Kaija: Queen of Stone

9

Death was to come to the Kaijan girl and they believed I was one. No matter how many times I protested, begged and fought, they stood their ground. In Baria's eyes, I was the enemy and those who stood with the enemy were subjected to death. Though I yearned for their help, I was glad they remained Baria. They didn't deserve what was to come to me.

Jonga threw me to the ground. The gravel floor pressed into my back. Pain pricked my spine as Jonga picked me up once again and dragged me to a post in the middle of a dark room. I craned my neck, trying to familiarize myself with my surroundings but I couldn't figure out where I was in the castle or if I was even in the castle anymore. My vision was blurred, head spiraling. It was hard to tell what was what through the anguish. Jonga tied my hands behind the post and walked over to a table on the other side of the room. He opened a drawer and rummaged through it. The sound reached my ears as it slammed shut.

"There are many ways to make someone talk," he claimed, picking up a needle.

"Please," I begged, chest thumping as my brow sweated. "I have nothing to do with what happened."

He turned, lifting a brow. "Are you certain?"

I nodded, tears stinging my cheeks. "I am."

He shook his head. "I am not."

He opened another drawer, pulling a vial full of dark red. Inside, it sparkled and whirled like tiny cells were present. The sound of him closing it did not come but instead his footfall did. Jonga stepped closer to me. "Madness can do many things," he began. "It can sometimes even help the truth to be revealed." He stuck the needle into the vial. I watched as it filled.

The pain. The ache, the burn. I wouldn't be able to take it.

My lip quivered as my scars burned once more. "If you want me to be guilty, I will be, just please, please, don't hurt me anymore."

"Kaijan girl," he began, walking toward me once more. "I don't think you've realized anything yet."

Realized?

"What am I supposed to realize?" I asked, my hands shaking behind the post. "Please, just tell me!"

"You are the enemy." He flicked the needle. "To everyone, you are hated. Even if you were innocent, you wouldn't be. You are different and unwanted. If you were to die today, not a soul would care about your death."

A shock overthrew me as realization hit. "I'm guilty for no reason."

He leaned down. "Precisely and always will be."

I tried to kick back, pushing into the post. I drove my back further into it and kicked up dirt. A gust of dust blurred my vision. "No, no, no!" I cried as it disappeared and he moved toward me. "Please, no!"

He reached out with his other hand and grabbed my arm. His fingers dug into my flesh. I felt the burn. The terrible burn I feared.

A scream nestled in my throat as he stuck the needle in the crevice of my arm. Liquid entered my bloodstream and I closed my eyes, trying to fight whatever awaited me.

"My parents were killed by Kaijans," he started, pulling the needle from my arm. He set it onto the floor. "I went through my entire childhood not knowing that. But I was shown the truth."

"I had nothing to do with your parents death," I wheezed, the liquid coursing through my veins like a hungry animal. "Nothing."

"Perhaps not you, but your kind," he growled, staring at me, the shadows shaded under his eyes. "Your filthy, filthy, blood."

My cheeks burned again. The tears blurred my vision as my body kindled like a flame to grow.

"They slaughtered them," he continued. "One by one. They took my family from me and my home. I watched as the blood poured, as they drove the sword into their chest over and over. The wounds were deep and so were their cries. I could have helped but I didn't. I was a coward. I ran from the village, into the woods and hid. I couldn't remember what happened when I met Baria for the first time but now, because of the Rabaka, my memories have returned." He paused, seeming lost to a memory. "Now I remember letting my family die and who did it."