Praesidium (WMMAP Fanfic)

Chapter 17

"Your highness, it's me Orto. There is something I would like to talk to you about urgently" Orto said carefully as he knocked on the drawing room door. He knew that Azrael doesn't like it when his time with his sister is interrupted, but he felt someone using black magic and needed to know what is happening

"Come in"

Orto entered the room and closed the door behind him, before turning towards the two royals with a small bow

"I apologize for interrupting your ti—" Orto's next words were stuck in his throat when he looked up and saw the state of the room, it looked like a storm passed through, but what shocked him the most was the state of Rabia and Azrael

Azrael had deep scratch marks on the sides of his chin, his neck, his arms and the back of his hands

"Wh-what happened, your highness?!" Orto said in panic and he looked down on Rabia who looked like she's already dead, her bruised neck and jaw made him have difficulty breathing as if he experienced it himself

"Quiet, Orto. My sister is sleeping" Azrael admonished as he softly brushed away the strands of hair sticking on Rabia's face

"She's alive?" Orto asked quietly, he knew Azrael was quite unstable but he thought it was just towards those who wronged him but to be able to do this to his own sister who he claimed to love is something he didn't want to think about

"Of course, I'd never kill my sister... she's all I have" Azrael said while glaring at Orto scathingly, offended he had to ask him something like that

"Forgive me, your highness, but how are we going to cover this up?"

"I've already separated her memory and locked it away, I'll just need to keep her away from prying eyes while she heals"

"You separated her memory again, your highness?" Orto disbelievingly asked before continuing frantically "if you do this to her highness often, all her memories might become locked away at best and at worst case her mind itself would split"

"Is that so bad?" Azrael asked as he tenderly looked down at Rabia "either way, she'll stay with me"

—————

Rabia woke up gasping as she held her neck, the phantom sensation of someone choking her lingers in her mind

Someone held her shoulders and shook her, telling her something she couldn't quite comprehend. Rabia pushed the person away and tried scrambling off the bed but her body felt heavy and legs weak causing her to stumble

"Princess! It's me Olive, please come to your senses" Olive begged as she cried and clutched at Rabia's hand desperately

"Olive?" Rabia whispered carefully as she slowly came to her senses, she looked around the room trying to figure out where she is and what is happening

"Let's get you up to the bed, your highness and I'll inform his highness Azrael of your consciousness" Olive said as she helped Rabia up and into the bed

"No... No Azrael..." Rabia whispered as she clutched Olive's hand tightly, just hearing about Azrael's name makes her so anxious she couldn't breathe properly

"As you wish" Olive accepted her order as she carefully arranged the covers and pillows around Rabia to make her more comfortable

"What happened your highness? His highness said you got sick and locked you up saying it's contagious... he only let me in today saying you're already healed"

"My throat hurts. Can you get me some water please" Rabia said and Olive immediately prepared a glass of water and handed it to Rabia which she thankfully accepted and drank slowly

While drinking water, Rabia was shifting through her memories as she tried to remember what happened that made her supposedly sick. The last thing she could clearly remember is having tea with Azrael and he was being agreeable, it made her a little suspicious but after that it was all blank

Missing memories and blanking out? She experienced that before, when she was going to leave for Obelia... what's the common thing about the two incidents?

"It can't be..." Rabia whispered disbelievingly as she clutched the water glass in her hand so hard it broke and continued to close her hand into a fist completely uncaring about the glass digging into her hand

"Your highness!" Olive said frantically as she held Rabia's hand to stop it from digging the glass shards into her palm "Everything will be alright, I'll heal your hand in no time. Please don't cry"

Crying? Was she crying? Rabia's free hand lifted towards her face and she could feel the hot tears streaming down her face

"You're alright, everything will be alright"

Olive pulled Rabia towards her in a hug, it hurts her to see her long time friend like this. Something very wrong must have happened to her highness to shake her up like this, it brings tears to Olive's eyes as she rubbed Rabia's back comfortingly

Rabia doesn't sob and just lets her tears fall freely as Olive pulls her into a hug. She feels so numb all over, the realization that dawned on her made her feel so stupid. Had she been blind to it all along? The answer to everything was already in front of her, she just couldn't see it...

A full week has already passed and according to his sister's handmaid she still hasn't gained consciousness. This piece of information made Azrael frown and consult the dark texts to see if he did anything wrong when he used black magic on his sister

"Your Highness?" Orto  carefully called out, he's been walking on eggshells around Azrael ever since the altercation between the siblings. The image of Princess Rabia that day still keeps him nightmares at night

"Didn't I tell you not to disturb me" Azrael said coldly as he continued to flip through a big and ancient tome, not even glancing at Orto

"Yes, you did say that but... the Duke arrived from the north with an urgent matter"