The Scarlet Phoenix and the Prince of Winter

Chapter Ninety Seven

I just discovered that when you are in limbo--- most probably between the realms of life and death, you are going to feel very insignificant. You are going to feel hollow and insufficient as if your life will never be enough to fill this void that you have just discovered its existence. This is what is happening to me right now.

But I was too weak to even comprehend this place--- if this is even a real place. I guess this is where a soul goes when it is weakened so much? And if I am really a deity in human form and I got weakened by the gold-laced arrow that struck my body, then this mysterious and ethereal event happening will make sense. If I remember what the deity of the skies, Amato, told me when a deity dies (or a diet in human form) their soul goes back to nature. And I also know now why that happens, and it is because it takes a while for nature to create a body of a deity. It looks like everything that has got to do with deities is deeply rooted in nature. As Volo puts it beautifully, deities are nature personified. And I think that is why I am here. This is what nature looks like from someone like my perspective.

And there she was. A woman seemingly dressed and basking in bright light was standing in the distance from where I was. She was facing me, but I could not see her face. She was so bright that I could not look at her directly.

But because I was curious who she was, I called her. "Hello, over there! Who are you?"

She did not reply though. She just stood there and looked back at me (even though I could not see her, I knew that she was looking at me.) I could feel her gaze. And then I noticed something. She was starting to glitter and then her body was slowly turning into light. It was then that I realized who she was.

She is Alfiora.

And as I watched her become pure light, I could feel something inside of me was stirring. It was like I was being compelled to her. It was like she was a part of me--- or rather, I was a part of her.

"Are you the Scarlet Phoenix?" I called onto her, but her face and her whole upper body part were now made of pure dazzling light. "Are you really me?" I called out, but she was soon disappearing into a ball of light that looked like a mini-sun. It was getting bigger and bigger while her body was getting smaller and smaller. She was probably transforming into something that I cannot understand.

But I think I have now a clue of what is happening. So when the now ball of glowing light hit me I kind of knew that it would happen. And then I woke up.

I woke up feeling dizzy and my mouth dry, but I was glad that someone was beside my bed when I opened my eyes and looked around. Oddly, I am back in my house at Aurville, and my brother Garreth was on my side, looking at me worriedly. Jang was on the other side too, and when I smiled weakly at her when I saw her, she burst into tears while crying noisily.

"You made us worry so much!" she cried as she held my hands. I think she even wanted to hug but chose not to. Then she looked at my brother. "Garreth, is she okay now? She's awake! What did that handsome doctor say? Is it okay to talk to her now?"

I could not understand what she was talking about so I just let them talk while I listened there and feel my body if something was wrong with me. "She is fine now. Harvey told me that once she wakes up, she will just need a week of rest to cope up with what happened---"

"A week?" I blurted out to them before I could even stop myself. And I wish I did because just talking that loud (which was not loud enough) already made my body feel weaker. What is happening to me?

"Please don't talk that loud, Rainha!" said Jang to me who was again on the verge of fresh new tears. "You are not still okay."

"W-What happened?" I asked her weakly. My voice was literally me just whispering to them in between deep breaths, but I still feel fine. I don't feel any particular pain in my body, but I don't have the energy too to do what I wanted to do so it is equally relieving and frustrating.

"A lot has happened, my dear Rainha," said Jang who answered me in a humorous way that made my brother smile. "I don't even know where to start. But I know that you will not rest until someone tells you everything, so please bear with us as we tell you everything that you need to do."

I nodded slowly at her. The two looked tense as they looked at each other, probably asking each other silently on whose going to be the one who will tell me everything that has happened while I am unconscious. Of course, there are a lot of things that I wanted to know from them. First of all, why am I here at our house in Aurville? And why are these two here with me? I did not expect them to be here because the two of them needed to be somewhere else right now. My brother is a Royal Guard stationed at the borders while Jang is still a court servant. So why are they here? Did they leave their jobs just to take care of me? That would have meant a lot for me but that would also be very risky for them.

"Before I tell you everything, do you remember anything that has happened to you before you got shot with those Royal Guards?" Jang asked me.

"Of course," I replied. "I can remember everything vividly..." I added and my mind went into a series of flashbacks. Me and the Crown Prince getting attacked by Steffan who was a traitor, then we were brought to Mistyland where we finally met Jack, the culprit behind my Aunt's disappearance. Then they managed to hurt the Crown Prince, so they tried to save him, and then Harvey and Calyx came out of nowhere to save me. But Jack was able to stop us and then a confrontation happened between the two of us. I happened to escape from him because I gained a 'power' and that is when the truth was revealed to me. Both Jack and I are deities born as humans, and I could be the Scarlet Phoenix--- the reason why I keep on dreaming of her life in the past. And then I was able to escape again, but when I reached the sleepy town of Carmel some Royal Guards came to catch me, saying that they have to arrest me for harming Jack. They were able to shoot me with their gold-laced arrows but in that last moment before I passed out I think I saw the Crown Prince shielding me from the arrows with his own body.

