I. Awakened From Slumber

I paused as I entered the great room, only to cough one after the other; my two servants immediately attended to me. They led me to sit on a long sofa and gave me warm water, but my cough still didn't stop until I vomited blood.

 

"I will call the queen!" Leah, one of my servants, panicked.

 

But I quickly grabbed her wrist. "There is no need, Leah. I'm fine."

 

"But princess..."

 

"I'm fine; let's keep the ritual going."

 

"Yes, my princess!" they answered in sync.

 

I am Tamara Luna, princess of Magenta, a kingdom in the south of Yarech, a continent inhabited and infested by werewolves from the underworld. I am the only child of the king and queen, and I am the last omega in our kingdom. My parents appear dissatisfied with my existence, owing to the fact that I was born with a weakened body and a rare illness. I have tried many different types of medicine and rituals to get better, but they are all futile because, as the days pass, it only gets worse until I start vomiting blood.

 

"We'll take your garments off, princess." I nodded in response to Clara.

 

They removed the layers of my dress from my body one by one while I stood there watching them in the reflection of the large mirror on the room's wall. Today, we will perform my healing ritual in the sacred room of the Magenta castle. After my servants removed all my clothes, Leah took clean towels and a basin of hot water from the table, and they then used those to clean my body. I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself as I watched my reflection. My body was covered in rashes and bruises that had turned purple and green, making me look awfully disgusting.

 

After cleaning my body, they made me drink a sleeping pill. Leah and Clara then helped me lie in a sealed casket made of gold. Here I will lie for three days with my body soaked in a kind of wool from the cursed swamp's sacred olive tree. Honestly, I no longer believe I will recover from my illness. I've already lost hope. I've accepted that my life will continue in this manner, in this lonely castle, in my small room, with my incurable illness. I'm only performing this ritual to fulfill my parents' wishes. They can't give up on me because there is no other heir to the throne, even though everyone knows I have no chance of recovery.

 

"Princess, we will seal you now."

 

"Yes, please... Thank you for helping me."

 

"We are delighted to assist you, Princess Tamara."

 

The light faded from my bed as the lid of the sacred casket gradually closed. I'm afraid of the dark; I'm afraid I won't wake up from my slumber; I'm afraid they won't let me come back and will just let me sleep forever in this dark and narrow square; but despite everything, I tried to overcome my fear because I don't want to disappoint my parents any further. I want to be accepted by them. I want them to consider me their child. I want them to genuinely love me.

 

"I want to be cured," I said quietly to myself. Tears dripped from my eyes as I slowly closed them, allowing the sleepiness of the medicine to consume me. Deep inside me, I want to live. I want to be loved. I want to be free of my illness and leave the castle that has been my prison for so long. I want to be as free as a bird and try many new things.

 

"How long is she going to sleep?"

 

"I do not know..."

 

"Do you think she'll awaken soon?"

 

"I do not know..."

 

"What do you know then?"

 

"Could you please be quiet? You're going to wake up the princess."

 

"Isn't that what we've been looking forward to? For her to be awakened?"

 

I heard unfamiliar voices talking. Was my suspicion correct, though? A man's voice can be heard. But how exactly? It is strictly forbidden in the kingdom for anyone to enter the sacred room, especially men. And when I tried to move my body, I felt like a limp vegetable. Is this still a sleeping pill effect?

 

"Look! Her hands moved!" exclaimed one of the men with delight.

 

"Really? But I didn't notice it. Are you not bluffing?"

 

"Of course not!" Someone took my hand in his, and the warmth from his palm reached my stone-cold heart. I'm not going to lie; it felt really good. "I'm sure her hand moved," he added, and a soft skin touched my hand. Did he just kiss me there?

 

"I can hardly wait for you to open your eyes, princess. I can't wait to be with you." What is this? The warmth from my heart spread throughout my body, and my heart began to beat quickly. Who is the man next to me? I'd like to meet him. Why do I react so strongly to his touch?

 

"Enough!" The man suddenly let go of my hand, and the warmth I felt from his touch faded.

 

"Oh, please, I still want to speak with her."

 

"Our work here is done; let her rest for now."

 

"Ugh! Fine."

 

Are they leaving? But I never got the chance to meet him! I'd like to know his name. I'm curious how he managed to make me feel his warm feelings by just holding my hands. I tried moving my body again, but it was still useless. I then tried to open my eyes, but I was still unable to do so. What should I do? I'd like to be roused from my slumber and meet that person. His palm was so warm, and I craved it.

 

"Are you absolutely certain you want to meet the man of your dreams?" I suddenly heard a voice inside my head say:

 

"Who are you?" I asked, confused.

 

"I am you, Princess Tamara of the Eastern Kingdom, and you are me."

 

"How did you get inside my head and talk to me?"

 

"We are one, just like that. And I can sense your desire right now. Don't you want to meet that young man? I can grant your wish if you ask me to."

 

"Yes! Please… I badly want to meet him."

 

"However, there will be something in return, princess."

 

"I'll give anything just to meet that person."

 

"Then, open your eyes, and you'll meet the man of your dreams," she whispered. And, just as the voice in my head had told me, I opened my eyes to see four young men staring at me. I blinked several times, puzzled by what I was seeing. Who are these people?

 

"Good morning, princess. You are finally awake after 500 years of slumber," the man with golden hair in his black robe said. "Of course, you were shocked to hear this, but yes, you've been in slumber for that long period of time, and now that you've awakened, it's time for you to fulfill your duty, to bear the heirs of the four kingdoms."