QUEEN OF THE RUINS: BORN TO POWER. CROWNED BY BLOOD.

Kamara “Mom..No mom!! You can’t leave me..please.” My voice broke, jagged with pain as I watched the two men lowered the casket into the ground slowly. The rain slammed against the earth vigorously like it was grieving too. My tears would seize. “No! No! Please, please just let me see her!” I choked over my words, my heart aching from the entire sight. “What is wrong with you all?” I shouted, turning to face all of them, all dressed in black, quietly standing under their umbrellas. No one cried or showed even an ounce of sympathy. None of them cared. Then my gaze landed on my father who stood quiet at the edge. His expression completely straight and indifferent. “Are you that heartless? You wouldn’t even let me see her! What kind of a person are you?” I rushed toward him but before I could reach him two strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me back, “Let go of me! Let me go now!” I thrashed violently, but they wouldn’t bulge. I turned my head to see who dared hold me and it was Jace. The son of Mr. Malden, Dad’s right-hand man. Of course it was him. Always by my father’s side since I could remember. I looked at him and his eyes met mine and for the first time ever, they weren’t hard. Almost sorry. Still, it didn’t calm men. He held me there, grounded in my pain. My father looked past and without a flicker of emotion, he finally spoke. “Take her to the car. And make sure she gets home safely.” Jace gave a curt nod, arms wrapped tighter around me as I tried to scream again, but this time the sound choked in my throat. My lungs felt too heavy and numb. What kind of father did that to his own child? If love ever lived in his chest, it must’ve died with her. The way he stood silent, stiff, and cold and I realized I’d never really known him Jace led me away from the gravesite and toward the black SUV parked out front. He opened the door gently, helped me in, closed it behind me and slid into the driver’s seat. I sat there, soaked and shaking, as tears slid silently down my cheeks. My breath came out in shallow whimpers. I hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye. She was the only thing I had and just like that she was ripped out of my life. “I know I can’t understand your pain.” Came a husky voice, “but I believe no one should ever have to go through something like this.” But you don’t get it,” I muttered. “She was everything. The only reason I could survive this place. And now she’s gone. Just gone.” My voice cracked again. I looked up to find Jace glancing at me through the rearview mirror. The moment our eyes met, he looked away and started the engine. I couldn’t comprehend it. This man had never spoken to me on anything outside duty and orders or showed even a bit of concern in my direction. And now? I wasn’t even sure whether those were condolences or not. When the car finally stopped, we’d reached our estate. The moment I stepped out, I saw Valerie. My childhood best friend. She rushed for me, wrapping me into a hug I needed so badly. “Are you okay, Kamy?” She headed for my room and I could feel Jace following behind us. Valarie turned. “Are you her bodyguard now or what?” She spat. Had Valerie been anyone else, I was sure Jace wouldn’t have hesitated to put a bullet through her skull for that tone. Instead, his attention fell on me. Your father wants you packed and ready for your new school transfer by tomorrow.” Before I could speak, Valerie scoffed. “You can’t be serious about that!” She pulled me tighter into her side. “New school? Her mom just died.” “I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered, but the words didn’t even sound convincing to me. I was powerless and weak. Valeria opened her mouth again, ready to fire another shot at Jace, but the sound of a car parking in the compound cut her off. A moment later, my father walked through the front door and his gaze landed on Valerie. We all knew that gaze too well. He wanted to have a “family discussion.” “I’ll check in on you later, Kam.” She gave my arm one last squeeze and walked past my father without another word. He only turned to Jace. “Did she fight?” Jace gave a single nod. “Not much after we left the cemetery.” “And the school?” Before Jace could respond I cut him off. “What the hell is all this? Since when did Jace become my personal bodyguard?” My father finally looked at me for the first time all day. “I’m transferring you to a new school in New Coast first thing tomorrow morning, Kamara. It’s for your own good.” I blinked. “For my own good?” I repeated, stunned. “That’s so far from home? How exactly is ripping me away from everything I know ‘for my own good’? Why are you transferring me? What are you hiding from me, Dad?” He didn’t answer neither did his expression soften. “Are you that cruel?” I whispered. “Mom just died. And your solution is to ship me off just like that? That’s low, even for you.” “Enough of this childishness, Kamara!” he snapped suddenly. Every nerve in my body went stiff. He had never raised his voice at me. Not once in my entire life. “I’ve made up my mind,” he continued. “You leave first thing tomorrow morning. Jace will accompany you.” I stood there, stunned. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. “Mom just died, Dad…” I whispered, my voice breaking and my legs shivering, barely holding me up. “And you’re sending me off… just like that?” My father’s eyes didn’t waver. He looked away from me and then to Jace who had witnessed the whole thing unfold. “I want her on her way by six. Make sure she’s safe.” The latter nodded in response and without another glance to me, he turned away. “I hate you,” I said, my voice trembling with everything I had left. “Mom just died and the next thought you have is to get rid of me.” My throat burned. “I wish it was you instead. My knees nearly gave way. For a split second, I wondered if I’d gone too far, but the emptiness in his stare told me I hadn’t gone far enough. The silence that followed was deafening. Even Jace shifted beside me, but my father? He didn’t turn, just simply turned the other way and left.