I feel empty and my mind isn't able to process what I'm seeing. I take a huge breath since I had somehow forgotten to breath, raising my vigorously trembling hand to my mouth, with tears stinging my eyes and flowing to my cheeks. I somehow snap out of it and push my way to the center where I saw Marcus' body lying lifeless in a pool of blood.
"Marcus, Marcus please open your eyes." I whisper trying to rub his palm, check his pulse his breathing, anything I could find. But he was gone, lifeless, his blue eyes staring into the darkness. No, it can't be. When I meant he was a problem I didn't mean for him to die. But I wanted him. I had chosen him.
"Marcus wake up I command you." I scream desperately everyone around me looked saddend, pitying my pathetic state, as I broke down and sobbed uncontrollably on his now cold chest. The smell and feel of his somehow still warm blood filling the air that I breathed.
"This is not fair." I sobbed burying my head into his chest, it had a stab wound but whoever killed him was not my priority. I cried uncontrollably, such that all the heads of the legions had to surround me to prevent people from seeing me in a pathetic state. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe without him I couldn't think without him, and I couldn't live without him either. I felt my whole body tremble on the thought that he will never touch me again, he will never kiss me again, he will never look at me with his ocean eyes again,he would never protect me, or call me Anna again. As I was having my moment to breakdown, a drop of blood landed on my cheek and I looked up to see who had performed this heinous act. The overwhelming sadness was replaced with overwhelming rage. When I looked up, I was met with a pair of eyes that I wasn't expecting,a pair of grey cold eyes.
"Luka? Why did you do this?" I stutter, as my heart shattered into uncountable pieces.
"I didn't. I wish I did but I didn't." He replies, trying to get me to stand up, but I pushed his hand away.
"Don't touch me. Stay away from me." I say sternly and he looked at me, hurt disappointed.
"Do you not trust me Anna?" He asked seemingly hurt. "I did not kill Marcus. I saw him having a brawl with another guy, I came to help him but and ended up stabbing the man who was fighting with him in the back, but in return he stabbed Marcus pushed me aside and disappeared.
"Really Luka? That's the best you can do? Well you just snatched away what I had left, Marcus was the only family I had and now he's gone. And alongside him, so is this alliance. I'm not going to marry you anymore. You can leave for Damaria tomorrow." I said, standing up. Luka tried to touch me again but again, pushed him away, and when he did so again, I slapped him hard across the cheek.
"I said don't fucking touch me." I whisper, trembling in rage.
I walked away as some men picked up Marcus corpse to take it to the physician so that it can be cleaned up before the burial. I volunteered to prepare his body for the funeral. For us in Mayvna we are supposed to bury the deceased the day he or she dies. So that it could give the family time to move on. As I washed his body I remembered how he would be there for me every time my dad had hit me or disrespected me, or how he told me that he loved me, how he told me that I was everything to him. And I had to admit I shed more tears than I had in my mother's funeral. I loved him too. From the corner of my eye, I saw someone peeping at me.
"What do you want?" I ask enraged.
"I didn't kill Marcus Anna, and about the wedding, you are not going to call it off." Luka says, his voice expressionless.
"I already did." I say avoiding his gaze still focusing on Marcus, who I was dressing up.
Luka then grabbed my arm forcibly and pushed me to the wall. That was when I got a look at his face. He had bruises on his face, scratches, and his eyes were bloodshot. Psychotic even.
"Nothing will get between us. Not even you. You are mine now Anna and you always will be. Now it is either you Marry me by will, or I conquer your kingdom, and take you by force. I prefer the second option because the first one will cause a lot of bloodshed which is basically unnecessary, considering your kingdom neither has a commander nor a queen, and we all know that Marcus was the only one in the council that wasn't plotting against you. So what will it be?" He asked. He was indeed a monster. He had no remorse for what he had done, instead he was almost proud.
"I hate you with all of my existence Luka. I would rather die than marry you." I say pulling away his knife and putting it on my neck, ready to kill myself.
"You hate me that much. It hurts me. That knife, it was given to me by my mom before she died and she told me to use it to protect and never to hurt. And sadly today that knife has hurt me the most. I'm so sorry that I have to be this kind of man Anna, but if you die, all your people die with you. I will burn this kingdom to the ground and I shall burn myself down with it too. " I almost fell for it. Why did he sound so sincere? Was it possible that I was rushing into this? That I was being unfair to Luka? With that he touched my cheek and lifted it to get me to look at him.
"I will do as you please." I stutter, "But don't think for a second that I'm doing this because I love you or I believe you."
"With time I will prove to you that you are wrong." He had released my arms and I made a quick movement taking advantage of his weak moment, and pinned him to the wall, aiming the knife at his chest. He simply looked at me and smiled.
"What is to say I won't kill you right now." I ask him. Weirdly, he slowly moves toward the knife as I move back to avoid the knife from piercing through his chest.
"If you do it, I'll be happy that I got to die at your hands. You can kill me and I won't protest, I won't even defend myself. If it gives you pleasure to see me dead, then kill me."
Is tone was full of a psychotic obsession, a disturbing joy. I found myself at the corner of the wall, and when he took a step closer the knife started to pierce his chest and blood started dripping but his eyes stayed on mine just as they were ever since he entered the room. He didn't even flinch, he just looked at me and grasped my cheek in his hand once again. Before he could take another step, I dropped the knife and without knowing, I fell into his gaze again. His eyes made me forget why I was even upset at him in the first place. He got closer to me and I dropped my guard. As our bodies touched, I felt electric currents run up and down my spine as he leaned closer and I could hear his heartbeat. It was fast. Faster than normal, as if it wanted to break out of his chest. He then grabbed my waist and pulled me closer.
"Tell me you don't see the truth in my eyes." He whispered to my ear, as I grabbed on to his shoulders because of the shivers he gave me. I then looked deeply into his eyes to his soul. And yes, he wasn't lying. I could feel it. As I looked deeper, I found myself leaning towards him and he leaned back, our lips merely inches apart. Then he stepped back.
"I will never take advantage of you." He said and left.
I slightly hit myself and went back to dressing Marcus. That was when I got a good look at his wound. It wasn't a straight wound. I even took the cloth he wore to confirm. And yes the blade that was used to kill Marcus had ridges, while the blade that Luka had held was a straight blade. So he was right. I felt guilt overwhelm me as I recalled all I had done to him. With that, I finished dressing Marcus and immediately ran to Luka's room and found him playing with the same blade.
"Luka..." I start in tears since the guilt took over. As he stood up to come to where I was I fell to his feet.
"I am so sorry for not trusting you. I'm so stupid, and selfish and I reacted irrationally. Please forgive me..." Before I could say more he raised me to my feet and wiped my tears.
"Please don't cry Anna, your tears pierce through my heart like a blade. I was never angry at you, and of course I forgive you. Don't worry, okay.?" He says, with a reassuring smile.
"So does that mean the wedding is still the same time? Nothing has changed?" I ask.
"It never did." He replies.
I ask him if I can spend the night there and he agrees. So I walk into his bath chamber to take a shower. As I did, I was thinking about who might have killed Marcus, when suddenly, the door slammed shut and I saw a pair of red eyes slowly approach me.