True Nightmares

POV Alexander 

It was still dark and the castle seemed terrifying under the spell of silence. Cleon and I made our way down to throne room where I was supposed to meet my knights and discuss the situation. My head was still throbbing in pain and the lack of sleep, hang over and stress of all the news I had received made a combination that was hard to get ride of.

As we entered the room there was a sudden silence and then the men bowed. I nodded my head and scanned the room quickly. 

" where is Hades?" I asked, not being able to find him in the room. 

" He took off with the girl and we could not find him." Cleon replied. 

I was not pleased about not having one of my main commanders in a such a vital time . " find him and tell him to come to me immediately." 

The guards by the door bowed and disappeared quickly. I turned. 

"well?" 

" We caught an Eastern man earlier, he was trying to climb the western wall of the castle and killed two soldiers. You know how quick they are, it was pure luck that a guard saw him and called the others. They captured him alive." Mateon explained proudly. 

" Bring him in, I want to question him myself." 

Mateon nodded and left immediately. I turned to others and scanned their faces one by one, they seemed tired but surprisingly eager, it was our nature after all, we were not afraid of fights, it was what we were born to do. However, I needed to be realistic. My tired soldiers had no chance against the ruthless Eastern army. My eyes rested on an unfamiliar face, it was that Perian advisor, Farhad. 

I pointed to him. " what is he doing here?" 

" we needed someone who spoke and read Eastern Language and he was the only one." Cleon explained quickly. I Looked at advisor's smiling face and growled: 

" I do not trust this man, how do you know he is not lying about the letter?" 

The old man replied in a calm voice: " Why would I lie your majesty? I gave you my words that I will help you and I am a man of my word. Beside, my country has seen enough wars and disasters, I am trying to stop another genocide which is about to happen to my people."  

I eyed him doubtfully, he might have been truthful but still I knew he was loyal to Darius and it bothered me. I had no choice though, at the moment he was the only one who could understand Eastern language. The door opened and Mateon walked in with two soldiers, dragging a man inside. He seemed unconscious at first but then he moved his head slightly and I noticed several bruises on his bloody face. The soldiers pushed him to the ground right before my feet. His clothes were ripped off and blood stained, he had been tortured to give information.

He gathered his strength to sit up. I waited for him to pull together a little and look at me with hateful almond eyes. 

" why are you here?" 

Farhad stood beside me and interpreted what I said. The prisoner looked at both of us but remained silent. 

" I said why you came here? Answer me and you shall live, otherwise..." 

His creepy laughter cut my words. How dared he? Anger was boiling inside me, I grabbed him and shook his body hard, screaming: 

" what the hell are you laughing at? Have not you had enough torture? If you do not answer me, I will skin you alive and send your miserable head filled with straws as a gift to your master. But believe me before you are beheaded you will wish your death a thousand times." 

I stopped and kept his face close to mine, looking deep into his eyes. He still had a smirk on his face which was driving me mad. But then he mumbled something, a word I could barely make out.  

" what?"  

Farhad drew closer to hear what he was mumbling. The man smiled again , slowly lifted his hand and before I could stop him, put it into his mouth for a moment. I was watching astonished and shocked when Farhad screamed: " stop him." 

A bitter smell filled my nose before he dropped on the floor, mumbled something and died. I was still frozen in shock, not knowing what had happened. Farhad kneeled beside the man and touched his face, then looked at me and said: " Hemlock ( a poisonous plant)" 

Mateon was confused: " but how? We searched the man top to toe, he had nothing on him." 

" they store the poison in their tooth and release it if necessary." Farhad explained. 

" did he say anything under the torture?" I asked with frustration. 

" not really, just that his master will punish us and the gods shall burn our eternal soul." replied Mateon. 

Suddenly I remembered the letter, it was the only source of information we had now. I handed it to Perian advisor. 

" tell me word by word what it says." 

He took it and started reading: 

" To the world's sunshine, princess Roxanne of Peria 

I am sending my greatest love with my messenger to inform you that I, Ravi, the great king of Eastern land, have the intention of rescuing you from the savages and make you my queen. You shall rule my own land and yours as well as my soul and heart. I will give you all the jewellery and wealth in the world and cover your beautiful body in the most exquisite silk clothes. I will kill thousands of barbarians and travel through deserts and forests to have you for myself, this is how great my love is! My messenger will tell you all about my plan on your rescue and you can trust him as his instruction will bring you to me. We shall not be separated for long my dearest love. 

Your future husband 

Ravi" 

I turned red in rage, wanting to find and break that man's neck myself. There was a silence in the room for a moment and then Farhad continued: 

" he must have known that princess has been learning the Eastern language, the messenger was supposed to give her instructions on what to do, alas there is no way for us to find what those instructions were." 

I looked at the dead man's body. What was their plan? 

