Kissing the Fae

Chapter 52

These days, I felt so powerless. This human is making me feel that more.

“You don’t have enough power?” he asked, chuckling. “You looked powerful, though. Not to mention you are a woman.”

Sighing, I glared at him. “I really don’t have time to talk about that. I am here to clarify to you everything. The things you need to know and the things you should and should not do while you are here.”

“I am going to die here, and it’s your fault why I am here so why can’t I do anything and everything I want? You brought me here.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” I told him firmly. “It’s a curse and it’s not our fault.”

“If it wasn’t, then why am I here, huh? Trying to cover up your so-called kingdom? I am sure I’m not the first human to be here. Where are they? Dead?”

I bit my lower lip, trying to stop myself from arguing. He is asking the right questions, yes. It wasn’t our fault but partly, it is. It became the Acres Kingdom’s curse. The missing portal is our kingdom’s curse. That’s something we are all trying to find so we can stop it.

“I figured,” he chuckled without humor. “Then, I’d be dead soon, huh. When? How long did those humans died here? A week? Month? A year? Tell me!”

His eyes widened it started to moist. I lower my gaze. I can’t stare at him... I can’t bare to see the look on his face. He is scared, he’s afraid of his life... That’s the one that dominated him. Now that I see it, my desire to make his life worthwhile just became more stronger.

This is my first time to interact with a human. He is the first one that was brought here in my region and I don’t want regrets. If I can make his remaining time memorable, I’d be more willing to contribute to it.

“I’m sorry...” I sighed deeply. “We can’t really do anything about it, Nikolas. It’s something we can’t just stop. We have been trying to stop it but we can’t.”

“This place murder people,” he said firmly.

My lips form into a thin line. No... We are not murderer! We didn’t kill innocent people! Humans are not even supposed to be here but what can we do?! Nothing!

“We are not killing humans here,” I countered, now looking at him with dagger looks. “It’s just happened that you are unlucky to be here.”

“You’re saying those humans were unlucky,” he smirked. “Why don’t you admit it? You are powerless. Even this whole thing seems a joke to me. You are a leader? A princess? Then, prove it! Prove your worth!”

My hands clenched. I don’t usually make a big deal out of it but now, I think he was right. Yet going back to where I was since that counselor happened is not in my list of options anymore. Like alright! I lacked in many departments but I should not really give them the satisfaction to see me at my weakest point!

But this man has no idea of what I’ve been through to get on my position. It was so easy for him to insult me... And I chose to understand because he knows nothing. Deep inside me, I know I am strong and deserving to experienced what I have now. That’s... something I tried to engraved both in my mind and heart. It’s the only truth I should only consider. Nothing else and nothing more.

I am not weak. I just happened to be not so perfect.

Besides, he wanted to get away. He wish to be back in the human world and if I were him, I’d do the same, too. I’d doubt someone who says she’s a leader and a princess. I would think she’s weak for not having enough power to get him out of the Acres Kingdom to save his life.

“You cannot do anything but accept this,” I said calmly. “You are here and I guess, you are bound to be here and die in our world. If you won’t accept the fact that you’ll spend your last days here then, alright. It is up to you.”

I won’t force him to just... accept it. Because no one will ever accept this. No one.

He glared at me. He can now freely move... I can see the anger in his eyes, fear and desperation to live. He is not tied anymore... I even expect he’d hit me once I push him more even though I don’t see a sign of violence.

But I am expecting worse. I know this one will mot be easy and I should ready myself. It feels like Nikolas won’t just let this go.

“Look, I’m not really here to argue with you. I’ll be the one who’ll guide you throughout your stay here and I really need you to cooperate for your own good, alright? We are not enemies and I know how hard it is to accept this, or even to believe that this is actually happening but that’s just how it works.”

“This should not even how it supposed to work,” I was surprised at how calm his voice were. “And no... You do not know a single thing about it. You are not in my position to tell whether it’s hard or not to be in this situation because you know nothing. You do not know how it feels.”

He’s right. I know nothing about feelings and vice versa. But how many times should I tell him that this is his fate? How many times do I have to remind him that this is how it works?

Do I need to keep on reminding him that? That I don’t really have the power to change his destiny. That yes, this should not even happen but that’s how it just really works and we both can’t do anything about it.

