Chapter 6
1424 Words
“Do you still remember her?”
“....”
“I suppose not-”
“Where the ocean kisses the quiet shore,
I walk alone but see only her face and nothing more.
My life may be small, like a fading smoke,
Yet….My…
Every moment, every thought, every breath belongs to her”.....
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Ara was getting restless, shutting her eyes, trying to surpass the thought that refused to leave her mind.
“Oh God, please, help me” she prayed, trying to find an end to the ache she was feeling.
“Ara, don't worry …we can think about it later”
Nana spoke as he saw Ara getting very restless.
“How?...I can't stop her,…how can I keep her from knowing the truth that stands in front of her?”
Ara spoke in a desperate tone.
She was worried, desperate, and yearned for patience.
“Let her go there then, in fact, one day she has to go there by herself, why not now?”
“Because…
“She is only a child! How can I let her see that world?”
“And a child has many things which he is curious for, like her..my heart, don't be scared, let her go …just for once..hmm?”
Ara was silent now, thinking how to refuse and argue more, but she couldn't.
She lightly nodded … before going back to her room, where a sad-faced Ruby was sitting.
Ara wrapped her arms around her tiny body from behind.
“Ruby-love is sad?”
“Yes, mama”
“...mama can't see Ruby-love sad, so Mama is allowing you to go”
Ruby's face lit up, and she couldn't believe what she said.
“Really?”
“yes, my love”
“Mama! I love you!”
“.. I love you too”
“So mama,will Mama make a dress for me, please?”
“as you wish, my world.”
☆☆☆☆☆☆
It was the night of winter, and many people were going into the castle, with many glimmers and lace.
Many decorations were made inside the castle.
It was a very special day, the birthday of Zustan, the king of ASTERIOS KINGDOM.
And here, little Ruby was also dressed in a very beautiful dress sewed by none other than her mother.
She was the beauty of a reflection, the ink of a living verse.
Her love-struck face held the grace of a master’s craft — carved not in haste but with divine patience.
As if God Himself had sculpted her with care, in silence, with devotion.
Her softness spoke through her eyes, and delicate truths whispered without words.
And in her voice, there was a gentle melody — like a bird in a lullaby, tender, and calm, yet echoing deep.
It was hard for Ara to believe her beloved little world was 12 now.
In her eyes, she will always be that same little girl — carefree, laughing, eyes full of wonder.
A world still lives in her mind where only flowers of joy grow... where she swings beneath a quiet tree, her feet reaching for the sky.
And Ara is there too, holding the ropes with her own hands, pushing her gently.
Because in the end, I have her memories... and maybe that’s how love stays alive—through the moments we never really let go of.
“You are looking absolutely beautiful, my world”
“Really mama? Will dad notice?”
Ara felt her smile faltering.
How can she say to her daughter how her father wouldn't even spare a glance at her?
Ara spoke, holding out a small eye mask.
“Love, you will be wearing this eye mask there, so no one will recognize you, and you will also not recognize anyone, and that's the only reason I am letting you go”
Ara spoke with a hint of sadness in her voice. She knew it was a masked ball party, where everyone would hide behind a piece of cloth, carrying their fake identity, same as Ruby.
“It's ok, Mama... I will do only what you say”
Ruby was mature enough to understand what her mother meant.
She put on a smile and wrapped her arms around her mother, tightly hugging her now weak body.
She loved her truly. She could never talk back to her. Her mother was her only one in this world.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
The smell of alcohol and music filled the palace. There sat Zustan on the throne. He was , heing royal robes.
The robe was red — not just red, but the kind of red that held centuries in its folds.
It trailed behind him like spilled wine on marble, heavy with meaning, stitched with silence.
Woven from deep velvet, it clung to the air like dusk — thick, still, regal.
Golden threads ran through their edges.
He stood up as the people bowed to him.
There stood his other wife, Sandriya, beside him, a beautiful young lady, her beautiful lavender gown adding in her grace.
The palace was filled with flowers, decorations, people, common people, many mayors, dukes, and other relatives.
Many courtesans were dancing, while men threw their money at them.
Ruby slowly entered, her beautiful dark green gown that was not as lavish as the other girls, but it was beautiful enough to carry its own grace.
She found the interior of the palace divine.
She stepped in slowly, almost afraid to breathe — as if one deep sigh might shatter the beauty before her.
The ballroom was unlike anything she had ever imagined.
The ceiling rose like a sky painted in golden dusk, draped with crystal chandeliers that shimmered like a thousand stars frozen mid-fall.
The light danced across the polished marble floor in soft ripples, like moonlight over still water.
Every corner of the room held grace —She had read about rooms like this in stories. But this… this was something else.
Her beautiful gown caressed the floor as she walked inside, looking at people, decorations …she was..stunned.
She walked more inside to take a look at other things, food, candles, everything was perfect,
But suddenly…
It was as if she had found her biggest fear right there at that time.
She was
…more than horrified to see the scene of women dancing in front of the men, mostly rich ones.
It was the time when these types of things were very normal…
It wasn't the thought of the women dancing that hunted her..but the look of men that grazed them.
How can they be so disrespectful?...She looked here and there to notice if anyone had a little problem with the scene like she has..but she, but it was more surprising.
Every single person was enjoying themselves there, even the women standing in royal gowns…
They seem to glare at the dancing women, their men consoling them, those women are just low class courtesans, nothing compared to their beauty, and that infuriates Ruby …
‘loving a woman and then disrespecting the same woman?’
What kind of rule was that….wasn't everyone equal..?
She pitied the women, and the gaze of l**t was eating her from inside. It was as if.. she wanted to leave the place right there, wanting the floor to open up and eat her alive …
She couldn't bear it. It was too much for her …
She turned back, taking big steps to where she came from.
She ran back so fast, like her life depended on it …she ran so fast to her home.
Ara was resting in her own chambers
She went to her chambers as soon as she reached.. and that night.
She learned her biggest fear..
“l**t”
Lust of men, their hunting gaze and their disturbing Touch ….
Her biggest fear..till her death.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
She was never just in love with him. She was faith in flesh, a whispered prayer the stars might've forgotten, but he never did.
To the world, she was a girl. To him, she was a mystery etched into the silence of his soul — a reflection even she could not see in herself.
Loving her wasn’t a choice, and losing himself for her was never a tragedy.
He moved through life as if it belonged to her — carrying nothing but the weight of her name, the breath of her blessings, and the ache she left behind.
She didn’t know it, but she was the echo behind his every step, the only truth he ever believed in.
- Writer
