Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Erna immediately turned around and went out of the room. A little while later, she came back to the couple bedroom with a decanter in a hand and a glass in another. Erna had picked the strongest alcohol she could find from her collection and downed a glass of it, hastily.
Why didn’t I think about that? She thought. She felt like a fool. Unlike Kalion, she loved her liquor. But she always held out on drinking a lot because once she got drunk, it was difficult to use her magic. But today, no magic was needed. She downed the half of the alcohol remaining in her glass. This fruity liquor was especially made in the southern region of Hessenguard. It was the region’s delicacy. Although sweet in taste, the alcohol was quite strong. Usually, it was drunk after diluted with water or ice. But she didn’t care, she drank it undiluted. She needed it.
It took only a few sips for the effects to kick in. Erna’s stomach started to burn, heat rose to her cheeks. When she lifted a hand to her cheeks, it was hot. Her vision started to go blurry. Normally, she hated feeling this way, so she always kept herself in check while drinking. She liked being in the right mindset at all times because she could use magic that way. But today was different. She didn’t want to be able to think. She didn’t want to be sober.
When everything began to tilt in her vision, she shuffled towards the big bed in the middle of the room. She lay down on it and heaved a deep breath. Kalion was looking at her, silent and sneaky. What in hell… Do I have to tell him everything? she cursed.
“Do it,” she snapped.
“Do what?” he asked.
She let fly some swear words. “Hurry up and do what we are here to do,” she snapped, “You how how to, I expect.” Erna clenched her jaw, as she clenched her fists to her side.
The technicalities were that when a man was aroused, he would insert his shaft into the intimate female parts. That was the intercourse Erna knew about. People who were in love did it mostly. She knew it would hurt. Erna didn’t like pain. Though it was said that it begins to hurt less as one becomes more ‘sexually proficient’.
I have never done it before, I know it will hurt, she thought and wondered about Kalion. It was said that if one of the partners is experienced enough, they could lessen the pain and change it to pleasure. Erna felt the goosebumps prickle up her arms. She didn’t like pain, but thinking about ‘pleasure’ from Kalion made her want to vomit. Just the thought of what she was going to do with Kalion made her shudder.
It had been ten years now, and still Erna’s hostility towards kalion hadn’t changed an ounce. It was the same for Kalion. Perhaps they wouldn’t murder each other in their sleep, but there was no love lost between them.
However, Erna was reluctant to look at Kalion. All this brought forth the memory from their wedding night. The disgraceful marriage and the night after. Whenever she saw him, she tried her hardest to avoid him. He was present that night. He brought out all the bad memories. So she tried to walk the other way when she saw him coming. Everytime.
Erna heard him walking towards the bed. She became still on the bed. I hope it gets over soon, she thought. She had read about it in a book. The time differed from person to person, it said. She wasn’t sure how long this would take, she had no one to ask about it. She just prayed it would be over soon.
It didn’t matter. She would endure it no matter how long it lasted. Hopefully, it will be over soon and she can go back to her room.
*
Kalion’s days were very meticulous. Out of bed at half past five in the morning, breakfast at six, attend a meeting with Congress after checking in with the knights at seven. If there was no meeting, he would go to the field and train with the knights. Lunch at noon. Meeting again. If not, training sessions on different weapons. Then dinner at seven in the evening. After that he went to his room, looked through documents, and read a book. He would do anything he fancied and went to bed at midnight.
Since his recovery, he had been moving every day according to this routine. But not today. From the time Vanessa had called him for a meeting, he had felt this deep foreboding that something bad was going to happen. His mood had been low ever since.
Kalion hated Erna. His first memory of her was her standing nervously, staring at him in a state of shock as he entered the wedding venue. Erna was used to being laughed at. She was always frowning. But that day, her expression had been of pure astonishment, perhaps that’s why he remembered her so vividly.
He hadn’t been on the verge of starvation from the beginning. He was the first son of King Aether’s beloved second queen, so he had pretty much been the object of his parent’s affection from a very young age. They simply adored him.
