38
Ask me again
when the world ends
P rince Edmond paced slowly in front of me, his voice taunting as he continued, “Do you know about the prophecy, Lady Love?” His words dripped with amusement as if he relished every second of this twisted game. Fury mixed with my tears, and I tried not to break under his gaze.
“Of course you don’t,” he scoffed, a cruel smile curling his lips. “Your captain is a liar, why would he tell you?” His gaze flicked to Calico, still kneeling in front of me, bound and silent. Edmond moved closer, raising the dagger to Calico’s face. “Blow,” he commanded.
Calico’s lips tightened in disgust, refusing to give in. His silence was defiant, although I could see the tension in his eyes. Prince Edmond pressed the dagger closer. “Blow on the dagger, or I will kill her before her time.”
Calico’s eyes darted to me, and despite the rage simmering in him, I saw his hesitation. Slowly, he parted his lips and blew gently on the blade. The moment his breath touched the dagger, a searing heat ignited across my neck. I gasped, the pain sudden and sharp, as if my birthmark itself was burning. My hands moved instinctively to the spot but the chains prevented them to.
The prince’s gaze flickered with confusion, and then something clicked. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the birthmark. He smirked, stepping back to observe me. “So, I guess the Gods had it all planned since the start, huh?” His tone was laced with mockery. “You were always meant to be Lady Love, Balboa.”
My eyes darted to Calico, searching for answers, but his silence only deepened the ache in my chest.
“You didn’t know, did you, Captain?” Prince Edmond continued, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “You didn’t know she was Balboa’s daughter, did you? Your Gods failed to tell you that. You only knew her as Love. Lady Love.”
A pit opened in my stomach as doubt gnawed at me. Could that be the reason why he called me by that nickname that I liked too much, why he called me ‘love’ since the very first moment? Because that was the name he knew me by, all those years? All his life… I was just Love to him. Lady Love.
My mind raced, piecing together the moments—the look of confusion when he first saw my birthmark, the way he hesitated.
The prince turned back to Calico, his smirk growing as he taunted, “Please, Leonardo, say something if I’m not speaking the truth. Can you refute these facts? ”
Calico’s silence was deafening. He looked at me, and the sadness in his eyes broke something inside of me. He said nothing. Again. Nothing. Not a single word.
“Speak now or forever hold your peace, Captain,” Edmond jeered.
But Calico didn’t speak. He didn’t even move. And in that silence, my heart shattered. The last pieces that remained. And whatever hope I had clung to, fell away with them.
“There is your answer, Lady Love,” Edmond said with twisted delight. He leaned closer, holding the dagger up to my eyes. “Now, can you please read out loud what this says?”
As I looked at the blade, faint lines began to glow, slowly forming words along the metal, as if etched by magic itself. My voice shook as I read the inscription, “When shadows rise and Kingdoms fall, a firstborn’s arrow shall heed the call. From the blood of monarchs, they’ll end the reign the evil brings. In secret born, in twilight’s veil, their aim shall strike, and none prevail. The waters’ curse shall be undone, when the archer’s mark meets the sun.”
I had seen this before. The same words in Marble’s Rest, carved in a plaque in the waves beneath the feet of Thalassa’s statue. How could this be? Was this the prophecy?
My throat tightened as I looked from the blade to Calico, trying to make sense of it all.
The prince took the dagger back, his smug smile returning. “Very good.” He paused, then added with a knowing look, “Now, one of my little birds told me the captain here asked you for archery lessons, am I wrong?”
I froze, and he smiled. “Of course I’m not.”
How did he know? My mind raced, suspicion blooming in my chest. I instinctively turned my head towards Alastair, standing silently in the corner, his hands folded behind his back. My nostrils flared in rage and disbelief as I looked at him, my heart screaming for him to deny it. To tell me it wasn’t him.
But he said nothing.
Edmond followed my gaze and laughed darkly. “You were the one who trusted filthy pirates, Lady Love. You brought this upon yourself.”
