My Love

Magic had brought me and Eric together, but it was also the main factor that would bring us apart. We had to prevent it from tearing us apart, yet there was nothing that could stop it. So, we had to choose the remaining option.

Flee.

Eric and I had decided to runaway the night before the ceremony. I was anxious and concerned, to say the least. We couldn’t risk letting anyone find out that I was the future queen of the kingdom and Eric was a cursed one. The most convenient choice was to live in the wilderness, since it would cost us too much energy to sustain the disguise spell all day. Disapproval thoughts surfaced in my mind, but I thought about I could stay with Eric, and was content with this choice. I had to adapt from comfortable royal life into plain peasant living style. It was difficult for me, but I knew it was worth it.

At first, I wanted to write a letter about rejecting the position as a queen and decided to live a carefree life, but Eric convinced me otherwise. He said it would bring chaos and social unrest into the kingdom, which was probably the most disastrous scenario. Instead, he offered to write a letter of kidnapping when he refused the proposal of leaving nothing behind as the citizens would assume I left them and the kingdom selfishly. He insisted it was not a selfish act when I felt guilty.

‘You’ve been caged long enough, Yelina,’ Eric said. ‘It’s time to set yourself free.’
Light breeze hit my face as I stood on the balcony, waiting for Eric’s arrival. He told me that the cursed ones were able to wield magic naturally without a lot of practicing so teleporting to my room should not be a problem. Tonight was the night to escape, to be free once and for all.

My breath became shallow as I thought about what future had prepared for us, and was excited by the mere idea of filled with love and true happiness. Would we start a family? How many children would we have? Boys or girls?...

I sighed.

Staring at the letter in my hand, my heart sank. Eric had underestimated the royal guards; they would not cease searching until they had located me. Muttering a spell under my breath, the paper burnt. Flames of crimson and cobalt twisted and turned, till the paper was nothing but ashes.

Sizzling sounds told me of Eric’s arrival. I rushed to his side at once, leaving the pile of ashes on the floor. I jumped into his opened arms and gave him a kiss. We part separated a while later and stayed like that.

‘We should go now,’ he murmured.

Eric swept on off my feet (literally), catching me in mid air, and carried me bridal style. I blushed, which earned his amused chuckles. He stepped into the portal promptly. I spared a glance at my bedroom for the last time. I guessed I would miss the palace. It had been my home for twenty years, and I was treated and raised well. Other than having my life scheduled ahead of me, I had no complaint.

‘Missing the palace already?’ Eric frowned, his eyes on the road.

‘No,’ I answered quickly. ‘Not with you around.’

Eric smirked smugly at my reply.

His portal was different from mine. While mine was in vivid colors, his was in grayscale. Everything seemed so dark and gloomy when mine was bright and beautiful. Sympathy welled in my chest as I recalled what Eric had told me about his past.

‘When I was very young, my father abandoned my family because I was a cursed one. My mother was sad to have a son like me, so she did not care for me. She’d go to work at the farm without asking my help even when I was old enough. We had hardly exchange any word throughout the whole year. She had always cried too. I remembered peeking through the small gap between the doors every night and saw her mourning for her lost marriage and pleaded to the Gods to take me away. “Take the abomination and relieve me of this burden,” she’d said.

‘I’d never had any friends either. Everyone knew about my status, therefore they saw me as a freak. Most kids avoided me while some picked on me. No one ever offered any help or protection. I needed to learn how to fend for myself.

‘One day, I had accidentally killed one of the bullies whilst I tried a new spell on him. It was intended to knock him out, not kill him, but I did not know how to control my magic yet. I really didn’t mean to kill him.’ Eric grimaced.

‘Shocked by his death, I was as scared as, if not, more scared than the other bullies were. I was afraid of myself, of what other things I might have done. So, I ran. I fled from my hometown and ran until I fainted out of exhaustion. I thought I was going to die then. When I woke again, I was in this kingdom under the wing of an old fairy. I wanted to leave yet he invited me to stay. Relief washed over me as I realized I could have a fresh start. I worked as a servant ever since. The old fairy had merely passed away a month before you came,’ Eric explained to me. I pitied him even more. Though we still did not have any clue how did Brendon gain knowledge of Eric’s secret of being a cursed one.

Moonlight showered us gently as Eric reached the end of the portal. The surroundings were more striking than any other paintings I’d seen in the palace. It was a paradise, or Eden’s Garden itself. Everywhere I saw was of moonlit emerald and jade shaded by dark blue. A strange combination, yet it matched so well.

Eric carried me into a cottage nearby, and laid me on the bed inside. I stared at the cottage in wonder. It was quite similar to the house he owned in my kingdom.

‘You built it?’ I asked.

‘Sort of,’ Eric shrugged. ‘I used magic, does that count?’

I giggled. ‘Of course that counts.’

