70: Forgive me

Forgive me

Music Recommendation: An Uncertain World- Trevor Morris 

—

Dante watched his siblings and the maid, fast asleep. 

His sister had leaned against a broken pillar on the ground, with his coat wrapped around her to keep her warm. And right next to her, his brother, Aiden, leaned his back against the pillar with his legs stretched forward, with the sleeve of his coat resting on his shoulder. 

Anastasia slept not far from him, and he could hear her breathing. She had her shawl wrapped around her shoulders, which wasn't enough to shield her from the cold temperature of the night. 

Dante closed his eyes to rest. And though his eyes were closed, his ears attentively listened to the light sound of the crickets chirping, the wood crackling, and Anastasia breathing. 

As the night continued, Dante suddenly felt a difference in his surroundings, and his eyes snapped open. Turning to the side, he noticed only his siblings, while the maid was missing. Standing up, he looked around, catching no sight of her. 

He could have sworn she was right there, breathing softly, a moment before he opened his eyes. 

Dante then heard the sound of a door creaking from inside the building where the three coffins lay. He quickly ran towards it, entering inside and calling her, 

"Anastasia!" He tried to pay attention to the silence in the building before hearing the scratching sound of nails across the walls. 

He noticed a shadow pass in front of him, as if trying to frighten him. But he made his way through the corridor, and the closer he got to the shadows, the farther they moved away from him. When he came near the room where the three coffins of the powerful demons lay, he noticed Anastasia standing in front of one of the coffins. 

Noticing that Anastasia's eyes were closed and that her hands were on the latch of the first coffin, Dante grabbed her hand to stop her from opening it and gave her body a firm shake. 

"Anastasia!" 

Anastasia gasped, roused from sleep. Noticing Dante with her in the room, she asked, confused, 

"What…are we doing here?" Her eyes wide. 

Dante stared at her with a keen eye, trying to study her before he said, "You were sleepwalking and about to open the latch of the coffin." 

Anastasia looked down, realising she stood before the demon of mischief's coffin. She quickly stepped away from it and said, "I wasn't trying to open it. I swear!" 

"I know." So many coffins and she chose to open this one, he thought.

Dante wondered why it was Anastasia who had sleepwalked, ready to open the coffin that had been closed for many years. Was it because she was a human? He placed his hand on the first coffin, feeling the turbulence within it. He said, 

"From what I know, the demon of mischief isn't someone to be taken lightly. He waits to be let out. Not to do anything good, as he's one of the worst, filled with deceit and vengeance for being forced into here." This was the coffin that Emily had felt to be full. "Let us return to the others." Before another one went missing, Dante said in his mind. 

Anastasia nodded, and followed Dante out of there, while hearing the Whisperers entice her. On the way, she asked him, "How do you know about these things?" 

"From books," Dante's first response was short, before he elaborated by saying, "I was trying to understand my lack of a Crux when I came across them and read what I could get my hands on." 

Anastasia trembled as she walked. Half out of fear that she had sleepwalked in this place, and the other reason being the cold night. 

Dante, who was still watching Anastasia with questioning eyes, noticed her shiver. He stated, "You are wearing it wrong." And he stopped in his tracks. "Twist this side." 

"What?" Anastasia's eyebrows furrowed in question as she stopped walking and turned to him. She stared back at her reflection in Dante's eyes.

When she looked down at her dress, simultaneously, she saw Dante's hand reach for the loose knot of the shawl near her chest. He untied it, causing her to feel the cold more intensely than she did a few seconds before. 

"There are some parts of the body that, once covered, will prevent you from feeling colder." 

Anastasia watched Dante twist her shawl loosely before he took a step forward and slowly wrapped it around her neck, while looking into her eyes. Once he was done, she did feel warmer, and she murmured, "Thank you." 

As they continued to walk, she noticed Prince Dante turn to look behind them, where the buildings stood covered in shadows, and she asked him, "Why is it that the spirits know about things that happened far away from this town?"

Dante turned to shift his gaze forward and replied, "The Whisperers steal your memories or your emotions to sway you however they want, manipulating you by telling you what you want to hear. Still hearing your sister's voice?" 