And then I began to cry. Everything came back to me like a massive wave. It was just too much. Me learning that Aunt Milca is dead, and then discovering that I might not be who I think I am, and then the Crown Prince protecting me like that when it would also mean that he would be badly injured too. A lot of awful things had happened and I can no longer take everything in and pretend that I was okay with all of those things happening.

It was then that my brother went to me and hugged me. He whispered to me that everything will be alright, and somehow I believed him. He always made me feel safe, and that is something that I treasure about my brother. He comforted me while Jang was there crying with me too. And when I finally feel a little better, she started her story by saying that a full week has gone already since the encounter in Mistyland. "A week?" I could not believe it because it just felt like yesterday.

But Jang stood by what she told me. "You were unconscious for seven whole days, Rainha," she told me with a sad smile. "And everyone thought that you were going to die. You were...almost dead."

I gasped. "W-What do you mean---?"

"You suffered grave wounds from those Royal Guards," said Jang. "One of the arrows almost hit your heart, so it was not surprising that you were at the brink of death. The Crown Prince was so mad about that though... He got so angry that he killed those Royal Guards that did that to you..."

"WHAT?"

"The Crown Prince killed them," my brother said. "He was so angry that they tried to kill you, so it was only natural for him to retaliate. But he got injured too. I don't know what actually happened there, but according to Ralphus, the Crown prince was able to kill every Royal Guard there before falling down himself."

"What happened to him after that? And why was Sir Ralphus there too?"

Jang gave me a look as if she wanted to say something else, something naughty I think, but stopped herself and just answered my questions. "Sir Ralphus and Kaylie went to find you. It seems that they were tipped off by Calyx that something was wrong, who got his information from the doctor called Harold---"

"Harvey," I corrected her and she giggled. But when she realized that she should have not done that, she went to put up a poker face that made me laugh a little.

"As I was saying, Sir Ralphus was informed that you were in danger together with the Crown Prince, so they went to follow you there at Mistyland and Carmel. But when they arrived there, everyone was on the ground and the two of you were already unconscious from fatal injuries. They brought you to the nearest Health Pub and thankfully., they were able to save you."

And that was just the beginning, according to Jang. The news broke out that the Crown Prince was unconscious from fatal wounds, and it stirred the whole kingdom into worry and confusion. Jack then went on narrating to the public his side of that story. He claimed that the Crown Prince wanted to kill him because he suspected him of killing Aunt Milca. And when the public asked why would the Crown Prince kill someone for a regular citizen, it was then that JJack revealed to the public that Prince Kao and I are lovers.

Jang could no longer keep her silence from that. "Rainha, I did not want to say this early but I could not believe that you kept this a secret to me. So the boyfriend that you were talking about was the Crown Prince himself, the one who Calyx saw you with that time at the underground tunnel! And even Kaylie and Sir Ralphus know about it! And your brother too!"

I stared at my brother. "You knew---?"

"The Crown Prince told me when you visited me there at the border," he said simply and I wanted to do cartwheels just because I feel like it. That Prince! Why would he even tell that to my brother secretly? Has he gone mad?

"I would have felt left out if it were not for Madame Morris explaining that the Crown Prince forbade you to tell everyone about your affair," she said smiling. "But still, I felt sad that I had no clue about it---"

"I'm sorry, Jang," I told her earnestly. "I'm sorry that I could not tell that to you."

She shook her head. "That's fine now. I understand why you did that. And if it was me too, I think I would have been so scared to tell anyone about that. It's the Crown Prince, for freaking sake! Of course, it would scare me!"

"But we are not really lovers," I told the two of them. "He just says that because he loves me."

I know that when I said that, the two of them would not believe me, and Jang was giving me an expression that looked like she wanted to hit me in the head. "Of course, he loves you! He would not kill someone, more especially Royal Guards for someone who is not especially to him! And don't you say to me that you rejected him, Rainha because I knew how much you loved him from the beginning! Tell me that you rejected the Crown Prince and I will strangle you to death right here, right now!"

I laughed again at that. "I did not say that. I just told him that I can't be with him yet..."

"That's better," she said but then squealed because according to her, I am now officially the luckiest woman in the kingdom. But I don't know if that is true though. What she revealed next almost made my heart stop from beating. "The whole kingdom is in a crisis, you know, and that is because of you! Just three days ago, the Crown Prince finally woke up, but the King announced to the public that he is now disowning him, thus, he will no longer be the next King of Aure. The only thing that could make the King change his mind was the Crown Prince cutting his ties with you."

I gasped. "And what did he do? What did Prince Kao do?" I asked frantically. "Don't tell me he chose---"

"Yes, he chose you, you lucky girl, but because of that, half of the kingdom is now mad at you."