Part XXXVIII

Taking a strong stance on the ground and closing my eyes tight, I brace myself for the impact of whatever is to come. I don't even know what to expect but I'm sure I'd feel it when the test begins.

One, two, three seconds pass and all I can hear is my heart beating and the silent whisper of the cold night breeze. Not losing concentration, I keep my eyes closed and my guard up, prepared for the test but still nothing happens.

Slowly I open my eyes and see that nothing's changed. Sean and the rest are all standing in the same position and everyone's watching me. Huh? Am I supposed to do something? Why are they all watching me when Joe already called the test to a start.

Miranda's coy smirk is still on her lips, Adrian is keeping a straight face with his hands in his pockets, Sean's standing the same way and Joe's hands are behind his back. I look at Sean and frown at him in confusion, expecting an explanation from him or something but he does nothing. Miranda chuckles mockingly, kindling the anger that I definitely do not want to show.

"Sean?" I call out to him with the great fear I feel inside showing slightly and take slow steps forward but stop when he starts to walk towards me.

"Yes?" He stops right in front of me, looking at me with strange eyes. It doesn't really feel like him. Or is he this way because we're in public?

"W-what a-am I supposed to do?" I stutter. Instead of a response, I'm surprised by the sudden laughter that comes from Sean and the others following suit. He stops laughing and they stop as well after noticing his silence.

"What is going on?" I ask almost angrily, trying to coat my fear with anger.

"What is going on?" He asks mockingly, "wait, let me think." He walks back and forth stroking his chin and all I do is stare at him in utter confusion.

"Fun!" He stops in front me and smiles like he just found the perfect answer he's been looking for.

"Fun?" I ask still confused, trying my hardest to understand.

"Yeah babe," he looks at me smirking. "You see, we were a little bored." He gestures to the crowd around us. "And when I saw you, a pure human, in that cabin I became interested. No, not interested. I became hungry, like a predator that just sighted it's prey."

"What?" I ask bewildered, hot tears starting to brim my eyes in both disbelief and hurt.

"I watched you, your every move and I mean every move," he smirks emphasising the 'every', "until I finally saw you traveling through my kingdom and I caught you. My people would have been very happy to kill a human but I wanted to keep and have a little fun with you for a while so I hypnotised and fortified you and made you kill your darling husband."

At that point, I raise my hand to hit him but he quickly catches my hand few inches to his face and holds it very tight making me wince in pain, the tears finally spilling.

"This is what I found interesting about you, you know," he lets go of my hand roughly and I rub at the newly formed bruise, "your energy and feistiness. Too bad I couldn't test that energy in bed. My darling here," he gestures to Miranda and my eyes widen, "would have killed us both."

"Nah," Miranda says coming closer, "it'd have been just her." She stops right in front of me and strikes me hard, very hard across the face that I fall to the ground tasting copper in mouth immediately spitting out the blood.

"You filthy bitch," she drags me up by my hair, "did you actually think you'd be queen?" She laughs.

"You'd be queen alright, queen of murderers."

The word 'murderer' ticks me off so bad that I slap her hard across the face before anyone can stop me, making her stagger and release her hold on my hair.

"No," I respond to her shocked pitiful self, "I did not and do not want to be queen. And the only murderer her is your sneaky cowardly husband!. And to think that I was just starting to trust you," I look at him and laugh dryly, "I'm such a fool."

Miranda is about to say something but Sean stops her, signalling for her to go back which she does but not before eyeing me threateningly.

Unexpectedly, Sean slaps me in the same cheek Miranda just did and I fall hard to the ground, my eyes going blind for a few seconds. The pains spreads through out my head and it starts to ache badly.

"You're weak, a mere human. You have no right to touch even the slaves here!" He yells at me, "you want to know something? You never truly loved Dylan." Those words pierce my heart like burning arrows and I close my ear tight to keep his voice out but to no avail.

"If you loved him truly Crystal, it wouldn't have been so easy to possess you and make you kill him. You're the one who killed him with your blade! You're the murderer! You murdered your own husband!"

"No!" I yell at him while crying uncontrollably. All the thoughts I've been trying to block out floods my head and my heart starts aching badly. It hurts the most that I know it's the truth. A truth I refused to accept. It was too easy, too easy.

"No?" He asks, "he protected you from his father, risked his life for you, went against his own family for you and you take his life away from him without a struggle! Do you have the guts to tell him to his face that you didn't kill him?"

What? To his face? At the last moment I know he stabbed himself but I can't blame him for his death. I killed him. I did it. I let Sean possess me and I killed him.

"I hate you so much." I blurt out through the pains in my cheek and my heavy sobs, "you're the most evil being I've ever met! Kill me already! What are you waiting for? Huh? Do it. Kill me you son of a bitch!"

"Oh yes you'd die alright," he smirks, "but not by my hands." I look up at him from the ground and he stretches out his hand towards the crowd by my right. I look towards them confused and they start to make way in the middle for someone to pass through. Few seconds pass and someone stands in front but it's hard to see clearly through the pain in my head and dim moonlight. He comes closer and my eyes widen, my heart beating faster than it's ever did. This must be a joke. This must be a dream. A nightmare. I've probably not awakened from my slumber yet. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and open them up slowly only to be met by eyes, eyes I never thought I'd see again.

"Hey there honey."