"No," Anastasia's voice was barely above a whisper. After a pause, she said, "It said it knew who killed my sister, that it was waiting." 

"Promising to give you a glimpse of unseen truth," Dante took a deep breath before exhaling the air through his lips. "It must be hard to resist," he remarked, staring at the sky above them, where the stars and the waxing moon shone brightly. 

"You aren't swayed by them?" Anastasia asked him curiously. Maybe he had a strong mind and resolve, she thought to herself.

"It is hard to be tempted when it was I who sent them out of this world," Dante's eyes looked colder than the weather. "The people I have killed are many. On the battlefield and in the kingdom for failing to abide by the iron rules set for everyone."

"… the man who tried to run away with the courtesan?" Anastasia softly asked him, and his gaze shifted to look at her. 

"He's one of the many," Dante responded, noticing a look of fear enter her eyes as if she was scared to walk this close to him. "Are you scared? It's okay if you are. It is natural."

Anastasia gulped, feeling his stare turn hollower as if the night was affecting him. She replied, "I haven't done anything to be scared."

Not yet, the words passed through both Anastasia's and Dante's minds. 

To think she would be sleeping in a place full of spirits lurking around, Anastasia thought to herself as they walked. 

When they got to where Prince Aiden and Princess Emily were sleeping, Anastasia sat down, while Dante stared at his siblings.

Bringing her knees close to her chest, she watched the flames gently flicker in the direction of the wind, listening to the crackling sound of the wood snapping. The wind carried a certain eeriness as it moved like an unsaid whisper, informing the spirits here about their visitors. 

Even though they had added more sticks earlier to keep the bonfire burning to keep them warm, it wasn't enough. The desert night air was bitterly cold, and Anastasia raised her palms to face the fire in an attempt to absorb its heat. 

"You should get some sleep, while you can." 

Anastasia's eyes moved to look at Dante, who sat one step away from her. Like his siblings, he used the broken pillar for support now, leaning his back against it. One of his knees was pulled up, while his other leg was stretched out on the sandy ground. 

Seeing how the other two siblings were fast asleep, Anastasia asked him in a whisper, "Won't you sleep?" She was worried to fall asleep, worried that she would sleepwalk again.

"Someone needs to keep watch, and I am more adept at it," Dante stated the obvious while staring at her. Something was definitely not right, he thought to himself as he adjusted his crossed arms closer to his torso. 

"Sleep," Dante said, before adding, "And try not to sleepwalk again."

Anastasia offered him a slight bow before closing her eyes and attempting to fall asleep. 

Having been violently tossed around by the sandstorm and harshly thrown to the ground before walking for some time in the sun, sleep once again overtook Anastasia's body. Unable to stay upright, her body swayed uncontrollably, and her head moved to hit the pillar with force. Dante swiftly reached out, catching hold of her arm and slowly guiding her head to gently touch the pillar. 

"You should sleep too," Dante said, looking past the bonfire, which had dimmed compared to when they had first lit it. 

Princess Emily, who had her eyes closed, opened them to stare at her elder brother. She had woken when her elder brother called out 'Anastasia'. Her eyes then shifted to her maid. More than shocked, she was puzzled as to why her maid had kept it a secret from her. But her brothers were aware of it. 

A seed of doubt had formed in her mind earlier upon hearing Aiden's words, but she hadn't expected to learn that her mute maid could speak. 

Dante watched his sister quietly nod at him in response before settling down to sleep. 

The following day at the break of dawn, the four of them woke up, ready to ride back to the Versailles kingdom.

Anastasia followed the three royal siblings, who went to untether their horses. Prince Aiden remarked, "I thought I wasn't going to be able to drift off, but that was some good sleep. How about the rest of you?" 

"My neck hurts," Princess Emily was used to sleeping on a soft bed, not on the ground with no blanket for cover. She could feel the muscles in her body ache. "I cannot wait to get back to the palace." 

The three siblings mounted on their respective horses while Anastasia stood back, not knowing which horse she was supposed to mount this time. Dante heard his sister call the young woman, "Anna, come sit behind me." He didn't stop them, as it seemed like Emily wanted to speak to her maid.

