The Queen Of Eternity

A glimpse of the past (part 2)

It's weird to think Azrael's in my head right now.

What's weirder is that I am in his.

Little Azrael in his bed, sound asleep, his mother is humming while
picking up toys and books off the floor.

His father enters and sits down beside him, running his hand through my baby boyfriend's hair.

I can't help but smile.

Azrael's mother walks up to the bed and stands in front of her husband as he looks up. Their lips meet and she giggles.

"My whole world's in this room," He says.

My heart shatters.

I don't think I'll ever be able to have this kind of a life.

There's just no... darkness. And I don't think I am capable of living a life without darkness.

Abuse is genetic. Like it or not. The cycle is inevitable. Atleast for me. I am not strong enough to break it.

Probably the reason I don't want kids. I'd rather die than give someone else the childhood I had

The memory fades away. Azrael's older. We're in his early teenage years, I think.

He's on his desk, scribbling away on a notebook.

His mother calls his name, he yells back a response. She says a joke, he laughs. She asks him to call his father and come down for dinner, he does.

I follow him down the stairs because I have nothing better to do.

His father joins him and pulls out a chair for his mother.

They sit down and start talking. Azrael says something and his parents burst out laughing.

I feel tears trickle down my cheeks.

The next memory is him practicing sword fighting with his father.

He moves too fast and falls. I flinch.

But nothing happens. His father offers him his hand, pulls him up then waits as he brushs dust off his pants and then resume the practice.

My father would've almost killed me if my hand did as much as shake too much. And if I fell? He'd make sure to I never dare do it again.

The memories now start to get progressively darker.

His mother had a miscarriage, my father attacked his city and I... was there.

I remember me meeting him for the first time in a medical tent during the first rebellion battle.

But he met me before that.

"Who's that?" He asks one of his guards.

"You don't know her, bro? That's the princess. Kayan's daughter. Well, his executionist."

Memory-me slashes through guards as if they're voodoo dolls.

Damn. I am sexy when I fight.

"Is she fighting for us or her father?" He asks because I am not killing any of his guards. Helping them instead.

"Herself."

Azrael stares at me and I can't say I am not flattered.

Then, we're back in his bedroom.

The room is completely dark other than the faint light his open laptop emits. He's searched up my name.

He's reading the countless articles and scrolling through the pictures with a subtle smile on his face.

Heat rises up to my cheeks and I get this weird giddy feeling inside my stomach.

Then, we're finally at the place I remember us meeting.

"Yo, brown hair. You a doc?" I ask, my head peeping inside the tent.

"Uh... I am a trainee."

Memory me shrugged because that was good enough for me and then I enter the tent.

"Holy shit! What happened to your hand?"

"I got shot. Hurry up. I gotta go, people are waiting."

He opens his mouth to say something but I dismiss him and sit down on a chair as he starts cleaning my wounds.

"Y'know, your father ruined my kingdom. And here I am, tending to your wounds."

I crack a smile.

If this was now, I'd be sobbing in his arms.

I was so tired when this happened. So tired, so close to breaking down and so so close to giving up.

"I admire what you're doing. Seriously. You got guts."

I whisper a thanks.

"The name's Azrael, by the way. Not 'brown hair' or whatever you called me."

"Thanks, Azrael."

After skimming through a few more cute memories that mostly involve me, I come back to the picnic blanket and the expression on Azrael's face makes me immediately stop the spell.

°°°

"I am so glad you're here," He says.

I blink at him.

No one's ever said that before.

Which is probably the reason, I have no idea how to respond.

"Thank you," I manage to say. "I am glad you're here too."

"No...like- Damn. You went through some real shit."

I guess I did.

"Essie!" Lucas yells.

I jump up to my feet as the sky lights up with an orange hue and I hear a sound that shakes the building. Bomb. No, bombs. Before I realise what's happening, it's raining fire.

Not at the headquarters. But close enough to have an impact.

Next thing I know, I am running down the halls to the armoury, passing already suited up guards.

Lucas is loading his gun, holding my armour.

He throws it to me. "We already have like five injured people. Four men that were on guard outside and a maid. They're in the healing unit. Ocean's there too. She... she's not okay."

I strip off my jacket and put on a bullet proof vest over my bralette. "What happened?"

"Not sure. Ocean and I were in my bedroom, she was sort of having a panic attack and I heard a gunshots. I grabbed her, trying to calm her down as we rushed towards the healing unit. I asked her to wait there for me. Then, I ran outside saw the injured people, called you and then the bombs."

"I'll go to the healing unit. Do some basic stuff, make sure they don't die. Won't be able to stop long-term damage though. Not alone and with such less facilities," Azrael says.

I nod. "Do what you can do. Lucas and I will handle the outside."

I grab rifle and load it up.

"Hey, Azrael. Keep Ocean safe." Lucas says as we rush outside.

Another bomb hits approximately a couple of miles away.

"Why aren't we dead?"

"Because they don't want us to be. These are not bombs somebody uses for an attack."

"Where the fuck is your mother when we need her?"

Exactly. Where is my mother?