Isha

A splash of water wakes me up from my unconscious state, as I cough out some of the liquid which had got into my mouth and nostrils. I try to open my eyes, struggling through the sensation of heaviness on the eyelids. Soon I realise that my glasses have been removed, which explains the blurred view I am receiving and can identify nothing but the light coming from a bulb hanging above. Moreover, as soon as my sense of perception returns, I understand my wrists and ankles, with shoes removed, have been tied tightly behind me. And I am sat on a chair.

Someone appears, roughly pushing my glasses to my eyes. I find Killian to be the person. A smug smile threatens to appear on my lips when his displeasure is apparent, including the obvious discomfort and pain when he limps away.

My attention soon gets taken away however by the person sitting in front of me.

Former Queen of Syncitia, Veronica.

She sits with an air of elegance, contradicting the modest personality she had upheld during our last encounter. Even though she is clad no longer in a lavishing dress, but rather a casual garb, sophistication oozes of her. Her stare, on the other hand, bores into me, a subtle smile displaying on those villainous lips.

"Slept well, my dear?" Her sickeningly sweet voice attacks my eardrums.

"By 'slept well' if you mean forcefully making a woman fall unconscious after kidnapping her, and possibly because someone was afraid of her aggressive attacks, and mind you, forcefully again tying her up so that she doesn't run away, then yes. I slept well." The unexpected snappy reply flows out of me. Perhaps due to the resentment and anger I hold towards Killian, for tormenting me because of his childish ego, and Veronica, for betraying Calix, hurting him since he was a mere child with plans of doing so in the future too, and being the mastermind behind whatever she is planning.

If I had felt fear, finding myself all alone, locked up in a dark room and on seeing Rex and Killian initially, it has now vanished within a span of approximately half-an-hour.

Veronica's 'sweet' smile twitches for a fraction of second before she composes herself. "Isha Sen, a mouth with no filter. Typical."

I mock a grateful smile. "Thank you, Your Majesty—oops, Veronica."

The satisfaction I feel at seeing the colours draining out of her expression and from my peripheral vision, and Killian gasping in shock at my words, is real. With gritted teeth, she no longer fakes the smile as she growls out, "Your little boyfriend was smart to make a deal of not harming you in any way, else it would have been fun, breaking your fingers by Rex here."

"Calix..." my heart thuds in my ribcage with worry and concern, "Don't you dare harm him."

Veronica rolls her eyes, "Ugh, lovers. So pathetic. Yeah, yeah, he won't be hurt, yet.

I still need his signature after all."

"Signature?" I ask.

"Yes, signature." Veronica smirks, lazily motioning to a paper in her hands. "It is stated here, 'I, the present Crown Prince, Calix Mercuro Sonata Liorsa Tiore, with my full consent grant the former Queen Veronica, my future throne and title, making her the future Queen of Syncitia and sole present ruler of the nation, accordingly," she clasps her fingers together, "Well. A little signature of Calix and the throne of Syncitia will be mine, forever and more."

"What about Prince Carlos?" I question, "After all, you went through all the hassle to ultimately make him the King."

An appalled expression appears on her face at the mention of her own son, which confuses me further. "If he had been the way I wanted him to be, such crimes wouldn't have been necessary. Naive he is, unfortunately. If only Carlos had been cunning like me, Calix would have easily been removed and that Richard later poisoned by me," she clenches her fists, chuckling devilishly, "And then, despite Carlos being the one with power at the front, the real power would've been in my grasp. Alas," she sighs dramatically leaning back on her chair, "Carlos is a stupid boy. He chose his brother over the opportunity of having real power."

"It isn't real power if it belonged to someone else initially, especially if you wrongfully steal it." My eyes burn through Veronica's, the feeling of protectiveness and urge to defend Calix rising.

She cackles. "Sweet little girl, there's no theft committed in politics. It is all but a game of chess. You intimidate, dominate, conquer all while slowly eradicating potential rivals and learning the art to deceive your enemies. Do you want to know an interesting fact?" Grinning, she places her face on top of her enclosed arms.

"I had planned on poisoning Richard's father, but the old man got lucky and died naturally."

"You are so..." the words stick to my throat at how cruel one person can be.

