Word Count: 1775
Tapping my pen against the desk, I consider the words in front of me.
Over the last few days, my writing has been my only escape. Tai is still tense around me, and although Marek has his job as my personal guard now, he has been avoiding me. So I've been writing, and doing research into the Beast. I've discovered far more personal accounts of encounters with the Beast.
I can't believe I've gone my entire life believing what my mother and the other village leaders told me. None of it includes all these harrowing real life stories.
I feel sick researching it, but I know I must do it.
Glancing out the window toward the front lawn, the sight of two people standing close together catches my eye. Getting to my feet, I pull the gauzy net curtain back, looking out past the rails of the balcony, ensuring they can't see me from here.
It's clearly Vaia standing there, her long sleek brunette hair glistening in the falling sun. Today she wears a light blossom pink dress, which even from here, looks lovely on her. That is the irritating thing about the princess; she is stunningly beautiful, yet has a very vicious, calculating side.
So far, I've been successful in avoiding her wrath with Marek. I've gotten the impression that she is bored of him, and has moved on, yet I'm still anxious as I anticipate her reaction.
Looking closer, I realise she's talking to Jessa.
I had no idea Vaia even knew Jessa existed, yet by the way they are standing so close to one another, Vaia's hand on her arm, it's clear they are closer than I thought. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I consider what this means. Either Vaia and Jessa met organically, or Vaia is getting to me through my only friend here. I don't think I like either option.
Jessa leans in and says something to Vaia. I can't gauge the princess's reaction, but by the way her shoulders shake slightly, it's clear she's laughing. I'm not sure if I'm mad or not. Definitely uncomfortable.
Stepping away, I pull the net curtain up, waiting until Jessa comes to tend to my room.
By the time she is done, I've finished translating old Jade Province dialectic from a book from Tai's library. It's old tales of the Beast, stealing children from villages, some never to be seen again. It's hard to tell how much of it is true accounts, and how much of it is fiction.
She doesn't knock, slipping in through my door before closing it tightly behind her. She smiles at the sight of me, cheeks flushed, eyes glittering. It's been nice having Jessa with me here, as a true friend. At nights she keeps me company, listening to me complain about Tai and Marek while remaining calm and not pushy.
If she had my way, I would have slept with Marek by now.
"I didn't know you were friends with Vaia," I muse, resting my head on my hand as I watch her kick her shoes off, jumping onto my leg before sitting cross-legged.
"Oh...yeah, she's been nice to me," Jessa admits, lowering her gaze.
My interest is officially piqued.
"Must be nice," I say simply, watching her reaction carefully. I don't want her to feel guilty for finding friends here, I'm just curious as to why she chose Vaia. Surely Vaia wouldn't be interested in another worker here, when so many tend to her daily. "She kind of hates me."
"She's really kind when you get to know her," Jessa explains, absently brushing wrinkles from my duvet. Getting up I join her on the bed, tucking my knees up against my chest.
"I've had an entirely different experience."
"She has been acting strange though," Jessa admits, pulling the band from here hair, releasing her long curls out over her deflated shoulders. My eyes narrow. She wouldn't otherwise care if she weren't close with Vaia. "Distant. I think she is being threatened by outsiders."
I frown. Outsiders?
"Outsiders? Like rebels?" I question. She nods numbly, fingers knotting in front of her. "You need to tell Tai."
Jessa immediately shakes her head, fear passing across her face before she blinks it away. I forget sometimes that not everyone has direct contact with Tai like I do. Our situation is strange, yet I've almost gotten over the fact that he is a King, and that means something to people. It takes moments like these to remind me.
"The King?" she pales. "Vaia would kill me. She doesn't like her brother in her business."
I steady my breath. "If she is in danger, he would like to know."
In reality, I don't owe Tai anything, or Vaia. Yet with everything that has transpired recently, I feel obliged to involve Tai, especially when it's to do with rebels, which seem to be a bigger deal in this area than I first anticipated.
"No, please don't tell him," Jess begs, grabbing a hold of my hands. I watch her do so, brows furrowed. "Vaia wants to be able to handle herself for once, without him."