I shook my head, unable to comprehend what just happened. What was happening?
“Now, ask him,” Edmond continued, nodding towards Calico. “Ask him why he wanted you to teach him how to shoot an arrow.”
The pieces started falling into place.
The prophecy spoke of an archer—a firstborn monarch who would end the reign of evil. And now, I knew. Calico was the prince of Pearlspire. And he had known about the prophecy all along.
Edmond’s voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. “Him, the prince of Pearlspire. And when he realized who you were… princess of the pirates. Daughter of the Pirate King, Captain Balboa…”
He didn’t know. He didn’t know I was truly a firstborn’s monarch. My father wasn’t just Balboa, the Pirate King—he was the Prince Ezequiel of Tidia. And I was his daughter. The prophecy spoke about both of us. Both firstborns.
And he had asked me for lessons. He had intended to fulfill the prophecy himself. But why?
Before I could process it further, Edmond’s laughter pierced the room yet again, cutting off my spiraling thoughts. He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
“He wanted you out of his way, Lady Love, can’t you see? Only one firstborn can fulfill the prophecy, that is why the Gods whispered your name to him, so he could go and get rid of you. So only him could fulfill the prophecy and return home like a hero and not like the mad boy they once banished.”
I shook my head. That couldn’t be.
“Yes! Open your eyes! Or did the Gods who whisper to you not warn you about him too? Just like theirs warned him about you.”
Suddenly, words Thalassa once said to me echoed in every corner of my head. Ask the captain, Lady Love. He knows, Lady Love. Ask him about the archery lessons. There is a prophecy, Lady Love. Ask your captain.
No. No, no, no, no, no.
The prince only laughed, and laughed. And I was dying.
“They did! Of course they did! And you didn’t listen to them because why? Because he made you fall in love with him perhaps?” He laughed again. I needed him to stop. Please could he just stop? Please. I was dying couldn’t he see? Why was he being so cruel? What could have I possibly done to this prince for him to be laughing at me when I was being murdered so brutally? In cold blood, chest exposed wide open, his words tearing my heart without mercy.
And the captain? He was just silent. Calico remained silent, and my heart twisted. It was his silence that hurt me the most. His refusal to say anything, to refute or confirm, to explain what was happening.
The prince broke the heavy silence.
“And what is my role in all this, you may be wondering. Well, I see you are still confused, Lady Love, so let me clarify, since this coward doesn’t even dare to open his mouth.” His eyes gleamed with malice as he spoke, the dagger still dancing lazily in his hands. “You see, since we were children, he filled my head with stories, legends about how the Gods spoke to him in his dreams. How they gave him big tasks and purposes, grand missions to save the world.” Edmond’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “He was the special one, the boy who talked to the Gods. And what was I? Just the prince left behind in the palace, listening to his endless tales while he got to be someone out there.” There was a note of sadness in the prince’s voice now, and my confusion only deepened.
“I was just a lonely kid, his only friend. I listened to him, I helped him plot, and I believed in him—just like you did, Lady Love. And just like you, I was betrayed.” His voice hardened again, eyes cutting sharply towards Calico, who still hadn’t moved.
The prince continued, his tone growing darker. “When he disappeared, I was left with nothing but questions, so I searched. I read every banned tome, spent every last coin on restored romantic manuscripts, and I learned.” He paused, a twisted smile playing on his lips. “I learned what I wanted to believe was the truth.”
My pulse quickened.
“What truth?” I demanded.
Edmond chuckled, shaking his head. “The Gods, Lady Love, they are not as omnipotent as you might think. They created the seas, the winds, the land—but there is one greater than all of them combined. One who could end everything so easily. You know who. He already lives among us.”
My eyes widened, but before I could speak, the prince raised a hand, cutting me off. “Ah, I see. You think Mornatos is powerful now? That the God of the Death roams the seas at his full might?” He laughed, the sound dark and cruel. “Oh, Lady Love… he is just asleep.”
