The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Forty-Six

(Trigger warning: Read at your own discretion.)
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I sigh, fidgeting nervously as I lean against my window sill.
"It's okay... It's okay, once he gets here, I just need to tell him how I've been feeling about him." I give myself a pep talk, trying to steel my nerves.

"Kicking me out of your heart so soon?"
An aggravated voice calls out.
Suddenly a heavy presence appears behind me.
I turn, looking behind me to see Micheal.
He hovers in front of my open window, a cloud of black fog by his feet.
I fall to the ground, letting out a terrifying scream as I stare back at him in horror.
Quickly trying to run away, the instant I get up on my feet an electrifying shock flows through my neck, down through my body as I lose control over my movements.
I collapse, watching the room grow blurry as a buzzing echo runs through my mind.
I begin falling as I lose consciousness, watching my room doors burst open as royal guards run in until my vision cuts off.

My body begins tingling, uncontrollably trembling as I regain feeling in my limbs.
I move around in my sleep, uncomfortable with the sensation.
Feeling weak as if I've been crushed under a rock, I use all my strength to open my eyes.
A scent of burnt bitter ash hits my nose.
I look around as my mind becomes clear, my eyes widening as I finally comprehend reality.
My hands are chained and elevated above me, the chains hung onto a hook in the ceiling. I sit, kneeling on the cold ground.
I look at the unfamiliar ash-covered room. The building crumbling slightly, the walls destroyed, the curtains scorched and ripped, and burnt furniture around the room.
My breathing becomes rapid as anxiety and fear washes over me, remembering my last memory of Micheal appearing at my window, and knights rushing into my room.

"Awake?"
A calm voice speaks up.
I look to see Micheal getting up from the tattered burnt bed.
"W-What do you want from me?" I summon my strength to ask.
I stare up at him as he approaches closer.
"A wedding can't be held without the bride, dear sister." Micheal squats down in front of me, giving a half smile.
My eyes widen as I look at his condition. He sits in front of me, fully healed without even a scratch.
"How?... How are you healed?" I stammer, remembering his eye being cut by an arrow.
"That emperor isn't the only one who can heal himself, sister. Although, it seems he's at a disadvantage."
"What disadvantage?"
"He's weak. His mana is pleasantly low, but that's not my case." Micheal smiles, summoning a dagger out of the black fog.
He slices his arm deep, causing black blood to trickle down his skin as it pools onto the ground.
My eyes widen as he mutters a spell, holding his hand against the cut. A neon green fog rises from his hand, the overflowing blood instantly stopping.
"All I need to do is use some magic, and poof! I'm all better. I can't be cut up for our wedding, now can I?" He smiles, revealing his arm to show not even a trace of a cut.
"Has it not dawned on you, that marriage is for people in love?" I mutter, growing more afraid of him.
"Oh please. You and I were born together, we're meant for each other. We shared the same womb, and share the same blood."
I shudder, disgusted by his sentence.
"T-That's not right! We're siblings, Micheal! Marriage isn't meant to be like this! Father and mother are dead okay? They're gone, so why do you need to pursue what they wanted?"
"Be quiet." Micheal mutters, rolling his eyes.
"They're dead! What else do you want? They died, you don't have to continue what they taught you!"
"Stop." Micheal sharply speaks.
His piercing green eyes glare back at me.
I look back at him, feeling as though I'm looking back at a stranger.
"What happened to you?..." I whisper.
"I did what was right."
"And what was that? Hiding your powers when we were growing up?" I hold my breath, glaring back at him.
"Trust me, if I had them growing up, you wouldn't have gotten away that easily."
"T-Then, how?..."
Micheal thinks to himself, walking to sit on a dusty chair facing me.
"Willing to gain what you want, no matter the cost is the smart way of life. I did what I had to. I traded my soul for immense powers, just like that little emperor."
"Cabel?..." I whisper, remembering what he told me about his childhood.
"Mmhm."
"You don't know the first thing about him. Don't group yourself with him!" I snap back at him, frustrated as he talks down on Cabel.
"Doesn't matter now, does it? I warned him about getting in our way, and for what I can assume, he's probably dead, bleeding out like a dog."
"He's not as weak as you think he is!"
"On the contrary, I know he is. If he's smart, he won't interrupt us when he's close to dying. Now that little annoyance is out of our hair, you can love me freely sister."
"No..."
"You don't have a choice, this is what we wanted."
"I do have a choice! I never wanted this! I dealt with being beat by our own parents, because I never wanted to love you!"
Instantly, Micheal kneels in front of me, gripping my throat with his hand.
"Seems like mother and father didn't teach you well enough." He angrily mutters, tightening his grip around my throat.
I struggle to breathe, instinctively trying to push him away, yet forgetting my arms are tightly restrained. My wrists roughly scrape against the metal chains as I tense up, attempting to free my hands.
Just before losing consciousness, his grip releases my throat.
Instantly, I cough, gasping for air.
"How pointless. We'll marry before sunrise. I'll teach you how to treat your husband afterwards." Micheal grins, leaving the room as he slams the door behind him.
My body runs with chills from his expression, filled with horrid disgusting thoughts.
I slump, struggling to breathe as I panic.
"Cabel... Please help me..." I whisper, tearing up as I hold onto the little hope I have left.