****
" Tell me you are not serious right now, my lady." Alicia said, her eyes bugged out like that of a snake swallowing an egg.
" I meant every word I said to you." Victory replied, she looked serious.
Alicia raised an eyebrow at her. She was sold as a slave to the king, and as luck might have it she was assigned to serve the young princess, Victory. They have been like buddies while growing up together. She gulped her saliva loudly and said, " Your parents must know. I won't let you sneak out as you did last time, it's dangerous."
" I know." Victory answered back, she has always been stubborn and getting what she wants is something that has lived in her like her blood. She can't afford her request to be declined. She is just not used to it.
Alicia sighed, she knows how adamant the princess can be. " If anything should happen to you I'm sure you know what will befall me?" She asked, Victory who was looking pleadingly at her.
" Don't be so mean." She begged. " I am not asking for much. I just want to go back and see his face." Victory said. This time she wasn't throwing tantrums.
" You know the consequence of travelling between worlds when it has to do with love." Alicia said, " I can't afford to lose you because I won't forgive myself. "
Victory looked at her maid, she was right. The task of travelling to the other world for love means breaking the rule that was made thousands of years ago. It won't be easy going back and forth, most importantly, the time freeze. She has to deal with it.
Lost in those thoughts, someone knocked. It was a palace guard who have come to deliver a message. " Your Highness, Your Majesty and His Majesty ask to see you." He passed the message and left.
" Don't tell anyone about this," she said while leaving the room to meet her parents.
It happened a thousand years ago, and it's happening again. The issue of falling in love with someone from the other world. It was a fiasco. While the two lovers tried to make nature agree to their desires, they failed, their mistake caused innocent people to suffer. It has become something that nobody wants to ever happen again. Never again in history. The two worlds were close to being destroyed but, the deities that were in control of the two worlds came together in an agreement and placed a rule. Yet, Victory dares to break the rule again after a thousand years of its existence. She found herself entrapped in this guy who doesn't know her or her world. No matter what she must get her man. She is used to getting whatever she wants and that is that for her no substitution for her desires once it burns. She left the room to meet her parents who were patiently waiting for her. What an honour!
" Victory, we are visiting our ancestral home today, go, prepare. We are leaving in an hour."
Her ancestor's home is as ancient as her world. Legend has it that, it is where the world began, that should be why her family always have to rule. Exploring the rooms which glittered gold. She couldn't believe the house known as ancient is still clean and glittering. Nobody knows how it was built, nobody knows when it will crumble, though it is nobody's wish. Its crumbling means the world has come to an end. She entered a room that was different from other rooms. It looked like it was made of ice with lightning flashing every passing second.
" What is this? " Victory asked her maid who followed her around, she was marvelled by the existence of such thing.
" It is a mystery." Alicia replied.
" And no one cares to unravel?" She asked. She was curious.
" Who would? Nobody dared." Alicia answered, she had heard about it and have been privileged to see it.
" What if the secret of the time freeze is here?" Victory asked, eyes widened as her thought clicked.
Alicia was shocked that the princess could think of something like that. Victory have been interested in sciences right at birth. People called her a genius, so getting an answer to her every problem was nothing to sweat about. " My lady! Don't spill such things." She said.
Victory had something to hold onto, she shrugged her shoulders continued the tour around the building trying to keep herself busy while her parents were in a meeting with the Deity. It was gerting boring, as she waited wondering what her parents could be discussing with the ancient being. Hours later they came out of a hall, " It's time to go, the meeting is over." her parents announced.
She looked at them confused, she asked, " Why did you bring me here?"
" We expected you to get acquainted with the environment as a princess, you know we come here once in a while. And today is your first time coming around. " Her father, the king answered.
" What does it have to do with me coming around?" She asked, " I had better things to do. " She protested angrily.
" You will understand someday." her mother replied.
" I already did." She murmured.
" Shall we?" her father, asked as he moved away.
The drive back home was a slow and steady one, she had a lot on her mind, one of which was what excuse she would give her parents that will sound meaningful. She wanted to meet with the Deity, but, first she has to visit Clinton again. She wanted to see him. She thought for a while and voiced out "I will be away for a while in the blue library for some research, and I don't want to be disturbed. I have announced before time."
" Why?" her mother asked concerned
" I'm a princess and a royal scholar after all." she rolled her eyes.
" What a royal excuse!" her maid mumbled. As the maid to the princess, she was opportuned to be favoured. Her family were killed by the soldiers but, luck have always been on her side.
" What did you say?" Her father asked.
" Nothing," she answered as she scurried away.
Victory smirked... Her maid. Alicia. Is her favourite. She could say they were partners in crime.
Standing before the portal that leads to the other world, she felt a little uneasy to travel through it again. Love! she thought. And walked into the gate of life and death. Time stopped again. This time she knew what to do. Time will only stop for others, but she can unfreeze Clinton. She knew what to do and how to do it, now to get it doesn't matter what it will take from her. As tough as always she was ready to risk it. He became untangled. " Who are you?" Clinton asked looking confused. He took a step back, looked around and saw that every living thing had stopped and there were bubbles everywhere, he asked again " What is happening? I mean, what happened?!"
" Listen. I'll talk about this later, but just know that what you've seen is called time freeze."
" What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow. " Are you crazy? Which psychiatric hospital did you escape from?"
" I'm not crazy, you have looked around and seen for yourself."
" It doesn't make sense to me."
" You have to believe me, Clinton."
" How did you know my name?"
" It's something you will never understand no matter how hard I try to explain, but you can only believe me for it to work." She sounded tired
She doesn't care if the world ends, all she wants is to be with him.
" I don't know what you are thinking but, please, stop it." He warned
" I have always liked you, believe me, I'm your loyal follower."
"I see..." Clinton never knew he had a secret admirer. " So someone from another world liked him. " he thought and snickered.
" How did you know my world exists and how did you know a person like me existed? Have we met before?" Clinton asked.
" Your questions are those I would love to answer unfortunately not now, I have accomplished my first task, and I need to go back to where I came from there are a ton of things I left undone. It was nice meeting you." She concluded and left without looking back, a smile played on her face for a second. It was that smile of accomplishment.