Gabriel’s POV:
I bit my lower lip as my cheeks strung with the urge to sob out bitterly. My heart broke into pieces when I glanced down at my father’s pale, lifeless, blood-soaked body on the floor. Suddenly, my head distorted into confusion and I started to feel dizzy while tears streamed down my cheeks aimlessly.
A painful throbbing sensation clenched inside my chest, be it the pain from betrayal to watch Zordan murder my father with his sword or the anger blazed towards my naive heart who failed to see his true self all this time!
Clenching the metal grip of his blood-smeared sword, Zordan ran his fingers to push the soft black hairs above his forehead. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem a bit startled or anxious to find me there and stayed unusually calm, as if nothing had happened!
He walked past my father’s blooded dead body and marched a step closer to me. A spine-chilling dark voice quivered his crimson lips as he muttered, “You shouldn’t have come here, Gabriel.”
Just by having a glance at the darkness embedded in his glowing eyes, my heart became condensed with petrified thoughts! To me, he looked like nothing but a gruesome monster who was aiming towards me as if I was the next target!
For a moment I couldn’t help but question myself, is he really the same Zordan I fell in love with?
Unable to maintain eye contact with him anymore, my posture wobbled again as my body started trembling vigorously. With such chills running down my spine, I retreated a few steps back from the room, holding my breath for a second.
I turned around and started running away from him, aimlessly in the opposite direction. My wobbly feet trampled over those poor red roses, just like my heart was left as a wreck. Even though I was escaping for my own life, my legs had started to give up on strength. Fear, panic, agony, and regret consumed my soul, leaving my body as an empty vessel.
I couldn’t gaze behind to see if he was following me, but I mustered my entire strength to run away as fast as I could. My throat was choked in fear and no matter how much I tried, only tears rolled down my terrified eyes but I couldn’t utter a word.
At that moment, the only thought that came to my mind was to reach the dorm of our Alpha king’s castle where I could at least scream for help. But it seemed as if destiny already had twisted plans for me.
Just before I could cross the hallway, two giant royal guards suddenly appeared in front of me and blocked my way ahead. I paused my wobbly motion, gasping hard for breath, but I gathered my remaining ounce of strength as I cried before them, “H-Help…Help me…P-Please…”
Watching the petrified look on my face, the guards exchanged a quick glance with each other and let out a heavy sigh. One of them frowned his face and retained a dark gaze towards me as he walked a step close, “Lady Gabriel, please follow after us.”
“H-Huh?” Hearing his sudden request at that grave moment, I couldn’t help but become more confused. “W-Where do you want to take me?”
“To Prince Zordan’s room.” His voice grew thick and hoarse as he uttered those words confidently.
All of a sudden, my heart started thumping hard in fear as my mind couldn’t think straight anymore. Judging by the vague dark gaze both of them held towards me, I realized that I was the victim of a fatal conspiracy and I could no longer rely on anymore around me!
“W-What? What are you talking about!?” Gritting my jowls, I tried to hold back my bitter tears as I lashed out at them. “You both want to take me to that monster? Do you want to see me getting killed too!?”
But despite my painful accusations, both of them retained the heavy calmness in their grimace and continued staring at me. Their orbs glowed mysteriously as one of them walked another step near me as he spoke, “Milady, please be cooperative and allow us to escort you. Or else, you are compelling us to apply force on you.”
“H-How…How dare you!?” I curled my shivering palm into a fist and gnashed my teeth at them with utmost disbelief. Their arrogance had surpassed my limit of endurance but it made me too stunned to realize the dangers surrounding me. “Have you forgotten who you are talking to? Have you forgotten who am I!?”
“We are well aware that you are our Ex-Chief Advisor Luther Onetti’s only daughter Gabriel Onetti. That’s why we are still being mindful and asking you politely to follow after us.” They didn’t show any sign of distortion and acted calmly, as usual, answering me.
But the more I watched their abnormal tranquility, the greater pain of betrayal flared inside my wrecked heart. Hearing them address my father as an ‘Ex-advisor’ triggered my anger as I scowled, “You…You darn traitors! You knew everything, didn't you? You must have known about Zordan’s evil plan yet still, how could you be so brazen about it? How…Just how could you all do this to my father!?”
As I grumbled at them, the guard who had reached out a step closer to me huffed out another deep sigh. He turned around and signaled the other guard as they both walked closer towards me.
Watching them heading at me, before I could retreat backward, one of them groped my elbow tight and declaimed aloud, “Milady, we tried our best to make you follow after us politely. But it seems like you have no intention of cooperation. So, I guess we have no other choice but to drag you forcefully with us.”
“W-Wh…What?” Petrified chills ran down my spine as I cried out in panic, “Leave me! How dare you touch my arm—”
But before I could oppose any more loud protest, suddenly one of them pointed a sharp dagger at my throat in the blink of an eye. It was a long, sharp-etched dagger, too scary to look at!
I gasped in shock and disbelief but before I could mutter a word, he whispered closely in my ears in a low, hefty voice, “Milady, if you don’t want your throat to be slit right now, quietly come along with us.”