Chapitre 9: Imposter
Ambai stumbled backwards and another shelf stopped her in her path. But imposter Zhong kept moving towards her. Glancing deeply into his ruby red eyes, she whispered, "Mr. Devil, Why are you here then?"
The devil moved further into her personal space and breathed into her ears. Ambai closed her eyes and flinched. He chuckled softly next to her ear whispery voice. "To take you back with me," he slightly kissed her ear lobes.
Startled, she pushed him away and kept him at an arms distance. 'Oh shit, is he one of the dangers that I will face in this world,' Ambai thought with her eyes wide open.
"How—how do you plan to do that?" she mumbled glancing at the floor.
The deceitful devil chuckled loudly and pulled her closer into his embrace. "You don't deserve to know," he whispered and touched her chest.
"Close your eyes. You won't even feel the pain," He sneered glancing into her eyes.
Small purple light appeared in his palm. Ambai could feel the similar sucking force coming from inside this light. 'I have to run,' she gasped but her body froze. Her muscles refused to take her commands. 'Move, darn it, Move away from the light, or else you will die,' She mentally cried wiggling her stiff fingers.
The devil noticed her wiggling fingers and laughed out loud. "Stop resisting, you can never escape my soul capturing light," he breathed into her pale ears.
"N..oo, I will not," she gritted her teeth. 'For my grandmother, for my family that needs me…. I need to fight,' her hands started to tremble.
"Hmm, you have immense mental strength for a mortal," he said with his brows scrunched up. The purple light intensified and the sucking became more painful.
"Yo..uu Bastard," she screamed and punched him right on the face. The devil's eyes went wide when her fist landed on his face.
Holding her knees, she glancing at the devil that was lying stunned on the floor. She glared at him and kicked between his legs. "Don't even think about it," she whispered.
This brought the devil out of his dazed look. He rubbed his jaws and smirked. "Your soul is more powerful than I thought."
"You betcha," Ambai panted. She stumbled towards the door but a loud laughter was heard behind her. She glanced back to find the devil laughing with a crazy look in his eyes.
"It's really you. It really is you," he laughed.
"Creep," Ambai whispered and ran out of the room. She held the walls of the hallway and pulled herself forward.
"Stop, who goes there?" guards ran towards her and surrounded her. One of the guards held her shoulder. "Intruder! Intruder is here," he shouted.
"What is going on here?" commanding voice came from the hallways entrance. A huge man donned in golden armor strode towards them.
"Lord this man has intruded the castle," the guard said.
The golden armored man took a good look at the intruder and widened his eyes. He went to his knees and shouted, "Your highness."
The guard holding her let go of her shoulders. Ambai's legs started trembling and she lost her footing.
The golden armored man rushed towards her and steadied her. "Your highness, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" He whispered with his brows scrunched up.
Ambai glanced up at him and pointed towards the record room. "He…. He is a… He is a…" she whispered but words got stuck in her throat. She held her throat. 'What is going on? Why can't I speak the truth?'
The guard noticed her weird behavior. "Go check the record room," the guard ordered. "What is wrong with your throat your highness?" the guard whispered.
"I can't speak," she screamed. Her eyes went wide. She caressed her throat and glanced up at the stunned guard. "He is in there. He is a…. he is a…." she choked. "Why won't the words come out of my mouth," she cried holding the guard's shoulders.
"Your highness, please calm down. Let's go to your room first."
She leaned against the guard as he led her to her room.
Yelli stood next to her room doorway with her eyes wide open. "Your highness?" she whispered. But the guard ignored her and led Ambai inside her room.
Soon the king and queen rushed into the room in their night gowns.
"Baby, what's wrong?" The queen cupped her face.
"Mom, he is the…. He is the….." she sobbed. "I can't say it mom. Its right here," she whispered holding her throat.
The queen hugged her tightly. Rocking her slowly she whispered, "Calm down dear, we will figure this out." She glanced up at her husband and whispered, "Call the mage."
"Inform the head mage to be here in five minutes," he commanded. He glared at Ms. Yelli standing near the doorway. "Isn't it your duty to guard the little prince," he screamed.
Yelli trembled and went to her knees. "Your highness, I just took a momentary break. Please forgive me," she cried.
The king clenched his fists and glared.
"Dad, it's not her fault," Ambai whispered. "I sneaked out," she said.
"Baby, why would you do that?" the queen softly caressed her face.
"Everyone refused to tell me about Gaius's death so I went to investigate," she pouted.
The queen flicked her forehead and glared, "We were worried that you would be sad. But that doesn't excuse your behavior."
"I'm sorry," she whispered with her head hung low.
Her father sighed loudly. "You have to learn to be responsible Eru," He caressed her soft curls. "And you. You failed your duty; go receive your punishment at the hall of punishments." He said facing the kneeling maid. "Summon all the guards that were on night duty today and tell them to receive their respective punishments," he said to the golden armored man.
"But father. It was my fault not theirs. Punish me."
Rukle took a deep breath. "Eru, this is your punishment. Look at these people, all of them are receiving punishment because of your actions. I hope you learn to be responsible after this," He patted her head.
