"…After everything they've done—everything they still do—how the fuck am I supposed to treat them with kindness, then?"
The words spill from my mouth like venom—thick, bitter, and searing. They slice through the quiet like a blade, echoing in the stillness, raw and unfiltered.
And just as I expect…
Morvena doesn't speak.
Not imdiately.
She stands there, frozen like a statue, her lips pressed into a tight, bloodless line. Her hands clenched so tightly at her sides, her knuckles pale. Her breath shudders, barely contained, like she's forcing herself not to speak.
I watch her.
I wait.
But no words co.
No rebuttal.
No righteous defense.
Just… silence.
Right.
I should've known.
"Haaa…" A tired sigh leaves , and I drag a hand through my hair, fingers threading roughly through the strands like I might tear the frustration out by force.
"What a waste of ti."
For one, fleeting second, I thought she was different. I thought maybe—just maybe—there was sothing real behind those eyes. Sothing solid. Sothing that could stand beside instead of grovel beneath .
But no.
Seems like I've mistaken.
She's just another empty blossom, another flower with nothing else but its hollowed beauty.
Another fool, clinging to childish ideals, of hope, kindness and light, as if those things were enough, as if they could shield anyone from the cruelty of the world.
This fucking girl...
She's the kind of people I despite the most.
I turn, already halfway gone, letting her fade from my focus.
But then—
"Wait."
Her voice—soft as falling snow—halts in my tracks.
I turn, brows raised, just in ti to see her hand rising slowly, reaching for her collar.
She slides it down.
And as she does, the courtyard gasps. A sharp, audible wave of shock.
Because there, on her bare shoulder, there lies a mar, a mark so twisted and dark, it's ironically beautiful in the most terrifying way.
A spiral of red, etched like a brand, faintly pulsing with a soft, infernal light. It glows like embers in a dying fire, subtle, but seething. The skin around it is perfect, unblemished, save for that one cursed burn.
And I freeze.
My breath catches.
No… it can't be.
But it is.
That mark…
I know it.
I've lived with it. Felt it burn through , drowning , breaking , driving to the edge of madness.
It's the sa as mine.
Well, there is still one difference though.
While hers is carved into her flesh.
Mine is carved onto my heart, my very soul.
It doesn't show unless I lose control, unless the madness takes . But when it does… it crawls from the depths of my chest, slithering out across my skin like a demon clawing its way to the surface.
With this… we are alike… in so way.
I stare. Disbelief coils tight in my throat.
I can't believe it.
That right here, right now… I've found soone like .
Soone burdened by the sa darkness. Soone who understands.
"Oi—what the hell are you doing?" I bark suddenly, my voice sharper than I intend. I rush forward, grab her hand, and yank her uniform back up, covering the mark with a snap of fabric. "You understand what happens if people see that, right? Are you insane?"
She doesn't flinch. Doesn't even blink.
"Of course I do," she says, voice calm. Too calm.
Unshaken.
And then—
"Eleven."
My brows knit. "What?"
She lifts her chin, slowly. Her eyes steady.
"That's how many tis people have tried to kill . After they found out."
The wind holds its breath.
Even the sky seems to go still.
Her voice quivers, not from fear—but from sothing deeper.
Sothing far too familiar.
Pain…
"Your Highness… I know my mark isn't as strong as yours. I know I haven't suffered as deeply. But it still hurts. The burning at night, like fire tearing through your soul, isn't it? The whispers. The voices that claw inside your head… telling you to do things. Terrible things. Things you never wanted. And worse…"
She closes her eyes.
Tears slip down her cheeks.
But she swallows the rest. Shaking it off.
And when she looks at again, her gaze is clear. Unwavering.
"There are nights… those maddening nights… the ones where you wish you'd never been born at all...
Am I right?... Your Highness..."
I freeze.
Still as stone.
Because I've heard those sa whispers.
Felt that sa fire.
Lived through those sa endless nights.
And suddenly—I can't speak.
I can't breathe.
Because this ti, it's who's speechless.
, who's paralyzed.
All this ti, I thought I was alone, that I was the only one cursed, the only one condemned.
But now…
There's another.
Another soul, mocked and hunted.
Another heart twisted by fate.
Another cursed star—just like .
Morvena exhales, slow and quiet, her hand falling back to her side.
"But now that I've shown you this," she murmurs, "I'm as good as dead. But even if I die right here… I beg you, Your Highness—please!"
She looks at , her voice trembles, but her gaze does not. She ets my eyes fully, openly, with a quiet, unwavering honesty.
There's no lie in them. No fear.
Just her heart pouring out to , trying to reach .
"Please, don't lose your true heart," she whispers. "Don't let them twist you into sothing you're not. You're not a demon. You're not a curse!"
A silence stretches between us.
And then—barely more than a breath—
"You're a star," she says. "The brightest star this kingdom has ever seen."
Her voice catches, breaking ever so slightly.
"…Morvena," I murmur, the na trembling on my lips.
My hands are shaking.
My throat tightens with emotion I don't know how to na.
My heart pounds. Loud, aching, and alive.
And then… she smiles.
A soft, gentle smile that makes sothing inside break.
"And as a star, Your Highness… you still need to follow the light.
"After all…" She draws in one soft breath., then speaks with all the sincerity in the world…. "Your mother, Queen Alicia… she was the kindest, strongest, and bravest Queen this land has ever known. "
And what cos after that…
Is silent.
….
….
"Tch…" I click my tongue, dragging a hand slowly through my hair.
I try to steady my breath.
Try to still my racing heart.
But it refuses to listen.
"Argh… so annoying!" I growl, the frustration curling behind my teeth.
Morvena lifts her chin, eyes closed, waiting in silence, ready for the execution that should co next, bracing herself for death with a calm that both angers and irritates even more.
But now…
How could I?
After everything she just said?
After everything she showed ?
I sigh, long and slow,
"You know, Morvena…" I murmur, voice low, already too tired of all this emotional bullshit. "You're really making this hard for now."
Then, slowly, I turn.
My gaze shifts to Amanda, the girl I was trying to execute earlier.
The mont our eyes et, her entire body locks up, her breath stutters in her throat.
And then—
She trembles.
Not a small tremble, her body is literally shaking.
Once again, this is full-bodied fear.
Like she's drowning in air.
Good.
Very good.
This is how people should react when I look at them.
Obedient, shaking like cornered rats.
And then—
Step.
Step.
I walk toward her slowly, sword still in hand.
The sound of my boots echo across the courtyard like judgnt.
I stop just before her.
Close enough that I can hear the breath hitching in her throat.
Amanda swallows hard, her eyes then squeeze shut.
Her arms wrap around herself.
She curls inward, like a child expecting to be struck.
"However," I say clearly, my voice rising, "the cri of slandering royalty cannot go unpunished!"
And then, behind , I hear it—
"Your… Highness… please…."
A whisper, soft and fragile, breaking on the edge of tears.
Morvena's voice.
A final plea, filled with sadness and sorrow.
And I can hear the crack in her heart through those shaking words.
But I don't look back.
I don't answer.
The blade in my hand rises.
Steel catches the pale sunlight, gleaming like silver death.
The courtyard holds its breath.
Even the wind dares not move.
Amanda braces herself.
And I swing—
Down.
Full force.
With all the anger, all the frustration that has been building inside …
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