Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) (11 page)

I spotted a large eel slithering through the water and my serenity dissipated a little.  This, of course, was no ordinary eel.  This was Kafkus in his other form.  I held up my arm and pointed back the way he’d come.  I was more than annoyed that he’d been following us, let alone the fact that he was now spying on us.

Kafkus didn’t take the hint.  Instead, he continued swimming in our direction as if he didn’t see my rude gesture, which I knew that he had.  Maybe he thought that I didn’t recognize him, if that was the case, he was wrong.  I could have picked him out of a hundred eels, though I wasn’t sure why.  He had no defining characteristics that made him stand out from the rest.  Maybe it was just his powerful presence that I could feel.

Since he didn’t seem to want to listen, I thought I might torture him into leaving.  I climbed onto Clifton’s lap, straddling him, and kissed him.  Clifton hesitated in kissing me back.  He seemed troubled by the approaching eel, though I was certain that he didn’t know why he should be.  I grabbed Clifton’s hand and placed it on my breast, hoping to spark an interest in him.  It worked.  He began kissing me harder, with more enthusiasm.

Kafkus began to swim around us, circling us.  I paid no attention to him.  I focused my full attention on Clifton’s kiss.  I got lost in it for a moment, and when opened my eyes Kafkus was gone.

I pulled away from Clifton and motioned to the surface.  He took the hint and kicked off the ocean floor after me.

“What was that about?”

“Just trying to get rid of a nosy Zolera.”

“I had a feeling that the eel wasn’t what it seemed to be.”

“You will find a lot of that here.  It’s always hard to know if you are really alone or not.  We should probably start heading back.”

My mother was waiting for me when we reached the castle.

“Clifton, may I please have a moment alone with my daughter?”

“Yes, my Queen.  I will just, uh, be in the living room.”  He bowed and went inside.

I was getting pretty irritated with everyone leaving Clifton out of everything.  He was my Zezka after all, and deserved to be clued in.  If my mother didn’t look so distraught already I would have voiced my annoyance.  But she did look upset so I kept my big mouth shut.

“What do you wish to speak to me about mother?”

“I fear for your safety, Quartessa.  Your father has been acting very odd as of late, as if he knows something.  He will not speak to me about it and I fear that it involves you.”  Her voice was calm but she was looking close to tears.

“I don’t know what you want
me
to do about it.  He wouldn’t tell me anything either.”  I felt agitated as I remembered my previous conversation with my father.

“He wants you to stay.”

“Yeah, he told me that.”

Her sadness seeped to her eyes.  “You know that he would not ask you to stay if he did not know something big.  He knows your reasons for leaving as well as I do.”

“It doesn’t matter.  You may be happy here, mother, but I will never be.  You know this.”

“I just have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, Quartessa.  It feels like death and decay.”

“It couldn’t have anything to do with the Ring of Eccus, could it?”

“I do not think so.  It feels related somehow, but not entirely it.”

“Look mother, if you came here tonight to try to scare me into staying, your efforts have been in vain.  I will be returning to the human world just as soon as we have received word back from father’s guards.”

She looked saddened, rather than angered, by my unkind words.  “I only wish to keep you safe.  You are my only daughter.”

I felt my anger vanish as I looked into her caring face and tear-laden eyes.  “I know, mother.  If I thought that I could be happy here, then I would stay.  But we both know that will never happen.  I can’t just stay here for you.  I am a grown woman and I make my own choices now.”  I hoped she could understand.

“I know, Quartessa.  It is just that I worry about you.”

I gave her a warm, heartfelt hug.  “I know, mother.”  I could feel her body quiver against me in her anguish.  I did hate to see her this way.

“I only wish that things could be different,” she whispered with genuine remorse.

If I could live the life that I wanted here, then I would never have to put my mother through the heartache that she now endured.  If I had been free to make my own decisions, my own choices, things would be different.  If Clifton could be accepted for who he was and not crucified for whom he shared his bloodline with, I would be more than happy to stay.  But none of that would ever happen, and because of that, I would choose to leave.  The only real choice that I’d ever had here.

She pulled away from me and dried her tears on her gown.  “I am so sorry that your father has pushed you away with his laws, when all he has ever wanted was to be close to you.”

“I’m sorry for that too.”

My mother left without another word.  I don’t think she could maintain her attempt at semi-composure any longer.

My mother’s talk had left me feeling down.  I grabbed Clifton before heading up to my room.  From the way my face was stuck, he didn’t pry into how the talk with my mother went.

I gazed around my bedroom, taking in the familiar atmosphere.  Try as I might to escape it, this would always be my home.  This was the room that I had lived in for the first nineteen years of my life.  It was where I had had tea parties and sleepovers with Violet.

Why couldn’t I just be happy here?  Why did I have to be so different from the rest of my family?  Why did I have to be so free-spirited, headstrong and stubborn?  Why couldn’t I just be happy with being a princess?  Little girls, whether human or Zolera, pretend and dream of being princesses.  Why was it so hard for me?

Sometimes I wished that I had been born to human parents so that I would know nothing of this place.  Ignorance is bliss, so they say, and I could understand the meaning behind it.  I was doomed to live between two worlds and never belong to either of them.  I felt like an alien in my own skin, not fitting in anywhere, except with Clifton.  Clifton validated me.  He made me feel like there was at least one person in my two worlds who understood me, someone that I felt I truly belonged with.  I felt so lucky that I had found him.  My soulmate.  My love.  My Zezka.

“I’m going to grab a shower, you want to join me?”  He smirked, and then followed me into the bathroom.

