"You are now the sole heir of my chosen ones. I believe this belongs to you." The blinding light went straight to her body, making her fall on the white-like clouds, enveloping her in the light.
"Keep it safe and use it well. Never forget your nature."
Catherine woke up in a familiar light pink with a touch of the gold ceiling with a throbbing headache in the afternoon. It was her ceiling and she was in her chambers. She touched the back of her head and felt the gash that covered her wound, then everything came rushing back to her as the seawater rushed to the shores.
The masked men.
The ambush at the wedding.
Her parents in their own pool of blood.
Her newly appointed king brother and her sister-in-law.
The great hall in chaos.
The black signet ring.
Anger won the battle of the emotions and she rushed outside to see Ria with a surprised look but the corners of her eyes were pink and her nose red from crying and Malcolm who looked relieved. Ria fell to the ground on her knees with her tears staining her red cheeks. Catherine immediately ran towards Ria and hugged her tightly in her arms as Ria trembled with her shoulders vibrating against Catherine's arms.
"S-she's gone. Airis is gone," Ria stated as she cried on Catherine's shoulder. Catherine's lip quiver but using her teeth she stopped it. She wanted to cry and weep more than anyone else but she knew that it was time for her to be strong. If she was only strong in the first place, maybe her parents and her brother with them now. Enjoying the aftermath of the wedding and teasing her newly acquired sister in the process. If only she acted the way she should have, maybe the result would be different, but she knew it was not wise to dwell on hopeless dreams.
After some time, Ria calmed down and they went to her chambers. Ria explained what had happened when she was asleep. Catherine learned that she was gone for two days. During the two days' time, the remaining members of their kind helped in building a shrine for all the fallen down along with the royal family. According to Ria, only eighteen were left of their kind, including them. The rest of their companions from the Uranbel Kingdom except Catalina and Malcolm were also killed during the ambush. Ria also explained that Malcolm swore not to tell a soul about the ambush and explained to him what their kind was after seeing the bodies that died in the hall, turned to dark gray ash, and disappeared in the wind.
Ria used the term, 'returning back to nature' which was true because her kind does not rot and does not need to be buried for they were simply returning to nature, their homeland, their beginning, and their end.
Catherine and Ria went to the back palace where Ria decided that it would be the best place for them to rest. The shrine they build was made of shiny stones that were found in the river in the west, it was not that big but also not that small. It was just the right size for their fallen family.
"Where is Josephine? I haven't seen her since I woke up," Catherine asked and saw how Malcolm and Ria looked away. No, she could not believe it. She lost Josephine too and there was nothing she could do. As if to trigger her tears, she remembered the faces of her mother, her father, her brother, her sister-in-law, and her nanny, Josephine, smiling down at her. Catherine's heart shattered to pieces, knowing she would never be able to witness their smiling faces ever again. She would never be able to hear her parents argue to the smallest detail, just to end up being all over themselves again. her brother's little antics that never failed to make her smile and annoyed at the same time. Airis' little squeaks when she talks about something she's passionate about and of course, Josephine's nagging that ring in her ears to no end until she acts like she needed to.
Catherine clutched her chest, maybe trying to bring back the pieces of her heart that shattered or maybe trying to get a hold of the pieces of her heart that is slowly fading away. She never knew.
Catherine collapsed on the ground, in front of the shrine and her tears just freed themselves like water in a collapsed dam. Ria wrapped her arms to the broken Catherine as she cries again. She was afraid that Catherine would be so broken that she would just vanish into thin air. She was so terrified of the thought that she just cried her eyes out with Catherine in front of the shrine.
Malcolm stood behind them, feeling the pain that radiated from Catherine and Ria. He was afraid to leave the two ladies in their private moment because he knew that the masked men could attack again, especially with the vulnerability of the palace.
The ladies stayed in their position until the sun sunk in the horizon and the moon greeted them. Catherine swore that this would be the last time she would ever cry. Until the culprit and dead and gone, she would never shed her tears again. Or so she thought.
It was time for Catherine and her group to leave the kingdom. Catherine told the remaining of her kind that she will hide the entrance to their kingdom once again and they shall live in strict seclusion until she finds the one responsible for the attack and gets revenge for their deaths. She also told the people that it would be best that they stayed in the castle for the time being, with all of them together, they could protect themselves better than staying in their own homes.
They boarded the carriage with Malcolm as their coachmen and was near the border of the kingdom when they heard a very loud explosion on the back that even shook the carriage they were in.
"NO!"
Catherine fell on her knees when she saw the collapsed palace in front of her, just a few distances but anyone could see that the palace has fallen into ruins, with everything and everyone in it.
"No!" She cried as Malcolm pulled her back to the carriage and Ria did the miracle and transported them to the border of the Uranbel Kingdom with the last of her strength intact. Catherine's cheek stained with tears greeted Malcolm when he opened the door.
"We cannot go back with her in that state," Malcolm advised Ria who was clearly trying her best not to cry. She already cried an ocean in the span of seven days. Malcolm arrived in front of an inn and they decided to just stay there for the time being. The king knew that Catherine would stay in the Bohr Kingdom for two weeks so they at least have another week to get Catherine back to shape or at least try to mask it. Ria guided Catherine to the inn and she also moved Catherine to the bed to let her sit. She looked like a doll with her eyes dead and robbed of any emotion. Ria moved to the other side of the bed and let her in her own thoughts.
In just a week's time, Catherine lost her parents that guided her ever since she was born. Her brother, Josephine, and Airis who stayed with her since she was a child. She lost all her kind in a single battle that she was not even able to participate in. And to call it a battle would probably an insult to the attackers. In that short amount of time, she lost everything that she ever held dear.
The next morning, Catherine stayed the same, a doll with no emotion and no action. Ria's heart broke at the sight she saw. Catherine would just stare at nowhere and not eat unless she was fed.
"Your Highness, you need to get better. Please, we need you now more than ever," Ria pleaded to the dead-eyed Catherine with tears threatening on the corners of her eyes. Kneeling on the floorboard while facing Catherine who looked elsewhere, Ria has never felt so helpless and clueless in her life. She did not know what to do and it frustrated every cell in her body. Ria cursed their abilities and questioned why didn't they have the ability to manipulate time. Why did they have to be stuck with controlling nature and it's natural elements? Isn't time a natural element as well?
Ria broke into sobs and then to cries that then turned into weeping while Catherine still stayed with the same emotionless eyes that stared into nothingness.
This continued for another three days. Ria and Malcolm understood but they cannot help but worry for Catherine's safety and well-being, however, they waited for her. They knew that Catherine will win her own battle, they just needed to be patient.