The old man rushed in and bowed towards the King and the Queen.
"Please check the little prince," The queen whispered with a frown.
The old man drew a small circle in the air. It started spinning emitting a warm glow. He hummed and said, "Your highness, there is no trace of magic on the prince."
Ambai shook her head. "Then why can't I say it? That he is a…." she stuttered.
The door opened and some guards brought the imposter Zhong in. "Your highness, we found him in the royal room of records." The guards informed and pushed him forward.
Imposter Zhong glanced at her with a wide smirk.
"He…he…." Ambai pointed towards him. But the words got stuck in her throat again. "Ahh," she held her aching throat and glared at him.
"What is wrong dear? Show me your throat," The queen whispered. She pulled Ambai's hands aside. She gave a confused look and whispered, "There is nothing here." Kaye touched her smooth throat.
"The king sighed. "Eru, enough, I am so disappointed in you. First you sneaked out irrespective of my order, now you are feigning illness?" The King shouted glancing at her curled up body.
"But I am not faking it dad, I AM NOT," Ambai screamed holding her head.
"Its fine your highness, I think the prince wants to lessen the punishments of these guards," Zhong bowed and whispered.
The King shook his head. "Guard the prince well," he shouted and walked out of the room. The guards went back to their posts outside the room.
"Rukle wait. He doesn't seem to be feigning it," Her mother cried and rushed after him.
Yelli slowly stood up and walked out as well, leaving only the Imposter Zhong with her. Ambai glared at him. "YOU DEVIL! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" she screamed.
He laughed manically. "How do you like my new hex? Funny thing is, it can't be identified by anyone." He patted her head and whispered, "So it's no use crying and whining."
Ambai pushed his hands away, "Don't touch me," she gritted her teeth.
He pulled her face closer, "Aww is my baby shy."
"GO AWAY. Please… please don't," Ambai muffled a sob and glanced at the ground.
"Look at me" he demanded. Imposter Zhong nuzzled his head on her shoulder and whispered, "Look at me please."
She glanced up at his blood red eyes and sobbed even more. "Please … Please don't kill me. I don't want to die. I need to live," She whimpered.
He glanced deeply into her eyes and lightly kissed her lips. "You are my precious, precious. So I won't kill you now, but when you leave this world, your soul will be mine," he whispered softly in her ear.
Uncontrollable sobs racked through her body. 'He is going to steal my soul. How can I go back to my family?' Her tears rolled down her cheeks and wetted her duvet.
"Remember, if you ever try to reveal my identity, I will kill your mother and father." He chuckled and walked out leaving her a sobbing mess.
At the dark of the night Ambai sat up thinking of how to cheat death again. By morning she regained her composure but her puffy eyes proved otherwise.
***
Next morning her mother knocked on her door. Ambai peeked out of the bed sheet but squired back into it and pretended to be sleeping.
Kaye opened the door and walked next to her. "Poor kid, he should have been so scared last night." She placed the breakfast near the bedside table and slightly touched her small forehead.
Pushing her hair back, she gave a small peck.
"I know that I was too hard on him yesterday, but the kid needs to learn to responsible." Her father said sighing.
Her lips rose up in a smirk. "He will be, Just give him some time," she said as they walked back.
Ambai peeked at the closed door from under her sheets. 'Finally,' she let out a breath.
Mouthwatering scent of scrambled eggs and bacon waffled into her nostrils. Gazing at the food tray she whispered, "Why didn't they believe me? God this is so frustrating. It's all because of that stupid devil," she punched her pillows and rolled onto her stomach.
"Aren't you going to eat that?" a hoarse voice came from her door.
She rapidly raised her head from the bed and glanced towards the door. The devil was nonchalantly leaning against the balcony railing. 'Talk about the devil and the devil shall come.'
Ambai hugged her pillow to her chest and whispered, "Why are you here?"
"Oh, I am here to pick you up for your training," he said folding his hands. "Now, eat or else I might drag you out just like that."
Ambai gritted her teeth. She picked up the plate and bit into the eggs ferociously. 'This bastard, one day I am going to scramble him up like these eggs,' she thought as she munched on her eggs.
"Stop gritting your teeth. You might break them," the devil chuckled and plopped on her bed.
"Hmm, your bed is much softer." He bounced his ass.
Ambai sneered and bit her fork. 'First, he wants to steal my soul, now he wants to steal my bed.'
"Don't pout, I won't be stealing your bed, but I might crash on it if I want," he said bouncing.
His movements sent her bouncing on the other side of the bed. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the irritating demons. Plates clattered as she placed then on the table with a bang.
"Stop bouncing," she shouted.
"What If I won't?" He smirked.
'This… BASTARD,' she gritted her teeth and puffed out a breath.
"You look like a monkey now," He bounced higher laughing out loud.
Ambai snapped. She pulled her legs out of her duvet and gave a firm kick on his ass. The stupid devil tumbled down the bed pulling her duvet down with him.
"You… You kicked me." He whispered with his eyes wide open. He pulled the duvet off of him and walked towards her in a menacing manner.
Ambai gasped dropping the fork from her mouth. "Noo," she squeaked and rushed out of the bed. The devil chased after her.