"I get that, but-"
"Please..." Jessa breathes.
Looking into her eyes, I see the silent desperation, the plea for me to oblige. Many questions fall short of my lips, including why Jessa is so invested in protecting Vaia's interests. But I can't break her trust like that; not when I've done that to too many people this week.
"Okay, your...her secret is safe with me," I say finally. She closes her eyes, breathing out slowly in relief. "But promise me you won't get involved with the rebels."
"No, of course not," she assures me.
The rebels of the Jade Province should be a foreign concept to Jessa, who has spent her entire life in the Azure Province. Here, the rebels group depending on what they politically disagree with. I'm curious to know what rebels in Tai's region have against the power here.
Jessa looks toward my desk, noticing the thick book and scattered paper and pens. "What were you doing?"
"Huh?" I flinch, before regaining my composure. I'm not read to admit that I feel the way I do about the Beast, so I definitely won't indulge her in explaining it. "Oh, just reading. I should go shower."
Jessa nods, smiling faintly before quickly departing from the room.
I sit in silence for a moment on the edge of the bed, pouring through everything that I was just told. Maybe I'm thinking too deeply...
Moving into the bathroom, I quickly turn the shower on, gathering a towel ready for me before undressing. I can't be worrying about Jessa. Not when I have so many other issues plaguing my life currently.
I lean against the outer glass encasing of the shower, enjoying the cold surface while I wait for the shower to heat up. At some point I'm going to have to face Marek again, and Tai. With all these fragile relationships, I'm not sure how long I can last.
Sighing through my nose, I shed my clothing, opening the shower door.
Just as I step under the stream of water, the glass door shuddering closed behind me, I get the strangest thrill through me, as if I'm anticipating that something isn't right. Then comes pain. A lot of pain.
My skin burns, pain lancing through me as the water hits, feeling almost like hot water, but far worse. Screaming, I push back against the glass, but I can't escape the stream of what looks like normal water, but can't be. Reaching through it I wince past the pain in my arm, trying to shut it off, but to no avail. No matter how much I push, it won't budge.
Through short gasps, I scream for help, banging on the glass of the shower, wishing it would shatter beneath my fists. The water must be poisoned, I can smell metal, or maybe that's just blood.
Sobbing through the pain, I cower in the corner of the shower, my skin feeling as though it's melting off my back. Even the steam swirling menacingly around is hard to breathe through, leaving my throat raw and burning.
Suddenly the door to my bathroom is flung open, and Marek steps in.
It takes him one sweeping glance to realise what is going on. Blood is pooling at my feet, diluted by the water, which my feet slip through as I slam my fist against the glass again. He doesn't hesitate, grabbing the handle of the shower door, pulling against the resistance of whatever has me stuck in here. With one more tug, the door is open and I'm falling out, my weak limbs failing me.
I gasp at the relief of being out of the hellish stream of water, yet wince at the cotton of Marek's shirt that I'm pressed against. The entire right side of my body is the most battered, still throbbing painfully, although the burning has vanished.
"It's okay, you're okay," I hear Marek breathe, although I hear the panic, the stress.
I don't even care that I'm naked. Marek holds me with painful tenderness, touching only what isn't damaged. Brushing the curls back from my face, Marek examines me with careful precision, finding that I thankfully avoided getting much water on my face.
Still holding me against him, he leans over to grab my towel, wrapping it around my shoulders to cover my bare body. The feeling almost makes me scream, as Marek leads me carefully from the bathroom, not letting me go until I'm sitting on the edge of the bed, still sobbing.
Marek kneels in front of me, hand on the knee that isn't damaged. I don't even want to look at myself, to see the damage of whatever it was that inflicted such pain on myself. Marek holds my gaze also, as if looking would bring him similar amounts of pain.
"I think someone is trying to kill me," I breathe, voice hoarse from the poison that lingered in the steam.
He looks grim, not disagreeing.
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If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S POSSESSION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:
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I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radish! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!
I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:
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