" I will ride to the east with my men and search for any clues of soldiers who might have crossed the borders." suggested Cleon.  

" we also need to reinforce from Perian people, our soldiers are tired and some of them are wounded from previous battle, so we are going to need fresh force. I think we should send a messenger back home and ask for back up." said Boter, one of the commanders. 

They all looked at me, waiting for my opinion. I just nodded my head, not being able to think straight. My mind was filled with the images of Roxanne and jealousy and rage were boiling inside of me. They began to leave one by one, going to start their duty as soon as possible. The last one was Farhad, he walked to the door slowly and turned to bow and leave when I remembered something. 

"wait" 

" my lord?" he raised his eyebrow in question. 

" what did this man mumble before he died?" 

" he said: he is coming for her."

POV Roxanne

" mother, I want a cat." 

I was looking at my mother with appealing eyes, hoping that she would agree. She was surprised by my request. 

" a cat? Why would you want a cat?" 

" Honestly, I am lonely mother! Yes, I have my tutors to come and teach me and you and the king visit me everyday but I want someone to play with, and after Mina's incident, the king does not allow the girls to befriend me! That is not fair, I did not...." 

" shshshhhh Roxanne, watch your tongue. What you did was unforgivable, you wanted to run away and take one of the king's concubine with you, your punishment is nothing." mother said angrily. 

" But I told you before, I did not want to run away, I just wanted to help Mina, she was depressed and I thought..." I sighed 

" never mind, now please talk to the king, I need to have a friend, even if it is only a cat! Please mother, I am begging you, I am going crazy like this." i saw her facial expression softening, that was a victory then. That evening the king came in as usual, I rushed to welcome him and when we were alone, he waited for me to take off my veil.  

" the queen told me that you want a cat as a companion." he said in a cold voice. He always called the mother " the queen". 

" yes my lord. I feel lonely these days." I replied while avoiding his gaze. He walked to me and took my chin. 

" look at me Roxanne." he ordered  

I slowly raised my head, his eyes were piercing into mine. After a while he said: 

" I believe you have been punished enough, but still I do not trust other girls to join you in your lessons, so you can have a cat." 

I smiled and kneeled, grabbed his hand and kissed it happily. 

The next morning my mother brought me a small white kitten. It was the cutest thing, with beautiful green eyes and a small nose. I loved him from the first moment. He became my friend. 

Everyday, when I woke up he was by my side licking my hand and every where I went, he followed me like a loyal servant. I spent all my time with him, in the lessons, when I sew, read or even swam, he was there. My brother was not happy about it but he never said anything.  

That afternoon, I was alone with my friend in the room, reading. He was sitting on my lap purring happily as I was rubbing his back, from time to time, when I stopped, he would have licked my hand urging me to keep on. I felt the happiest girl alive. 

The door opened with a bang and the king walked in unannounced. I was surprised by his unplanned visit but still, I rushed to get up and welcome him. The cat did not want to leave my lap but I put him down and curtsied. Darius did not seem pleased, his eyes stuck to the cat. 

" my lord, what an honour. I did not expect you now." 

" what were you doing?"  

" reading my lord, what is the matter? Has something happened?" I suddenly felt worried, not knowing the reason for this unexpected visit. 

" nothing has happened, I just wanted to see you. I see you are becoming attached to that animal." there was something in his voice that scared me. 

" yes, he is a good companion. I can not thank you enough for your generosity your majesty. He entertains me when I am lonely and I really love him." 

His gaze stopped me from going on. There was so much hatred in his eyes, so much anger. He turned around and left with no other words. That evening I was anxious and worried that Darius might not come, but he walked in as usual, sat for a while and did not speak of what had happened earlier. I also did not mention anything, the cat had been sent to stay with a servant as I felt his presence displeased my brother.

The next morning, I woke up with a bad feeling. I started my chores by praying and then I called my servant and asked for the cat. She was gone and after a while, returned empty handed, saying that she could not find him. I thought Nothing of it, he loved to go out to the garden and probably he was there playing. I went on with my daily duties, had my lessons and then decided to go into the garden for a walk.

As I made my way through the small beds of roses and jasmines, I called for him but he did not show up. I searched between the bushes and behind the trees but there was no trace of him being there. I was becoming worried then, was it possible that he escaped the forbidden garden and went into the front of the castle? I decided to go back to my room and ask the guards if they had seen him when....

There he was, on the side of the lake, his beautiful shiny white hair covered in blood and mud. His body was torn up and his small heart was taken out and laid beside his lifeless body. I looked at the horrifying image and then a piercing scream filled my ears. My friend was dead.

" Roxanne, honey, you are dreaming. Open your eyes." 