After minutes of running and chasing, she was pinned to the ground. "You thought you can run from me," He snickered. "Kicking this magnificent devil is not something you can get away with." He started tickling her armpits.
"Stop it! Hahaha," She laughed out loud. Slowly her veil slipped from her face.
Gazing at her in daze, he tucked a golden curl behind her ears and softly caressed her cheeks.
"You look beautiful….Just as I remember," he whispered.
She pushed him away and laughed awkwardly. "Hmm, awkward."
His smoldering gaze met her's and he whispered, "Yeah…It was."
Coughing out loud Ambai broke their gaze. "I can't be late for my training." She rushed into her bathroom and locked the door. Her heart started pounding faster and faster. 'Calm the fuck down, why are you beating so much for that devil,' she held her chest and whispered. After taking a deep breath she went ahead with her morning routine.
After wearing her veil, she peeked out of the door. The room was empty. 'Thank god, I didn't want an awkward meeting with the devil again.'
Humming, she slid out of the bath room.
Suddenly a wall of human flesh stood in her way. She glanced up to find the devil grinning at her.
"Let me accompany you for training," he said with a deviant smirk.
'Why won't he leave me alone? Oh lord, I feel like I invited a teary eye bunny but in actuality he is a flesh-eating wolf,' Ambai gritted her teeth and presented him with a fake smile. "No, you may not," she innocently blinked at him.
"Little prince, it is my duty as your study partner to accompany you to your classes," He said with a snicker.
"Mr. Devil, aren't you a noble existence? Why would you want to spend time with this mortal? So go have your own fun." Ambai smirked with her teeth on display.
"Since you called me a noble being, I will definitely grace you with my presence?" He said holding the door open. "After you," he whispered.
"This sly fox," she mumbled under her breath and walked past him.
Imposter Zhong rushed in front of her again. "What? Who is a sly fox?" he questioned with an innocent look.
"Don't know, now move out of my way," she pushed him away and strode out of her room.
A deep laughter was heard behind her but she did not bother to look back. 'This crazy bastard,' she thought shaking her head.
She walked through the well lit hallway in her lanky stride. On the way, some vague conversation was heard in the nearby room. Curious, she walked over to the room and opened the door a slither and peeked inside. The five guards she saw yesterday night were having a deep conversation standing in the inconspicuous corner.
'It's them again,' she thought clenching her fists. "Peeper prince," the devil whispered besides her. But this comment was ignored by her.
"Why do you guys want to frame me? I have a daughter," one of the guards with the number eight on his forehead cried.
"Someone has to take the fall for what happened yesterday," the guard with the number seven on his forehead sneered.
"Noo," the number eight guard screamed as his throat was slit.
Ambai gasped and stumbled away from the door. Wide eyed, she glanced at the deceitful devil. "They killed him."
He held her shoulders and whispered. "Welcome to the cruel world of betrayal and deceit."
Pulling away, she ran away from him. Her breath came in pants as she entered her father's room.
"Father! Father!" she shouted entering his royal study. Her legs lost it strength and she toppled to the floor.
"Eru what are you doing here. Don't you have your training now?" He asked as he lifted her up.
"Father, I know who poisoned the soup," she panted.
"Oh, what game is that; tell me the rules we shall have a merry time," my dad said.
"Really! Who is it? Can you identify them?" he held her shoulders and inquired in a stern voice.
"There are five of them. And I saw them kill one of their own," Ambai sobbed.
The king's face turned somber, "Where?" he whispered.
"Near the west hallways in a… a room. I don't know which room that is thought," she blabbered.
"They are in the second room to the north in the west hallway," Imposter Zhong injected.
"Thank you Zhong but can you please give us a minute to discuss this issue," The king said.
The devil smirked and walked out of the room.
"Teri" the king whispered. A dark figure emerged from the shadows of the room and kneeled in front of him.
"Check their identities. If there is even a doubt that they are involved, kill them," he said with blood lust boiling in his eyes. "These people dared to send spies inside their castle. Even worse, they tried to poison my son. All threats need to be eliminated." He slammed his fists on his table. And the table shattered into pieces.
"Send Opian to guard the prince in the shadows," he ordered. The shadow just nodded and disappeared. Her father glanced down at her stunned reaction and sighed.
"Eru, every king had their secret weapon. This kingdom's greatest secret weapon is the shadow guards," He pointed towards the dark crevice of the room. "As long as light exists so does shadows. These guards can travel through the shadows and do the royal family's bidding." He patted her shoulders and whispered, "Fear not, they are fiercely loyal to the royal bloodline."
"Your highness they are from the kingdom of Lafta." The shadow appeared in the front and bowed his head.
"Lafta, they have grown to be a pest these past years. What have you done with the spies?" Her father gritted his teeth.
"We managed to kill three of them, but one of them managed to escape. We deserve to be punished your highness," the shadow guard bowed his head to the floor.
"Search the entire kingdom; apprehend anyone found to be colluding with the Lafta. Increase the protection for my wife and child. They seem to be targeting my son. Opion is not enough, send 4 more to protect him," he ordered.
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