Doomed from the Beginning

21. The Queen's Secret

...But who knew better than Vinasaka that this guy was a scholar when it came to overthinking!

Therefore, he immediately regretted answering him like that but when he turned back, Sansara was already sulking, his eyes facing the floor and his lips drawn in a line. That look was, for some reason, quite entertaining to Vinasaka and he decided not to interrupt his friend’s precious line of thinking and walked out.

That night Vinasaka didn’t come back till very late and when he did, everyone was fast asleep. Lyca was comfortably seated on Sansara’s lap who was sleeping with his head rested on the handle of the couch. His hair fell on his face covering a fraction of his eye, his robes were dismantled near the neck probably due to all the chaos earlier. His adam's apple bobbed as he parted his lips slightly in his sleep to restore his position to a more comfortable one. ….Vinasaka couldn’t control anymore.

….

…

The next morning, when he woke up slightly, Lyca wasn’t anywhere near him. Suddenly, he realised that he had been missing something…

Vinasaka?

Just as he thought of the name as if on cue, he felt the presence of something on his shoulder and he turned to look…

Talk of the devil…

The ‘demon overlord’ was sleeping very peacefully beside him with his head resting on his shoulder. Sansara stared at him for a few seconds before his eyes became wider as he was reminded of the scene in his memory maze. It looked exactly the same…

Well….

Should he be happy? Should he be sad? 

Back then it was Mir and now it was really himself. He didn’t really understand the feeling in his own head. He gulped without moving away his eyes as he was once again taken back to another of Mir’s memory that he had experienced the day before; the one where Vinasaka had very gently and carefully touched Mir’s face with a face full of worry…

They weren’t just friends right…

Vinasaka is into….men?

“Seen enough?” In the midst of his staring blankly at Vinasaka and having crazy thoughts in his head, he failed to notice that the demon beside him was already looking back at him from the same position just the difference being that now his chin was supported by Sansara’s shoulder as he looked at him with mischievous eyes, a little squinted and his lips pulled up in one corner.

“You...are awake?” He didn't really hear the question before but was still completely flustered having been caught in the act. He instantly shoved his face aside but didn’t shake him away.

Vinasaka straightened up by himself and began to stretch his arms and neck, “I don’t really sleep.”

“You mean...you were awake the WHOLE TIME?” Sansara abruptly faced him again.

“Precisely...I didn’t want to disturb you while you were…” Sansara quickly covered his mouth before he could say anymore, partly because he didn’t want to experience a second hand embarrassment for himself  and partly because the two who were fast asleep in front of him almost woke up by their voices.

“What..are you doing, my Lord?” Roy stopped in the middle of rubbing his eyes as he blankly stared at them. Sila woke up soon after but the first thing he noticed was that Suiyo was still asleep, “Is he dead or what?” He poked Roy but was himself taken aback at the scene in front of him. 

….

…..

…..

A few moments later….

“Pfftt….hahahaaa,” both Roy and Sila burst out laughing in their own places. Honestly, Sansara was worried if his position with Vinasaka was scandalous enough to bring such a reaction but as they showed a different kind of reaction than what he had imagined, he peeked at Vinasaka beside him only to find him having quite the trouble to hold back his laughter as well.

He had no idea what the commotion was about. Even Suiyo woke up and joined them. Only a few minutes later, when Mohi came down after hearing all the noises, he stared blankly at Sansara for a moment before he blurted out, “My Lord...your...hair…”

Now, that it was pointed out, he did feel strange. Ever since he had woken up, all he thought and talked about was Vinasaka. 

Shh...no, what nonsense!

He mentally slapped himself to reframe the sentence into something that sounded more appropriate. He used his spiritual energy to make a water glaze mirror in front of him and the moment he saw his reflection, black lines appeared all over his face. His hair was braided into several thin braids leaving not a single strand behind and he looked like a human coconut tree. Only one person could have done this…. “VI..NA...SA...KA…!!!!!”

The spot beside him was already empty as he hurried out with his sword almost drawn out leaving behind a bunch of clueless bystanders who were trying their best to digest whatever had just happened.

Mohi just stood there blankly as he still uttered the words he originally came to say, “The...queen is awake…”

The only people left in the hall were now Mohi, the two junio angels and demon Suiyo. As if on cue, the queen was heard coming down. She still had some cuts but was mostly healed and could walk fine. She said from behind, “Are all of you here?” 

