AKARI - LOSING EVERYTHING
1480 Words
“How the mighty has fallen,” Damien, prince of the empire said with a condescending sneer as he looked down at me.
I lay on the hard, wet floor of the palace dungeons, chained with silver that burned through my flesh and put me in unimaginable pain. My wrists and ankles along with my neck were shackled.
Yet, I didn’t flinch, I made sure there was no change in my stoic expression, not even as I looked up to the man I was once in love with.
When our eyes met, the corners of my lips titled up.
“You should say that to my face if you have the balls!” I taunted, a low growl emitting from me as I stared at the man who stood outside the cage he put me in.
Damien scoffed, his eyes chillier than winter, he was not the man I knew. But then again, I doubted I ever truly knew who Damien was.
Damn it! I should’ve listened to my mother and grandmother when they’d warned me about the empire and their cunning when it came to a woman in power.
Yet, here I was, chained in the dungeons and awaiting judgment for multiple crimes I did not commit.
“You seem to still think yourself powerful, Akari,” Damien mused, “You seem to have forgotten that you are no longer Luna of Midnight but the traitor who tried to kill the crown prince and also pocketed funds meant for your pack's growth, killed the crown Prince's butler and tried to steal an important heirloom, who knows what else would've happened if Luke hadn't been there?” Damien laughed as he listed every allegation placed upon me with pride in his tone and I burned with anger. I felt my beast just beneath the surface, eager to jump out and claw the eyes of the bastard out.
Patience. I reminded myself. There was a time for everything.
So there I sat, in a flimsy white dress that barely covered my thighs, it was the height of disgrace for me. I, the most powerful werewolf in the empire reduced to a humiliated mess rotting in the palace dungeons.
“You seem to be enjoying your time here a bit too much,” Damien laughed. Seeing him so excited to see me in such a situation only fueled my anger and my pain.
I pulled at my chains the first time with a guttural growl, Damien stiffened up and his eyes widened slightly as he watched me repeat the action again.
“It’s useless! These chains are far stronger than-”
His words were cut short when I pulled at my chains one last time and they ripped off from the walls, freeing my arms and leaving only my burning ankles and neck shackled.
That was more than enough for me. I threw out the chain and watched with pure pleasure as it slashed down Damien's face, opening it up like a f*****g waterfall.
The crown prince fell to the floor in shock, groaning and moaning in pain.
It hurt me too, seeing him in so much pain but my anger overrode it.
He betrayed me! He framed me for treason and intended to end my life!
This is something he and my precious cousin had been planning for years!
I had given him everything a woman could give. Everything!
“Akari!” Damien bellowed out in pain and anger. He rose as the guards gathered and tried to help, he pushed them all away in anger and walked closer to my cage.
My smile faltered the closer he got.
“Congratulations! You have just added this to the endless list of reasons why you should be executed!” Damien snarled, his bleeding face making him seem scary and unapproachable, a darkness in his eyes that I had never seen before.
This man...has he always been like this?
“And, I won’t let them kill you, no,” Damien shook his head, blood dripping down into his eyes and turning his eyes red. “I will take everything, everything from you until you have nothing left, your family, your pack including the strength you are so proud of!” Damian enunciated every word, laced with pure hatred and anger.
I stood there with a blank expression when the inside of me was in turmoil. How long had he hated me for?
From the beginning?
All I ever did was love him!
What did I do so wrong?
Still, I stood my ground and met his glare with one of my own, “There is nothing you can take from me that will hurt me as much as you already have, Damien, nothing!” I said to him.
I was wrong. And I realized just how wrong I was two days later when I was before the emperor, our ruler, in the Royal Court.
I realized just how wrong I was when I watched him drop his lifted hand with that stern expression on his face that was almost identical to Damien’s.
I realized just how wrong I was when I watched those large blades separate the heads from my mother’s and grandmother's bodies. While I screamed my throat raw, begging, pleading.
“Please!” I cried weakly when I realized all was done, “Punish me instead,” I whimpered, “Please,”
My pleas went unheard.
It was too late.
Their blood already coated my thin dress, the fading warmth already covered my fingers, and their empty eyes still filled with shock stared back at me.
I had failed them.
I felt so cold. So cold that I shivered-no-sobs racked my entire frame. Tears burned as they fell down my silver-ridden body.
I haven’t cried since I was ten years old.
But in that moment, it felt like an unending waterfall.
I saw Damien's scarred face out of the corner of my eyes and by his side was Luke, my cousin, my best friend who was apparently the one who saved the Prince’s life and also exposed my corruption to the pack.
Some of my pack members didn’t believe the accusations. I was cruel, but never to my family, never to my pack. But the others in my pack who hated seeing the strength of an Alpha in the hands of a woman gave the empire my mother and grandmother.
It hurt.
It hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe. I could not stop crying.
Then the emperor cleared his throat. garnering the attention of everyone in the court and met my eyes. His cold unfeeling gaze pierced deep into my soul.
“For committing treason against your empire, you will be sentenced to six months in seclusion in a place of the Prince's choosing and you will never be allowed to leave until the empire is ready to revisit your case and sentence you, permanently.” The emperor announced, not a hitch in his voice.
Damien's expression was smug. And I could see Luke, hiding a smile.
The f*****g bastards.
“And as an added punishment, we will take away your wolf and leave you without its strength, a traitorous scum like you does not deserve such strength!” The king announced, sounding almost excited by the idea.
What?
I stilled as the information sunk in. “You can’t do that!” I growled, “You can’t f*****g do that!!” I screeched, I knew I looked like a crazy person being so hysterical but I wouldn’t ever let them, I could not let them take all that I am!
Still, while I struggled to find my balance, I felt powerful warlocks closing in on me with the unmistakable hum of a spell.
“Please! Help me! Please!” I screamed, desperately to anyone willing to listen, “I’m sorry, please!” I screamed even louder as I felt the terrifying sink of my beast being silenced and then for a split second, all I noticed were the looks of disdain and smugness in the court.
The majority were happy to see me fall.
I saw the wild look in Damien’s eyes. The sheer joy in Luke's.
That was when I realized, it was over. I had lost everything. The all-powerful Luna of Midnight had lost everything because she chose to love.
And then, the blinding pain of my wolf being ripped out tore a guttural howl of pain from my lungs. It felt like my entire being was being set on fire, being doused in dry ice, being sprinkled with salt.
I wailed with the last of my strength and eventually, even that waned. My vision slowly faded and soon, so did my consciousness.
As everything went dark, I was aware, that with my beast leaving me, I was left with only one emotion.
An intense need for revenge.
- Writer
