Eva's Journal

CHAPTER NINE

I pushed the door closed, lowering one guard onto the bed. I turned around as the other guard held my waist. I slipped my hands down his chest, pulled out his sword and stabbed him through the chest. He groaned trying to move me away. I kicked him back, turning around and stabbing the second guy in the chest several times. Turning away from the dead man, I stabbed the other guard in the neck as he came at me, again.

In a matter of moments, both men were dead bleeding on the floor. I collapsed sobbing as I realized what I had done.

"Oh god." I gasped out as I looked into the men's eyes, their eyelids still open. The blood on the floor soaked into my dress, making me sob further. I knew I needed to escape the castle but I couldn't find the strength to lift myself from the floor.

Then I thought of Anna. I thought of what she would do if she saw me. She would tell me to pick myself up as I did what I had to. She would be proud of me. Atlas would be proud, too. He would smile and tell me I was so brave to protect them.

So, I picked myself up and opened the door to see who was outside. The hallway was clear. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the room. As I closed the door behind me, I turned looking into the eyes of the King. He looked stunned as he looked down at me, absorbing my features.

"Agatha?" He whispered; his eyebrows knitted together tightly. In his hesitation, I ran down the corridor to the servants' staircase away from him. The servants and maids were too busy to look at my bloodstained dress. Tears streamed down my face as I moved through the castle. Once I reached the exit, I moved through it and out towards where Atlas and Anna were waiting.

"Eva! Oh, you're okay!" Anna hugged me as I sobbed in her arms. She rubbed my back and sat me down on a fallen tree. Atlas stood with a worried look on his face. He smiled at Anna as she turned to him and they wrapped their arms around each other. I couldn't look at them so I turned away to look over at the castle.

"We need to get to the camp." I stated, trying to rid my voice of emotion. I picked myself up from the tree and walked into the forest with the two lovebirds trailing behind me.

We arrived at the campsite Atlas had chosen and Anna sat on the floor while I lit the fire. The night was cold and the stars were covered creating a dark mood in the camp. No one in the camp spoke to each other and I could tell tensions were high. I sighed and sat down next to Anna.

"How are you feeling?" She smiled at me and placed her hand on mine.

"Honestly, Eva it wasn't that bad. I was in that room all day and no one spoke to me. They wanted to use me for leverage to get something the king wanted. I don't know what it is." I pondered for a moment before having an epiphany. My mind was racing and I stood up and started pacing.

"What is it, Eva?" I blocked out their voices as the two of them spoke to each other. My mind linked on the dots that made me wonder.

"Atlas, we need to go back to the village. I saw someone in the village and I think she is who the king wanted. I read a book once and it spoke about what happens to witches if they use dark magic." The two of them looked bewildered at me but I ran down the road to the village. I heard Atlas tell Anna to stay still until he returned and followed me. Even at that moment, I knew Anna would follow.

I pounded on Agatha's door until she answered. She looked sleepy but still knew she was expecting me.

"Eva, you've pieced it all together now?" I nodded and she let me into her house. Atlas followed in closely. Agatha raised a brow to me and I shook my head hoping she wouldn't bring up the soulmate situation. She sat us down and made us tea.

"You are the king of Sceneria's soulmate, aren't you? And the king of Borealis separated the two of you. He made you use dark magic and that caused you to age suddenly meaning the only way you could be together is by fixing the mistake you made those 19 years ago back when Anastasia was first born." She nodded and drank her tea, taking a long sip before putting her cup back on the saucer.

Agatha twizzled the small ring on her finger and took it off placing it on the table.

"This is my engagement ring to King Leopold. He is my soulmate and due to a bad deal with the king, I lost him and my daughter. The king of Borealis promised that my daughter would always be safe but he took her away from me and got a maid to raise her in the castle. I promised that one day I would give her this ring to show her that her parents were soulmates and so deeply in love." She handed me the ring and as my brain processed the meaning behind it. My eyes started to water and as I looked at Agatha, I realized I was looking at my mother. I moved around the table, wrapping my arms around her.

"My darling girl. Oh, how I've missed you!" We embraced and cried together. Atlas smiled at us and I could see his eyes slightly damp.

As she let me go, I looked closer at the ring. It was silver with a dark blue gem in the centre. I put it on my finger and turned to see Atlas looking at me. He approached me slowly, placing his hands on my cheeks and wrapped his arms around me. I gently hugged him back, loving the warmth that was radiating off him. As he pulled back, he smiled at me brightly and wiped away a tear with his thumb.

"Go back for Anna. I will escort you home to the castle and come back to spend time with my mother. I'm sure we can spend the night here instead." He nodded, slowly letting me go and left to get Anna who was heaving in the forest as she tried running after us.

As she arrived at the house, carried by Atlas, Anna looked at the old house. She didn't hide her look of disgust but I just laughed.

"Anna, this is my mother, Agatha. She has deep ties to our kingdom. I am going to stay here with her after I drop you and Atlas back at the castle." She looked somewhat disappointed but nodded before following Agatha to the spare room, leaving me and Atlas alone.

I walked outside and he followed. I sighed feeling him behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Come back to the castle, Eva. I can't live without you." My eyes welled up as I grabbed his hands pulling him tighter knowing I would never get another chance.

"Atlas, you are meant to be with her. So, let's drop this now." Instead of pushing him off, I just let him hold me until he was ready. After a few minutes, he let go and moved back into the house. He took his warmth with him. I sat down on the bench outside the house watching the still valley. The sky was dark and sprinkles of stars showed as the clouds moved around them. Through the trees, the castle peaked through. Subtle notes of light glinted from the windows and it reminded me of the simple times I would spend in that castle. Before I met Atlas, I had no soulmate, no hope and no family. Now I have it all. I needed to forget Atlas and all of the memories we made on our adventure. Tomorrow I would return here and help my mother fix the house and forget all about him. I didn't want to ruin Anna's chance at her happiness.