My brow furrowed in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
Edmond’s gaze sharpened, his voice lowering ominously. “The Gods, in their fear of him, created The Three. Three objects filled with their magic and protection to keep Mornatos contained, to lock away his true nature. To keep him…manageable. But don’t fret. I’m going to wake him up.” He smirked, twirling the dagger again. “Because if this traitor, if this prince turned pirate left to fulfill this prophecy… Then I was going to wake the reason that bloody prophecy was created in the first place. I was going to make him regret everything he did to me.”
My mind raced, panic surging through me. I felt the heat of my birthmark again, the ache in my heart. And because I couldn’t stand this anymore, I said, “You don’t understand his power. You’ve never been at sea, that is why you’re so unaffected by this, that’s why you are so calmly toying with the fact of waking up the dead.”
“I don’t give a damn about the sea.”
“And what about the land! Innocent people are going to die, all because of the grudges of a little boy—”
“Hold your tongue, you insolent pirate !” He raised his palm as if to hit me in the face, and I closed my eyes, but the blow never came.
He sighed calmly, as if he didn’t just yell. “You will understand soon enough.” The prince gestured grandly as he walked back towards me, his eyes never leaving mine.
“You were looking for this, weren’t you?” He pointed at the golden medallion gleaming against his armor. “Shame. I need it more than you do.”
My heart sank further as he continued to taunt me, moving the dagger as though it were an extension of his malice. “And this too”
Edmond’s eyes gleamed as he nodded towards Alastair, who stepped forward, producing something from the folds of his cloak.
My blood froze when I saw what it was.
My mouth fell open in shock, disbelief washing over me as Thalassa’s Veil unfurled in Prince Edmond’s hands, its delicate shimmer unmistakable.
He smiled as he turned back to me .
“And of course... this ,” he said with a grin. “Now all the Gods’ protections, all their carefully laid plans, are in my hands.” He sighed in triumph. “Ask me how does it feel.”
I stared at him in incredulity and disgust.
“Ask me!”
“How does it feel?” I whispered.
“Formidable. Ask me again when the world ends.”
I felt a surge of cold dread. But the biggest betrayal gnawed at me as my eyes flickered towards Calico, still kneeling in silence, his face cast in shadow.
The prince grinned, malice dripping from his words. “And now, I have deals to fulfill.”
He advanced on me, his voice turning cold as he added, “You will go with your King. And him…” He turned towards Calico and kicked him hard in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
“Well, do you want to tell her?” He began to kick Calico again, this time with vicious force—his face, his stomach, his ribs, while he screamed, “Do you?” Over and over. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Stop! Please stop!” I screamed, my voice cracking as I begged. But the prince only laughed.
“You want me to stop?” he asked. “This rat betrayed you! He sold you to save his life! Ask him how we knew you were here! Ask him how we knew you were the girl in the pink dress! Who gave you that dress, Lady Love?”
My breath hitched, my mind reeling as I remembered how Calico insisted I wear the very same dress I was now tied up in .
The prince’s voice grew louder, more mocking.
“Answer me, damn it! Who gave you the dress? Who told you to go after the veil? Who needed that map in the first place? And for what? You want to know? Just so he could bring it here to me. Nothing more. We made a deal when he realized The Crown of Tidia was looking for you and how if he turned you in, he could be pardoned of all his piracy sins, and then… a free man who could go after his dreams. He brought me the pieces I was missing, and I helped him fulfill his stupid prophecy by giving you to your King so he could marry you away to some nobleman and that way you could stay locked away in that palace forever. But he didn’t know for what I needed those pieces.” He laughed. “He didn’t know I was going to end the very reason why he bargained.”
He stepped closer and grabbed my face with his free hand. “You can't expect much from a mercenary wanted for thieving, Lady Love. You can't expect anything from a pirate. What were you looking for? Love?” He laughed. “There is nothing left for you to save in him.”
