Chapter 1: Crushed

Screams.

For the longest time they seemed to be all I heard whenever I shut my eyes.

Screams that haunted me since that dreadful night, screams that seemed to be trapped in the walls of my bedroom and the corners of the palace.

I had come to see screams as a constant part of my life but these ones were different from my faithful companion.

I cracked my eyes open, wincing as a distant ringing pounded in my head.

My vision seemed to be coated in a layer of dust– blinding red dust.

I tried to blink but my muscles refused to obey me; not even as I felt something warm drip down my face and almost find its way into my eyes.

The screams were getting louder. Not just from people this time but the cacophony of honks and sirens that joined them.

I parted my crusty lips and gritted my teeth.

I was stuck.

The sirens got closer just as panic began to seep into my bones.

I couldn't be stuck. Not today. Not when the most important event of my life was happening right now.

I sent commands to my brain to get my muscles moving, even if it was just my hands so I could push the heavy weight that crushed me.

My brain stayed silent.

I needed to get to the palace. Everyone was waiting.

My uncle was waiting. I couldn't fail them again.

“Help.” My lips parted but only a gust of air left them accompanied by blood trailing down the sides.

“Please, help me.”

From the corner of my eyes, the steering wheel turned aimlessly before coming to a stop.

The passenger seat which held a fresh batch of flowers I had gone to pick up was no more. Like it had been thrown out. Or crushed.

I couldn't lay here and fail my people again.

I struggled.

I forced my muscles to comply and after what seemed like an eternity my fingers twitched.

My vision blurred.

Not from dust and blood that were gradually filling up my face. Black dots.

They coated my sights like little fish scrambling for food in a clear pond.

I blinked them off and tried to force my entire hand to obey my command.

“The Vehicle has the brand of the Royal palace! I think someone is trapped there!” A voice floated to me.

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs.

“ With this level of impact……it's a miracle whoever is inside is still alive!” Another voice yelled back.

I gritted my teeth and tapped the finger against any surface close by as if to say “I'm here, I'm alive.”

Suddenly, I felt the weight resting on my lower half increase before it was then lifted and a flash of sunlight blinded me.

The black dots tripled, intermingling with the various figures that flooded my face.

“Oh my goddess, she is still alive, get a stretcher!” A voice yelled.

No. Not a stretcher

Get me back to the palace. They're waiting. Please.

Just take me home. I'm fine.

My efforts to communicate with their subconscious didn't yield any effects and I was soon lifted into a stretcher and wheeled away from my crushed vehicle.

“Please.” I mumbled at the grave face that loomed above me and pointed a beam of light on my eyes.

“Please, h..home,” I managed to say.

“She's going into shock! Faster!” The voice screamed instead.

I parted my lips to explain but the black dots filled my vision again and soon the darkness swallowed me.

***

For the first time in ages, my mind was still. Quiet.

I blinked my eyes open, briefly assaulted by the burst of light that filled them and the eerily white ceilings that looked like a portal to another realm.

I stiffened as a soft beep floated into my ears and the scent of bleach and antiseptic filled my nose.

The palace didn't smell like a hospital ran through it.

I sat up with a start, bumping my head against the headboard and winced.

I looked down at the tubes attached to my chest, the tiny poke marks on my hand.

I turned towards the window mechanically, the fog in my mind easing up a bit.

The morning of my coronation.

Shit! Shit! I was late.

As I tried to yank at the tubes connected to my chest, the door parted open bringing in a middle aged man dressed in a well pressed suit.

“You're finally awake. How do you feel?” He asked as he picked a note pad attached to the bed and flipped through.

“I'm fine. I need to leave here now. I'm missing a big event.” I barked and snapped my fingers for him to undo the tubes.

The doctor regarded me with a perplexed gaze.

“Do you remember what happened? The accident?”

“My car hit a tree and I was unconscious for a few hours. Unhook these tubes and let me go.”

The pity and worry that passed through his eyes didn't go unnoticed but my mind was already occupied with what the elders might be saying already.

I was already a stain to them. I couldn't keep on adding grievances to their book of wrong doings.

“What's your name, miss?” The doctor asked, as he placed a finger against my pulse.

“Sera.”

“Sera, you've been unconscious for four days, not a few hours.”

My eyes widened.

This had got to be a bad joke. I wanted it to be a joke.

But the ache in my bones, the dryness of my lips and my parched throat screamed it was the truth.

Four days.

I had missed my own coronation.

I cradled my head in my hands, a headache forming at the base of my skull as my heart thundered.

How was I going to explain to Uncle and the elders?

Shit! Uncle would be going crazy trying to look for me! I didn't even tell him before I left the house that day.

I could still fix this. I just needed to show the elders evidence of my accident and fix another date for the coronation.

It was going to be fine. You might be a stain but you've never failed the people. You’ve worked hard and earned your place.

The elders had to take that into consideration.

Yes. I can fix this.

“I’m leaving now. Get these things off me.” I said to the doctor and pulled off the blanket tucked around me.

“There's something else—”

I swung my legs out of the bed, the rest of my body following suit. I couldn’t tell what was wrong until I felt my chest meet the cold ground and the doctors panicked footsteps in my ears.

“Miss Sera, there's something else you need to know.” The doctor spoke hurriedly, his hands around my shoulders as he steadied me and lifted me back to the bed.

My eyes shook as I stared at my heavily bandaged legs.

“Wh-what is it doctor? Why…why can't I feel my legs?” My voice trembled with every word that left my lips.

“I’m sorry miss Sera. The accident left you paralyzed.”