................(Anissa).................

How long do I have to wait?

I've been sitting in this carriage for more than two hours now and the only scenery here is....withered flowers and fallen leaves from the bald trees

Heh...bald trees

I sneered at my own thoughts, I never would've imagined that I, Anissa Hades, would go to the imperial palace alone, to talk about my engagement and all, with none other than....the emperor....

Samuel Aethenberg, a cold and tyrant ruler known for all his conquests and bloodshed that he did when he was just fourteen

Lord, what did I even do to get engaged to that guy? I don't even have any ambition for the throne or anything like that

Why did grandmother have to make me get engaged to a guy literally no one wants???

Breath in Anissa! Relax

there is no way that he would kill you-

Would he kill me?

I mean think about it rationally, why would an emperor with everything in the world, easily agree to get engaged to a viscount's daughter with no other title whatsoever

Is he thinking about killing me and feeding me to the hounds from those rumors?

But why would he kill me? Why won't he kill me?

My face stiffened, and my stomach started to ache, I don't usually have stomach aches until unless I start having a panic attack

I mean...would you blame me? All the rumors surrounding him start with kill and end with blood

I should stop thinking about all the negative outcomes! We can always annul the engagement! Yes! Breath Anissa!

I was gathering my thoughts when the carriage came to a halt and someone knocked on the door before opening it for me

"Miss if you may"

Harry lent me his hand and helped me out of the carriage

"Can we like....run away from here?"

I whispered to harry, my one and only childhood friend who was once a commoner but was now working as a knight in my family's knight order

"Are you saying you want me to abduct you or something?"

"You know very well what I mean"

"I mean I would....but you see...I don't want to die yet"

We reached the castle gates and then were greeted by the head butler

"You may follow me"

The castle felt eerily cold and dark

I swear the sun was out just a while ago, why is this place so dark?

"Lady Anissa"

I jerked as I heard my name

"If you feel like you're in danger, you can always run, I'll cover you"

Woah- was this really Harry speaking?

"Then you'll get executed"

"Doesn't matter"

Hell you mean doesn't matter?

"It do-"

I was cut in the middle by the butler's cough, as he stopped in front of a very beautiful coral door

"Only the Lady may enter"

Excuse me?

Is the emperor some sort of a pervert or something?

"Then we'll wait out here"

All my escorts paused in their tracks as I gave them a nod

It is my battle to fight

I will not drag anyone in this

And... let's be optimistic

I mean there is a possibility that the emperor is a very cute and a very cuddly human being-

Right?

I stuffed my mouth with macarons

I never knew that I would stress eat, well I know now

But these macarons are awfully great

Maybe I should ask these maids to bring me more

As I was about to get myself comfortable I heard the door open and The Emperor himself came inside to greet me-

Wait I should probably get up

I curtsied "Greetings to the sun of the empire"

"Rise"

A gentle voice

Gentle? I must be imagining it

As I lift my head, my eyes laid down on his beautiful golden locks of hair that reached his shoulders and such a beautiful carved face-

Where are his eyes? What is he wearing such thick bracket glasses for?

As i continued staring, which was very rude of me I agree, the emperor had already dismissed all the maids, made his way to the couch in front and sat down

"You may sit"

Again in such a gentle manner

"I worry you might start reading my thoughts if you keep staring like that"

He smiled

"huh? Oh! my apologies, your highness!"

You've done it Anissa....you're gonna die

A soft chuckle escaped his lips and hit my heart

Wow

"So...I wanted to talk about how our engagement would work...."

"How do you want it to work?"

"Uh.... How do...normal engagements work?- I mean"

He smiled, again

He smiles a lot for someone with such nasty rumors, but it isn't bad, in fact I feel at ease whenever he smiles....strange

He sipped his tea and pushed the macarons dish towards me, then smiled

"I believe you like these"

"How do you know?" I was puzzled considering we've never met before

"Hm... I wonder how..." He smiled again

Okay he's turning creepy now

Were it my expressions? Because he soon added

"I caught someone stuffing their cheeks with macarons like a squirrel"

Ah..... God.... He saw that

He sipped his tea again

He seems restless to me....should I ask about it?

He sipped his tea again before taking those thick bracket glasses off

And I was greeted with a pair of ocean blue eyes, sparkling like seawater, embedded with jewels, anyone would fall for him if they saw those eyes beautifully sculpted in such a body

"Gorgeous"

He smiled before adding something incoherent, I couldn't hear it even though I was sitting right in front of him

Strange

I blinked, and I blinked, but my vision didn't change, I know for a fact that I was in the same room, but it felt eerily dark and i swear it smelled like blood

The beautiful man up front was nowhere to be seen, and the windows were shattered the doors painted red

Where the hell am I?!

    ....................(Anissa)......................

Blood on the walls, on the floor and even on my own clothes

Everything is eerily still

As if the time stopped for a moment

Ravens? In the middle of the night?

Why are they in the palace?

I swear i was just sitting in front of his majesty! Is this some sort of his power or something? God!! Where am I!? It's horrifying!

The air carried the stench of blood as well as screams from somewhere

They sounded like my own

Anissa Hades....breathe in, breathe out

I closed my eyes shut and clenched my fists

"Stomach ache!"

I should at least try to find a way out of here

here we go...

"Wh-what?!"

Cold spread all over my body, I tried doing my breathing ritual, but my heart just won't stop beating, it was as if someone was beating my chest with a hammer

My body moved on its own without my command

"Ha-rry?"

I stared at his motionless body, his head bashed and blood dripping from his open wounds

I want to throw up

I want to throw up I want to throw up I want to throw up I want to throw up

My eyes had welled up, and the tears streamed down my cheeks like a havoc waterfall

I.....feel sick

"What is going on?!" I said with a shaky voice

I...

I moved forward, even though I didn't want to

My body moved on its own accord, I tried shutting my eyes but the stench and the amount of crows made me realize that harry might not be the only person laying there

There might be dozens if not hundreds of people laying there, all bloodied

MARTYRED

"Why would anyone do such a thing?"

I sniffed

I worry that the macarons may make a very disturbing reappearance if I don't calm down anytime soon

My body stopped after reaching a gigantic door

Am I... supposed to go inside?

I sniffled

I shut my eyes, tried to breathe but choked on the stench of blood as the door opened and I walked inside

My eyes widened, was it fear or shock?

"Y-your majesty?"

His body laid there, motionless

Blood oozing out of all his wounds

If it weren't for my body moving on its own, i would've already collapsed on the floor, quivering if not fainted

I want to throw up

I feel dizzy

What is going on?

All of a sudden my eyes landed on the throne which reached the ceiling and on it sat someone....a dark figure with wings as gigantic as the throne

"YOU....AGAIN" the figure's voice was incoherent but extremely husky

I shivered

My body, shivered

"What do you mean?!"

I managed to ask

"YOU!"

The figure stood up, and everything shook

its dark bloodshot eyes scanned me, with every intention to KILL....

Someone save me

Finally my body gave up...

All the reactions that I had been feeling were now happening

First my legs gave up, and I fell down

Then the thing I had been worrying about happened

I threw up

And started hyperventilating

Someone save me

Please!!

My face was now ruined, my eyes all puffy from crying for so long

I hiccuped and hiccuped

The figure slowly approached me while laughing

It was laughing like a maniac

Its nails sharper than knives

"You should've stayed away"

I'm going to die

Just as the creature was about to attack me, someone, faster than sound, came and blocked the attack for me

His own blood splattered across the room, but he stood still

"Y-your.....majesty?"

Ah.... I can't take it anymore

..just a glimpse of his eyes..

And with that my head hit the ground...