NOVA

"Nova..."

The voice echoed in the distance of my mind. Soft stirs of sound sounding so far away,ebbing closer to my ear. Each time my name was called out,it slowly built up its volume,increasing until it was booming in my ear.

My body was shaking violently as if I were caught in a whirlwind. I could see nothing but a vast black abyss, and although my body was shaking,I felt as though I were being swallowed by the never ending darkness which surrounded me.

"Nova." The voice called. It was so loud now. I feared my ears would bleed with its volume. It screeched in my ears, it was almost as if I could feel the soundwaves bouncing off of my eardrums. The vibration of sounds against my earlobe.

A light flickered dimly in the distance as I made my way towards it. It grew brighter with every time I inched closer,until it was nearly blinding.

"Nova!"

My eye's fluttered open to see my mother,shaking me by my shoulders. Pain ebbed through my neck as I slowly sat up,clicking it and feeling my muscles relax.

"Morning mom."

"No,no not morning silly. You need to go. It's already one in the afternoon. You're late kiddo."

I groaned and set my head back into my arms. "Five more minutes."

"Nova you need to go. Now. You had something to do remember? You had somewhere to be at midday? Wherever you needed to be you're an hour late."

"I can go some other time..."

"Are you sure? It seemed rather important earlier this morning."

What did I even have to do today? Nothing. I have the day off don't I?

Meeting...

Emperor...

Invitation...

The words were on the tip of my tongue,yet I didn't know why. It was as if it were one of those moments when a particular word is in your mouth and you want to say it but no matter how much you say it,it never goes away, so you try different pronounciations of said word until you finally get rid of it and it no longer lingers in your mouth.

Yet,those words remained on the tip of my tongue,until another surfaced.

Late...

Late...

Late...

Late...

Late? What for?

Meeting...

Emperor...

Late...

I sprung to my feet,knocking my chair down behind me. I gave a quick glance to my mother, an apologetic expression donned on my face.

"It's okay Nova. Go. You have somewhere to be and you're already an hour late."

"I'm sorry,I'll visit again later I promise."

Mother's eye's looked straight ahead,to the right of my peripheral view before it fell back at me.

"You're an hour and thirty late now. You better haul ass or it's going to be two hours." Mom said with a smile.

I gave Mom the quickest cheek kiss I've probably ever given her in my life and turned to face the window. I pulled the window open and took a step onto the window pane.

"Hey kiddo? I know you're a lot tougher than a normal person but you could use the door y'know?"

"No time! Bye mom,love you,see you later!"

I leapt from the window,dropping down to the streets below. My landing wasn't the cleanest but I hopped back to my feet as quick as I could and began sprinting through the streets of the city. I slipped through crowds of people,with plenty of on lookers staring at me in awe. If there was one thing I despised,it was people staring at me. It made me want to shrink into a ball and just vanish into nothing.

I forced my legs to move quicker until I was moving so fast that the objects of the world around me became a blur. Within a few more minutes the steps of the imperial palace came into sight. I took two steps at a time,racing to the top. The doors were already open, almost inviting me inside,but I kept my momentum. I continued sprinting until I reached the throne.

I was gasping,my chest cramped with every breath I took. I had never needed to force myself to run that fast before in my life. I gained my composure not long after,regaining my breath.

Princess Sonja leapt atop of me,her arms wrapped around my neck. I hadn't seen her in...awhile.

Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she pulled me tighter into the hug. I spied Elena,whose face was red with jealousy. Pauline held a smug grin,Amaani had about the same look, whilst the rest appeared dumbfounded.

I assumed they'd all learned of Elena's royal blood.

"Nova!" Sonja exclaimed.

"Hey Sonja." I said,struggling to get the words out of my mouth with how tight she held me in her grip. The girl was doing a spectacular job at making it incredibly hard for me to breathe.

I pried myself out of Sonja's arms.

The Emperor and his bride both stared at me.  Empress Kylee had a strange look in her eye's which unsettled me to an extent.

"Nova,you've finally arrived."

"I'm sorry Roman."

"You shall address the Emperor by his full title or not at all. Show some respect Commander."

"Nonsense. Nova is like a son to me. He may address me in any way he sees fit. Regardless,I am slightly dissapointed. I believed the Commander to be far more punctual."

