CH.11 As the days pass on I still grieve
Iris walked through the palace gardens. The heads of brightly colored flowers were in full bloom.
Bees buzzed around and beautiful butterflies fluttered.
The eyes painted on their wings winked at her.
The warm rays of sunlight warmed her face.
Her steps led her to the ruins of the old castle, where her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces.
She could still feel the shards trying to cut their way out of her body.
It hurt. It hurt so much to know that she was the one who had caused all this.
If only she could say no. She could warn Jace and they would run away together.
Exactly as he wanted. But she longed for something that was never meant for her.
She wanted a fairy tale like the ones her mother had read to her before bed when she was little.
She thought she had found it and fate, her stepmother, and Anastasia had taken it from her.
She did it herself.
Iris stroked the fragile rose petals. Luc's words flashed through her mind, why he had left her roses all these years.
Beautiful from a distance, but prickly up close.
With her fingertips, she briefly touched the thorns protecting their beauty.
She pressed a little harder. A drop of blood seeped through the surface. It stained the green of the grass.
She sat down in the swing where the prince had rocked Anastasia that night.
She rocked gently, that moment replaying in her head.
It was happening all over again, so vividly right before her eyes.
When Prince Edmund had said those words, she felt as if someone had stabbed her in the back.
Iris wanted to raze the place to the ground, to tear down the last stones that would withstand time.
She wanted to burn it to ashes and erase the place and the memories it held from time.
She wanted to scream until she lost her voice.
But instead, she was silent. Iris sat there, silent, in her own hell that she had made for herself.
And yet it all paled in the gold of her demon's eyes. She didn't understand the feelings she felt for him. The allure that drew her to him so much. It was more than physical attraction, not that he wasn't good-looking. As if the darkness within her was calling her home.
It was a strange bond that held them together. Her mother will never tell her the secret of it anymore, from which she protected her so much, and Luc refused to tell her.
As she was walking through the gardens to calm down, she was stopped by a loud growl. A fox crouching under a bush, an arrow sticking out of its hind leg. She heard dogs barking and the voices of hunters coming out of the forest.
"Find it!" they shouted. "It ran into the gardens! Find it!"
Iris wanted to take the fox into her arms, but it kept growling at her. It was afraid, wounded, and surrounded by enemies who wanted to kill it. Of course, it did not recognize the kind hand that wanted to help.
"Calm down," Iris said in a gentle voice. "I just want to help you."
She reached out her hand, but the frightened fox gnawed at her in panic, Iris barely being able to dodge her fingers.
"I just want to help you. If you stay here, they'll kill you."
As if understanding her words, the fox suddenly calmed down and allowed her to take it in her arms. It whimpered in pain when she accidentally touched the arrow sticking out of its body.
"Sorry. Everything will be fine. I'll take of care you, and soon you'll be able to run around the forest like the wild creature you are."
She ran with the fox to her room. She had to avoid the hunters. She heard the dogs running after them. They smelled the fox. But they stopped in front of the kitchen door, through which she ran into the palace. They could no longer chase her.
She placed the fox on the table. It lay calmly. There was resignation in its eyes. As if it were giving up.
"You'll be fine," Iris told it. "But now you'll just have to endure it."
She took the arrow in her hand. As soon as she moved to pull it out, the fox slashed at her with its sharp fangs. Iris jumped away from it. The fox licked the painful wound.
"I have to pull the arrow out. This way the wound will never heal."
The fox lay down again. This time Iris didn't hesitate. She grabbed the arrow tightly and pulled it out of the fox's leg. It flinched. It howled in pain like a wolf. It gave Iris a murderous look. She growled.
"It's out," she waved the bloody arrow in front of its eyes. "I'll have to sew up your wound now, though, so please don't bite me."
The fox growled the whole time. It trembled as it fought back the urge to sink its fangs into her hand. But she allowed the wound to be sewn up. One last stitch and the arrow wound was healed. The thread shone with a soft light, and only a scar remained of the wound.
"See? And you're fine now."
The fox licked the blood from its fur. There was no open wound underneath. Suddenly it snuggled gratefully against Iris. It was as tame as a cat. It whined happily. Iris scratched it behind its ears.
"Thank you for not biting me. I really appreciate it."
There was a knock on the door. Iris almost jumped in fright. She stared at the door with distrust. She decided to ignore the knock. However, the person standing behind the door decided not to ignore her.