That’s when Sansara and Vinasaka also came in, though in a really embarrassed state with Sansara grabbing Vinasaka by his arm almost reprimanding him, his hair still looking half like an alien’s. However, once they heard her, they straightened themselves immediately. It was as if there was an air of authority in that voice, something that made them listen to her words without fail.

She was nothing like she looked the last day, crying and being a mess. In fact she was dressed quite neatly, her blouse dark blue with embroidery of silver and her light blue with silver lining saree worn in a fashion that made her look more royal. Like usual, she had very few ornaments on her and her hair tied in a beautiful bun sideways that hung prettily near her shoulders. She was indeed the queen of the diamond kingdom. Sansara and Vinasaka entered the hall once again without any mischief in their manner and bowed respectfully followed by the junior angels who also made sure that they slammed Suiyo’s head to the ground for he was busy admiring the queen with all heart shaped eyes that looked like they were about to pop out.

Sansara respectfully added, “Please excuse our rudeness, your highness both yesterday and today.”

Vinasaka only smiled without saying one thing. Zaharia didn’t smile as such but she didn’t look like she was angry either. She kept the corners of her lip a little upwards indicative of her good mood. “Please sit all of you. You absolutely do not need to apologise!” With that they all sat to discuss the most important reason for the visit which might have gotten lost amidst the chaos.

Just then, Roy asked, “Excuse me your highness, I know it’s not in my position to ask this but don’t kings and queens sit in their thrones? I don’t see a throne here.”

“You are right but I prefer not to,” she might have been smiling while answering him but he knew well that he wasn’t supposed to pursue the matter any further. 

She heaved a sigh but not to show her fatigue or anything as she continued, “I am really grateful to all of you for saving me. This esteemed person here briefed me everything that happened yesterday,” she pointed towards her left where Mohi was sitting but nobody noticed how Mohi had actually turned his hand into a fist unable to bear any longer but he chose to remain quiet.

“ You see, my use of time spells repetitively have had side effects on me that don't allow me to remember much that has happened but there’s one thing that I remember.” Both Vinasaka’s and Mohi’s eyes lit up at those words and this time Sansara didn’t fail to catch both of their expressions. So he began to listen more carefully as she continued, “Thank you for not killing her. She is the only one I have, the only person I know.” 

It was evident that she was talking about the old woman who was kindly spared by them  but , “But your highness, there’s no telling when she will become normal or whether she will even become normal!” Sila said which was quite true but Sansara was still concentrated on watching the dejected look on the other two.

The fact that he definitely doesn’t remember things always somehow made him feel left out. Even if the people beside him made him feel like they care for him, there was nothing he could do for them in return. He didn’t even know them for so long to be honestly, how could he even pretend to understand them. But for some reason, ever since he woke up, he had inevitably felt that he understood their emotions well. This bothered him too much!

Besides, truth or false, he still knew that Zaharia was Vinasaka’s sister after all. Therefore, being treated like a stranger by their own person, is definitely not a good feeling after all.

In the midst of all his thoughts, he was brought back to reality when he heard the queen saying, “I still need to let you know what happened here though I will probably not be remembering the details.” Everyone began to listen in rapt attention except water demon Suiyo who was only busy staring at the queen with his thoughts running off with images of them getting married as well. Mohi threw him the ‘death’ glance once and he knew instantly that he was being watched. Suiyo snickered once and moved his head away.

According to the bits and pieces that Zaharia said, it was something like when she heard about the disturbances of Banshee in the town, she herself went to invigilate it. However, she didn’t have to go to the town. Banshee appeared in front of her on the way itself. She rapidly came for the queen but was however stopped by the guards who were pushed aside and mercilessly killed by banshee in an instant as their eyes rolled above. The description was so much like how the last servant died yesterday. It sent a shiver down Sansara’s spine. She reached for me and kept wailing. Her screams were unbearable, though she did her best to fight her. With that noise, it was hard to focus an aim as by every passing moment each of her senses were paralysed for the time being and the next thing she knew was how she woke up in front of Sansara and Vinasaka the last day.

“...I didn’t know so much time would pass. I survived because my spell had probably enveloped me unconsciously even without me knowing otherwise, it’s impossible that I wouldn’t have known that so much time had passed. ….For me, it was hardly a day that had passed!”

A day???!!

That was the reaction of most of them present there but Vinasaka was well aware of her capacity. After all this is how she can bend even time to live so long. She was evidently the master of time, the element that no one had ever been able to control.