Chapter 77: A FATHER’S LAST GIFT
[MUSIC RECOMNDATION: CAN YOU SEE MY HEART ~ HEIZE]
Nix, who was standing behind Kitanna, noticed how excited she looked about everything. After reciting words that seed to be a distant mory, she rushed back to her father’s grave, and she moved the painting. He allowed her to get on with whatever she was doing because it looked like she had it under control.
Then he heard her scream, "Found you!" Nix turned to the place her eyes were looking at.
Kitanna pointed at the ceiling, her eyes mixed with excitent. She turned to look at Nix with a bright smile on her face, then she turned back to look at the spot.
"What is that?" Nix asked; he was sure it was just the high ceiling covered with webs. He almost turned away when he saw sothing flash through the ceiling. This caught his attention because the room was built underground; it was sealed off properly to avoid any outside light from coming in.
They believed that light from the moon or sun would only awaken the Kings from their slumber and turn them into vengeful spirits because they were disturbed.
Nix noticed the light glow again; he turned to look at the excited princess. And then back at the ceiling; if she was so focused on the light, then he needed to check it out.
Nix dragged the wooden stool, which was kept on a side for the high priestess and the royal family who mourns the deceased. He used the stool to elevate his height. Nix noticed that sothing like a shaft was covering whatever it is that was glowing. He pushed it aside, and imdiately the whole room illuminated like the full moon had cast on it.
Kitanna turned back to look at her father’s grave; the light was shining directly on it. But there was sothing else; the painting now had writing on it. She moved closer to read what was written on it.
"Beneath your father’s arms rests your eyes ." Kitanna bit her lower lip; she read the words out loud again. That was the only thing written on the painting; she knew this was her father trying to give her a clue to sothing.
Kitanna moved closer to the painting again, trying to read it out loud, maybe sothing might snap, but when she tried, it didn’t work. She raked her fingers through her hair, pacing back and forth.
"What am I missing? Beneath your father’s arms rests your eyes ." She continued walking around, repeating the words to herself.
Nix noticed that the princess was a little bit stuck; she kept dragging her hair and cursing under her breath. He moved closer to where she was, and he held her, attempting to stop her from pacing.
"If your father left these clues for you, then it ans it’ll still be for you no matter when you rember. Calm down, take your ti and think."
Kitanna put her hands, which were on her hair, down, her eyes now focused on Nix. It’s true that she needed to calm down if she was going to play this ga with her father.
"Nix, can you read the words out for ?" She requested; it was a strange one, but she wanted to hear it from soone else, maybe out of excitent she was not really saying it well.
Nix, who had been listening to her chant what she saw on the painting, did not need to go closer to read it anymore. He stood right in front of her and said, "Beneath your father’s arms rests your eyes ." Nix said it exactly the way he heard her recite it.
Kitanna raked her hair one more ti; then she slowly looked at Nix, "Did you notice sothing? All the tombs inside here have their tomb head facing their painting, but look at Father’s own,his tomb head is facing wrongly"
Kitanna ran back to the grave, took two steps back from it, then she got down on her knees and looked below. She raised her face and turned to look at Nix, "Can you move his tomb a little bit," she requested.
And when it was moved, Kitanna noticed a small opening from the place she had taken two steps from. She looked into it, and there was a box wrapped in royal gold silk clothes which had the phoenix and the dragon designed on all of it.
Nix lifted up the box; it was light compared to how big the box looked. And he placed it in front of Kitanna, who was having her emotional mont.
"Father..." Kitanna muttered; she used her hands to feel around the box. It was the only thing that could connect her to her father at the mont. Even in his last monts, all he did was think of her, even when he wasn’t sure she’d ever co to search for him.
Kitanna felt her chest tighten when she thought for a second that her father abandoned her. She slowly untied the silk and opened the box; the first thing she saw was an old parchnt that looked really frail because of how long it had been inside the box.
Nix brought closer the lighted torch so Kitanna could read the contents of the letter.
