REDEMPTION

26. TWO HEARTS.

She heard someone speak. The voice was far yet near. She stirred in her sleep. The last thing she remembered was…

Audrey shot up from her bed after her memory cleared up. She did not know where she was, or how long she had been out. The moment she sat, pain shot all over her body making her stop. When she tried lying down, she felt more pain shoot through her body as well. She took a deep breath and decided to lift her body. She did this slowly and finally got to a sitting position. Her body was weak and her throat was dry.

She took a leap of faith and opened her eyes. Nothing. She sighed. Audrey hoped that she would have been fixed by now but something at the back of her mind told her that her eyes were gone for good. She stretched her hand sideways, trying to find something she could lean on. Audrey felt it, something cold and not too rough. It was firm too. A wall! She smiled and adjusted her body as pain rushed through her body in waves. Finally leaning on it, she felt herself blink.

She tried thinking of where to go from here once she was healed. She had no idea what she had started. At the moment, it sounded like a solid plan but right now, she wasn’t so sure. However, she was not going to rub away from it. Audrey had made up her mind to find out who this Achlysa was. She must have been connected to her somehow.

As she thought of this, her father’s words crept into her mind. Her mother. She had totally forgotten about her. “Was she really dead? Did I kill her? No. Of course not. And if I didn’t, then, who did?” she thought. Her head banged a few times. Her breathing slowed down due to something tightening in her chest. A cough escaped her lungs. Luckily, no blood came out. She was relieved but somehow, she felt worse. She had no idea why.

The room she was in was suddenly bathed in bright light. Audrey did not react. Someone wanted to walk into her room when he saw her. Whoever it was froze. She was awake. He looked at her once more and felt it. The pounding of his mechanical heart. His feet felt the ground shake, yet, no earthquake was occurring. He stared at her for a while until he realized, she was shivering. “She must be cold.” He thought.

Bendra took a blanket that was on a seat neatly folded. He then proceeded to cover her with it. Audrey was yet to realize what was placed on her. Her brain only realized that something was on her when she felt something warm on her shoulders. She tried to push it away but her body was so weak that all she could manage was a light tug at whatever the thing was. A hurt look was plastered on Bendra’s face.

The man who had delivered the message to him, had also walked in. When he saw what his master was doing, he was surprised. He might have been a man of the people, however, he had never, not even once showed his emotions to anyone. The wife to the king made sure of that. Hiss mother was a servant that served as a mere cleaner in the palace grounds. The King to a liking to her, and one thing led to another and he came along.

The Queen had never really like her and her son to begin with. Nevertheless, she was too scared to act at first but as time went on, she grew braver and more cunning. Since Minna, Bendra’s mother, still worked in the palace, she knew she had a chance of getting rid of her. She would cause trouble for Minna every once in a while. Before long, Minna passed on because she was overworked.

The Queen was overjoyed as she had eliminated her threat to power. What she do not know was the King was three steps ahead. Before Minna died, the king had declared her his second wife and had already gone through with the process of making her Queen. He had also told the world of his child with her. Queen Zedesh, did not know if this because she was too involved with getting rid of Minna. If only she had paid more attention.

After she was buried, Bendra was brought into the palace. He had to take extra lessons so that he could catch up with his siblings. The one in charge of picking his tutors was none other that Queen Zedesh. She made sure to get the toughest tutors she could find. And once in a while, she could take on some of the lessons herself. Keep in mind she did not do this out of motherly love. She was doing this to torture and find faults in this kid.

Because of this, Bendra’s emotions were locked. He never smiled nor laughed. When he was young, he did not okay with his siblings or age mates. In fact, he only knew of the existence of his siblings on his twelfth birthday. It was customary for any Royal to graduate from a child to adulthood on his twelfth birthday. This meant that he or she would be legible for the throne or a high position, if he or she had one in mind, one day.

After this ceremony, the King kept a close eye on him since then. And when he came to notice what was really going on under his nose, things were too far gone. Bendra did not show any emotion at all. Bendra was never disrespectful but had been trained to lock his emotions by his step mother. He could not even remember the last time he was able to smile. What it felt like running in the sun or standing in the rain.

The queen thought she would break him through her ruthless methods but what she did not know was that she was slowly but surely refining him. The king was furious with her but that soon died when he saw the work he had accomplished. He showed no fear when assigned impossible missions. He showed no favor when judging cases. He was thorough in his duties and what was interesting was that he looked at his people’s affairs more than he cared about his wealth.

This was what the King was looking for in his children. Who would have known that his third son, a son born from a woman he had fallen for on a whim, would be the one. He was happy but he still had to go through a simple test to prove what he was seeing was right. Hence, King Nalam sent him to war. And Bendra came back victorious. Holmen had been serving under the prince since he was brought to the palace and this was the first time his saw that look on his face.

He wanted to see more. He wanted to know more. He wanted her to stay and continue changing his master. He wanted her to stay because she was the color in his darkness. Holmen knew he could not force things, nor could he voice out this outrageous idea that ran wild in his head. However, he knew that time was something that no man could catch or change. He also knew that destiny could never be broken or erased. If she is decide to leave, he was sure that these two would meet again.

Bendra reached out to her again. He looked hesitant for some reason. When she had rejected his hand earlier, he felt pain fill his heart. It was not the pain he felt when he was told she did not have long to live. It was worse. But how could that be? His hand finally touched her shoulder. He was gentle about it, afraid he would break it if he was not careful.

He did not care if he did not know her. He somehow believed that she would tell him one day. And he was willing to wait. “What is happening to me?” he wondered. That did not matter now. Bendra lowered his body and out his hand on her back. He intended to lower her back to a comfortable position but she was struggling to remain seated. He let her be.

The young prince sighed and sat down on the bed. He looked at her. Studying her features and taking them in. He admired her but also felt guilty for not protecting her.

“Who’s there?” she asked. Her voice was smoother than when they first met. It was soft and even though she struggled, it was perfect. Her voice reminded him of the flowers that bloomed for a single season. It was both precious and unique. He wanted to keep it for himself alone. He had the strange urge to kill the one who had hurt her. But, he knew that that might be the wrong path.

“Remember me? Lady Achlysa.” His voice was soft as well, almost a whisper.

Bendra saw her eyes brighten for a moment. She looked happy. Her face which had gone pale, brightened as a little color filled her cheeks as she smiled. Audrey lifted her head but she realized that that was the wrong move too late. As soon as she lifted her head to face her savior’s voice, her body’s fatigue took its toll on her and she fell in his direction.

Audrey landed on something that was as firm as the wall but softer than it. She could hear a drum beating from far. The rhythm was one she had never heard before. It made her happy. She wanted to hold it but her right shoulder was injured which was impossible for her to catch it. Her right hand had held onto something. Her mind told her not to let go. And she didn’t.

“Don’t move… ”