Half Heart

  Chapter 12

  Days dragged by as I heard no word from Mem, nor saw much of Kirken except at meals. Aduhlajh had ordered me out of my room. It was a pain, really. I wasn’t to leave my room from dusk to dawn, but in between those times, I wasn’t to enter it. It made no sense to me.

  I spent some of my in the gardens, and wandering the halls. And it was funny; no matter how hard I looked, I could never seem to find the place described on the clue attached to the key. It baffled me, but I didn’t give up.

  The gardens was a delightful place, compared to the rest of the city that I had seen. No one had taken me outside the gates of the palace yet, but I came to the conclusion that there was nothing of interest from what I could see from my window. I knew it couldn’t be prettier than the gardens. Green, all around, as if it were an oasis among the lonely desert. The flowers were landscaped impeccably. It was like a rainbow, in which I lost myself.

  The trees in the gardens were willowy, and towered above the walls, hiding the gray skies. Some had small orange fruits, the size of my eye. I longed to taste them, but I was too afraid of being poisoned. I did like to sit in the trees, though. Their branches were like arms which hugged me, and I didn’t get many hugs in this foreign land. I didn’t even really know where I was. I did know, however, that Aduhlajh’s country was across the sea, and I was terribly far from home.

  I sat in the shortest tree with my hand in my pocket. My fingers followed the design on the side of the key, from the top to the bottom. How I wished I could find lock it fit.

  The wind blew, as always, and it was warm. A fruit fell from the tree above me and fell onto my lap. I tossed it behind me. I closed my eyes and took in the warm air. Suddenly, the fruit was back in my lap. I spun around, careful to keep my balance.

  It was Aduhlajh, with an evil smile on his face. My breath stopped short.

  “It’s taken me a while to get used to using only my left arm, but I’m used to it.”

  I gulped. He was talking about me cutting off his right arm. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t.

  “But don’t worry about it, no hard feelings now.” He sounded so evil, as if he were trying to taunt me with his words. And it was working.

  I probably wouldn’t fear him so if I hadn’t done something to him that he would never forget. But something like cutting off his arm dastardly brave of me, and I was sure he thought so too. I would just scared of him taking revenge, and cutting off my own arm, or worse: my head. But being frightened would get me no where with the beast. I had to look him in the eye.

  “I would bet you are wondering why we’ve taken you captive, if you haven’t figure it out on your own already.” He wet his lips and smiled, as if he were trying to look dashing. It only made me sick.

  “I might have,” I said meekly.

  “Well, I’ll tell you my reasons, and you can inform me if you were right. I believe you are an intelligent girl, Layla.”

  I kept a bleak face.

  “First I’ll tell you why it was Soea whom I chose to be my right hand man in this operation We’ve agreed on his payment, which is not gold or land, but a woman. Well, my woman to be exact, but it’s not as if I have a lack of them.” He chuckled, I glowered. “And I am using you to get to your kingdoms! Once Brydon is no more, I can take my place, and rule two more kingdoms.”

  What an unoriginal plan. It was the ‘I’m the power-hungry villain who plans to kill the king and take over world’ plot, and it was quite worn out. And there was almost always a glitch in it somewhere. “What about me? Wouldn’t I be the ruler if Brye were dead?” I bit my tongue. I didn’t like the way it sounded, if Brye were dead.

  “Well, there is two options.” He looked maliciously gleeful.

  “So you’ve thought it all out?”

  “Of course, my dear. I can kill you, which would be all too easy, but there is another option.”

  “What is that?” I asked quietly, not exactly eager to know.

  Aduhlajh took a step closer to me. “You could be my queen.”

  His words disgusted me. That would never happen. Never! “You can dream all you want,” I said, keeping my chin high. But he could see through me. I gripped the tree branch tighter, not wanting to fear. “You yourself just said you had more women than you needed. What difference would I make?”

  “Yes, I did say that, but didn’t say I had queens. I said women, concubines. And they are all unnecessary! But I have no queen. Did you not study my country in your history books?”

  I swallowed hard. “You admit that you are a great deal older than I.”

  He smiled too wide, his teeth too white. “An advantage for me, I’m sure, although not to good for you.”

  “I’m already betrothed.” I blurted the words out hurriedly, before I turned back. I didn’t want to say another word to this monster of a man. I wanted to wheel and run, and not stop, not even when I hit the ocean. I wanted to run across the water, and not stop until I reached my castle.

  “Yes, you are betrothed, but are you wed, dear girl?” His grin was menacing.

  I didn’t say a word, rejecting the tears that stung my eyelids.

  “Ah!” He laughed with his husky voice. “You say nothing. It’s true, is it not? And there is nothing you can do.”

  What did he mean there was nothing I could do? Tears started streaming down my cheeks. There was always something I could do! That was the way things were! Could I really be helpless, in a situation that I had to be rescued, and there was no other way? That couldn’t be! I wouldn’t believe it!

  “There is something I could do,” I said behind a wall of tears. My words were pure anguish. “I could kill myself. Then there would be no reason for Brye to come.”

  Aduhlajh didn’t look convinced. “And how would he know of your death?”

  “I have means. Word would get out. And then my death would be on your hands, and there would be nothing you could do.” I glared at him, wistful venom in my eyes.

  Aduhlajh’s jaw set. His eyes were fuzzy, none of his usual arrogance. “You could do that.” He turned to leave. I let my chest rise and fall, swallowing my tears. Suddenly he spun around. “But, to let you know, I could do anything I wanted with you, whenever I wanted. Please know that I am being kind to you.” His angry glare lingered for a moment, then he was gone.

  I let my head drop. I couldn’t stop crying. Everything about the man angered me, and at the same time, almost frightened me. He was too much of everything. Too arrogant, too humble, too tall and too fit, too handsome but too ugly. I hated him. I hated him with such a passion that it made me sick.

  I jumped out of the tree. I didn’t care what he said. He may be the ruler of this country, but I was ruler of two others. And I was going to my room.