Anastasia mounted the white horse, sitting behind Princess Emily, and soon the trio of horses left the eerie town they had spent their night in behind. The horse seemed to move at the same pace as Prince Dante's horse had the previous day, and she held onto the princess for support as her horse moved past the other two horses. 

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"Why does it seem like Lily is in a hurry to return to the palace?" Prince Aiden remarked, riding next to his older brother. Dante didn't comment and continued to ride in silence while watching the maid's back ahead of him. 

Ahead on the white horse, Anastasia heard Princess Emily say,  0

"The storm must have scared you yesterday, didn't it, Anna? It is the first time I have ever been caught in one." After a few seconds, she said, "It is good to have you here riding with us, Anna."

Anastasia bowed to express her gratitude to the princess, even though her gesture went unnoticed. She then heard the princess continue, "I have always wanted to have a friend, someone to share life with. Unfortunately, the ones who approach me think only of the benefits they anticipate from associating with me, and Niyasa is always causing trouble. Not the good kind of trouble. Which is why I am happy that you are with me." 

Princess Emily turned her head to smile at Anastasia, and Anastasia wanted to let the princess know that she was grateful to be serving her. 

"So if there's ever something that is troubling you, you can let me know. Okay?" Princess Emily asked her maid, who nodded at her, and she smiled. Looking forward, she said, "I am always the one talking, so it might be nice to… hear your thoughts." 

Anastasia didn't know if it was Princess Emily's words or the look in her eyes that made her question if the princess knew something.

With a hint of uncertainty, Anastasia turned to look behind her, where she could see Prince Dante and Prince Aiden following their trail. While Prince Aiden was busy talking about something, she caught Prince Dante looking her way. The princess knew?

Perhaps it was better for the princess to learn of the situation when they were outside the palace walls rather than within them, as otherwise, she would need to find the time and place to explain herself. 

Anastasia felt her heart thudding in her chest as she mentally prepared herself to reveal the truth, hoping the princess would keep it a secret like the two princes. But when she parted her lips, no words came out.

Princess Emily was in the midst of saying, "I think it is the younger siblings of mine who speaks more than the older ones—"

"Forgive me, Princess Emily. I didn't mean to lie and hide the fact that I can speak," Anastasia had closed her eyes out of fear of rejection and condemnation for lying to the princess all these months. 

Silence fell between them, where Princess Emily didn't speak and Anastasia turned worried. 

Instead of being rebuked, Anastasia heard the princess exclaim, "Oh, thank God!" She opened her eyes in confusion, unable to read the princess's reaction. "I cannot tell you how happy I am! Even though it feels like a ghost has possessed your voice!" 

"You… you are not angry with me?" Anastasia questioned, her voice filled with uncertainty.

"I would have been disappointed if you continued to lie to me and turned out to be untrustworthy. Maybe you wouldn't have been able to serve as my maid anymore," Princess Emily confessed. "Not because I would have hated you. But the thought of another person lying to me apart from the people we are surrounded by… If Brother Dante hasn't punished you, I am sure there is a good reason why. In a way, this is perfect, Anna," the princess smiled.

Punished… suddenly the word didn't hold the same meaning it did a few days ago, Anastasia thought to herself. 

"I am still sorry for keeping this from you, Princess," Anastasia apologised while wishing for God to bless the princess for being so kind. 

"I told you I am not angry. I do not see you as my maid but as a friend," Princess Emily assured her.

Behind them, Prince Aiden caught Anastasia moving her lips, and he asked, "Is Anna talking to Lily?" 

"So it appears," Dante answered nonchalantly, while his younger brother looked suddenly shocked. 

"How did this—When did this happen?!" Prince Aiden asked with his mouth hanging wide open. 

"It's all thanks to you," Dante remarked, while Aiden counted them by pointing his fingers.

"Three of us know about it. It wouldn't go down well if others found out, would it?" Prince Aiden frowned as he asked. Lying was an offence that was not tolerated in Versailles. 

But Prince Aiden had gotten the number wrong, and Prince Dante hadn't heard from the fourth person who knew Anastasia's secret, nor did the maid tell the first prince about it. 

After all, Lady Lucretia had given Anastasia a piece of information regarding the location of Hawkshead, which the latter didn't want Prince Dante to discover she had acquired.

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