Chapter 53: Limbo of the Lost

It was a dream. That was what I continuously whispered to myself as I lie comfortably on a soft mattress, with closed eyes and heavy body; I knew I just tired myself. But it was too comfortable and the atmosphere was too relaxed that I started to doubt that something was wrong. I opened my eyes expecting to see a familiar room only to be welcomed by a huge one, with decors that did not belong to any of the four castles. Panicking, I bolted up straight only to be confronted by dizziness and chill that penetrated my body to the bones. My body demanded for me to lie again and when I did, the door opened. I turned my head to see Cecilia walking towards me.

"What's happening?" I asked weakly in confusion. My head started to throb as I tried to stitch pieces of what happened only to find myself nowhere near an answer.

Cecilia helped me drink with a cup of water. It was only then that I realized how dry my lips are and hoarse my voice is. "You're burning with fever, my lady. If you want answers then you must regain your strength first."

"But – the wedding, the East Land... my mother," I started to protest but sleepiness was already getting to me like it was the only thing my body needed.

I didn't get an answer. I just closed my eyes but before sleep finally consumed me, someone entered the room and walked to my bed. I vaguely felt a hand brushed my hair away from my face. The person and Cecilia had a silent conversation and the only thing I heard was a familiar voice saying, "I'll never let anyone harm her again." And then darkness had finally taken over me.

I didn't know how long I passed out but during that time, I was sent into a land that was so familiar and yet, strange to me. It was a huge castle with walls decorated by diamonds. It was standing tall and proud on a cliff with gigantic waves dancing below preventing anyone who dared to reach it. Hundreds or probably thousands of armies in golden armour were posted on the castle grounds ready to defend the territory. Crossbows and canons were set promising rains of arrows and fire. An armoured man with a huge bow riding on a dark horse was positioned on its entrance and my heart started to beat faster as I realized that it was staring intently at me. I was mesmerized by the power of the entire view that I was seeing. I was captivated and my blood was enthralled to reach him, grabbed him like he was all mine. I was about to take a step towards him when all of a sudden, the man raised his bow and pointed his arrow at me. There was nothing I could do but to stare at his stormy grey eyes as he pulled on his weapon and let go of the arrow which was now flying towards my direction. It was an arrow that would pierce my heart – the sharpness that would conclude my death.

I startled awake from the dream and this time, I was completely aware of the unfamiliar room I was in. I sat on the bed and I realized that there was no more weight of sickness trapping my body on the soft mattress. A steaming soup, bread, and a glass of water were placed on the table beside me and my stomach rumbled as I smelled the delicious aroma coming from it. I immediately savoured it, not thinking of the poison someone might have put on it. I was starving and this food was the most important thing at the moment – never mind that I was kidnapped, or that I woke up in a stranger's room, or I still looked like a mess with my hair sticking in every places on my head. This place could be set on fire and I would still wake up screaming "food" at the top of my lungs.

When I emptied the tray, I could finally think clearly and assess my surroundings carefully. The room was definitely far from an ordinary one. The furniture in it were old-fashioned and yet, I could see from the designs that they were valuable – like they belong from a certain era. There was a huge window across the bed and I could only see the clear, blue sky from where I was lying. Concluding that the room was placed high in the building, I decided to leave the bed and padded to the window. I gasped when I saw the familiar view of a land and I paled when I realized where I was. It can't be happening! However, the more I try to deny what I was seeing, the more it felt real. I spun around when I heard footsteps behind the door and I stood there waiting for whoever was coming to the room. I sighed in relief when I saw Cecilia who casually walked towards me and touched my forehead looking for any sign of the fever.

"How are you feeling, my lady?" she asked.

"I'm feeling better... but – it doesn't make sense!" I paced back and forth like a crazy woman who woke up in an entirely different world. Maybe, it was really a different world. Because how did a ruined, old castle stood so proud and magnificent at the moment? And most importantly, why was I sleeping in one of its elegant chambers?

"It will all make sense once you try to understand it," she answered. I looked at her skeptically. There was something she wasn't telling me yet. I felt that she would only let me find the answers on my own.

"The Skull! I saw him. He kidnapped me in my own wedding day. I remember everything!" There was a panic in my voice as I stared at the distance through the window. The wedding. What would happen to the East Land? A warmth feeling enveloped my heart as I realized what the Skull did for me. But anger made its way through it as I remember what he did back in the Pirate City and the deal I had with the Westons to save the East Land. I clenched my fists as I looked back at Cecilia.

"Where is he?" I asked coldly.

