Russell, bound and gagged, shrieked over the cloth in a heart-rending cry.
Galaga was on the floor, crying more than I thought possible.
And I, I was paralyzed, bleeding and trying to contain the pain in my body.
I could only hear my brother's breathing in my ear, whispering to me that this was all for me and because of me. That I deserved all the pain and suffering I was causing.
Maybe it was true, maybe I deserved all of this.
The blood kept coming out of my wound.
Maybe I wasn't as special as everyone thought.
Aaron had died and I had done nothing to stop it. I had saved him once and now I couldn't.
The pain was unbearable.
Maybe I was a sham who didn't deserve to be called Princess.
I sank deep, so deep that I couldn't listen to him anymore.
Darkness surrounded me.
My eyes closed and I disappeared into my mind.
I was in the meadow.
The fairies were running around laughing and taking wild flowers, the birds were flying around freely singing a heart-warming melody and my beloved Lightning was coming to get me next to a raven black horse.
And there was the man, the very man of my dreams.
'It is time,' he said as he approached.
I could see him that time in more detail. I noticed his blue eyes, a dark blue that reminded me of the sky just before nightfall. His skin was toasted, shiny, incredibly beautiful. His dark hair played with the wind. His clothing was purely black, he seemed to be locked in the shadows.
'I don't know what to do,' I replied a bit anxiously. I needed help, I wanted him to help me.
'The answer was always with you, you just have to see what you have, not what you lack. Hold on.'
I stretched out my hand, intending to hold his, but he backed away.
'Not yet, not yet.'
'Help me.'
'Help yourself Gaia.'
I opened my eyes and slowly returned to where I was. Marco kept whispering in my ear with hate. My wound continued to bleed.
Russell, my beloved Russell, was agonizing in pain on the floor next to his brother's immobile body.
'Did you like the show? We have one more left and then we'll go one by one until we get to your sister.' He raised his sword once more. 'Say goodbye.'
He said and when he tried to put it down...
'Enough,' I said in a tired tone. I had stopped trying to get rid of Marco, I was still, stiff.
'No, I don't think so.' He tried to stab the sword again and couldn't. 'What in the world?'
Every time he tried to hurt Russell, he couldn't.
My eyes stayed focused on his figure, my mind just kept repeating over and over.
Shield, shield, shield.
'It's her your Majesty, she's doing something with her eyes.' Marco shoved me against the floor, bringing me to my knees.
Even if my eyes didn't reach out to him, my mind was still there.
In that position I could see something I hadn't seen before.
My necklace was shining brighter than usual.
The white stone was bright, but now it seemed to emanate a stronger light than normal.
And I knew.
I thought of all the times I told my friends that my father had shown me his memories for a reason.
The throne room had been to tell me about Syform's prediction and that I could trust him. The meeting with my foster mother showed me my true identity. And then, my birth, the handing over of me to Elina. And my mother, Queen Sheba...
Queen Sheba had taken the necklace off and given it to my mother with the promise that someday she would give it to me "when the time was right" those were her words.
My mother had left it to me when she had died, had died protecting me, and had passed the necklace on to me.
The necklace that surely my father had given to my mother, the King to his Queen, his love taking care of the most powerful magic.
The sign had always been with me.
The sign was on my necklace.
I had the power to break the curse.
I had the power to save them all.
The words Hold On came back to my mind. I thought he meant to resist, but that's not what he was telling me.
Hold on, hold it, hold the necklace on.
'I will give you the chance to let go of me Marco, for the years we lived together,' I said to him still with my head down.
'Never, you will die, Milaia.'
'I am not Milaia, you fool,' I stood up suddenly, banging my head against his.
'I am Gaia, Princess of Crescendo.'
Before he could hold me up again, I concentrated on the power I had been trying to suppress. The magic that had been trying to get out for so long, and which out of fear I had held back under my skin. I felt it coursing through my veins, pulsing at an exasperatingly liberating pace.