The astonishment on Clifton’s face when he saw the shower was amusing.  It wasn’t so much a shower as a cascading waterfall that fell into a large pool of sparkling water.  The walls were carved from rock by hand.  This was a scene that you would usually find only outdoors.  I loved this shower.  I always wished that I could take it with me.

When we were all clean, I rummaged through my closet, looking for something to wear.  I didn’t feel much like wearing my soggy clothes but I also didn’t want to wear what was in my closet here.  All I had were golden dresses that looked like something the Romans would have worn. 
At least they were clean, right?
  I found a decent one and put it on.  It was sleeveless and tight, falling just past my knees.

There was nothing for Clifton to wear though.  I couldn’t put him in royal gold.  My father would throw a fit.  In the back of my closet, I found a long, white strapless dress and pulled it out.

“I am
not
wearing a dress.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the indignant look on his face.  “Trust me.  It will not look like a dress when I’m done with it.”

I ripped it at the seam and wrapped it around Clifton’s waist a few times.  The material fell past his knees.  I pulled the remainder of fabric up and over his chest, tucking the material into itself at his butt.

He walked over to a mirror to check himself out.  “I guess it’s ok.  It is not too different from what some of the others were wearing.”

I stepped behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him from behind.  “I think that you look handsome.”

“Quartessa!” my father called up the stairs.

“What?!”

“My guards have returned!  Come!”

I was instantly nervous with the news.  Clifton turned around, staying in my arms and kissed me.  “Let’s go down so we can find out how to save your life.  Then, with your consent, I would love to make you my wife.”

I said nothing.  I just tried to give him a passable smile.

I loved Clifton, and I wanted to be with him.  But I didn’t think that I was ready for marriage just yet.  To be tied down to one man for the rest of my life just seemed wrong somehow.  The Zolera live for a long time, most over five-hundred years.  My father was somewhere in his six-hundreds.  That seemed an awfully long time to be trapped with one man.  There were no divorces amongst my species.  It was literally till death do you part (except in Drina’s case of course).  But maybe if I got this ring off I would feel different.  Maybe the prospect of marriage would be appealing after getting my life back.

I wouldn’t answer him now.  I just grabbed his hand and headed downstairs.

********************

Everyone was gathered in the throne room.  There were two large golden seats along the back wall and both my mother and father were occupying them looking annoyed.  Quino, Barossa and Byron were kneeling in front of my father.  Many others stood around the room.  I didn’t see Gader anywhere, perhaps he was with Gwinny.

When my father spotted me, he stood, and everyone else rose with him.  “Come here, my daughter.”  There was sadness in his words that didn’t bode well with me.

“Stay here,” I whispered to Clifton and then left him before he could reply.

My father grabbed my hand and held it tight, talking only to me.  “My guards have informed me about this ring that rests on you, Quartessa.”  He sighed and gazed away from me for a moment before bringing himself to look at me again.  “The spell that they use to bind the ring to you is complicated and it takes several weeks to complete.  I am told you should have been aware of it, felt
something
.  Can you think of anything?”

It didn’t take much thought for me to answer.  “I’ve had horrible nightmares for the past few weeks, though I could never remember them.  The last one happened the night before I was attacked.  Could that be what you are talking about?”

His face fell.  “Yes, that sounds like what my guards have described.  That means the spell has fully bound the ring to you, and there is only one way to remove it.”

“And that is?”  I didn’t care what it was.  I would do it.

“You must kill the Boru who placed it on you, only then will you be free of it and regain your life.  Though, I must warn you, Quartessa, no one has worn the ring and lived.”

My heart sank.

Kafkus took a step towards me.  “I will accompany you back to the human world and help you all that I can, if you will let me.”

I eyed him with desperation.  “You could kill him, right?  This ring has sucked my power from me.  I won’t stand a chance against him.”

He frowned, his face full of understanding.  “No, I can merely assist you.  You must deliver the killing blow, only then can you break the spell.”

I understood, but it didn’t make it any easier.  I needed Kafkus’ strength and expertise.  I needed to put aside my annoyances with him.  It was hard since I had resented him for so long.  But he was offering himself to me willingly.  I couldn’t say no.  I placed a hand on his shoulder.  “I graciously accept your help, Kafkus.”

I looked at my father, a plea inside of me that was easy to read.  “I will accept the help of any who wish to join me.”  I needed all the help I could get.

My father nodded and turned to face the other men with a voice of composed command.  “Who else shall join my daughter?  She needs protection of all willing bodies.  While Kafkus is quite an able warrior the two alone will not be enough on Boru ground.”

Quino stepped forward and knelt in front of me.  “I offer myself to you, Princess.”

Quino was a good man.  He looked to be about thirty, but I knew he was closer to a hundred.  His soft face was boyish, and would remain so for many years to come.  He was tall, maybe 6’5 and bulky, not with fat, but with pure muscle.  He didn’t look like one of those human bodybuilding types; it flattered him, making him look naturally strong.  His eyes were a pale sky blue.  His hair was also light and fell straight, just past his ears.  It was almost white, yet it still emanated a light blue hue as if illuminated by his scalp.  His skin was the exact opposite.  It was such a dark shade of midnight-blue that it seemed black at first glance.  Only the light reflecting off of it showed its true color.

I placed my hand upon his shoulder.  “I accept your help, Quino.”

He smiled at me, showing off his straight and dazzling white teeth that looked even whiter in comparison to his skin’s dark hue.

My father scoped the room.  “Anyone else?”

Clifton walked across the room to stand beside me.  “I would give my life for you, Tessa.”

“I would love your help, Clifton.”

Kafkus sneered, but said nothing.