Help me

~Elira~

I didn’t remember when the music faded or when the lights disappeared or how long they dragged me across those cold floors, all I knew was the moment my body hit the ground.

It felt hard and unforgiving, and the sound of a heavy door slamming shut behind me echoed louder than anything else.

Darkness pressed around me, thick and suffocating, the air smelling damp and rotten as if something had been left to decay for too long and I could feel it settle into my lungs with every shaky breath I tried to take.

For a moment I thought I might stop breathing completely because my body felt too weak to respond, too heavy like all the strength had been pulled out and left somewhere back in that ballroom at his feet.

The music was still playing in the distance, faint but present, and the laughter followed it softly, blending into the night like nothing had happened, like I hadn’t just been broken in front of them all and everything I had hoped for had been crushed.

My fingers pressed into the cold floor as my chest tightened painfully again, that sharp ache from before returning in waves and reminding me of something I didn’t understand, something that lingered faintly in my chest like a tether I couldn’t untangle, and I thought,

‘He rejected me…’ but the words didn’t settle, didn’t bring closure, only confusion and a hollow weight that made me tremble.

I tried to inhale, but it came out shallow and broken, and as I pressed my hand to my chest I realized it wasn’t gone, the faint pull that refused to leave me, weak and unsteady and impossible to make sense of, and I wondered why it stayed even after he had looked at me with disgust.

The memory of the village flashed through my mind and hit harder than the room ever could. The fire, the screams, the way his soldiers had moved through without hesitation, killing the elderly and sparing the young only because we could be sold.

I felt my throat tighten painfully as my fingers dug into the floor, my body shaking slightly as the weight of it pressed down on me and I whispered, ‘He did this… and I’m supposed to beg to be chosen?’

Tears came then, slipping down my cheeks before I could stop them as I remembered the bodies of my parents lying still, the smoke and ash rising around the village I had once called home.

I pressed my face harder against the floor, my sobs quiet but broken as I tried to hold onto what little control I had left, my chest rising and falling unevenly as the pain twisted through me.

Voices came from the door then, the other girls from other villages that were attacked appeared and were thrown into the same room I was. I could feel their stares on me, I could hear the mockery and jealousy in their breath. There presence was like salt on a fresh wound.

“I can’t believe your mate is a king. How does that make any sense?” One said bitterly, and the others laughed.

“She must have really thought she mattered when he called her out.” Another said with laughter so annoying, I wished I could go deaf.

I didn’t respond, didn’t even move, only kept my head lowered as more tears slipped down my cheeks, my body trembling slightly under the weight of their stares.

“Can you all let her be?!” A familair voice cut them short sharply. There was silence in the room. “She is going through the worse moments of her life. Have some remorse, gosh!”

She sounded so much like the girl that was beside me throughout our journey to this kingdom, Valerith Kingdom. She seemed to be the only one nice to me, but at that moment, I couldn’t even say anything to her.

My breathing faltered, slow at first and then uneven, shallow and ragged, my chest tightening painfully again as I struggled to draw in air, as if it was being stolen from me by the faint pull still lingering in my chest.

The bond was still there, weak and uncertain but impossible to ignore, and I thought, ‘Why does it hurt? Why am I still feeling this when he looked at me with such disgust?’

I pressed my hand harder against my chest as panic began to rise, my mind spinning with confusion and fear, with the memory of the village and the pain of being broken in front of the King and everyone else, and finally I thought…

“I won’t beg to be chosen… even if part of me still wants him… even if I can’t stop feeling this… I hate him…’ and the words were uncertain and shaky, but they were mine even if I didn’t fully believe them yet.

The door opened again, heavier this time, sharper, and the whispers in the room died instantly as the shadow of someone tall and commanding fell over me.

My body tensed instinctively as the footsteps drew closer, and the words came flat, “The King has given orders for the girl.”

My heart skipped, and I froze where I lay as realization hit me like a blow, then hands grabbed me again, rough and unyielding, pulling me to my feet and making me stumble.

The cold air of the night hit my skin as they dragged me through halls that became emptier and colder. The warmth of the palace disappeared and the woods opened up before me, dark, silent and endless.

They let go of me and I was made to kneel before them. They all pulled out their bows and arrows and pointed it right at me.

My heart sank. my legs weakened and my body shivered, the weight of what was coming pressing down on me, and I whispered in a cracked voice, “No… wait… please… why…?”

The guards didn’t answer, they only tightened their grip on their bows, ready to launch at the next given order.

One of them finally spoke, flat and uninterested, “You were becoming a nuisance. Your emotions were starting to piss the King off.”

The words hit harder than anything else. My chest tightened as I closed my eyes, ready to accept death.

“Ready?!”

With tears still sliding down my cheeks and my body trembling against the cold ground, a sudden sharp sound tore through the woods. Branches snapping and something hard beating against the dirt and dry leaves. My brows furrowed and I tilted my head, my eyes still closed.

Suddenly, there were screams from the men who had captured me, followed by a strange noise that made my heart lurch violently and my body tense again.

And the next minute, there was silence and a strong smell of blood in the air. The same way my village smelt after the destruction.

“Hello…?” My heart pounded. This time, my eyes shut even tighter as I feared the horror before me. And before I could think, the words slipped out of my mouth.

“Please help me.”