She seemed confused at first at my sudden change of emotion. But then she probably realized that it would be better if she would just let me see the Skull instead of engaging in an argument with me.

"Very well," she sighed. "The hallway to the right will lead you to a huge balcony at the end of it. You can find him there."

I didn't waste a time. I didn't even let her finish from talking and I was already marching out of the door and down the long hallway to the right. I wasn't sure if anger was the only reason for this urgency. Maybe, it was something else.

It wasn't just a regular hallway. It was a huge, long hallway with expensive paintings of sophisticated people on its walls making me feel like they were watching me with their scrutinizing eyes. My feet moved faster, afraid that one of them would come to life and follow me. After all, this castle was sleeping all my life until I woke up in one of its fully-furnished and perfectly decorated chambers.

I finally reached the end of the hallway and found myself standing on the huge balcony facing the vast Eastern part of the Mainland. I could almost see the terrains that belong to our territory. However, the East Land or even the whole Mainland ceased to exist as I saw the man leaning against the marble railings casually and facing my direction as if he had been waiting for someone to appear in this door. Was it me? Or maybe, it was someone else. But I didn't care at all. For me, the most important thing at the moment was the person who was looking back at me with an amused expression on his face.

"The Skull", I whispered almost inaudibly. But the wind carried my words to him as he straightened from where he was leaning and gave his full attention at me. My feet seemed to lose its strength as I took my steps towards him in an agonizingly slow manner, as if I was walking into a dream and was afraid that once I reached him, the reality would burst it and I would wake up with the same emptiness in my heart.

However, as I crossed the distance between us, I saw the storm in his grey eyes, his messy dark hair that was being swayed by the wind, the way he stood tall that showed his authority and strength, his battle scars, and the danger that seemed to surround him warning anyone that would dare to get near him. I knew that he was dangerous but the emotions that were battling to conquer inside me was far too powerful than my fears and before I knew it, I was already standing in front of him, with only a little distance between us. It wasn't just a dream. He was real. And that was when I conclude I was incredibly angry that I almost leapt through the gap between us and slapped him with all my strength. His face turned to the side as he received all of it and I felt its impact in my arm. My hand was burning, and even though I could see the tinge of red on his cheek from where my palm touched it, I realized that I did more harm to myself because before I knew it, regret was starting to wash over me. I clenched my fists and put on a brave face as I pushed it aside and let this anger consumed me. And as I allowed this poison to swallow me, my fists landed on his chest making punches which none of it caused him to move even a little. I was fuming and frustrated and I didn't know how long I was hitting him until my arms burned from tiredness and the sickness that consumed me before was posing as a threat again by weakening my legs that I started to fall on the ground if not for the strong arms that caught me immediately, encaging me against his taut chest protectively.

"You left me!" I accused him angrily and gave another weak punch.

But he held me tighter and whispered, "I'm sorry" against my hair. And that was when my tears created a waterfall on my face. I didn't know what hurt the most: thinking that he left me on the sinking Pirate City, or him admitting all of it by saying he was sorry. But it didn't matter anymore because there was probably nothing more painful than what I was feeling at the moment. I felt betrayed, hurt, and rejected. And I used that pain to push him away and stood in front of him firmly as if saying that I could make it without him.

"I didn't die that day but that was also then that I realized that there's more painful death than being struck by an arrow or stabbed by a dagger. And now I wished that I just died that day instead."

To my astonishment, I saw sadness and guilt became evidently written on his eyes. He didn't even masked it and showed me how he was also in pain remembering the day he broke his promise to come back and left me instead on the Pirate City. I was almost mesmerized by it because he rarely showed his emotions to anyone and it definitely felt an honor to see the real man behind this dangerous Skull.

But I was no longer the little Prim who was foolishly infatuated by the eldest son of the Weston Family. I was no longer the Jonah of the Obsidian who sailed on adventures with him in the Pirate World. I was no longer the lady who was under his protection. Because he ruined all of that on the day the Pirate City sank in the depth of the ocean.

With chains that kept my heart on its place, I looked up at him and met his eyes. "But you know what? I've already accepted the things I couldn't change. You shouldn't have come back, Threy Weston. You should have stayed in the ocean with the pirates, the mermaid, and your great adventures. There was no place for the Skull or the vanished Lord of the West Land in the Main Land. You shouldn't have taken me away from my wedding," I said coldly, with poison laced in every word.

And that was when the emotions in his eyes were swallowed by the deadly storm of his greys. His expression darkened and in one swift motion, his huge hand encircled my arm. He became the Skull that was feared by the pirates in the vast ocean. And at some point, I felt nervous when I realized the dangerous glint in his eyes. But I steadied my emotion and focused on the coldness and indifference I was giving him.