And finally, holding the necklace in my hands, I let it out for the only purpose I was looking for.
Magic, magic, magic.
A light spread from my hands and around me. It closed my wound in a second. It then spread all over the castle until it came out. It continued its journey. I could feel it traveling through the clouds, through the wind, reaching every corner of the Earth.
The guards ran to me on Jonah's orders.
Each one who approached me, I pushed out of my way with a breath of air that lifted them up to hit the ground.
Marco hid behind the throne.
Jonah stood still, as if admiring my power.
Soon, only the guards holding the prisoners were left.
Open the chains, open the chains, open the chains.
I freed them all, each one of them, at once.
My guards faced the remaining enemies.
Galaga embraced Mena and held her against her.
Russell ran out to his father, completely ignoring me.
I focused on what I had to do.
I thought about the vines that fascinated me in the woods. When the branches were braided together in the form of ropes, in a magnificently natural way.
Vines, vines, vines.
From the bottom of the castle, the branches grew, breaking the ceramic floor and reaching out to Prince Jonah and even my own brother. I held them with all my strength, and even though they fought, they could not let go.
There was no limit to my power.
Confident that I had them, I went towards my friends. I reached out to my sister, who was shaking. Galaga looked at me and couldn't believe it.
'You shouldn't have come.'
I didn't respond, I just concentrated on trying to calm my sister down.
'Mena, it's okay, we are leaving,' I grabbed her face and wiped the tears that had run out of her beautiful clear eyes.
'I defended you Milaia, who are you now? How did you do that?' She kept shaking.
'Galaga, we're leaving. Magic has been restored,' I said to her. Even though she was more injured than my sister, she seemed to be stronger.
'Help them.' I asked my guards, who lifted them off the floor.
Once the door to my magic was open, it was as if I could create anything, the sign helped me to do everything I wanted.
I just had to hold on.
Portal, portal, portal.
With my hand pointing to the side, I opened a portal directly to the entrance of our Kingdom.
'Take them away, and Aaron's body please,' I asked and they all obeyed, I don't know if out of obligation, or because of what they had seen me do.
'Come on Mena, everything will be all right,' Galaga kept holding my sister in her arms and carefully leading her by the hand.
'I'm scared,' my sister told Galaga.
'You don't have to be anymore,' she said, helping her through the gate.
I gently approached Russell, who was standing next to his father.
'Father! Father! It's me, Russell, please wake up.'
Russell's father stood still, absent.
Until out of nowhere he fell to the ground.
'Father!' cried Russell, lying down beside him.
'Russell...' I tried to talk to him.
He didn't respond, he kept screaming at his father, who was now writhing in pain on the floor. He was moving back and forth, screaming and squirming. His veins began to become more noticeable, changing to a dark color that stood out against his pale skin. His eyes were filled with the same coloring.
And in a second, he stopped.
'Father' Russell asked him in fear.
Russell's father jumped on his son and started scratching him. His nails, which now looked like a wolf's, were digging into Russell's skin.
'Stop!' I yelled at him and held him back. But his eyes focused on me and I realized that my magic was not working against him. Russell's father jumped in my direction and I dodged him.
He was becoming less and less of a man, and more of a beast.
His eyes were completely dark and his skin now seemed more like furry. His legs had stretched out, and his hands had become completely like claws.
He jumped back to me.
I managed to create a vine to hold him, but it did not hold him for more than a few seconds.
Jonah's frantic laughter began to be heard throughout the throne room.
'Thank you for giving back the magic, beauty,' he said and I couldn't understand what he meant.
Russell's father jumped up once more but this time, something came between us.
Russell stuck his sword in the middle of his chest, or what was once his chest.
The now-animal fell backwards and fell to a complete standstill.
Russell turned and looked at me.
He had never looked at me like that before.
He had watched me with distrust, with grief, with sadness, with love.
Now, he was looking at me with hate.