3. SERAFINA

CHAPTER THREE

SERAFINA 

"Are you crazy, Serafina? What are you talking about? How can you boldly tell me that you've decided to relinquish your title as a Princess so you can be a slave to that feral beast?" Prince Arie blasted, directing all the anger at me like I was the one who made the decision on my own accord. 

Prince Arie. The man I’ve been betrothed to before I was even old enough to understand I was born of royal blood and betrothals were part of the inevitable things that came with it.  Our union has been planned for a long time. 

I simply can't back out even though it was a loveless union. 

    By now, I was supposed to be married to him; our marriage has been scheduled five times and we've had to shift the date because the constant Lycan attacks made it impossible to plan a wedding. It would also be quite insensitive to do something like that at a crucial time like this when your people are dying. 

I don't love Prince Arie, I can't overemphasize this enough, but my father had already set my future to be the wife to such a spoilt and brash prince!

   However, I wondered what our fate would be now seeing that I was going to be sold as a slave to Zahir. It was painful to think about because I knew even though I hated Prince Arie and our impending marriage, I would still be a Queen and it was better than being a slave to a monster. 

A monster with no heart. 

    Immediately after my discussion with my father yesterday, I had to travel all the way to the Kingdom of Rhus to speak to Prince Arie and inform him about the decision that had been taken. We were in his personal chambers and he wasn't taking the news very well. Of course, breaking such news to an arrogant man who has been dreaming about our union since we were children. 

I adjusted my fur–shawl against my shoulders,"It's to save our people, you have to understand it. I'm sorry everything that has been planned between us would crumble, but it's a sacrifice I have to make for my people."

"That's bullshit! He banged his fists on his table, expressing so much rage that the items on the surface bounced and clinked together. His outburst scared me, I had to take a step backward cautiously. 

   He was seething mad and it was expressed vividly across his features; his veins were deeply imprinted on the sides of his forehead, his silver–blue eyes glinted in anger and a furious scowl sat menacingly on his lips. Whenever Arie was in one of his numerous fits of rage, he was scary. To think I was to spend the rest of my life with such a man. 

"You'll have to accept it, there is nothing I can do about it. The decision was taken to ensure the safety of my people, your people too. Everyone is going to benefit from this." I tried to reason with him. .

"How can you say such things so casually? Like you aren't handing over your life to a beast? A princess being a slave to those animals. Think about me, how do you think I feel knowing my betrothed is going to be taken captive by them? And yet you say everyone would benefit from this?" Again, he proved that trying to reason with him was like trying to move a steep mountain.

Impossible. 

I sighed, getting quite exasperated by his lack of understanding. "Are you happy seeing your people die? Is that what you want? I'm doing this out of selflessness, a sacrificial gesture and you're supposed to understand me but instead, you're being quite ungrateful and making an already hard decision seem harder!" 

"I have a say in this as well, and I'm saying my fiance won't be a servant to those abominations and freaks of nature!" He retorted with fury. 

"My prince, please understand that—"

"I refuse to understand anything, Serafina! Those people are evil, they killed your people, they killed my people. They waged war against us. Instead, we should intensify our efforts and wipe all of them out! They should be ridden out from the earth, they are beats and shouldn't be worshiped or reverenced!" He intercepted, balling his fists tightly. 

He stepped closer to me, his glaring eyes holding mine captive and he was expecting me to cave in and go against my already made decision. But I refuse to be insensitive like him. 

"You are one of the main reasons why they are so angry at us anyways! You and your people were the spearhead orchestrators of the callous and cruel experiments on the wolves and Lycans! You were the one who held the majority of them captive in your own Kingdom. Your evil towards them makes up a large cut of their current rage! You should be happy I'm doing this to atone for your sins against them. You should be damn happy." 

   My chest heaved up–and–down in heavy, angered breaths, still maintaining our stare–off of fury, same as him and he was visibly so angry that it seemed he was bits away from breathing out hot–steams from his nostrils. 

His height towered above me but I wasn't intimidated. We stood toe–to–toe at each other, saying nothing to each other but being under each other's glares of rage. 

  Prince Arie sighed, tearing apart from the gaze and he stepped closer to me then snaked his arm around my waist and brought me nearer to him. My breath hitched at the unexpected suddenness of his actions, not to mention that his touch still slightly repulsed me even after so many years. 