"You don't want to marry Chester Weston."

I almost closed my eyes at the sound of his baritone voice. Oh, how many times have I heard his voice in my dream? But I gritted my teeth as I glared at him. "And how can you be so sure about that? I spent weeks living in the West Castle and within those days, I saw him trying his best to change for me. And maybe, I was starting to fall for him. And you just ruined that by kidnapping me on my wedding day!" I was close to screaming. I refused for him to decide about how I was feeling about my wedding. I refused for him to have a say in my life at all.

It only angered him more, causing for his grip on my arm to tighten a little. Despite of his rage, I realized that he was still trying to be gentle around me. "I was only gone for a few months and look what the Mainland did to you. It changed you into a lying, woman. I know why you're marrying my brother and I am completely aware of how you're falling easily into their game. And I just saved you from that. The least you can do is to be grateful."

I tried to pull my arm, completely annoyed by his arrogance. "So it didn't cross your mind that maybe, I'm also a part of the game. That I am just playing my role and you don't really know me at all?" I taunted him, and it was probably a bad idea for he was now looking straight into my eyes, reading me, threatening me with the storm that was aching to reach me.

"You can't lie to me, Primrose Crimson. You can't lie to the person who has your heart all this time," he said through gritted teeth.

I laughed sarcastically, provoking him even more. "Oh, I absolutely can! Who do you think you are –"

I wasn't able to finish what I was saying for his lips was already crashing against mine, giving me a violent, hungry kiss. At first, I was trying to push him, hitting him so I could escape from his iron arms. But after a moment, my body seemed to grow a mind of its own because my hand started to reach through his hair, pulling him closer so I could drink more from that fiery kiss. The hand that was grabbing me by the arm before snaked around my waist while the other one gripped the back of my neck preventing me from escaping. As if my body would have the courage to escape this heaven. He bit my lip gently, asking for entrance which I gladly gave as he searched me deeper, discovering the things I tried keeping from him. Before I knew it, the storm within us calmed down on its own and we found ourselves kissing each other passionately, taking our time, as if the world didn't exist around us.

Our little world shattered when we heard someone cleared his throat from the direction of the door. I gasped and pushed him abruptly in which he allowed me to step away from his possessive embrace. He looked disappointed by the sudden disturbance but the glint in his eyes when he looked at my glistening lips told me that we're not yet finished and that he's going to do everything to continue what we started.

He glared at the direction of the door and I followed his gaze only to be stunned when I saw the person who was looking at us with amusement in his eyes. I was welcomed once again by shock and confusion reminding me that I was still lost in this world I woke up in.

"Lord Boris? What are you doing here?" I asked, grasping for any logical explanation in my head.

He smiled at me and walked closer towards us. I felt the Skull tensed up a little beside me and to my astonishment, he placed himself between us.

"Come on, Threy. Lady Primrose and I had become friends after she came back from her little expedition in the pirate world." Lord Boris tried to reason out as if he knew the Skull for a long time now.

"What's happening?!" I asked loudly, getting the attention of the two men in front of me.

The Skull looked at me protectively, assessing if I could handle the truth on my own. But I glared back at him and demanded verity from the both of them. "If you're not going to tell me now, then I might jump down from this balcony believing that everything is just a mere dream!" I threatened. They seemed to consider it because when Lord Boris asked Threy for approval, the latter nodded his head.

"We're in the old castle, Lady Primrose. I aided them in bringing you here safely. And yes, I'm the one behind the golden letter Lord Chester received on the night before the wedding," Lord Boris confessed.

I looked at them wide-eyed and took a step back from them as if I was just burned by a fire I never thought would harm me. I shook my head in disbelief. It was just a dream, just a dream, I chanted to myself.

"But – But you're the ruler of the North Land. And they're pirates!" I gasped, horrified. "They are rebels! You're not supposed to side with the rebels!"

Lord Boris sighed heavily, trying to understand my reaction patiently. "Lady Primrose, there's clearly a lot of things you need to know about the old castle."

Suddenly, I lost control and screamed at them. "Tell me!" I was so tired of the puzzles. I was tired of all the craps they're giving me. I needed answers.

Lord Boris looked at me dreadfully and said, "They're not the rebels, Lady Primrose. We are."

And at that moment, I felt like I was being swallowed in the limbo of the lost. So this was how a wrecked ship felt when it was slowly sinking to the depth of the vast ocean.