"As I said," she shrugs nonchalantly, "You intimidate, dominate, conquer all. It's politics, dear. No one plays nice. Maybe someone else within the royal family of Syncitia has already done worse than what I am doing. You never know," she snickers psychotically, "I had high hopes for you though, Isha. You couldn't keep Calix's focus all on your love."

"The crown is his and he deserves it very much," I stand strong with my point.

"Mhm." Veronica tilts her head. "Maybe. However, it won't be for too long and shall soon be mine. I can take care of Richard later, anyway."

"What about him?" I ask after a while, referring to Killian who has been present in the room all along but hiding somewhere in the dark.

"Oh him? Let's say I took pity on the poor boy when I saw him being kicked out. Moreover, I grabbed the opportunity and used him."

Killian tries to protest but is shushed with one glare from Veronica. "Don't be ashamed of the truth, Killian. You are just a pawn in my game. Of course, just as you had been promised, I will grant you the title of a Duke after becoming the Queen."

And everything connects to me. Killian hadn't joined hands with Veronica for a petty revenge but rather, he had wanted to crawl back and obtain power, by any means, now that he has been stripped off such within Syncitia. Assuming, this man named Rex either works under Veronica or has been offered something similar.

"What about me?" I finally ask, a tiny wobble in my chin. "Why did you kidnap me then? I am not someone who can help you get to the throne."

"You my dear." My breath hitches when her pointed, witchy nails trace my cheek. "You are the most powerful player in this game of chess. You are the final player who will ultimately help me get to the throne.

It will be fun to see when Calix arrives and I threaten him with your life, so that he has nothing to do but to sign."

"Calix will never." Lies. I know he will sacrifice anything to protect me, but I can't let him do that. Not anymore.

"Oh he will." Veronica shushes me with her slender finger pressed on my lips before her eyes gleam mischievously, "I have absolutely no hard feelings for you, Isha. You just became the unlucky lady, for whom Calix has fallen madly."

As she keeps speaking nonsense, my gaze cautiously roams around the room, hoping to find something—anything that can help me. I find nothing at the end.

Suddenly Rex appears informing Veronica with words that immediately fill me with horror. "He has arrived."

It doesn't take a genius to understand who he is. Killian noticeably shrinks further into the dark. His condition physically is already bad because of me but Calix's name instils more fear into him. Coward.

"Bring him in," Veronica orders, standing up and I notice a sharp knife in her hands. She inches closer to me with each passing second before grabbing my hair and pulling me up in an erect position. Her voice menacingly drops when she brings her vicious mouth close to my ear. "Stay still okay? I am just going to scare your boyfriend a little and you two can walk out happily, hand in hand." Bullshit.

With my ragged breathing, I pray for a miracle to not let Calix come here.

Alas.

Rex brings Calix into the room, a revolver placed right behind his head. Of course he wouldn't pull the trigger. Not until his signature is on the paper. But that doesn't mean the weapon isn't threatening. He could easily shoot him somewhere where it would only cause physical pain.

Like a dam, my resolve breaks the moment Calix's desperate eyes find mine from across the room. A whimper leaves my mouth as my lips lift with a subtle smile, and he sends a comforting one in return.

"Enough of the lovers' reunion." Veronica pretends to gag as she presses the blade of the knife close to my right eye. "Calix son, missed me?"

Calix doesn't speak, his fearful yet angry eyes strained on the knife.

"Ah right, my bad," Veronica laughs, "Who can talk when their lover is on the verge of dying, right?"

"You promised not to hurt her if I come alone." Calix grits his teeth when his eyes fall on the clotted blood at the corner of my mouth.

"That wasn't me," Veronica shrugs motioning at Killian, "Your girlfriend put up a good fight that he had to resort to slapping her."

Calix's confusion morphs into rage when his gaze settles on Killian, who, despite trying to display a strong demeanour, fails gravely. I would have laughed out loud if the situation had allowed me to.

"Shall we continue our deal now?" Veronica speaks again. "It's pretty simple. You sign a paper, and I let you and Isha go. You refuse, Isha dies." She tries to infuse fear in Calix by pressing the blade more into my skin.

When I notice him opening his mouth, probably to give a positive reply, I immediately yell, "Calix, no. It is a legal statement to transfer the throne of Syncitia from you to Veronica. Don't sign it."

"What?" he pauses hearing my words while Veronica clicks her tongue in annoyance.

