Chapter 31: Apology

I nodded. "Okay. I get it." I said and put my hands around the ring. "Appraise." I said and a light burst out from my hands and went to the ring. I took a deep breath as a dark light flowed out from the ring and I inhaled it.

They all gasped. Memories of a beautiful woman appeared; her long brown hair dancing in the wind as she stood on a rock and looking to the vast sea. She's crying as she holds the ring and puts it in her chest.

"Ugh!" I cried as I fell down. Oril immediately caught me. I panted. "Fine." I said, panting. "The… the root of the curse…" I said. "She's not loved back by her lover, despite the beauty that she had. She's been replaced by an ugly woman, to rub salt to the wound." I added.

"Geh! What a cheap taste – " Emil said.

I sighed. "So it's an unrequited love." Vice said. I nodded. She smiled sadly and looked at Yelena. "Sure is." she said and lowered her head.

I pity her. She has the same situation as the one who put the curse on the ring. I thought. talk about irony. I grimaced. "In short, the ring chose Yelena since she's a beautiful woman. The ring wants Yelena to suffer the same fate as her." I explained.

"Oh… an eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth" Emil said. "Wait, no! This is truly malicious!" he said. "The princess did no wrong! This is injustice!"

I nodded. "Curses, after all, are sinister." I said. "This isn't bad, since Yelena doesn't have – "

"No. It is bad." Chris cut my words off. We all looked at her. "For the princess, that is." she added. "Since I believe the princess hasn't loved anyone at all, aside from her family and friends." She explained.

"Ah." We all said and looked at Yelena lying on her bed, looking deeply asleep.

"Hmmn… you're exactly right." Emil said. "The princess may look like she loved somebody, but in truth she hasn't. Does her love for the West prince count?" he asked.

Chris shook her head. "I believe not." She answered. "Since she barely knows him." She said. "I heard that the last time she saw him was when she was still five years old?" she asked. "Before she was sent to god knows where by the evil king and lived there for more than twenty years." she explained.

Our shoulders fell.

"Yeah. She's useless." Chris said and chuckled before she sighed. "Her time is running out." She told us. "She can't sleep deeply or the curse will suck her dry." She said.

"So she's only half-asleep now." I said. Chris nodded. "Yelena…" I called and brushed her hair that fell on her forehead. "I'm really sorry last time." I said, my tears falling. "I didn't mean to … I was blinded by rage when I saw you did that to your friend…" I explained. "I'm really sorry…" I covered my face and sobbed. Oril rubbed my back. "I'm sorry Yelena…" I sobbed.

Emill cried, too. Chris wiped the tears that fell in her eyes. Even though she barely spared some time with Yelena, she could feel Yelena is a nice person. She also has a bubbly personality, so Yelena had grown on her.

I heard the door closed. "Vice?" I called, but saw that she was gone. She doesn't want us to see her grieve. I thought as my glow went blue because of sadness.

The next day.

I gasped when I checked Yelena. "N – no… this can't be…!" I said and flew outside her room. "E – everyone!" I called as my tears fell.

"What is it?" Oril asked, panicked.

"Y – Yelena…" I said, sobbing. "She…" I muttered in between my sobs.

"She?" Emil asked.

Chris' face turned serious. "This can't be…" she said. They all looked at her. She sighed. "He got only two more days left." She told us.

Our eyes went wide in shock. "What?!" Emil exclaimed. "Is that true?!" he asked.

Chris nodded as a confirmation. Her expression is sonber.

"N – No way…" Emil said as he fell on his knees. "Her… Her Highness just got back… she can't be – " he said, can't believe what he just heard. "His Majesty and Her Majesty just left last week and left the kingdom to Her Highness in order to train her as their heir. I haven't told the kingdom what happened to the princess since I don't want them to panic, and I'm hoping we can solve this, but – " he said, his shoulder fell, feeling depressed.

I covered my mouth as I sobbed. "This can't be happening…" I said. Oril pulled me and laid my head on his chest. "Yelena…wait, where's Vice?" I asked, looking around. "Vice?" I called.

"She still hasn't gone back?" Emil asked.

"Where could she be at time like this?" Oril asked, pissed. He felt Vice is cold towards her friends, seeing that Yelena is dying but she didn't come back to see her again.

I shook my head. "She's grieving, too. She needs to be alone." I said weakly. That's right. She's the one hurting the most here. I thought and my tears fell.

One day passed.

"What should we do?" I asked and screamed. "I just can't find the way to break the curse!" I said, angry.

Chris drew out an irritated breath. "Calm down – " she told me.

"How can you say that when you're not even calm?" I said. She frowned. "Damn it!" I cursed and threw the books we got from the library. "It's already tomorrow, yet – " I said and stopped. I sobbed. I rubbed my hands on my face. "Damn it! How can I help her - ?!" I asked, feeling frustrated towards myself.

I was surprised when a cup appeared in front of me. I felt Oril's hand rubbing my head. "Calm down." Oril said. I looked up to him. "Don't stress yourself or you, too, will lose your sanity." He told me. "Believe in the princess. She doesn't want to die, either." He said.

I smiled, feeling comforted. "Thanks." I said. He smiled back. He was about to leave when I stopped him. "Oh, right. Bearil." I called. He turned. "What you just said…" I said.

"Hmm?" he said. "Believe in the princess?" he asked.

I shook my head. "The latter part." I said.

"The princess doesn't want to die – " Oril said.

"That's it!" I yelled.

"Huh?" Chris asked, confused.

"That's it! 'Die'!" I yelled. "There's that engraving in the ring!" I told them.

Chris' eyes went wide, realizing it, too. "Now that you think about it… we forgot that part!" she said.

I nodded. "'What the heart yearns, this ring will give…'' I quoted. "'But only to those who don't desire to live.'' I said. "These words were engraved to tell how the one who put the curse on this ring felt. She was so heartbroken she doesn't want to live anymore." I said.

Chris nodded. "How horrible." she said. "But what did she yearn for?" she asked.

I shook my head as my shoulder slumped. "Dunno. I'm not her." I said.

We sighed.