REDEMPTION

24. AUDREY ANGEL.

Audrey wanted to answer but she thought twice before she did. What she needed now was information and she did not have the luxury of time on her hands. Her mouth was open but no words came out. She thought of what she needed and decided to use what she had. If it worked then she would be able to gather what she needed.

As she was about to speak, blood spewed from her mouth unintentionally. Some of it ended up on the prince’s shoes since he was right in front of her. Everyone froze, knowing she was in for it. However, no one could tell what was running through the prince’s mind. He just looked at her, his face expressionless and waited.

The burning sensation in Audrey’s throat only intensified as time went by. And when she tried to talk or scream, the pain only got worse. Breathing became difficult as well. Was she really going to die now? Without knowing what the world blamed her for? Audrey could not accept this ending. Tears streamed over her dry tear marks and washed part of the dirt that had accumulated on her face.

She tried calming down and ignoring the pain as her head landed on the ground. She did not care if she had landed in her own blood or if her hair was being dyed by it as well. All she thought of right now was her life. She needed it. And craved for it, badly. She could hear muffled voices in the background but could not tell what she was saying. Audrey focused only on her breathing.

Soon enough, she calmed down and coughed the blood she had left trapped in her chest. Once she was done, she lifted her heavy head to the direction she had been placed and waited. Since her vision was not back yet, she adjusted herself to face the direction she had heard the voice come from. However, she was not sure if she was facing the right direction.

The Prince looked at this young lady before him angered yet amused. What he had heard about her was different from what he saw. That is, if she Was the one they were talking of. This girl was either a great actress or an i***t. Her age was around sixteen, give or take. Her features were not bad for the state she was in. He found himself thinking of what she would look like after being cleaned up.

He mentally shook his head and brought it back from the clouds. The prince noticed that she had not answered his question yet. He decided to ask it again.

“Who are you?”

As the voice filled her eardrums, Audrey adjusted herself one more time to face the voice. Everything before her was dark. All she could do now was rely on her ears to respond. Since her legs were tied, she decided to remain seated but show respect to the owner of that voice, nonetheless. Audrey gave a slight bow and replied.

“Achlysa.” Her voice sounded like broken glass. And after she said the name, blood slipped from her mouth. However, this did not prevent her from speaking further. “And sir, may I ask who you are?”

“Insolence. How dare you speak…” Claus was interrupted by the Prince when he raised his hand.

“My lady, my name is Bendra. Prince of the Other realm.” He said while slightly bowing as well. Even though he had figured out she could not see, he thought it right to return the gesture.

At the mention of his name and introduction, Audrey shuddered. If her legs were not tied in place she was have backed away. The name Bendra was widely known. Apart from the fact that he was a prince, this young lad had earned praise from all over. He had not only fought to keep the realm safe but also proved himself worthy by being recognized as the heir to the throne. This brought about a scandal because he was the third son to the king. However, his father did not change his mind and proceeded to declare him the Crown Prince.

“Forgive my rude appearance sire.” Audrey finally said, he mind going blank after she said those words. She had always been terrible at conversations. Whenever one was started, she would panic and all the words would flee from her brain, leaving her vocabulary store disserted.

The Prince knelt so that he could see her eye to eye. He searched for something he could not entirely explain.

“Mmmh. Lady Achlysa, mind telling me what you were doing in the carriage?”

She kept quiet, trying to cook up a delicious story that the Prince could believe but came up empty. She answered his question with silence. Audrey knew that they would see right through her lie. She did not attempt to prove her innocence. However, she hoped that they would consider letting her go. Crown Prince Bendra sighed noticing that she had remained silent.

He stood, his hand on his hilt. At a supersonic speed, he unsheathed it and it landed right in front of Audrey’s temple. She did not flinch, tremble, scream, beg for mercy or cry. She simply stared at something in front if her. Something that was not there. Or perhaps something that was. He lowered his sword and slashed at a speed no one could follow. On sheathing his sword, the ropes that had bound Audrey fell.

All this time, Claus was magnetized to the ground. Beads of sweat fell from his face as his heart had already sunk to his feet. His body tremble from what he had heard. If she was really who she said she was then, did she regain her memories? And for how long had she known? All this time, had he been dancing to the tune of her song? What was he planning?

Questions upon questions flocked his mind. Old memories popped up as well. Memories he did not want to resurface. Yet, they played in his head, over and over and over and over again. He could not tale it anymore. Anger blinded him and he reached for his own sword, ready to attack Audrey.

Crown Prince Bendra had sensed a disturbance in the energy around him but he was not able to act fast enough. As he was about to reach out for Achlysa’s hand to help her to her feet, he saw the glimmer of a sword from the corner of his eye. His instincts took over and he jumped to the side, away from the sword. Only after he had taken this action did he realize his mistake.

He tried blocking the swords path but by the time he did, the sword had arrived at its destination. The Crown Prince had only managed to divert the swords mission by diverging its path a bit. However, the wound it had left was still grave. He noticed Achlysa did not scream, she was holding it in. The swords had pieced her shoulder. If left untreated, she would never be able to use her hand again. The guards seized Claus.

Prince Bendra took of his cloak and tore it into pieces. The sword was still stuck in Achlysa and he made no effort to pull it out. He simply tired the cloak around her shoulder to ensure she did not lose anymore blood. Claus on the other hand kept shouting, “I’ll kill you,” or “It’s you, you killed them.” None of which made sense. Everyone present finally realized that he had lost his mind. It was rumored that he did love his wife very much.

As Crown Prince Bendra was about to help Achlysa to her feet, she got up on her own. Staggering all the way as she did. Achlysa did not scream or show any signs of doing so. Bendra thought that she had gone mute but Audrey knew she was simply trying to avoid bursting her vocal cards that had not healed yet. Crown Prince Bendra stood before her and broke the sword using his strength.

“Follow me,” he said frantically. Nonetheless, she stood there in a daze.

Audrey had heard a voice but she could not tell what the voice said. Her world was spinning. Her heart raced and her nosy was numb. She could not move nor could she speak.

The Crown Prince looked at her, slightly angered by her reaction. He was about to rebuke her when she leaned to her right. Her eyes closed and she collapsed. He cushioned her fall before she hit the ground. Without any effort at all, he lifted her from the ground. His face was scary as he looked at the people who had been there all this time.

“I’ll deal with you later.” This was meant for them and Claus and the coachman that had brought her.

“Get the damn carriage already!”