A cool hand was placed on my forehead as I slowly opened my eyes. My mother was sitting beside me, concern shadowing her indigo eyes and made it darker. I looked around, the familiar surroundings made me relaxed, I was in my own room and my own bed, although my head was throbbing in pain and my mouth and throat was dry. Mother wiped the tears and sweat from my face and smiled. 

" how are you feeling?" 

" I have a headache. what happened to me?" 

She handed me a goblet. 

" drink up, it is good for you. Can't you remember anything from last night?" 

I took it and drank, the sweet taste soothed my dry throat. Suddenly I remembered. 

The goblet was dropped, that man, he removed my veil and saw my face. I remembered how I had kicked him and tried to run away, he grabbed me and that was the last thing I could recall. 

My mother was looking at me now, still waiting for an explanation.  

" he saw me." my head was down, I avoided her eyes but still I could feel her frustration.  

" The moment I walked in here and saw him, I knew it. What is done is done. We have to wait and see what happens now." 

I still could not look at her as I was ashamed and embarrassed. She took my hand and lifted my chin. 

" do not worry yourself sweetheart, it will be alright, the Gods will save you." I smiled back but my trusts in Gods had vanished the day I was forced to kneel before that man. 

She stroked my hair. 

" you were dreaming of that dreadful day again." 

I nodded my head, tears attacking my eyes. 

" I still can not believe someone came to the palace to Kill a cat so brutally. " 

Before my mother could answer the door opened and a servant announced the entrance of the king. I got up hurriedly and covered my face. My mother stood on my side and took my hand. Alexander entered. 

How I hated this man, his arrogance and pride, the fact that he was the king of Peria and we were only his prisoners living upon his mercy. We made a curtesy and he nodded in respect. 

" I see you have recovered from your shock princess, you got me worried." 

I remained silent. My mother answered instead: 

" she is much better, thank you your majesty." 

He looked tired and worn off.  

"I have decided that you shall stay here in this room from now on princess." 

I opened my mouth in protest. 

" but what about other girls? And my mother?"  

" they will be kept in the hall, and your mother is needed there to manage them." 

" then I, too shall..." 

He brought his hand up and cut my words. 

" it is not up for negotiation. I am here to inform you about my recent decisions and you will obey them or there will be consequences." 

He looked serious and cold. I did not dare to say anything and my mother was wiser to challenge what he had said.  

He ordered the servants to leave, now there was only the three of us in the room. He was circling us, talking in an emotionless tone. 

" As I said, you shall stay here from now on, your needs will be attended to by two eunuchs. You can do whatever in here as you did before, study, sew, walk around the garden or other things but you shall never leave your chamber without my knowledge and alone. " he paused to see the effect of his orders so far. I was still waiting for him to finish. 

" your mother can come and see you everyday with my permission. Also you will be happy to know that I have decided to let you visit your brother regularly." At this point, I could not remain silent any longer. 

" ah, thank you my lord. You are very kind and bighearted." he gave a little smile. 

" do not thank me so soon princess. Remember, you should be accompanied by your servants during your visit and it should be authorised by me every day." 

He stopped walking and sat on a chair. He looked at my mother and told her. 

" I am officially proposing to your daughter my lady, I want her To be my wife and my queen with your blessing. You are well aware that I do not need your permission or even hers as a matter of fact, but I want you to be pleased about this marriage and I want to give her enough time to get used to the idea."  

Mother did not say anything, just nodded her head. I was angry though, how dared he spoke of me as a child who should just accept what had been decided for her? His voice brought me back. 

" do you remember what I told you last night? I demand the respect and obedience you have been giving your brother. Whenever we are alone princess, you shall remove your veil, pay respect and watch your tongue. From now on the smallest disobedience will have severe consequences on you and others. I hope you understand this." 

He got up and walked to the door. My mother followed him and asked: 

" have you considered a time for the wedding my lord?" 

" no, but I will. In the mean time you shall do the preparations for the wedding as your traditions." 

" but I do not want to marry you." I said it in a trembling voice. 

He paused and turned. 

" I am afraid princess, you do not have a say in this. I am generous enough to give you time but you belong to me and you shall be my wife soon." 

" I will be dead before that,be assured!" i yelled With spite. 

" really dramatic! How are you going to kill yourself? You know that is actually not a bad idea, because I am telling you if you do anything stupid like hurting yourself, I will send all your family and friends with you to keep your company in other world. "

My tears were unstoppable. 

" you cannot force me. I hate you!" 

He laughed and left, leaving me sobbing on the ground. Then suddenly a thought came to my mind. why would I hurt myself when now I had the perfect opportunity change my fate and help my people? I suddenly stopped crying, my lips curved in the thought of what I was going to do. I was going to kill Alexander

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ok guys, here is another chapter, there are lots of secrets and lies as we go along, but please leave comments and vote if you like to read more. Kiss