"I am punctual. Punctually late today."

Roman chuckled softly then rose from his throne. "Ah I've missed you child. Come. You and I have urgent matters we must discuss. Empress,I ask that you please escort the rest of our guests to the gardens. They will find the table set for our meals later there, and can pass the time while Nova and I have our discussion."

I followed the Emperor out of the throne room, walking through the binding,maze like hallways of the palace before we finally reached the balcony. It provided a large view of the city, and was almost entirely empty,with only a table and two chairs being the only furniture on the balcony. Atop the table rested a bottle of wine along with two goblets.

The Emperor and I both sat at the table as he poured himself a glass.

"Would you like some Nova?"

"I'm fine."

Roman shrugged,taking a sip of his goblet. "You're eighteen child,you're old enough for alcohol."

"I don't want any."

Roman stood from his seat,leaning on the balcony rails as he gazed out to the city.

"So...I've heard you and my daughter have grown rather close."

My body tensed.

Did he know? About the...the thing?

"We've always been close."

"To the point where you've taken her womanhood? Intriguing."

I gulped down what felt like a gallon of saliva.

"It...meant something. It was more than what it seemed. At least to me it was."

"I have no quarrel with you Nova. I've known you since you were a child,you're like a son to me,yet I've known of both my daughters attractions to you, and I can honestly say, I can think of no other man who should have had the pleasure of robbing my daughter of her virginity. In all honesty,if the two of you did not get together soon,I would have made an arranged marriage,the tension between you is unbearable even for an old man such as myself." Roman said. "However,I must know. Is my daughter aware that she's basically fucked a corpse?"

"I..."

"You haven't told her you're a Revenant yet have you?"

My eye's drifted away from the Emperor's gaze in an attempt to shift the intensity of his stare elsewhere. However it was to no avail.

"No...I haven't."

"Hmm...you'll need to tell her some time or another Nova. If you don't, when she inevitably finds out,I believe she'll be rather heart broken."

"I will tell Elena when I feel the time is right."

"What better time than the present?"

Roman placed his goblet down on the table. "It's best to tell her sooner rather than later Nova. A relationship is built upon trust. Trust is lost when honesty can no longer be upheld. Come. We must make our way to the others. I'm sure they are all eager to have our feast."

Roman left,stopping for a few seconds before he beckoned for me to follow. I did so not long after,following Roman through the palace once more. While we walked,we stumbled upon the Empress,who smiled at Roman and I.

"Ah husband there you are. The guests await you at the garden."

"I am on my way there now my love."

"Might I have a word with Nova? In private."

Roman hesitated at first. He looked back at me before he simply nodded and walked away.

The Empress approached me,licking her lips.

"My,my Nova how you've grown." She said.

"I still have plenty more time to grow my Empress." I said.

Her hand rested on my chest as she closed the distance between us,tracing her fingers down my body. I pulled away,a strong sense of caution flooding my body. "No need to be afraid Nova..." She said,chuckling softly. "I heard you and my daughter had some fun. Why would you do such a thing with someone so...inexperienced? Why not opt for someone who has far more experience in pleasing man? I have bore my husband two children after all."

Stop it. All this time spent around the farm girl and her friends has made you afraid of talking as you always do. Be Blunt. Be Nova.

"No."

The empress looked at me,dumbfounded. "Why not? I can bring you a pleasure no other woman  can provi-"

"I don't want to." I said as I pushed past the Empress.

She scurried behind me, lifting her dress as to not trip over. "Nova,come now, don't you want to witness heaven on earth?"

"I don't believe in the gods. There's no proof they exist. If they do not exist then claiming the existence of heaven  too,unless proven otherwise,is null and void."

"I can show you proof."

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to the Empress. "Empress,all due respect,if I were to skewer a fork through your larynx, would you die?"

"I...I  would believe so Nova but-"

"If you could prove that heaven existed on earth,that would insinuate that you are a Goddess. But the gods cannot die can they? Not by the hands of a human at least. So you can't show me proof of heaven since you are not of any divinity, whether it be on paper written by a delusional human or with your body."

I walked away, and once more the Empress followed me yet again.

She refused to go away, and all the while we walked,she rambled on about her lustful desires and how much better she was in bed than her own daughter.

