Chapter 35: Guilt...
'___' : Thoughts
"___" : Speaking
[1208 Words]
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(3rd Person POV)
It was a stormy day. The weather had been gloomy since the morning. In the afternoon, it started raining heavily and it was accompanied by thunder. Very different from the weather that has been prevalent in the past few months.
It seemed as if the weather itself was trying to warn the inhabitants of the empire that something is approaching their land.
It had started to rain after Roxana fed the poisonous butterflies. She got slightly wet and her clothes were damp.
Roxana was walking in the hallway with an absent-minded expression. It was because she got to know about Dion returning to the castle after completing his mission, given to him by their father. Roxana knew that things were going to turn messy and complicated when Dion and Aston would meet.
Both were of the same kind and the impact of their meeting would be immense when they would meet. Though, she is sure if it came to a physical altercation, Aston would come out on top. But he would definitely kill Dion if they fight. This would upset Lant as even though Lant doesn't care much about people, Dion is still his favourite child of all.
Lant had already decided that he would make Dion, the next head of the Agriches. He might have offered his strongest daughter to Aston but there is no telling what will be his reaction if something happened to Dion. That's why the matters would become messy and she might be the one in the centre among both parties.
Dion is also one of those people, who wouldn't be scared to fight even if their opponent is stronger than them. Instead, they would be excited to fight if they managed to encounter such a person, they are called blood-thirsty and battle maniacs by normal people.
Her face was dripping wet as she was walking absent-mindedly through a vacant hallway.
Someone behind her said, "Here...". Roxana could recognise this voice anywhere, this voice had tormented her in the nightmares she got in her childhood. The voice of a person she hates the most in both of her lives included. Her instinct screamed in a high pitch.
The person behind her grabbed her hand as she turned around. Dion Agriche asked her in a demanding voice, "...What happened to your arm? Why are you hurt?"
His cold face was illuminated at that moment due to lightning. He said in a possessive tone, "Is it because of the poisonous butterflies?"
Roxana asked, "I didn't see you past few weeks because you were on a mission. When did you return?"
He went silent for a second before replying quietly, "Just a while ago." His glance went over to Roxana's bandaged hand which was due to her feeding butterflies with her blood. He grabbed her hand more tightly and asked again, "Why is your hand bandaged?"
Roxana's face turned into pure displeasure as she spoke with malice dripping from her tongue, "Let go."
He left her hand as his eyes were looking straight into her eyes, "So, you and the crown prince are engaged."
Roxana said with a mocking tone, "For someone who just came, you know a lot about what happened in this household. It seems you are interested in this matter."
He replied in a deadpanned voice, "I am only interested because you are involved in this."
Roxana scoffed at his comment and replied with a taunt, 'Is that it? How silly...".
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Roxana was slightly trembling from the encounter she had with Dion just now. One of the main reasons why she is so wary and scared of Dion is because he had a great impact on her when she was just slightly getting accustomed to the ways of the family. She wasn't that ruthless 'Rose of the Agriches' then.
She had been horrified at how things were so different from the novel. How people were so cruel and uncaring... How humans could be seen in their raw form, ruthless, selfish and devils in everything but just in name.
She had to mould as they wanted her to because she didn't have any choice. It was either kill or be killed.
She got to understand that properly when her brother, Ashil Agriche was killed after he failed to complete his mission. She can still imagine that smell of blood from his corpse, that image of his eyes being out of their eye sockets, his guts lying in the open, his arms and legs hacked into pieces...
As he was killed, both she and her mother were forced to watch him die, him dying while he was pleading miserably and his face full of blood and tears was still fresh in her mind.
That scene of her mother hugging and crying on his cold body was nauseating. It could have been taken as a warning for her, a warning for her to know that he will be killed like this if she falls short on any of the missions or activities given to her.
Her mother lost her mind that day and turned mentally backwards. She had difficulties in taking care of herself even in small tasks of everyday life. In the starting, she helped her mother a lot and gave her emotional support. But soon, that mentality of love towards her mother turned into twisted hatred.
Roxana started to get nightmares of that dream regularly, both people were helpless when an innocent child was getting killed in front of them. Roxana blamed her mother for all that had happened because she deemed her mother a coward, who couldn't even retaliate when her son was getting killed in front of her. Gradually, she put some distance between herself and her mother...
Roxana couldn't do anything...
Yes, anything...
That's what she tried to use to lessen her guilt. But she was an adult, at least mentally even if not physically... She was also frozen like a statue when that happened. She was terrified of taking action and had thoughts of what will happen if she tries to interrupt the punishment that was being given to her 'brother'.
He was a sweet and pure child. Too pure for this evil family... This family didn't deserve a sweet person like him. If he had survived that day, then he would have either lost his mind staying among these people all the time or he would have just turned out like the rest of them. Maybe it was better he didn't survive for that long because Roxana couldn't have been able to bear any of his possible destiny.
Roxana was guilty in this matter as was her mother. Both had no proper idea of what this family was capable of. Both were timid, meek and powerless... Their situation was the same. She knew of her guilt but her subconscious mind declined her thoughts.
And the one who killed her brother was no other than Dion Agriche, that son of a bastard.
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(End of the Chapter)
So, how was the whole guilty feeling thingy of Roxana? Btw, I read some Fanfics of this world. And I am like wtf.
The dude just killed her brother and people ship, Dion/Roxana. Like...wut. It would be fine if they had AU or Non-Canon behaviour tagged, then I would be fine with it but nothing like that...
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