The Cursed Prince of Italy - Volume 1 - The Cursed

Chapter 30 - The betrayal

She opened the door to the room where the book was. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked inside. She felt like her heart stopped beating. In front of her was a great burning fire. The entire room was filled with its heat. Romina could see Ronaldo tied up in chains in the heart of the flames. Although his skin didn't seem burnt, he was crying out loud from the pain. Romina felt as if the air had left her lungs as she watched him. No sound came out of her mouth as she made a silent cry. Her eyes filled with tears. Ronaldo looked at her.

'Romina! Romina...' he cried out, forgetting the pain he was in. He was scared for her, for her life.

'Ronaldo... my Ronaldo! What is happening to you?' she cried out. She wanted to run to him, unable to watch his pain. She could not understand what was going on.

'Mi amore, run! You have to leave this place. Leave this place now. Leave me!' he urged.

'No I am not going to leave you here. I am never going to leave you here Ronaldo' Romina said falling to her knees.

'Romina. Please baby. Listen to me. Leave this hell.'

'No, no. I can't leave you. I am coming with you. I love you baby' Romina cried out stubbornly.

Romina ran towards the fire without heeding his words. She expected the heat to sear her body. Instead, taking her by complete surprise, the fire extinguished and the room became covered in snow. Ronaldo's pain eased. He was no longer burning. Romina ran to him, tears streaming down her cheek. She clutched tightly to him and then started kissing him everywhere. Ronaldo too was crying. He could not believe what she had done. But he felt the coldness creep in and knew he had to make her leave.

'Mi amore, you have to let me go' he said shivering against the cold.

'No... no baby. Please don't say that. I will do anything to save you from this hell. Tell me what I have to do' Romina pleaded, refusing to let go. She buried her face in his chest. She then tried to free him from the chains binding his arms and legs. Despite her efforts, she couldn't get them off. She cried out in frustration. She held his shivering body tightly, sharing her warmth.

'There is nothing more to do mi amore. You did everything that you were supposed to. But you were right. Esther was playing with us the whole time. I don't want you to get hurt mi amore. I've told you before, I would rather burn in hell than let Esther hurt you. I mean it Romina. Please go!' he begged. He could feel his body starting to freeze from the cold.

Romina held him closer. Tears continued streaming down her face. She kissed him, hoping to breathe warmth into his body. She didn't feel the cold he was feeling and wanted to distract him from what was happening.

Í am not going to leave you. I am going to stay right here next to you. You are not alone my Ronaldo' Romina responded.

'Where is the rest of your family?' she asked, wanting to distract him from urging her to leave.

'I don't know mi amore. This has never happened before. We all were together in the fire but this time, Esther has separated them from me' he said shivering.

'So I have made a difference to your curse... Ronaldo! Ronaldo, do you understand what this could mean? This could be another test from Esther. She may be putting our love to the test' Romina said excitedly, lifting her head from his chest. Ronaldo looked at her lovingly, humbled by her love for him.

'I have never met anyone like you mi amore. You never give up. You are kind. And you love me. You should not waste your life on me' Ronaldo said, his teeth chattering against each other. His words made Romina cry again.

'I am not going to leave Ronaldo. Say what you will, but I will not leave. Esther can do whatever she wants. But I love you. And I am willing to do anything for you' Romina cried, determination in her voice.

The snow covered room returned to normal as she uttered those words. The snow disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared. Romina felt the warmth return to Ronaldo's body. She looked around in amazement. All of a sudden, a male figure appeared wearing a black cloak. The man's face was covered by his hood. Romina moved away slightly from Ronaldo to look at him.

'Romina, don't go near it. Please listen to me mi amore' Ronaldo whispered to her. He was worried that the man would harm her.

'Who are you?' Romina asked, not moving away from Ronaldo.

The man did not respond. He conjured a light green goblet and extended it to Romina.

'Drink' the man directed. His voice echoed across the room. Ronaldo became agitated at his direction.

'Romina, this is another trap. Don't drink it. Listen to me mi amore. You need to get out of here. You need to leave the castle right now' Ronaldo said, pulling at the chains that bound his arms and legs. Romina looked at him. She cupped his face with her hands.

'Don't drink it mi amore. Esther will try to kill you. She wants you gone. She wants to cause me as much pain as possible. She will make me watch you die. I cannot watch you die mi amore!' he said,  helplessly breaking down before her.

Romina watched him before turning around towards the man.

'What is it?' she asked again.

'A second chance' echoed the voice.

'A second chance? What will happen if I drink it?' Romina asked.

'Let a growing heart, break this curse' responded the man.

Romina considered his response for a moment, staring at the green goblet. She was wary of trusting this man. She could, as Ronaldo feared, drink from it and die. She could also save him from the curse like how it was written in the Book of the Cursed. She was unable to decide and turned around to face Ronaldo. She kissed him again and again. Ronaldo knew what she was about to do.

''My Ronaldo, do you remember your wedding vows? You told me you would do anything for me. You told me you would love me unconditionally. I told you in front of God that I would do this over and over again for you. I cannot imagine living in a world without you. Trust in my love for you Ronaldo' she said, kissing him again passionately.

''Mi amore. I love you so much. But don't do this. Don't drink it' Ronaldo pleaded between his tears. Romina shook her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes and turned around to look at the man. She took a deep breath to prep herself for what she was about to do. She walked towards the man. Taking the goblet from him, she drank it all.

As the liquid ran down her throat, Romina choked. She put her hands up to her throat. Ronaldo roared in the background, helpless and scared of what was about to happen. He felt that his worst fear was becoming true right before his eyes. He pulled at his chains to no avail.

The man disappeared. Romina fell on the ground unable to breathe. A tear escaped her eye as she watched Ronaldo and the life went out of her. Ronaldo cried out loudly unable to control his pain. He had spent centuries waiting for her and now his heart felt broken at the thought of losing her.

'Esther!! Esther! What have you done! Why did you kill her? Haven't I suffered enough? Esther! Romina... oh Romina. Mi amore, mi amore!'

His cries echoed all throughout the island. Rain poured down heavily across the island. Moments later, the walls of the castle came tumbling down. Ronaldo was knocked out by one of the stone beams which fell on top.