He leaned his forehead unto mine and they touched, "I'm sorry for yelling at you, my princess. It's just that I can't hear to have the woman who is set to be the future queen or my Kingdom be a slave to the Lycans, you know how much I despite them." 

With hesitation, I gradually rested my hands on his shoulders—touching him was also a hassle to me even after these years. 

"I know. But there is nothing I can do. It's decided already. My father has already relayed my acceptance to them, everything would be happening so quickly. In two days, they'll be at Alserafina for the exchange."

There was a pull in his breathing on hearing my last statement, it was all a bit too hard for him to take in. My hands reached for his hair, and I ran my fingers in their locks. I lifted my head up and met with his lips, kissing them. Was I doing it as some sort of pacification or because I pitied him? Yes. 

Granted, he can be a complete asshole half the time. But he cared about me, deeply. I've known him since we were children and despite not having any romantic feelings for him, he's my oldest friend—is it right to call him a friend? 

We kissed for a while and he disengaged, but not taking his lips too far away from mine. So when he spoke, I felt his breath gently rest on my skin and the emotions in his tone seeped in, I felt it in my heart. 

"I will save you soon. Please, my princess, just endure for a short while with the beasts. I will come get you, you don't have to worry about anything. Just be careful." 

I nodded, "I will." 

   I trusted that Prince Arie would have a plan and I believed in it. I will be redeemed soon. 

His hands left my waist and soon, they were taking off my fur–shawl and gently dragging down the straps of my dress. 

"One more time, before you leave." He whispered into my ears and I shut my eyes and nodded an approval. I shuddered within as his fingers touched my skin while  pulling down my dress, a tear escaped my shut eye–lids. 

   It was good enough for him that I let him touch me, that I let him hold me, that I let him kiss me, that I let him ravage my body with his hungry hands but that was exactly where I drew the line. Sex. I am a virgin, and despite how angering that fact was to Prince Arie, he respected it and never pushed me into doing what I wasn't comfortable with. I guess that's a redeeming quality of his, something to brighten up his dark page. 

He paused and looked up at me. He wiped away the tear and placed a kiss on my forehead. 

"I love you, Serafina." 

   I could never bring myself to reply to that, because I don't love him. I can never love him. But he didn't care about that, he already knew I am his— or rather, I used to be his. 

-:-

    Everyone was gathered, and it wasn't a celebration of any kind. They were dressed in their black sackcloths, women had their hairs covered and everyone was barefooted. As a form of honour and respect, the people had also decided that they won't eat any food or drink anything for the entirety of today. They were crying, wailing and lamenting. 

    The drums were beating sorrowfully and that was an indication that it was time for it to happen. Their grieving pounding mimicked the way my own heart was beating being in the middle of the crowd. I was also dressed in black, barefooted and starved as well. 

Today was the exchange day and they were all gathered; the royal family, the other Great Kings and Prince Arie and his father as well. 

    Zahir got up from his seat and took those menacing steps of his towards me. The large man's face was void of an expression, an emotionless deadpan, as if he wasn't about to permanently ruin my life. While I was in tears, non–stop tears that I had cried from last night till now. 

Zahir stood before me, casting down a loathful gaze at me—he stared at me with so much intent and hatred, that it looked like his eyes would shoot daggers at me anytime soon, like he was greatly restraining himself from using the knife in his hand to kill me, ram it deep into my chest and scoop out my insides. In his other hand was a collar, the all–familiar collar, it was the one he had in his hand the day of the meeting. The very same one. 

I looked up at him with teary eyes, "P–please, have merc—"

SLASH! 

  He used the knife to cut off my hair, my long flowing raven black hair, and I watched as the bulk of it fell to the ground. A great deal of fear gripped my heart instantly and I was trembling. His unfeeling gaze lingered on me longer, and I couldn't even hear to look into his eyes anymore, there was so much fire in it and it scorched me deeply. 

I felt my skin crawl when his hands met with my neck, fastening the collar around it and that was the cue for my people's cries to intensify, including mine. 

"Kneel!" He barked the command and I instantly complied, falling on the floor before him. 

  Then, he took off my crown and literally bent it into a curve with his bare hands, like he was bending a flimsy plastic, and he tossed the golden crown away. It landed on the floor with a clash and all the diamond pearls fell out. 

And then Zahir's previous words echoed in my headspace repeatedly, 

"Serafina, you will be the price for their sins."