MAD HYSTERIA

Morning came quickly after she slept in Thaggar's arms. When she woke up he was already up and taking a bath in the bathroom unlike how they bathed together. Akira rubbed her sleepy eyes and got up, swaying as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Morning, my queen." Thaggar greeted her with a smile.

Akira was yawning so she didn't reply but she descended into the tub to hug him as she was already naked. Thaggar held her against his chest, planting kisses on her forehead to earn a contented moan from her.

"Good morning, my love." She greeted back kissing him slowly and he hummed his approval,"Did you sleep well?"

"Of course, how could I not after last night."

Blushing, Akira pinched him playfully and then hugged him tighter, her nose against his ear to leave a ticklish sensation whenever she took a breath. Thaggar groaned when Akira bit his ear and in retaliation he rubbed himself against her, pulling her lower half against him. Akira gasped, her breathes already shallow. Soon they were both panting and after a few more minutes they were slumped against each other.

"We should get ready." Thaggar said as he gently rubbed Akira's cheeks,"What are you thinking about?"

"I still want you." Akira responded bringing her face closer to his,"But I'm scared."

"Why? I'm the strongest...."

"But it's black magic.... it's someone pretending to be your loved one."

Thaggar looked away. He had been trying not to think about it but she had brought it up again. He closed his eyes in thought, his breathes hurried and shallow as if he was hyperventilating. The mere thought was making his blood boil. He raking his brain to figure out when this had all happened but he was back at square one where he wasn't sure he was man enough. It would make him feel that he was betraying his family to save.....his sister.

"I killed my own father, I can manage killing another family member of it gets to it. Besides that, if the wizard is truly in this place then it means whoever he's pretending to be is already dead."

Thaggar got up without another word, his jaws tightly clamped together. He opened the door and the maids who had been standing outside with buckets of water came in. Once the tub was filled, Thaggar got in and he started to wash himself without waiting for Akira. She sighed quietly and joined him, trying her best not to touch him as he seemed to want his own space. He got out soon after and hurriedly got dressed and he was out in no time. She waited a while longer and got dressed herself, this time she wore the traditional clothes of the Northerners, surprised by the warmth it offered. She left the room and headed to the patio closest to the councils meeting place.

"Good morning, Akira."

Akira looked like she had been caught doing something wrong when she looked at Sarika.

"Good morning, mother."

"Are you planning on having tea alone?" Sarika asked standing behind a chair and when Akira shook her head she smiled and pulled the chair to sit down.

"Did you get a good rest?" Akira asked to get rid of the nervousness she felt.

"Yes I did....save a few kicks from Taki." Sarika replied with a little chuckle.

"Really? She must have been a handful as a child then."

"She was, particularly difficult when she turned three moons old. Her father actually slept in his own room for the first time afterwards."

"What about Thaggar?" Akira asked with her eyes alight,"What was he like?"

"Thaggar.....he was a heavy sleeper who hardly moved in his sleep. Sometimes I worried I had suffocated him." Sarika explained with a distant look in her eyes as she remembered a young Thaggar,"When he did move he was having a nightmare.....about having to kill his father."

Akira fell silent, unsure of what to say. She shot Sarika a tight smile and got up to call a maid to bring them some tea and bread. When she returned, she noticed Sarika wiping away a tear from her cheek. Wait! Was killing the previous king part of the heritage here?! Would Thaggar have to be killed by his own son too?!

"Yes he will." Sarika said, her voice so low it almost sounded like a man's voice.

Akira froze, her eyes locked onto the older woman who stared back at her with an omnimous smile that left her unsettled. Sarika stood up and Akira took a step back.

"A little Southern village girl..... CAN'T CHANGE THAT"

Saying this, Sarika lunged at Akira, her her eyes turning a swirling green shade darker than Thaggar's. Akira fell back screaming, her arms flailing to fight off Sarika.

"What's the matter Akira?! Akira?" Sarika started shouting, her countenance returning to normal.

The noise had alerted those who were in council and everyone rushed over, Thaggar being the first to arrive. He nearly fell as he rushed to embrace her, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Akira it's me, Thaggar. Akira calm down." He coaxed her and as if a dry spell had been broken, she stopped screaming and looked up at him,"Are you alright? What happened?"

Akira opened her mouth to speak but no words left her mouth and her eyes grew wide in horror. She touched her throat as if she would be able to free her voice but no matter how hard she tried it didn't work. Her eyes fell on Sarika who now wore a worried expression on her face and Thaggar followed her line on vision, his eyes narrowing at his mother.

"Mother, what happened?" He asked pointedly.

"I don't know. We were talking about you and Taki and suddenly she turned hysterical." Sarika answered, unshed tears making her eyes glisten.

"People don't just turn hysterical, queen mother, something must have happened."