Suddenly, Calico’s words from days go echoed in my head, “What is that you’re looking for, exactly? Because if it is a compassionate, benevolent or merciful rationale, you will not find it in me.” And just when I thought a heart couldn't break any further, mine proved me wrong. And it began to crumble even more as the prince kept yelling, and yelling.
I shook my head, unable to process the words. “No,” I whispered, my voice trembling .
“Open your bloody eyes!” the prince bellowed. “You are here because of him! Ask him! He brought you to me! Ask him, damn it! You had the dagger, not him!”
Memories came rushing back to me—how Calico had warned me not to drink from the glasses, how he had asked me if I still had the dagger in me, how he had given it to me back on Isla Loro, telling me not to lose it. And then again when he took it from my bloodied hands at the coast of Pearlspire, and made sure to give it to me again after. How he had been so secretive about the prophecy.
Tears streamed down my face as the prince’s words cut deep into my soul. “Ask him!”
Overwhelmed by the confusion and the intensity of the moment, I found myself screaming, my voice hoarse with desperation, “DID YOU?!”
Calico looked down, shaking his head.
I sobbed, my voice cracking, “Look at me, please! Did you?!”
He finally looked up, but he said nothing. His silence tore through me, deeper than any wound.
“Please answer me! Please!” I screamed again, my tears unstoppable now.
And suddenly, I saw the tears fall from his eyes, but still, he said nothing.
“Please!” I begged, over and over. “Did you?”
His silence was too much to bear.
The prince sneered at the scene before him, disgusted .
“King Thadrius will be coming for you soon.” He waved the dagger and veil in his hands, mockingly triumphant. “Thank you for this,” he said, then turned towards Calico, his expression darkening with hatred. “He who is born a traitor, will die a traitor.” He spat in Calico’s face before walking away with the three objects.
Alastair moved to follow, but stopped at the sound of my scream.
A roar of pure, raw anguish and heartbreak. A sound so deep, it pierced the air like a knife. It was rage and heartbreak twisted into a single, soul-rattling cry. A force that seemed to shake the very foundation of the Kingdom.
And suddenly, an enormous wave crashed into the wall with devastating force. The stone cracked and crumbled, and in moments, the wall shattered, sending water rushing into the room. I gasped as the wave roared past, the wind from the open shore hitting my face. Through the wreckage, I could see the shore, and there, The Rebecca, waiting on the other side.
Alastair, frozen in horror for a moment, suddenly snapped into action. He ran towards me, his face pale with something, regret maybe. I wanted to believe it was regret.
Without a word, he broke my chains, setting me free.
“I hope you can forgive me one day,” he muttered, his voice barely audible over the sound of the sea. “Go.”
I stood up, stunned, the ocean breeze hitting me, my mind still spinning. The open wall beckoned me, The Rebecca waiting for my escape. But my eyes fell back on Calico, still slumped on the floor, his face streaked with tears.
“Go!” exclaimed Alastair.
But I fell to my knees in front of the captain, my hands shaking as I cupped his face. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I sobbed,
“Please tell me it is all a lie. Please tell me. Please!”
His tears fell silently, his mouth closed as he shook his head.
I cried harder, my voice breaking. “Please!” I begged, touching his lips with my trembling fingers, trying to make him speak. “Say it, please say it. Open your mouth and say it.”
Alastair grabbed me by the arm, pulling me back towards the gaping hole in the wall. “Run, Pink Arrow!” he called out, pushing me towards the open shore.
I stumbled to my feet, looking back one last time. “Say it!” I screamed at Calico, but his gaze remained fixed on the floor.
So I turned, and ran with my heart broken.
I ran with everything I had, my tears mingling with the ocean spray as I made it to the shore. My chest ached with the truth I had just learned, with the betrayal, with the searing pain of it all.
I didn’t look back again as I dove into the water, trying to swim towards The Rebecca with all my might.
And as the waves closed over my head, I prayed desperately not to drown.
Please.
Not in my beloved waters, and not in the agony of my own heart.