4. SERAFINA

SERAFINA

I watched as my royal crown shattered on the floor. With it went my title, my dignity, my pride and everything I stood for as a princess or rather, used to stand for.

It all still felt like a bad dream and I held onto that feeling, hoping this would be in fact, a nightmare that I would soon wake from but no, the the nearly–strangulating feel of the collar around my neck and the bitter taste of shame and disgrace that sat on my tongue were too factual and overly real to be a nightmare.

It was a reality. My reality.

The end of a rope being sharply lashed on my back jolted me out of my thoughts and left behind a sting on my skin. It’s wicked stroke sent me reeling, and I lost balance on my knees and fell to the ground.

I let out a shrill outcry of pain and I craned my head upward and amidst the fog of tears that laid in my eyes, I saw his tall figure tower above me, a sinister glare in his eyes that was enough to kill and the whip in his hand.

Before I could comprehend anything else, he yanked me up with whatever had remained of my hair and fastened the whip—no, now that I see it clearly, it was actually a leash—he clipped the hook of the leash to my collar and hoisted me with it, dragging me to a carriage that was stalled a short distance away.

My people erupted with cries and wails, some pleading for mercy and the others lamenting over the fact that their princess had been delivered to their enemy’s hands as an atonement.

As I trudged behind Zahir to the carriage, I saw from the corner of my eye the devastated look on Prince Arie’s face. Our eyes met and he stared at me with sympathy and a hint of guilt then he averted his eyes almost immediately. The pain in his eyes was enough to tell that he could not bear the torment that came with seeing me suffer in the hands of a beast. .

I looked away as well and faced my reality; we were at the back of the carriage and Zahir wasted no time tying me to its end. A man who looked almost as menacing as Zahir sat at the back of the carriage, a wicked whip in his hands and the menacing look on his face was enough to make a frightened shiver ravage my body.

“Make sure she doesn’t cause any delay on the way back. If she falls, whip her until she’s up and moving again.” Zahir curtly gave his command and the man with the whip odded. Those soul–stabbing words airing from that gravelly, smoky voice of his made my blood curdle —I can never get used to the scary way Zahir spoke; he didn’t have to raise his voice at all, yet it possessed an authoritative command and packed a powerful punch that settled deep in the gut.

There wasn’t a single crease in Zahir ‘s emotionless deadpan, his scowl was ever–permanent and he turned around to leave in the direction of where his own royal carriage was parked. He gave me a baleful glare as he passed by me, I stared back with volumes of pleads expressed in my teary eyes and was about to voice out another round of begging but he ignored and walked right past me.

My last shard of hope shattered when the carriage started moving and feet–by–feet, I was dragged alongside its movement, being taken away from my people, my family and my crown. The cries of the onlookers escorted me out and in the thick of my tears, I silently wished that there was a way things could’ve gone differently. I silently hoped for a miracle. For a savior. But as I was dragged along, I knew there was no savior.

There was just me and the beast.

-:-

The carriage stopped at a stream for the horses to rest and drink water. Immediately it came to a halt, I tiredly dropped to the ground overridden with exhaustion and drained of strength.

The journey has spanned for a full day now and I’ve been starved of food and water, even now that everyone was eating and drinking, I remained tied to the end of the carriage with nothing but being left to wallow in pain. Cuts and bruises littered the soles of my feet and they bled badly, the blemishing marks, the painful lashes of the whips lined the skin of my back and the cuts they gave oozed blood.

The patch in my throat burned badly and needed a quenching, I managed to look up and saw that the horsemen were drinking water but even if I asked them, they were not allowed to give me as they were instructed by Zahir to not give me any food or water.

My gaze shifted to the royal carriage where Zahir was leaning against and drinking his water from his golden cup. I conceived in my mind that I had to try my luck and beg him, maybe he would have a little bit of compassion and let me have some.

“Please! Water! I beg of you, or else I might die. Even if it’s just a little sip. Please.” I mustered up what remained of the last of my strength to yell an outcry. It attracted Zahir’s attention and he turned to look at me.

“Please! Just a little bit of water, Please!” My cries intensified as I had garnered his attention. He stepped away from his carriage and advanced towards where I laid on the floor and I felt relief, knowing that he was coming forth to give me some of his water to drink. Has my tears pierced through his icy heart so soon?

He stopped right in front of me, casting his gaze at my battered and trembling being and I felt the heat of his stare, it was so intense that I could feel his intent piercing through my skin and on second thoughts, I started to feel that he wasn’t here to give me water.

“You will drink from the stream after the horses.” He pronounced, his lingering gaze still on me. I looked at the stream in question and it was the most unpalatable body of water I had ever come across. Ridden with unknown waste and dirt so much that flies used it as an abode.

Zahir wanted me to drink from that? How callous can this man be? I forgot he wasn’t a man. He wasn’t human. No human would be so wicked to wish such a thing on another like them.

At this point, my body was calling for anything liquid, anything at all I could use to quench this thirst but if I accept to drink the water for the horses, nothing would remain of my dignity. I wouldn’t stoop so low in front of this beast. I would not easily relinquish every of my power and free will to him unless he breaks it out of me.

I braced up and faced Zahir, “Never. I’d rather die.” I firmly refused; I would rather perish and won’t stoop lower than I already have.

“Then…” He proceeded to slowly pour the water in his golden cup onto the floor, right in front of me, just to spite me. He held my gaze as he let the water kiss the dirt, “Die.”.

I watched as he emptied the content of the cup simply to further establish his wickedness against me. Water that he could’ve instead given to me, he chose to make me salivate for it and treat me maliciously.

The last of the water dropped and just then, a rumble was heard in the sky and rain suddenly started to drizzle.

“Quick everyone, return to the carriage and let’s keep going before the rain gets heavy.” Zahir instructed and moved back to his own carriage and every other person entered into theirs, including the one with the whip. I was the only one left in the fast coming rain.

The next half of the journey was the most painful—the rain tripled in fold and I was under it as the carriages moved, drenched in the outpour. I was tired, unbelievably tired and famished and not to mention extremely cold. The carriages were going too fast and I struggled to keep up, especially considering the fact that I was trudging in mud.

Eventually, I tripped and fell into the mud but no one noticed and even if they did, I doubted if they’d even bat an eye. The carriage dragged me along the mud and the friction was violent; it ripped my dress, stained my face with mud, bruises and scratches and I screamed in pain but it fell on deaf ears.

After an agonizing while of being subjected to that form of pain, I managed to pull myself up. Unfortunately as I rose, I tripped again and the next that followed was me banging my head hard against a rock and then everything turned dark afterwards.

Maybe I was really going to die.