SCARLETT (Kiss From The Darkness)
Chapter 13

Damon let go of his embrace and looked at me with a sincere look of worry. I stood stiff. I need time to digest everything. This time I felt a pain like a silver dagger in my heart. Did Roland just want to trap me? Was he intentionally playing me? I shook my head to shake off those bad thoughts.

Everything seems to be blurry. It is too late to avoid the feelings that are now growing in my heart. I've fallen in love. But my love is lodged in the wrong place. I have longed for love. Now that I feel I have found it, fate is trying to play me back. I wiped my tears. No, I can't look weak. I am the Goddess. I will not show my sorrow to this cruel world.

I chose to be alone in my personal library. I like books and literature. I have a large collection of old books to modern literature. I value literature as the most valuable work of art. I have always been amazed at the humans who poured the world into books. I always enjoy being in this room. The smell of the old book calmed me down. All the history from the ancient civilization to the modern civilization is inside this room. To me, all of this is my precious treasure.

I took out an ancient stone plaque bearing the letter of a nail that was on a shelf above the fireplace. I sat in a chair beside the fireplace. I read a famous poem that originated in Mesopotamia 3,500 years ago.

He who has seen everything, has,

Who has experienced all the emotions,

From joy to despair,

Has received mercy, has,

Looking into the great mystery,

Secret places, though,

From the first days

Before the Flood

the Epic of Gilgamesh

I rubbed the surface of the stone. My memory goes back to what happened a few thousand years ago. Gilgamesh, the King of Babylon, was much loved by his people. He is a leader who loves his people. At that time all the territories in his territory lived so prosperous. But one day everything changes when he is betrayed by his own sister. He was killed by his brother.

Since that time, the Babylonian kingdom has suffered. Gilgamesh is gone. He left his only daughter in the middle of a chaotic world. Scarlett, the name my father gave me, his beloved daughter. I saw my father killed before my eyes. Even worse I saw my mother kidnapped by my uncle who killed my father and finally my mother decided to end her life by thrusting a dagger into his chest.

Since that incident, I have had to survive alone in the midst of the chaos of the world caused by my uncle, my father's younger brother. He is the creature I hate the most in the world. If he were still around, I swear I would tear him apart and throw him to hell. I live with a grudge that I have always carried in my heart for thousands of years. Memories of my father and mother always made my chest tight.

I used to be a Princess who lived comfortably and had a future to inherit the kingdom that my father ruled. But everything was destroyed in one night. That night when the city was burning, I smelled blood mixed with the scent of human flesh burning alive. My chest was tight as if I was out of breath.

I ran away from the palace to save myself. I ran through the dark alleys aimlessly. At that time there was only an instinct to save yourself. I kept running until I was almost out of breath. I felt an arrow piercing through my left shoulder. But I kept running. I ignored every stab of pain every time my arm moved and my leg stepped. I felt blood dripping from my shoulder and wetting my arm.

I don't know how long I've been running until the smell of blood and the clanking sound of the clashing sword feel increasingly faint. I'm slowing down my run. I'm almost out of breath. My body is so weak. At least I survived my uncle's ruthless warrior pursuit. I strolled along the grassy path. I've run quite far from the palace.

I did not realize that I had reached a village that was on the border of my father's kingdom. I saw a clear flowing river and the water reflected the bright full moon. I stepped closer to the bank of the river to gulp down the water. My throat is burning. I feel my body getting weaker. At that time I thought I was going to die there. I was thinking maybe I'd rather die so I could meet my mom and dad again.

I dragged my feet towards the riverbank. I sat down by the river and tried to grab the water with both hands. I took a sip of that cold water. It felt so good when the water soaked my throat. I washed my face and felt an unbearable pain on my shoulder. I glanced at my shoulder. The arrow is still there. That arrow must have contained poison.

I realize my time won't be long. I cry for my destiny. I cried for my mom and dad. I cry for my kingdom and my people. Now the country of Babylon, so proud of my father, has fallen. Even now his daughter who he always loved had almost died by the river. I let my tears flow down my cheeks. I fell to the ground. My consciousness is disappearing. I let the night hold me under the full moon.

...****************...

Why is everything so painful and painful? I don't understand what's going on in my body. I was burned alive by the fire that came from inside my body! I want to scream! But I can't. Everything is going so slow. I don't know if I've been through a day? Aweek? Or will it happen forever? I'd rather die than suffer this pain. I want to die!

Suddenly the pain stopped. I'm still waiting. I was afraid the pain would come back to attack me. One sec. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight on. Nine. Ten. I continued to count to a hundred but the attack did not return. Is it all over? I try to move my fingers. I managed. This time I tried to open my eyes. I'm appalled. Everything looks weird in my eyes.

I saw all the things much more clearly and sharply. I was even able to see dust particles flying through the air. What's wrong with my eyes? I even felt a strange sensation in my hearing. I can hear voices I have never heard before. I was able to hear the sound of cockroaches scratching the cupboard in another room. Even I was able to hear the sound of the wind from the direction of the forest that was not so close.

I felt a hard bed under me. I look around. I was in a hut. I heard the sound of splashing river water that was located a little far from where I was now.

"You're awake, Princess." The sound surprised me. I jumped in shock and moved too fast. Immediately I stood before an old man who was carrying firewood in his hand. I was amazed at my speed of movement. What's wrong with my body?

"Sit down, I'll explain everything to you." The grandfather told me to sit on my bed earlier.

I obey.

"Who are you?" manya curious.

"I'm the Forgotten Wise." He explained as he placed the firewood he had been holding next to the furnace.

The Forgotten Wise? Ah yes, I remember. She was a witch who was banished from the palace after being slandered by my uncle.

"So you've been living here for years?" ask me while looking around.

"Yes, Princess."

"What happened to me?" I asked curiously. I saw that the wound on my shoulder had vanished without a trace.

"I saved you." He said with a look that seemed to stab me. "Today you are an immortal being. You're not gonna die. You'll never even age. You can avenge the kingdom on that son of a bitch!" He said that sentence like a mantra.

Whahuh? I can't age and die? What does this mean to me?

"Now you have become immortal. You have supernatural abilities. But with that you also become damned!" abugn.

Goddamned it? I opened my mouth in disbelief.

"You must survive by drinking blood. You're no longer human." The words seemed to strike me like lightning.

Nah! I don't want to be a monster!

......................

My memory was unraveled as I was jolted in shock by the sound of the library door opening. I looked towards the door. There, Roland stood up while looking at me.