
"I want to be an old man resting underground with the hope of reviving thousands of years later as a new vampire with fresh blood and strength."
Lyne nodded and decided to ask a million questions bombarding her head.
"Um...what are the powers vampires are said to possess? Like how many powers do you get to possess?"
Wikh laughed softly before giving her an answer.
"It depends on the kind of vampire you are. If you're of noble birth, you get at least two powers, but if you're of blue blood, man you can get as many powers as you desire. I don't know how but it just kind of happened."
She let out a sigh as she thought how hard living here might turn out to be.
"Being a freak sucks. You all must be lucky to have powers and be normal." She said under her breath as she forced a smile that looked bitter.
"What?! All I know how to do is teleport and transform. Other than that, I'm a freak too."
Maybe. Maybe not. He has powers and that's what sets him apart from her.