"I know you're there." Prince Edmund's voice came.
Iris opened the door. Just a tiny gap so that the fox wouldn't be seen running around her room as if it had never been hurt.
"Your Highness, how may I help you?"
"Where is the fox?" Prince Edmund said accusingly to her.
"What fox? I don't know of any," she replied.
Prince Edmund peered in through the gap in the door.
He was looking for his victim, whom she had stolen from him.
Iris stepped outside out and closed the door behind herself.
The prince did not move a step. He pressed against her with his powerful body, holding her as if in a cage.
Iris held her breath from the closeness.
"The blood on your clothes and hands says otherwise."
He glared at her with a hostile gaze. The tenderness she had known had vanished from his eyes into emptiness.
"I saved the fox from your barbaric ways," she told him irritably.
"Hunting is fun."
"Only for you. For those animals, it's a fight for their lives."
"But it's tradition. It's just the way it's done."
"Just because it's done that way doesn't mean it should be done that way."
The prince was startled by her words. As if he had heard them somewhere before.
They sounded in his mind like an ancient echo, so quiet, almost incomprehensible.
His gaze softened. The cruelty in his eyes melted away.
He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out of his throat. Confusion was evident on his face.
"Don't do that again." was all he said and left.
Iris watched him walk away from her. He didn't look back.
He walked proudly forward and disappeared from her sight as he turned behind the corner.
Iris sighed. Secretly she hoped he would look back.
That he would give her that fleeting glance over his shoulder, carrying a secret, that he remembered, that somewhere deep down he remembered her. He didn't look back.
The door to her room opened and as she was leaning against it with her whole body, she fell in. She landed hard on the floor. Luc stood above her, offering her a helping hand.
"Your prince doesn't seem as nice as you said he would be."
Iris took his hand. He lifted her back to her feet, and in doing so, she slapped him.
"What was that for?" he gave her a confused look.
"For not catching me."
He gently took her by the wrist and pressed her to his chest. He was clearly enjoying her closeness, liking the way he was able to get her mortal heart racing.
When his lips touched hers, she didn't back down.
She even opened her mouth slightly, letting him in.
She was so submissive, so why was she resisting so much?
"I was hoping the impact would knock him out of your head," he said.
"He just needs to remember," she said. "Somewhere inside he remembers me. If only I could remind him. If only I could be alone with him for a moment."
Luc rolled his eyes. He pulled her inside and slammed the door behind them. He pulled her in front of the mirror, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. They just stood there, staring at their reflection.
"Do you want to show me how good we look together?"
She turned her gaze to him. Their lips were almost touching. All she saw was the gold swirling in his eyes.
"Of course, we're perfect together," he said, resisting the urge to let the space between them disappear completely. "But I want to show you something else."
He touched the mirror with his fingertip.
"Ostende mihi principem Edmundum!" he whispered into it.
The surface rippled and the image within it changed. She saw Prince Edmund come out into the gardens. There, his hunting party, led by the commander of the guards, was waiting for him.
"Where is your trophy?"
"It escaped me."
"Your bride's stepsister is quite quirky," the commander remarked.
"She is like a wild animal that needs to be tamed," said Prince Edmund.
"At least it'll be fun with her."
"If you like her so much, ask her out. Maybe she'll give you a chance."
"I thought it was more for you. You're always somehow shy around her." The commander gave him a mischievous smile.
"I am not," Prince Edmund snapped.
"You don't seem that way. I saw the way you looked at her in that provocative dress. And now when you walked out that door, you looked like you'd seen a ghost. Don't pretend you aren't attracted to her."
"You forget that I am getting married. I am marrying the woman I love."
"She's not a woman, she's a child. Spoiled and vain."
The entire hunting party laughed. Prince Edmund, however, did not seem amused by his words.
"Don't you ever dare to disrespect my bride like that again!" He pierced the commander and the sneering lords with a glare that could kill. "No one ever again!"
Luc waved his hand and the mirror showed their reflection again.
"What was that?" Iris asked him, confused.
"What you saw. Mirrors can show you everything you desire," he explained.
"Everything?"
"Absolutely everything."
"So you're helping me from now on?"
"No. I just want to help you awaken your inner fire. If it serves your purposes, it will be easier. If you don't resist."
"Show me that again," Iris demanded. "I want to learn it. I want to learn everything."