The Queen

Prologue

"Auri... you have to kill me!" she said, while her sapphire-colored eyes gleamed with tears.

"Please, Auri, you must do it!" She pressed her hand against the dagger’s hilt, urging it closer to her chest.

"Ezza, we don’t have to do this! We will find a way to reverse the ritual... you don’t have to do this... I can’t do this!" he said, gripping the dagger firmly to stop her from killing herself. He tried his best not to shudder and look tough, but his eyes betrayed him.

"Listen, Auri, once the sun rises, I’m no longer the person inside this body... once the sun rises, she will take over... so before that happens, we need to destroy this body... we HAVE to do this!" Her eyes looked at him softly. "We don’t have time to find another way. Heck! We don’t even have time to properly say goodbye," she chuckled as she said those words.

Then she started humming a song softly to calm him as she placed her hand on his face and used her thumbs to wipe his tears. "I’m sorry, Auri, if it has to be this way..." she said, leaning against him as she slowly closed her eyes.

As a response, he closed his eyes too and stayed still, waiting for her lips to land on his, but to his shock... it was not a kiss she gave him. Instead, she took him by surprise and put her hand over his. She strongly pushed herself onto the dagger... piercing it through her chest, right where her heart was.

Blood slowly dripped from her lips as he watched with a grimace... he no longer wanted to hold back his tears.

"Why? Erzebeth..." he said in a low voice. He couldn’t keep himself from crying.

"Little sacrifice for peace, Auri." She smiled weakly. She held his face and looked at him, as if memorizing every crevice of his face. "People will try to find someone to blame for those children’s deaths, and it cannot be their crown prince. Their crown prince must be the savior that they are waiting for. They will chant your name, and that would be enough for me."

He slowly knelt, cradling her body. "Ezza, stop saying things! I will not do such a thing!" he shouted.

"No... this death is inevitable, so please use it to your advantage... please use this death to end the war, your majesty," she said, trying to catch her breath. His only response was a whisper: "Don’t leave me."

"Promise me that you’ll be a good king to the people of Chrysaetos. Promise me that you’ll end this war, and promise me that you won’t spend so much time crying, Auri..." she said weakly, while he watched as her life slowly slipped away.

"I’ll tell you a little secret..." she kept wiping his tears. "The ritual... we’re halfway done... this tethers my soul to this realm, my soul will never be allowed to pass on to the afterlife..." She looked at him intently. "In a few years from now... find me." She looked determined.

"Why are you doing this to me, Ezza? We promised to rule Chrysaetos together," he whispered, unable to stop his tears.

"Please, Auri... promise me..." She looked at him. He held her hand tightly, not to stop her anymore, but to accept her decision. He stopped crying and wiped his tears.

"I promise to be a good king and end the war," he said unwillingly. "And I won’t spend much time crying."

She smiled at him. "Good. I’ll look forward to those promises. Don’t worry... you’ll know that it’s me. I’ll keep my eyes, so it won’t be hard for you to find me... I know how much you love them."

In her last moment before death, she closed the gap between them and left a kiss on his lips.

"Until we meet again, Auri," she said, smiling as her eyes slowly closed.

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This story is a work of fiction. The names, places, and events are all products of my creative imagination.