’If you are reading this now, it ans you passed my test. My smart little princess, even on your mother’s sick bed. You were the only sunshine that gave us hope. I wanted to right all the wrongs in the palace before leaving, but my ti is ticking. You are my only child, the daughter I had with love.
Your eyes always remind
so much of your mother, and I know you’re crying them out now while reading this. You stubborn crybaby.
When you’re done co and get your gift in my room and I’m sure you’ll be confused about the mother I write of. I’ll tell you everything.’
Kitanna couldn’t stop herself from crying; she bawled her eyes out until her chest felt tight.
"Father... I’m done reading; where is the gift?" The young girl whimpered, holding the parchnt close to her chest.
Nix, who was beside her, gave Kitanna a mont to feel connected with her father. It was not ti to comfort her, so he allowed her emotions to spill.
Kitanna finally stopped crying; she handed the parchnt to Nix.
"I think he wrote this when he was still alive but wasn’t able to give it to . I rember when his sickness worsened, I was banned from entering his chambers because I cried every ti I saw him. Maybe that was when he missed the chance, but on the letter he kept describing my mother as soone that is not alive."
"Hm," Nix humd; he looked through the parchnt and nodded his head then he gave it back to Kitanna, whose brown eyes were fixed on him. Nix tilted his head.
"You don’t look surprised. Tell
if you know sothing; I’ll try and rember, but for now, give
sothing." Kitanna pleaded.
Nix knew he had to speak up one day, and it was better now since the forr king had made an introduction. There was no harm in giving her the bits that he knew.
"I just know that I was here when you were born; I ca to the palace with my grandfather..." Nix went ahead to tell her about the main queen and her two maids, who are now Almaria, the queen dowager and Lady Deonisia. He also told Kitanna how her father was accused of infidelity by those two won
and that was when he was forced to father Khelan.
Nix made sure he gave her all the necessary details of what he knew, but he skipped one.
"When I ca back, I saw a new queen, a crown prince, and I found out you were trained to beco an assassin. I couldn’t act imdiately; I had to find out what went wrong and didn’t seem like you rembered anything." Nix concluded.
The rage inside Kitanna boiled; not only did they poison her innocent mother, but they also tore her away from her father at his dying mont. They took the crown and turned her into an assassin; The color of her fist whitened due to how tightly she clenched it.
Kitanna stood up imdiately and tried to storm out of the room; the weight of her anger was evident in her fiery brown eyes, which now shone with rage.
Nix rushed to hold her back; Kitanna’s body trembled in anger. "I’m going to kill them, I’m going to kill them all!" She shouted.
Nix knew it was going to be like this, he knew that Kitanna won’t be able to handle her emotions when she finds out how her life had been ruined and her family destroyed over the fight for the throne.
"I’m willing to walk out of that door with you and paint the palace red with their blood. But it’ll only cause the ministers to take the throne away from your family. Think about it." He tried to calm her down.
If Kitanna should wage a war, she’ll be terd a traitor, and for life she will be haunted. Leaving the throne for those greedy and lecherous n who work in the royal court. If Kitanna was going to win this war, she needed to be rational.
"Then I should sit back and watch murderers govern this kingdom while I wine and dine with them every morning. Nix, let
go kill them this night; let’s all rot in hell together." Kitanna gritted her teeth; she closed her eyes, trying to return back to humanity.
After she finally cald down, Kitanna opened her eyes. "What do I have to do?" She asked in a low voice.
"Get your mory; if they stopped you from rembering, it ans you saw sothing. Their weakness maybe; I’ll work on getting the guards to our side. Now you know what you’re fighting for; you have to do it right."
"For now, go through the last gifts your father left for you, there must be sothing there we can use" Nix jerked his head for her to go back to the box. If the forr king found out about Almaria’s plots on his sick bed, he won’t die without leaving sothing for Kitanna.
Kitanna inhaled gently and walked back to where the box was.
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