"Isha, are you aware I can gauge your eyes out this instant?"

Yes I am. But she won't. Not now, at least.

"What is your answer then?" Veronica raises an eyebrow at Calix, "I don't have much time. Answer now."

"Would you truly release Isha if I sign?" Calix asks, as if he is actually considering handing over the throne to Veronica.

"Calix no." I frantically shake my head. "You cannot sacrifice the future of the nation for my life."

"I can, Isha." Calix sends me a tight-lipped smile. "For you, I am ready to give up the future of Syncitia and the throne."

"You wouldn't!" my voice breaks with the scream screeching out of my throat. "Please, don't." The last drop of voice comes out as a broken whisper.

Calix has made up his mind, however, as he avoids my gaze, and directs his stare to Veronica. "Give me the damn paper."

"Good, that's it. Very good," Veronica roars, "Killian, bring the paper."

At Veronica's command, Killian, who is still pretty shaken up by the presence of a certain prince, walks towards the only table present in the room and grabs the paper before bringing it to Calix. Killian's hands tremble when the prince's glare sears through his skull. Veronica only clicks her tongue in annoyance yet not loosening the grip on my hair and the knife.

Tears continue plummeting down with whispers of pleas but Calix remains stubborn as he is pushed towards the table by Rex. A pen is shoved in between his fingers forcing it towards the direction of the blank line, above which, Calix's signature will be present. His quivering fingers inches closer towards the paper, with each passing second and he—

"Isha now!"

With great force, I jerk my head up, hitting it to Veronica's jaw, and at the same time, with my feet, kick backwards, making her and the knife to fall somewhere else in the room. Calix, on the other hand, before Rex could make a move, elbows right where his nose is and with the help of the combat training he has gone through since forever, easily knocks him out with the same revolver the buff man had been in possession of. As I had suspected, police sirens and rough sounds of cars pulling up, invade my ears.

"You are alright, you are alright," Calix breathes quickly, freeing me of the tight ropes after cutting it with the help of the knives. He doesn't hesitate to stab it in the other uninjured thigh of Killian, when he tries to attack him, on the orders of Veronica (who, possibly due to her old age, is unable to move). Calix is furious.

I can only nod, being shaken up by the past moments. It was within a few seconds that I had understood what Calix was trying to convey when he had unnoticeably tapped on his jaws and legs, including his fingers to motion me not to move then. By deliberately agreeing to Veronica's deal, Calix had managed to grab the three's attention, and made them lose focus on the ways they could harm us. But, I can't help but think if something had gone wrong, we could've been seriously hurt, or even dead.

The very next moment, everyone breaks through. Police officers, my sisters, Kev, Audrey, and Carlos. My heart naturally feels heavy with pinpricks of overwhelming and mixed emotions from before, all crushing over me like a big wave of Tsunami and I break down in Calix's embrace, him holding me tightly while the police capture the three perpetrators in the room. I hear my sisters' wanting to approach me but the police prevent them, along with Carlos and Audrey until the criminals are completely out of reach.

"Leave me! I am the Queen of Syncitia! No! You can't hold me back!" Veronica keeps thrashing around while a police officer holds her down and handcuffs her, none paying heed to her constant shrieks.

"You did so good, sweetheart," Calix's mellow voice blurs the hazed surroundings, as his fingers brush through my hair and back, however, having him close to me is enough. "I am proud of you, Isha. You were very brave."

"I thought I would die. I thought, you'd die," I sob, burying my face into his chest.

"I know, I know but you know what? Let's not think about this now," Calix's lips press on my forehead and I detect a tiny tremble going through him, "You are safe, I am safe. We are alright, Isha."

Like the tiny crack in a block of ice, I capture Veronica's shaking hands clasping around the revolver which had fallen close to her perhaps, when Calix had come to me after attacking Rex. And she points it directly at us.

It is the truth when people say, for the one you love, you will be ready to give up your life without a second thought. And I push Calix away right when the bullet is fired, it eventually hitting a corner of my stomach.

Screams erupt everywhere as my vision blurs. I find hands grasping me, probably Calix's and his vibrating voice in my ears constantly screaming, 'Please stay with me.' Maybe Calix was hit too but it wasn't the bullet entirely but it simply grazing past his arm. Well, that's a relief.

At least, Calix is safe.