A Queen and Her Seven Servants {BTS}

Chapter Thirty Nine ~

are y'all ready :)

I did cry writing this chapter so it is a little emotional 

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I raked the comb through my hair, undoing all the tangles it had within. My hair now reached the bottom of my ears, as opposed to my waist like it had before. It was odd that I was more concerned about my short locks than my impending future. Maybe it was because I knew it was inevitable and there was nothing I could do about it. The guard that had given me his breakfast gave me a mirror and comb so I could make myself more presentable. I had also been given a pail with a rag to wash up if I wanted. I had already cleaned my face and tried my best to clean up the scratches I had. No matter how raw I made my skin with cleaning it, I still couldn't recognize the girl staring back at me.

She was sad. The emerald waters in her eyes were murky as they stared back at me. Her skin was paler than it was before – making it seem as though she was very sick. She was scared, too, as the emerald waters churned with uncertainty. Her hair was dirty and her body shook. Her fingers were frail and bony – she looked like she hadn't eaten in years. And as the minutes of her reign dwindled down, her hope dwindled with it.

This is what everything came to. Aaliyah's reign and triumph were going to dissolve in just a matter of hours. The citizens were going to be slaves to a new king that didn't view them as people. Their development would be stopped as the money that came to the kingdom would be used to exalt the new ruler, not the people. My mom and dad's kingdom was going to crumble. Their ancestors' kingdom was going to crumble. Aaliyah was doomed with no savior ready to help her. Everyone had turned their backs and was oblivious to her cries.

The girl in the mirror started to cry. Tears slipped down her pale cheeks and onto the dirty linen dress that hung loosely on her skinny body. Her hand reached up to wipe her eyes that were void of any spirit. A quiet sob escaped her mouth, followed by more that tore through her weak body and let every built-up emotion leave as she realized it was all over.

Aaliyah was over.

***

"Your time here is over, Queen Evangeline," a guard said as he opened my cell. Even the guards didn't seem happy. The ones who laughed at me every day were quiet and solemn as they bound my hands behind my back and led me out of the prison hidden underneath Desdemona's castle. When my feet finally touched the tiled floor I had cleaned almost every day for a month, I knew my time had come.

I'm sorry I couldn't have been a better daughter.

The guard's heavy footsteps echoed off the white interior of Desdemona's castle as they gently led me to my death. The harsh grips they normally had on me were now just mere touches as if they were sorry, too.

I'm sorry I didn't try to be slow to anger, like my mother. I'm sorry I didn't try to be hopeful, like my father.

"We will tell you how this is all going to happen when we get in there," one guard said behind me. I just nodded. What was there to say?

I'm sorry for not being a better ruler.

A big white door was pushed open and my breath stopped. It was like it was Judgement Day, but I was the one being judged. King Phillip of Desdemona was already inside, beaming at me as I stepped in. I was led to a chair in the middle of the room. I was instructed to sit, and when I complied, my arms and legs were bound to the chair, preventing me from running away.

"I heavily debated how I should finally kill you," the king announced. He approached me, a sinister grin never leaving his face. "I thought of every single method I could use to end your entire bloodline. I knew I wanted something that would be slow and agonizing so you could think over your entire life as you died. But then I thought of the perfect solution: poison."