*Sigh* Why am I always late? Need to go! As usual
I'll reply to comments tomorrow *crosses fingers*
MidnightChapter 5The night was almost over and the earliest rays of the morning sun were beginning to filter through the grey clouds which have yet to completely disperse from the previous night. Birds perched on the trees chirped varied melodious tunes to welcome the start of a new day.
Within the castle, people had awoken and were rushing about engaged in their own activities which ranged from solders going about their routine training to the kitchen staff hard at work preparing for the first meal of the day. However, it was anything but normal inside a specific room located at the east wing of the castle.
She had tore her lips away from his regretfully, depressed that she would have no other opportunity to relieve the taste which had set her heart thumping wildly and would cause her breath to hitch in her chest. The time in which she knew feelings of love and adoration was much too short for her liking and she wished it could have extended to the rest of her life. Hopefully to the stage where they could wed and she could bear him a brood of adorable children.
Sayumi hated her background with immense animosity. If only she had been the daughter of a common folk family. Then maybe she would have stood a chance with him. Despite already having another woman occupy the space in his heart, she wanted to at least be given the opportunity to make him see that there were others willing to replace the woman whom he could never possess.
Stopping herself before her thoughts wandered even further away from the present and reality, Sayumi shook her head and bit on her lower lip. She felt the exact same pain which shot through her bleeding lip jab at her heart. Increasing her grip on the knife, Sayumi willed herself to stop daydreaming about a life she could never have. It was not lined up in her destiny to lead an uneventful and simple life and it would never be. Not in this life anyway.
Raising the dagger in her clammy hands covered in cold sweat, she aimed it directly above Gaki's heart where she knew a well-aimmed stab would prove fatal. "Everything will end if you do this. " Sayumi repeated this in her mind as she tried to convince herself to go through with the act.
Unfortunately, the older princess of Mitakuto didn’t believe in any of it. Although she didn't admit her fears in front of her little sister, she knew they were taking a gamble. It wasn't for sure that the generals would give back control of the army to Jun. Neither was it a done deal that the ministers would obey the crown prince's commands and support the royal family wholeheartedly. If their plans fell through, then all she would have accomplished in the end was destroy Sukonbu by eliminating one of their mostworthy knights. Moreover, she would hurt Ai in the process. How could she be that cruel? By all accounts, the future queen had treated her well and even saw her as a confidant.
Sayumi didn't want to do this anymore. She didn't want to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She didn't want to lie about her handicap nor did she want to kill the man she loved over a fate she knew could not be reversed. Mikakuto was doomed. It was only a matter of time.
The constant stress build up by the responsibilities and duties she had towards her country was getting to be too much for her and in a moment of weakness, Sayumi found herself spiraling into helplessness and despair. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the shiny blade, she stared at it, entranced as if the being in the metal section of the weapon was calling out to her. Turning the tip towards herself, Sayumi squeezed her eyes shut and plunged it at her heart...
-----
"Ah!"
Ai yelped out in surprise when someone came charging down the stairs, stomping so hard on each step that the wooden slates would have broken through if they weren't as hardy as they were. The man coming in the opposite direction straight in her path would have collided into her head on if Ai hadn't dodged and backed up against the wall in time. Recognizing the person instantly when he brushed past her without halting, Ai called out.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
However, her cries were ignored as Kamei continued on his way, his eyes dark and his mouth set in a grim line. In his rush to exit this part of the castle, he jumped down the steps two at a time and practically sprinted off at top speed when he reached the bottom.
Watching his retreating back, Ai cocked her head to the side in confusion. Why was Kamei acting in such a strange manner? He did not greet her properly like how a knight should upon seeing his future queen. And he had ignored her when she had called out to him.
In normal circumstances, Kamei was a friendly guy and would crack jokes at the most random moments. They weren't always funny but it usually served its purpose. Which was to lighten the mood in a room where the atmosphere had gotten too heavy.
Judging from the direction he had come from, Ai deduced that he could only have been to Niigaki's room as it was the only chamber on this level. The tower was designed and structured such that each storey housed a single quarter to provide every higher ranked warrior his own space and hence privacy.
What could have occurred for the usually mild Kamei to react like this truly baffled Ai. Deciding to leave that matter aside for now, Ai regathered the material of her flowing long dress and continued her ascent towards her intended destination.
-----
It was barely twenty seconds but the short duration that she had spent gazing up into his warm brown eyes was enough for Sayumi to forget to breath. White spots formed in her vision and she would have most probably fainted from the lack of oxygen if her senses hadn't kicked in and reminded her to finally take in some air.