He smiled, lying beside me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him with long surpassed desire. He returned my kiss with equal force, equal passion. I deepened the kiss as the night grew more heated…

‘…na…Yelina…Yelina, wake up!’

I groaned as I felt someone shaking me.

‘Yelina, we’re surrounded!’

I snapped opened my eyes.

‘What? What are you talking about, Eric—‘

‘Surrender now and we may spare your life!’

I widened my eyes in fear. It was the voice of the Commander of my royal guards. How did they find us so quickly?

‘Get dressed quickly and I’ll explain on the way.’

I nodded, grabbing the dress on the floor. Eric sprinted around the cottage while I put on the dress in haste. When I finished, he held me in one hand and a bag in the other. Marching sound alerted us of the guards’ approach. Eric opened a portal just in time as the door was broke through. He jumped.

‘My father came this morning.’

‘Your father?’

‘Yes, I’ve checked with a spell too. He wasn’t lying,’ Eric gritted his teeth at this point. ‘He told the guards of our whereabouts.’

‘But how does he know?’ I had never met his father, or I believed I didn’t.

‘He had been watching me all long, dammit. He had casted a spell on me before he left!’
‘Aren’t you magical resistant?’ I inquired, recalling how he told me about the natural talent cursed ones had.

‘Only to certain levels. I had been young then.’ Eric spoke no more.

We landed on a wooden bridge this time. The bridge hung meters above the river joining two sides of the cliffs, the water flown rapidly below. We stood in silence.

‘Go,’ Eric said.

‘You’re coming with me,’ I pulled his sleeve; troubled by the way he sounded. His voice was urgent, and held…

Despair.

‘I have to hold them off, Yelina.’

‘No!’ I shouted in protest. ‘You cannot possibly hold off the guards by yourself. Come and run with me.’

‘I can’t Yelina. They’ll catch us in no time.’ He hugged me tightly. ‘Go.’

‘No, I won’t.’

‘Go!’ He yelled at me. I had no choice but to obey.

As I arrived at the end of the bridge, the guards emerged from the forests on the opposite side. One by one, they ran to Eric and battled him. Eric defeated the guards easily, pushing them to the coursing river below and sustaining a barrier at the same time in case the guards attempt to ‘rescue’ me first.

In spite of how effortless it was for Eric to overpower the guards, they advanced in waves. It was only the matter of time before Eric grew tired and fell. Not to mention there were magicians assisting the guards by casting spells on Eric. Although he had high magic resistance, it was beginning to have effects on him as his swift movement grew slower.
I gasped for breathing, watching my love battled with the guards, whose numbers was far greater than he could handle. ‘No, no, no…’I muttered.

Suddenly, both Eric and I fell onto the ground in pain, we screamed in union. It was like fire burning my back. I watched Eric’s wings sprouted out from his back. They looked exactly like his birthmark—bones’ wings. Sharp pain stroke my back, causing me to scream louder, I nearly fainted when I felt something grew from my back. I shrieked with all my strength, and then the pain began to die.

I lied on the ground, but Eric struggled to stand. He still tried to fend off the guards after such pain. I cried in anguish, cursing myself for unable to help him.

I saw the barrier starting to waver and disappear. Eric scowled, yet there was nothing he could do.

Or so I thought.

He turned to look at me, mouthing the words of promise and love, before shouting out a spell.

The wooden bridge burnt in an instant, falling into the depths underneath, bringing my love and the guards with him.

‘No!!!’ I screamed. Blackness filled my vision as I fell to unconsciousness.

Half a year had passed since I last saw Eric. In the end, I was brought back to the palace and wed with Miles, who was responsible for ‘rescuing’ me. He was a more competent magician than me and Eric had suspected. They all thought I was kidnapped.

I gazed at the garden outside, raining falling to wash away the dust. For me, it was like the skies were crying for my lost.

The first thing I did after becoming a queen was to send teams to search for any survivors in the incident, especially for the ‘criminal’, the cursed one, Eric.

‘Your Highness, dinner is ready,’ my personal maid, Vera, said, her voice coming from behind the doors.

‘I will be there soon,’ I replied weakly, tears continued their way down my face.

‘Yes, Your Highness.’

I listened to the rain humming an unnoticeable tune as it fell, easing the pain in my heart. I knew the lingering pain would wane in time, but the scar would remain for eternity. The hole could never be filled though Miles was able to heal it a little, but it was not the same. No magic could help me.

‘Oh, Eric. Please, be alive, wherever you maybe.’ I whispered.

I left for the dining room, placing my hand over my now swollen belly.

‘If only you knew, Eric.'

In the kitchen,Vera carried on her way to deliver the dinner to the Queen of fairies. Walking down the corridor, she passed by a large mirror. In the reflection was a dark-haired, blue eyed male with bones as wings.