His True nature 2
1468 Words
STILL IN A FLASHBACK
Lord Shaghan helped me overcome that challenge. I made my way back to the house that I had come to consider my home. I had to do everything I could to uncover the people responsible for my father's death and the m******e of so many members of our kingdom.
However, the closer I got to the house, the faster my heart began to beat. I tried my best to calm myself down, but my heartbeat only grew louder and faster. It felt as though something terrible was waiting for me.
I silently prayed to Lord Shaghan, hoping for a sign or a warning, but nothing came.
"Patel, I'm home!" I called out as I approached the house.
For the first time in my life, I realized how relieved I always felt whenever I was near him. Ever since I had met him, everything in my lonely life had become brighter. He had become my source of comfort after I had lost almost everything.
"Patel!" I called again after receiving no response.
A wave of fear washed over me.
What if something terrible has happened to him?
My heart refused to settle.
What if the Red Snake found him? What if he attacked him? What if... he killed him?
The thought alone made my knees weak.
I hurried into the house.
"Patel!" I shouted once more.
Silence answered me.
The living room was empty.
I rushed into the kitchen.
There was no one there.
I checked the bedroom.
Still nothing.
Every empty room made the fear inside me grow stronger.
Tears slowly filled my eyes.
It felt as though my worst fears were coming true. After losing everyone who truly loved me, was I about to lose the only person who had shown me kindness in the human world?
Without wasting another second, I sprinted toward the backyard where Patel loved spending his afternoons reading novels.
Just as I stepped outside, something cold splashed over my entire body.
"Ah!"
I gasped as freezing water soaked me from head to toe.
For a moment I simply stood there in complete shock.
Water dripped from my hair onto my face as I slowly lifted my eyes.
Standing a few feet away were Patel and his best friend, Marvin.
I had met Marvin the day after I arrived in the human world. He had always been kind to me and treated me like family.
"What are you doing?" I asked, confused as water continued to run down my clothes.
Neither of them answered.
Instead, they simply stared at me.
There was something strange about the expressions on their faces.
Something hidden.
Something... dark.
"Patel," I said quietly, "can you please explain what is going on?"
Instead of answering me, a slow, sinister smile spread across his face.
The smile sent chills through my body.
That wasn't the Patel I knew.
That wasn't the man I had fallen in love with.
Suddenly my vision became blurry.
Everything around me started spinning.
My legs weakened beneath me.
"No..."
I tried to steady myself, but it was impossible.
The world around me slowly faded.
Darkness crept into the edges of my sight.
I could still hear voices, but they sounded distant and muffled, as though they were underwater.
"Thank you for getting this done."
A strange male voice spoke.
There was something incredibly familiar about it.
I struggled to keep my eyes open as I tried to identify the owner of the voice.
His face was unfamiliar.
I was certain I had never seen him before.
Yet his voice.
His voice felt as though I had heard it somewhere many years ago.
I stared at him, desperately trying to remember.
"Why are you staring at me like you want me?" the man sneered.
The three of them burst into loud laughter.
That was when reality finally struck me.
This wasn't a joke.
Something was terribly wrong.
Patel simply stood there laughing together with them.
The man who had once promised to protect me was now laughing while I lay helpless before him.
That was impossible.
Unless.
Unless everything between us had been a lie.
"You look just as terrified as your father did on the night I killed him."
The man's words pierced through me like a blade.
My entire body froze.
The voice.
I finally recognized it.
It was him.
The Red Snake.
The monster responsible for destroying my family.
The murderer of my father.
The traitor who had stolen our kingdom.
My breathing became heavy.
"So it was you..." I whispered.
"You murdered my father."
The Red Snake only smiled wider.
The hatred inside me exploded.
I struggled with every bit of strength left in my body, trying to free myself, but whatever they had poured over me had weakened my powers.
I could barely move.
"How dare you!" I shouted through gritted teeth.
"You murdered my father."
"You destroyed my kingdom."
"You slaughtered innocent serpents."
"And now you've come to kill me too!"
The Red Snake laughed loudly.
His laughter echoed through the backyard.
I turned toward Patel.
My heart shattered into countless pieces.
He wasn't even pretending anymore.
There was no guilt in his eyes.
No regret.
No sadness.
Only satisfaction.
Marvin looked exactly the same.
Everything had been planned from the very beginning.
Patel had never loved me.
Not for a single day.
Every smile, hug, promise....kiss
It had all been part of their plan.
The Red Snake finally stepped closer until he was standing directly in front of me.
"You humans are so easy to fool," he said, looking at Patel with approval.
"But using love..." He chuckled. "Love is always the easiest trap."
Patel folded his arms across his chest.
"I simply did what I was asked to do."
Every single word stabbed my heart.
"You lied to me," I whispered.
He looked directly into my eyes.
"I never loved you."
Those four words destroyed everything inside me.
"I only needed your trust."
"The Red Snake wanted the Snake Charm."
"And he also needed your royal blood."
"Your blood carries the power of the serpent throne."
"It was worth pretending for a few months."
My entire world collapsed.
Everything had been fake.
Every moment we had shared together.
Every dream I had built around him.
Every future I had imagined.
None of it had ever existed.
The Red Snake smiled proudly.
"Once we take the Snake Charm and enough of your royal blood, all your remaining powers will belong to us."
"You'll become completely useless."
"You won't even be able to protect yourself."
I felt tears running down my face.
Not because I feared death.
But because I had been betrayed by the one person I had trusted with my heart.
The man I had loved more than my own life.
The man I had chosen over everything else.
Lord Shaghan had warned our people never to fall in love with humans.
I had ignored those warnings.
Now I was paying the price.
Everything around me slowly faded once again.
The strange substance covering my body made it difficult to stay awake.
The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was the Red Snake laughing.
"You really thought a human could love a serpent queen."
Darkness swallowed me completely.
When I slowly regained consciousness, my entire body ached.
My eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
I could hear faint voices nearby.
At first I couldn't make out what they were saying.
Gradually the voices became clearer.
One of them belonged to Patel.
Another belonged to someone I had never heard before.
I forced my eyes open.
My vision slowly focused.
The first thing I realized was that I couldn't move.
My wrists had been tightly tied.
My ankles were bound together.
Rough ropes dug painfully into my skin.
"What... have you done to me?" I asked weakly.
My body burned intensely.
Whatever they had poured onto me earlier was still affecting me.
Every inch of my skin felt as though it were on fire.
Patel stood a short distance away.
His face was completely expressionless.
He looked at me as though I were nothing more than a stranger.
Before he could answer, the door slowly opened.
Two unfamiliar men walked inside.
The first man wore robes almost identical to those worn by Guru Dev, one of the respected priests from my kingdom.
The resemblance was so striking that I froze.
The second man was completely unfamiliar.
I had never seen him before.
Both men carried themselves with unusual confidence.
The room instantly became colder.
I looked from Patel to the two strangers.
A terrible feeling settled deep inside my heart.
Who were these men?
Why did one of them resemble a priest from my kingdom?
And most importantly...
What were they planning to do to me?
- Writer