Thankfully I was able to make it to the table in the gardens in time for her to shut up. The Emperor gazed at me,scanning me with his eyes. The table was delicately set up with a large roast pork resting in the centre,all round was different sauces,wines,siders and steaming pots with other food varieties.

I sat down between Elena and Sonja, with Sonja leaning against me. "Nova we have your favorite! Ramen!"

A silver platter was placed before me by one of the servants, who removed the top to reveal a delectable bowl of Ramen,the plump noodles dipped in soup,with chopsticks on the side. I picked up the chopsticks and dipped them into the bowl,raising the noodles to my lips. I slurped them off the chopsticks, hearing Sonja gasp beside me.

"Nova! It's hot!"

"Yeah! Slowly!" Elena said. I could tell just from the sound of her voice she was trying to out do her sister. A big part of me wanted to tell her that Sonja could only wish to be half the woman she was but I kept it to myself.

Besides,theres no need to be scared girls...I can't even taste it.

It stung. I knew as a child this used to be my favorite food. I hadn't tasted it in eleven years. I still couldn't taste it,or anything else for that matter. The only edible item that contained any flavour to my taste buds was human flesh. Anything besides that literally held no flavour in my mouth. It was as if I were chewing on something bland and tasteless. I could feel its contents in my mouth,moving around,my molars tearing into the food,breaking it into smaller pieces for me to swallow. I could feel,but I could not taste.

The Emperor rose,holding his goblet to everyone.

"Let us toast! To friends,to family, to forging new bonds,fixing old ones and forgetting past issues! Toast!"

"Toast!" Everyone yelled as they each took a sip of their wine.

I couldn't get drunk. I couldn't taste the wine at all. But something about the red liquor in my goblet, made me drool at the mouth. My eye's focused on the red liquid in my goblet, and slowly but surely,it grew a darker crimson, resembling more blood than wine. I could not smell the wine,I could not taste it,but in that moment a smell filled my nostrils that was so incredible I almost became intoxicated by its scent alone. It came from all around me, from Elena,from Sonja,the Emperor,Tyrese,Amaani,The Farm Girl,Pauline,Sven,Crisingr...they all smelled so...delicious.

My focus fell onto each of their necks. Their larynx lie just beneath their skin,which was soft. All I needed was to sink my teeth in deep enough,pierce their skin, and tear out their larynx and trachea from their necks,chew it and swallow. My hunger would be satisfied then...

Just one bite...

Just one bite...

Everyone around me ate...

Surely they wouldn't mind if I did?

A hunger set in my stomach. My stomach growled,my throat clenched and I could feel myself beginning to lose it.

"Nova?" Elena's voice came. "Are you okay?"

I snapped out of my trance and instantly left the table. "Excuse me I need the bathroom."

I didn't even know where the bathroom was. I wandered the hallways of the palace,searching from door to door until I found a singular bathroom which boasted a tub,sink, toilet and a shower.

I locked the door behind me and walked to the sink, turning on the tap and splashing my face with water. As I raised my head,I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. My skin had gone deathly pale, my cheekbones protruded far more than it normally would,my teeth had changed to rows of fangs, and my single left eye had gone pitch black.

Oh fuck...oh fuck oh fuck fuck FUCK...no one saw my face did they? No...no no one saw...no one saw...i'm fine...I'm fine...I'm-

Again my stomach rumbled,this time, a pain shot through my gut, as if a knife were being stabbing into my gullet. I clutched my stomach as it growled louder and louder,demanding satisfaction,to be fed.

Drool dripped from my chin,my breathing had become so heavy that steam left my mouth with each time I exhaled.

Feed...I must...Feed.

I couldn't keep my guise up around the guests unless I satisfied my hunger. I needed to kill someone...I needed to feed.

I'd gone far too long without feeding. Starvation had been so simple. Yet now of all times,suddenly my hunger had been triggered. I tried as best I could to calm down. I could hear them outside my door. The servants moving up and down the hallways. Nobles,servants. I could just grab one of them, drag them in here,cover their mouths so no one can hear their screams and feast on them.

No...no what the fuck was I thinking? My hunger had begun to drive me mad.

The window of the bathroom stared at me. I could slip out of there,find my way to the slums...find some beggar and devour them. Or just some random bystander.

Feed...I must feed...

I MUST FEED.