6 Last Shards of Dignity

"Princess?" Akira's voice was no more than a whisper. It drifted around in the air like a lost ghost, barely clinging to the human world.

Daphne shook her head, not sure whether she could even believe her eyes. She rubbed them again and again, tears clouding her vision no matter how hard she wiped them away.

Her nanny sobbed as well, the three of them huddling together as they clung to the last bits of warmth left in Akira's body.

Slowly, a single finger moved, barely twitching.

Then another.

When Akira finally opened her eyes, it felt as if an eternity had already passed by.

"Princess... run," Akira's cracked lips trembled. And with every movement, blood oozed out from the cracks, tinting her lips a bright red hue that contrasted with her pale face.

Akira tried to hold her hand up toward the secret tunnel, but it only hovered briefly before dropping limply to the ground.

The crimson crow engraved into her forehead blazed, reminding Daphne of their situation.

"Run."

"Running from me?" The deep voice sounded abruptly, shattering the brief moment of joy. "Why would Your Highness ever want to do such a thing?"

The Northern King cocked his head to one side, motioning to come closer and to become even more of an unwelcome intruder.

With all the force she could muster, Daphne shoved him away. But even then, he barely stumbled back half a step.

"This wasn't what you did when you begged for the antidote." He shook his head slowly. "I thought you would be grateful that I brought your dear maid back from the brink of death."

He motioned for her to give him another kiss. "A simple reward as such will do."

She only glared in response. How could she ever be thankful when he was the one who put Akira in such a position in the first place? If it wasn't for him, Akira would not have ever stood at the gates of hell.

"My my, and you were worried about me turning on my word?" He chuckled. "Princess, why do I feel that I should be the one with such fears?"

Daphne only returned to Akira's side, helping her to sit up.

"A Princess soiling her dress to help a mere maid. I didn't know that people like you would ever be capable of doing such a thing."

With every touch, Akira flinched from the pain. Not an inch of her skin had been left unscathed.

"But now that I know..." He continued in his soliloquy.

A drop of scarlet rolled down the corner of Akira's mouth.

"Princess, you don't think that I had given you the full cure, by any chance?" He pulled another vial from his cloak, this time the size of his palm. He ran his fingers over the glass surface.

This finally caught Daphne's attention. "The deal is still on. Now give me that bottle."

She rested Akira against her nanny's shoulders.

"I will wed you per the conditions we had agreed on." She reached for the bottle. "Let them go, and I will be yours."

She tried to force the hatred from her eyes to make her gaze seem genuine, but with the image of Akira and the suffering people outside, it was much too difficult.

"Your Highness surely doesn't think I'll let you off that easily, now, will you?"

The bottle crashed to the ground, the thousands of glass shards splintering and the blue liquid evaporating upon impact, almost like how Daphne's hopes broke in the split moment.

"I'll give you the rest of the antidote on our wedding night." He stepped closer, twirling a lock of Daphne's pale hair. "And in the meantime, just so that Your Highness will not feel too lonely in the Northern Kingdom..."

He clapped his hands, and immediately, a line of Northern guards materialized behind him.

They strode over until they stopped in front of Akira and the elderly nanny. "We have a place prepared for you these two guests within our camps."

And without waiting for a response, they half-carried the two out.

"Get your filthy hands off them!" Daphne screamed and pushed through the crowd, but she could not break through their ranks.

The soldiers placed Akira on a thin frame, exposing her entire naked body for the world to see. The shawl that Daphne's nanny previously draped over Akira was nowhere in sight.

"Princess..." Akira faintly croaked.

"At least give her some dignity," Daphne looked to the Northern King. There was no room for negotiation, and she could only beg. She hated herself so much at that moment, but she knew she would hate herself even more if she couldn't even protect the last of her loved ones. "Please, I beg of you, at least let me cover her up."

Almost struck by the sincerity of her voice, he parted the crowd and let her through.

Daphne glanced around. The only piece of clothing remaining was the black fur cloak that she had cast onto the ground earlier. Bending over, she picked it up before half-running toward Akira.

"Princess..."

"Shhh.... get some rest." Daphne looked straight at Akira, but the crow constantly glared back. "Everything will be fine in the end."

She draped the fur cloak over Akira's shivering body. The blackness seemed to entirely engulf her tiny frame, and all that peeped out was her dazed face.

At that moment, all Daphne could think of was how afraid Akira was of the pain. The last time she had blocked Daphne from harm's way, she had secretly sobbed for entire days.

Now, her body had been entirely covered with wounds. And it was all because of Daphne.

Daphne turned towards her nanny, apologetic. "Promise me that you will take care of the both of you."

She mustered on a dazzling smile, one she had practiced for years. She embraced her nanny, bringing her mouth close to her nanny's ears. "I'll make sure that Akira receives the cure. And as soon as she does, take her far far away, and don't ever look back."

Pulling away, she bit back her tears.

The last she saw of them was from behind the broad silhouette of the Northern guards.

Daphne locked away her tears and turned toward the Northern Barbarian King, straightening her back and dress.

"When shall we wed?"