Kalion had been a very accomplished child, good in everything. Even more so than his two older brothers. He aced academics, swordsmanship and even on looks. The King had designated him as his successor, even though he wasn’t the oldest child. Kalion had to grow a little more, and then he would be the crown prince. However, everything had fallen apart on his tenth birthday.
It had been a normal day. He had decided to engage himself more on sword practice. That summer day he had drunk something that had been usually given to him. It was what he drank everyday. That day, the drink seemed strange and he had started vomiting blood.
He had been in bed for one week in a state of unconsciousness. His mother was by his bedside, her eyes red from crying. His father was there too, stiff-faced. He had tried to talk to them but his voice was gone. He couldn’t utter a word.
He woke up again to find the medic by his bedside. His parents had left. The medic explained to him that he had swallowed a very dangerous poison. His oesophagus and stomach had burnt from within. A wizard close to the royals had used his magic in time to prevent any permanent damage to his vitals. Still, despite all magic and medicine, his body would take a very long time to fully recover, and even then, he might not recover completely.
The medic has assured him that knowing him, he would recover in no time but it was important for him to not over-stress his body and take his medicines on time. Kalion had heeded the medic and took care of his body. He did everything he was told to do. Kalion had thought everything would indeed be alright. He thought wrong.
He had noticed that he couldn’t even keep down water. Every time he raised his hands to hold a glass of water, his hands would shake. His whole body would tremble, followed by a violent fit of cough. It had been difficult for him to swallow any form of liquid after that. Eating food was even worse. Whenever he thought about eating, or food was placed in front of him, a fear gripped him and his body refused to accept the meals. The medic had kindly explained to him that the psychological state was because of the trauma of having swallowed the poison. This fear had never left him.
In the beginning, his parents had been very supportive but as time went by, they started becoming annoyed at him and his behavior. “You just need to control it, Kalion,” they would say, “You can overcome it if you have a strong willpower.”
Not being able to eat or drink, Kalion’s body had shrivelled up. His cheeks had become sunken with yellowish pallor. His skin sagged and clung to his body. His muscles that he had earned through hard-work had all but disappeared. Kalion looked and felt miserable. His mother had been ill at ease, she summoned his teacher and instructed him to teach Kalion in the palace. She was of the opinion that he can’t lie down on bed forever. But because of his deteriorating health, it was excruciating for Kalion to concentrate in class. He didn’t understand a thing of what he was being taught.
This had gone on for five months with no good news. The king no longer sought after his son. It seemed he was in no mood to declare Kalion the crown prince, regarding his condition. His mother had recognized the king’s change of heart. No matter the effort and the alternatives undertaken to make him feel better, Kalion gave no sign of improvement. They had, at last, thought of one final solution. Their parents had planned for a new baby.
Ten months later, she had given birth to a boy. A healthy, intelligent boy, just like Kalion had been in the past. Their parents showered all their attention and affection to this new baby boy, not unlike how Kalion had been treated in the recent past. The palace had been given to the new prince, while Kalion had been transferred to another. The visits from the doctors, and teachers dwindled to once a month. The number of servants who were stationed to attend him dwindled as well. It seemed Kalion was fading from everyone’s memory.
On his birthday, when no one came looking for him, he knew. He had known it for quite a while now. He no longer existed as a person to others. No one cared. Several years later, kalion received an order from the king, the first order in a long long time. An order to go to the Duchy of Hessenguard as a proud royal to represent Aether.
Kalion cursed inwardly and stared down at Erna on the bed, as he recalled his past. Erna lay there, with her face covered with her arms, as though she couldn’t bear looking at him. Kalion sighed. They hated each other in equal measure and yet their lives had been ravaged and damaged on both sides causing similar pain. The deed had to be done if there was to be any chance of them saving themselves from their homeland and the painful memories associated with their respective places.
What now? He wondered. Kalion wasn’t ignorant about sex from the things he had seen and heard from his knights. He was contemplating how to finish the deed as soon as possible with as little contact.