Half a heart, half a crown

F O R T Y N I N E

I had never run this fast before, I was devastatingly stunned. I was eternally shocked and speechless. The most rythymic organ in my chest felt like it was going to explode anytime soon. As my feet were moving inexplicably fast, my eyes roamed around hastely trying to find that one person - that one corpse.

"Yes, I did." she smiled, "I poisoned his tea. He drank it earlier and might as well now, dead"

No. No. NO!

This is not real.

This is not happening.

This is -

My eyes instantly widened as I witnessed the heartbreaking scene in front of me. Princess Angelica held King Antonio in her arms, crying. Dark blood poured from his lips as his eyes slowly shut close. My eyes adverted towards the teacup that had fallen on the floor, cracks.

"Wake up! wake up!" Angelica ringing cries filled the hallways.

I was too shock to utter any word and so I took a slow step forward, still felt like I was floating, felt like I was just deeply in my dream.

I watched as her puffy red eyes met mine: they were filled with pain and anger. I was still in shock to say anything, so I just stared at her, with different emotions in my eyes.

"You-" she stood up, with blood all over her dress and hands, "YOU!" she grabbed my shoulders aggressively, "YOU KILLED HIM! HOW DARE YOU!"

My eyes widened: perhaps, from her sudden voice raise; perhaps, from her words.

My mind spinned dizzily as she continued on yanking me, shaking me with her surprisinly strong force.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Again, she spat out those untruthful words and I, myself, had came to actually believed her.

"YOU LET ROSEMARY HERE TO POISON HIS TEA" her teary gaze never left mine, "WE HAD ALMOST MADE IT. WE HAD ALMOST GONE BACK TO EMERCIDIN AND GET MARRIED, BUT YOU BLEW IT! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED MY LOVE ONES! HOW DARE YOU!"

Her words left my ears the moment they entered. I could not understand a thing, and I don't want to because right now I am too overwhelmed with everything. My eyes adverted towards the bloody corpse in front of me, not too far, but felt so far.

A strong knock brought me back to my senses, before she could hit me again, I held her wrist, tightly.

"I did not kill him. Sure, I do know that Rosemary is here" was "but I did not tell her to do anything, especially, this. She killed him, not me."

I pushed her away but not enough for her to fall, "and to clarify your words, I did not know about it, only now did I know."

Her eyes were blank and white from anger, I knew she did not hear a thing I said. Immediately, after a short while, her eyes widened as if she had remembered something and so she ran off, into the hallways.

I watched as she disappeared into the darkness and I really hope I am too but that's not the case since when I waited for my time to come, for my sleep in invaded into me, my hands started shaking and my heart slowly, inevitably, breaks.

Knowing so well that the person I was looking for was right next to me, but I could not move my eyes because I am afraid that he will not wake up.

"I am waiting for you to call me by my name again." I whispered, so low, lessly to me, mostly to him.

Silence.

It was so quiet that I could hear ticks of the pendulum clock moving. That was when I knew that this is over, he was gone and that, someone else had completed part of my revenge.

I moved over to the corpse next to me, his skin had lost the tint of pink in them; his skin was still warm but too cold for a human-being. A trace of blood stained his lips and chin. I recognized him, of course I did. I would still know him deaf, blind, dead. I was waiting for his eyes to fluttered open for me to see his pair of crystal blue eyes again. Again, waiting had always never work. Suddenly, a tear drop.

I was hoping it was his, but it was not, It was mine. I was crying. Drop by drop, my tears flowed out like a river, my screams filled the hallways, the loudest I had ever screamed. I pulled him closer to me, to my chest, pressing my hand against his heart that was once alive.

"King Antonio" his name left my lips this time, more painful than I had ever thought, "Tell me that you were not the one who saved me that day when I was drowning. Tell me that you were not the one who kept me safe inside the dungeon back in Emericidin. Tell me that you were not the one who sent me feast everyday when I was held captive. Tell me that you were not the one who confessed to me when my sword was pointed close to your chest. Tell me that you were not the one who kissed me on top of the balcony that day. Just tell me please, because that way, it will be easier for me to believe that this is not you laying here, that this is someone else."

Again, the silence invaded the silence.

"I may not know everything about you but I do know enough how your crystal blue eyes changes slightly as they met mine, as if it had softened; how the corner of your lips curved up slightly when you tried to hold back your smile; how you kept a straight emotionless face, and spat out sarcastic words when you are jealous. I might not know much about you but I know things that others don't. I know you."

His lashes stayed still and his lips were straight.

"I thought you would smile on this one." I shook my head, "I was wrong."

Silence.

"You had me shook from the first time I saw you. You knew I was a woman the moment you saw me. I hated you for that. You killed my people, and yet treated me so good. You were good to me, but I was not. I was a poison for you. I took you for granted and you let me. Everytime I pushes you away, it was not because I despised you, it was because I am scared to get too close to you in case I forgot how to be alone. I had been alone my whole life. Since I am the only daughter in my family, I was never known as the strong one. I was left alone while the boys were out fighting. I was told to stitch and study, things that female usually do. I was only known when I took over my brother's spot. I never wanted it but now that I had got it, I would never want to let it go easily which was why I tried so hard to avenge for my people, for my brother. I tried to kill you but I could not, somehow my hands shook. Only to know that you were not the one who killed my brother. However I did not let it go, I still held onto the revenge because you killed thousands of my people and took my kingdom away, I had to. And now that you were dead, I am happy right?"

I chuckled dryly.

"I am certainly happy."

You are dead.

"In the end, when you thought that I don't, I do care, and I will never stop" I caressed his now cold cheek,"and if this is how it ends, please do your utmost to remember that...I love you"

Footsteps were heard and slowly, it halted.

My eyes adverted towards the familiar pair of shoes and slowly, I was met with the familiar pair of silver eyes that were filled with surprise.

My eyes then slowly adverted back down towards his bloody hands and bloody wardrobes. I lingered on them for quite a while until I moved my eyes up towards his pair of silver eyes again.

I smiled at him.

"Magnificent....let me explain-"