“I just can’t understand why me...” his voice was so low. “There is a lot of people out there and I can’t understand the connection. Your world is yours, our world is ours. I get that this is real which I can’t just grasp because I thought it was impossible. But can we all just live freely? You are killing humans because of what? The one you called curse. You guys should work harder finding the solution to it because I assumed it was not just one or two humans that were killed here, even if it’s intentional or not.”

“We are still trying to work on that,” I said. “We all wanted to end this, Nikolas. Things are not just in control, and not because I have title doesn’t mean I can do everything. There is always a limitation and I do hope you understand it. And yes... I don’t know the struggled unless I am in your shoe but this is just how it will go. We are trying to stop this... Every ten years, this happened and it has been so long yet we haven’t find a solution yet. But I do hope we will... Soon, I hope.”

We went silence. The air blew and it swayed my ginger hair. I tucked it behind my ears as I look away, avoiding his soft gaze. Nikolas... Even his name is beautiful just like him, pretty. I shook my head mentally.

Why am I praising him? I noticed I have been complementing him since earlier. Because I just can’t really deny it. He is pretty... I bet Deniz would agree with me but will deny because he doesn’t want to praise someone as he believed he’s the pretty among others.

That guy... I still hate him for manipulating us anyway.

I noticed him in my peripheral vision looking at the huge tree in our surroundings. Me, sitting on my throne as he sat on one of the hamadryads on its roots. We are far away but I can still hear him clearly. There was a look of confusion and admiration in his eyes but that was just for a moment.

I see... He was trying to divert his attention, too. That instead of letting fear dominate him, maybe he was trying to look for a way to not feel it for the meantime. Besides, he looked so calm now yet I still need a cue whether he’s ready or not.

Yes, I wanted this to end. To finally talk to him about the rules he should follow while he’s here, and so I can finally bring him to the palace as per my parents’ request. They want to see him because they learned he had dreams. I’m sure they’d get curious and ask him what it was all about and I want to know, too.

I am dying to know. Because until now, I am still in between of believing him or not. Something I can’t understand because I should just shrugged it away, that’s the better plan.

“You have a nice place...”

I let it slide. We are supposed to be talking about rules and all but if he still wants to admire the Enchanted Forest, then I will give him the satisfaction.

I looked at him.

“Thank you... You are the first human who got here without my permission.”

He stared back at me. “Should I be thankful for that?”

“No,” I answered shortly. “Being here means death for you so you shouldn’t be really thankful, right? The only advantage is you get to witness this place.”

“Well, I should be really thankful for that alone. It is rare to find a place like this. What’s this huge tree is called, huh?” He even tapped the roots.

“Hamadryads,” I looked at the tree. “They are... alive. But they’ve been sleeping for decades now.”

“Oh...” Again, he roamed his eyes around the place. “That’s... cool. These trees are alive and they’re here in your territory. They are your what? A follower, perhaps. Does that mean that you can also communicate with them?”

“Why are you curious?” I squinted my eyes in his direction.

This man is kinda confusing, huh. Now he is interested while earlier, he didn’t even sprinkle me a little bit of interest to talk about his situation. This is interesting, huh.

He shrugged. “To fed myself first with these extraordinary facts before I let fear consumed me again, happy?”

Well, that was expected. Just like I thought. Trying to divert his attention before accepting the worse. Just like each of us do.

“I can, uh... show you around. There are a lot of places here and people to meet. If you want, I can call someone to accompany you for a while since I’m sure you guys can understand each other. You know, like boys talk.”

That was lame. Of all the ideas I can come up with, why? Seriously, Rani Letisha. Those idiots are all busy. I should not even rely to them at things like this, right? This is my job.

“I don’t think so...” he countered back. “We are different. Only humans can understand me so no, thank you. But I’d like to see what this kingdom has to offer, though. I’m curious of what it looks like outside this place.”

I shook my head. Now that I think of it, he can’t just walk around without knowing a thing or two. Like okay, I will let him pass if he’s break a rule here in my place and even in my region, I will the responsibility. But not in other regions.

We respect each other’s rules and Nikolas is under my custody for now. I won’t be the one responsible for his actions especially if it’s not in my territory. For people believe that those who commit a wrong mistake must the one who will suffer.

“You need to learn the rules and regulations first. What’s outside this place is already not my territory so I can’t control nor help you if you do something stupid, Nikolas. Just the basic one so no one will execute you in no time.”

I heard him snorted then, he sat straight and properly. He looked ready to listen and he must have realized that I’m right.

“Okay, then. Tell me about it...”