Tie It With a Ribbon
Guilty until Proven Innocent
“I do!” I snapped, rising to my feet and pushing him backwards. “How dare you not tell me this! What right did you have to keep this from me? And don’t you even think about saying ‘protection,’ because I know that just isn’t true!”
“Of course it’s true!” he argued, trying to grab my hands to no avail. “They tried to convince me to kill you, but I couldn’t do it! You thought my parents were saints, and who was I to take that from you? It was better than realizing that they had ordered your death! I didn’t want you to get hurt, Alena. I love you.”
“No! No, you don’t! I can’t trust anyone, not even my own husband! Who’s to say that you didn’t plot this whole thing, blaming this on your parents? After all, they can’t defend themselves! Alexandros spent years plotting to take the throne from me, and how do I know you didn’t do the same? You’ll try to kill me in my sleep! I haven’t slept in days, Zanzibar, because I know the truth!” My hand gripped my dagger firmly, and this time it was not just a hollow threat.
“What truth?” he yelled frantically, his eyes wide with pure terror, though it was surely staged. “There is no truth! You can’t honestly think I want to kill you!”
“You think I’m crazy, but I know! You were so chummy with Chastity; I bet she was your real lover! I bet you two were going to try to kill me to take my throne from me! She couldn’t quite live up to her end of the bargain, so you chickened out!” I told him, holding the point to his heart. “I know it!”
“No! Alena, please!” he begged, dropping to his knees and sobbing, as if I’d buy it.
“I have to kill you, Zanzibar,” I told him, tears pouring out of my eyes, “or you’ll kill me!” He shook his head feverishly, but I only nodded. “It’s that, or…” I swallowed a sob. “Or I have to kill myself, so you can’t!”
“Alena, this is crazy!” he shouted, pushing himself to his feet.
“I love you.”
“Alena! Damn it, what is wrong with you?” he screamed, tackling me to the dirt.
There was a sudden, sharp pain in my thigh, and I looked down through hazy eyes.
“Oh, my God!” I shrieked, screaming and trying to push him off. “You are trying to kill me!”
“No!” He followed my gaze, his hand flying to his mouth. “Alena… I have to pull it out—”
“Like hell you will!” I snapped, pushing him off and trying to stand, but it hurt too much. “Zanzibar, why?” I screamed, bawling as my body trembled in agony.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered huskily in my ear, panting to get his heart rate back to normal. “You can’t live with that.”
“Yes, I can! Don’t pretend you want to help me!”
“Bite my hand when it hurts,” he murmured, his hand grabbing the hilt.
“You sick, twisted—” And he pulled. I screamed, clamping my mouth onto his hand, causing him to scream desperately, but I couldn’t let go.
He just kept pulling, and I kept biting, aware that I tasted blood in my mouth. I swallowed it, and it made me sick to my stomach. But then I remembered something.
“Zanzibar!” I screamed, pushing his hand away as he finally threw the dagger across the forest.
“What?” he asked, pulling his hand towards his chest and applying pressure to it. He seemed to calm down as he ripped his shirt, tying the fabric around the wound.
“I swallowed your blood.”
He froze, his entire body as rigid as stone. “Just don’t move, alright? The less you move, the better.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?” I whispered, remaining perfectly still.
“Alena, if you’re right about me wanting to kill you, you’ll die anyway.” He watched me through hard eyes, moving to pull me into his arms. “At least this way, you have a chance. So what’s it going to be?”
I swallowed a rising sob. “Okay.”
He nodded, pulling me off of the ground carefully.
“I found out why the attempts at peace never worked!” Camille shouted, a disturbed look on her face as she stepped into the woods. “They’ve tried this method before, and it always ends with insanity. They both end up dead.”
Zanzibar smiled. “That’s not going to happen this time, right, sweetheart?”
I smiled cautiously, wrapping my arms around his neck and whispering in his ear sadly, “It’s too bad I had two knifes.”
“Alena—”
I slammed the knife into his back, crying as he dropped me, falling right on top of me.
“Alena, no!” Camille screamed, trying to pull Zanzibar into her arms as she cried wildly.
I looked up at her through weak eyes. “I’m sorry.”
But I knew I would never be able to fully apologize for what we had just done.
My stomach started to churn and my heart started to accelerate until giving out. I was unable to grasp any sense of consciousness.
“Of course it’s true!” he argued, trying to grab my hands to no avail. “They tried to convince me to kill you, but I couldn’t do it! You thought my parents were saints, and who was I to take that from you? It was better than realizing that they had ordered your death! I didn’t want you to get hurt, Alena. I love you.”
“No! No, you don’t! I can’t trust anyone, not even my own husband! Who’s to say that you didn’t plot this whole thing, blaming this on your parents? After all, they can’t defend themselves! Alexandros spent years plotting to take the throne from me, and how do I know you didn’t do the same? You’ll try to kill me in my sleep! I haven’t slept in days, Zanzibar, because I know the truth!” My hand gripped my dagger firmly, and this time it was not just a hollow threat.