Lying flat on her back and gasping heavily with her face and lips a mere centimeter away from the handsome features of the person on top of her. Sayumi was mesmerized by his fringe which fell messily over his now focused eyes and the extreme concern that had worked itself into the worry lines on his forehead.
Greatly aware of his strong clasp on both her wrist and how their bodies were separated by just the thin fabric of her outfit, she shivered uncontrollably as he spoke, feeling his heated breath graze past her lips.
"What are you doing?"
With her body tense from the unbelievable proximity with a person of the opposite sex, Sayumi was lucky she was much too stunned to reply. If she did, her cover would be blown and her lie exposed. No one could discover that she had recovered her voice or they would be on their guard when she was around and speak less candidly in her presence.
His weight on her torso increased when he released his hold on her wrist to remove the knife in her hand. After he had extracted the dangerous weapon from her limp fingers, he eased back onto the mattress beside her, not speaking again.
When her breathing became regulated and the flush on her cheeks subsided, he felt it had been enough time for her to calm down. Watching her lips intently, he waited to read her answers in reply to the questions he was about to enquire.
"Why do you want to take your own life? Did something happen?"
Tears immediately formed in her eyes and in a matter of seconds, they began to fall, sliding down the side of her face and dripping onto the pillow under her head. Closing her eyes in a bid to prevent more tears from falling, Sayumi only succeeded in drenching her long lashes with the water droplets and causing them to glisten in the light emitted by the flickering candle flame.
Although he wasn't entirely sure what had happened to her, Niigaki felt the urge to console his savior. He knew she was the one who had found him and dressed his wound and in turn, he must repay her kind gesture. But this time, he felt something else stir within him. Something that was more than mere gratitude.
Releasing his hold on the blade, he heard it hit the floor with a soft thud. Then with the same hand, he brushed at the ends of her eyes, wiping away the tears that marred her perfect features.
"Don't cry. I don't want to see you sad."
His words shocked Sayumi and she reopened her eyes after hearing the statement. His face was blurred by her tears but somehow she could feel his intense gaze searching her own. In that instant, Sayumi forgot about her worries. All she could see was the man she liked right in front of her.
Bringing her hands up and interlacing her fingers behind his neck, she pulled him nearer, angling her head so that she could kiss his lips. Could it be that her affections weren't totally one-sided? And that the suave and handsome knight too felt something for her?
I don't care about the reason for your concern. I want to be with you. Even if I'm just Ai's replacement.On Niigaki's part, he was frozen for a second, unable to process that the woman beneath him was running her fingers through his hair and kissing him with a desire burning with such passion that it matched the temperature of his still feverish body.
When his brain registered what Sayumi was doing, he stiffened as he prepared to push her away. Yet he couldn't convert that thought into action when he realized that she hadn't stopped crying and was obviously trying to escape from a pain that was tormenting her emotionally. Thankfully that while he was engaged in the mental battle of whether to reject her advances, Sayumi ceased her desperate kisses and settled into a fitful sleep.
Her arms wound unyieldingly around him although she had shifted and was currently lying on her side with her head against his chest. Not wanting to wake her from the rest that she clearly needed, Niigaki allowed her to snuggle close to him. When his eyelids began to grow heavy from the lingering ailment, he too fell asleep, his arm subconsciously tightening protectively around the maiden in his embrace.
-----
“This can't be real."
The door wasn't fully shut and a gap in between the frame and the door permitted the figure standing outside an unnblocked view into Niigaki's chamber. Although the candle in the corner had burnt nearly to its end, it provided sufficient illumination for Ai to see that there was someone else on the bed beside Gaki.
The shocking revolation of her true love being with another was too much to take and Ai's head spun as she swayed pecariously from side to side. When her kneels at last gave way and buckled from underneath her, she crashed to the floor in a daze, unable to believe the scene that she had stumbled upon.
In her mind's eye, flashes of the happy past she had spent with Gaki appeared interspersed by the image of him in bed with Sayumi. The flood of memories both good and bad assaulted her relentlessly, forcing her to remember how gentle he had been when they were together. Yet the man who claimed he would die for her without a second thought was presently enjoying himself with another woman. Her friend no less!
Furious at the betrayal by the people closest to her, Ai struggled back on her feet. Subsequently, she turned on her heel and descended the winding stairway. She was going to see Kusumi. The young crown prince was besotted with her and Ai knew he would accede to any of her request regardless of the implications.
"You said you loved me...I won’t forgive you for lying."
Topic: More Than One Story...[111016 Loving You Forever] (Read 236731 times)