“What truth?” he yelled frantically, his eyes wide with pure terror, though it was surely staged. “There is no truth! You can’t honestly think I want to kill you!”
“You think I’m crazy, but I know! You were so chummy with Chastity; I bet she was your real lover! I bet you two were going to try to kill me to take my throne from me! She couldn’t quite live up to her end of the bargain, so you chickened out!” I told him, holding the point to his heart. “I know it!”
“No! Alena, please!” he begged, dropping to his knees and sobbing, as if I’d buy it.
“I have to kill you, Zanzibar,” I told him, tears pouring out of my eyes, “or you’ll kill me!” He shook his head feverishly, but I only nodded. “It’s that, or…” I swallowed a sob. “Or I have to kill myself, so you can’t!”
“Alena, this is crazy!” he shouted, pushing himself to his feet.
“I love you.”
“Alena! Damn it, what is wrong with you?” he screamed, tackling me to the dirt.
There was a sudden, sharp pain in my thigh, and I looked down through hazy eyes.
“Oh, my God!” I shrieked, screaming and trying to push him off. “You are trying to kill me!”
“No!” He followed my gaze, his hand flying to his mouth. “Alena… I have to pull it out—”
“Like hell you will!” I snapped, pushing him off and trying to stand, but it hurt too much. “Zanzibar, why?” I screamed, bawling as my body trembled in agony.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered huskily in my ear, panting to get his heart rate back to normal. “You can’t live with that.”
“Yes, I can! Don’t pretend you want to help me!”
“Bite my hand when it hurts,” he murmured, his hand grabbing the hilt.
“You sick, twisted—” And he pulled. I screamed, clamping my mouth onto his hand, causing him to scream desperately, but I couldn’t let go.
He just kept pulling, and I kept biting, aware that I tasted blood in my mouth. I swallowed it, and it made me sick to my stomach. But then I remembered something.
“Zanzibar!” I screamed, pushing his hand away as he finally threw the dagger across the forest.
“What?” he asked, pulling his hand towards his chest and applying pressure to it. He seemed to calm down as he ripped his shirt, tying the fabric around the wound.
“I swallowed your blood.”
He froze, his entire body as rigid as stone. “Just don’t move, alright? The less you move, the better.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?” I whispered, remaining perfectly still.
“Alena, if you’re right about me wanting to kill you, you’ll die anyway.” He watched me through hard eyes, moving to pull me into his arms. “At least this way, you have a chance. So what’s it going to be?”
I swallowed a rising sob. “Okay.”
He nodded, pulling me off of the ground carefully.
“I found out why the attempts at peace never worked!” Camille shouted, a disturbed look on her face as she stepped into the woods. “They’ve tried this method before, and it always ends with insanity. They both end up dead.”
Zanzibar smiled. “That’s not going to happen this time, right, sweetheart?”
I smiled cautiously, wrapping my arms around his neck and whispering in his ear sadly, “It’s too bad I had two knifes.”
“Alena—”
I slammed the knife into his back, crying as he dropped me, falling right on top of me.
“Alena, no!” Camille screamed, trying to pull Zanzibar into her arms as she cried wildly.
I looked up at her through weak eyes. “I’m sorry.”
But I knew I would never be able to fully apologize for what we had just done.
My stomach started to churn and my heart started to accelerate until giving out. I was unable to grasp any sense of consciousness.
♠ ♠ ♠
This is not the last chapter! The next chapter is the last chapter, just for your information, and it is used to tie up the loose ends created in this chapter. That being said...Summary:
Alena has lost any sense of reality that she had up to this point, and she is convinced that Zanzibar was planning to kill her just as Alexandros had been doing for years. She also accusing him of being Chastity's lover, because she believes they had worked together to try to kill her. Zanzibar tries to calm her down to reason, because he does not want to believe that she has finally gone insane, but he forgets that he gave her a knife to protect herself.
He tries one last time to reason with her, falling to his knees in submission as he tries to regain her trust, but Alena sees two options: she must kill him or herself, so one of them will live on. She decides that she should be the one to die, so she angles the blade towards her.
Zanzibar tries to stop her, pushing her to the floor and causing the knife to lodge itself in her leg, only furthering her suspicions that he is trying to kill her. When he pulls it out, Alena bites so hard onto his hand that she makes him bleed, swallowing some in the process. Here she seems to regain some lost sanity, and Camille comes to them, telling them what they already knew: the pair always went insane and it ended with death.
While Zanzibar is entirely sure this is over, Alena stabs him in the back with her knife--one that she has, apparently, obtained on her own (because she had been plotting to kill him) so she would not commit the murder with something he gave her (there would be attachment and more guilt). Zanzibar falls onto her, his limp body pinning her to the dirt until Camille pulls him into her trembling arms as she sobs.
The blood then makes its way through Alena's system, and her heart stops after uttering an apology to Camille for the deed she has just done.