Chapter 312: Ashes Of Lost Innocence
Slightly longer Chapter ahead....
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They were still completely naked, but she did not care in the slightest. She had no idea how long they remained like that, yet she made no attempt to pull away or question him.
After what felt like a long while, Ivan felt her shiver. Now that the heat had faded, the cool air brushed against her bare skin, raising goosebumps along her arms.
He finally lifted his head from her chest, and Eve met his eyes, now returned to their molten red.
His face was blank as they stared at one another in the darkness.
Without a word, he scooped her into his arms and carried her back to the bed. Placing her down gently, he lay beside her and pulled her into his embrace, covering them both with a thick blanket.
Eve remained still, waiting in the silence until he finally spoke. "Eve....if I told you that I did something horrible in my past, what would you say?"
She felt his grip on her back tighten. She knew it was difficult for him to even mention it, but she replied without an ounce of hesitation.
"I would still love you just the same."
Ivan closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
When he spoke again, his voice was tight and strained. "What if I told you....that I do not deserve your love, or anyone else’s? What if I told you that I did something unforgivable.....to the one person who loved me more than anything in this world?"
It was then that Eve lifted her head from his chest and studied his face, only to find his eyes tightly shut, a deep line carved between his brows.
She raised her hand and cupped his cheek, startled by how cold his skin felt, a sharp contrast to the burning heat that had consumed him not long ago.
Her mind drifted back to Cece’s words about Ivan having endured something in his past that had changed him completely, and she knew, without a doubt, that this was what he was referring to now.
"Ivan... look at me."
He opened his eyes and met hers.
"Love is not just about accepting the good in a person, but also the bad. Just as you embraced me after learning about my painful past... I will do the same. Not only because I love you more than anyone else in this world, or because of our past lives, but because when I said I loved you....I had accepted every single part of you."
She shook her head slightly.
"I am not weak, and neither is my love for you. So even if you tell me your deepest, darkest secret....you will still find me professing my undying love for you....always, Ivan. Always."
Ivan’s eyes widened at her raw words and the sheer emotion pouring out of her. Her declaration hit him straight in the heart.
Swallowing hard, he parted his lips to speak. "Then let us see what you say after you have heard what I did. I will tell you of a past I have never spoken of to anyone. We shall see if you are still able to say those words to me after you hear it all."
Eve’s heartbeat began to quicken.
For the longest time, she had wanted to know what it was, but she had never been able to bring herself to ask, because she knew it was forbidden, a taboo he never wanted to reveal to her.
But now, he was finally ready to tell her of his own will, and she knew that whatever it was, nothing she felt for him would ever change.
Eve gave him a small nod. "Go on...try me."
Ivan studied her expression for a moment and found no trace of fear or hesitation.
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[Music recommendation: Lisa Gerrard - Redemption]
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Taking a long, steady breath, he began to speak, as though it had all happened only yesterday:
A boy, no older than five, lay on his bed in a darkened room.
A mysterious woman appeared beside him, her face half covered, and whispered, "Shh... do not be afraid, Your Highness." She raised her hand and brushed it gently over his head. A soft purple glow spread from her palm as she murmured, "Forget about... her. Forget about Princess Evelyn."
She repeated the words in a low, hypnotic whisper until the five-year-old Ivan slipped into a deep, unnatural sleep.
The next thing he knew, he was waking again to the sound of hurried footsteps and commotion outside his room.
The door burst open, making the boy jolt upright in bed. Panic surged through him, but the moment he saw who it was, he relaxed.
His mother, Queen Irene, rushed to him and gathered him tightly in her arms. "Ivan, we need to leave. Quickly," she whispered, though the urgency in her voice was unmistakable.
Using her vampiric speed, she carried him towards another wing of the castle, hoping to hide somewhere they would not be suspected. It was a section far from the king’s quarters and Ivan’s room, one reserved only for important guests.
She entered a room and quickly locked the door behind her.
Ivan remained wrapped in his mother’s protective embrace. Unable to hold back the dreadful feeling bubbling in his chest, he called out softly,
"Mother," his voice filled with worry.
"Hush, my child. Do not worry, Ivan. You are your mother’s strong boy, are you not? Promise me you will listen to me!" She spoke in a hurried, urgent whisper, her words barely cutting through the gloom of the dark room.
"I will, Mother," Ivan replied. His voice quivered as he stared into his mother’s beautiful, kind face with his large crimson eyes.
"My brave child," Irene whispered, caressing his head lovingly.
Suddenly, a violent commotion erupted outside the door.
Heavy, aggressive thuds echoed through the wood.
She looked at him with newfound intensity. "Hide! Hide now! Do not come out until I tell you so!" Her face looked pale and worried under the soft moonlight, yet her red eyes had turned fierce.
As the noise of breaking the wood grew louder, she urged, "Now, Ivan!"
Little Ivan was utterly worried but still scrambled away and hid inside a cupboard, listening to his mother’s command like a good boy. The cupboard door was slightly ajar, allowing him to see through the narrow cracks as his mother stood her ground.
She whirled around just as the doors burst open. Drawing a dagger, she faced the intruders and demanded in a commanding voice, "How dare you barge into my home! Who are you?!"
Ivan peered through the cracks, his molten red eyes searching for the ones his mother confronted. All he could see were several sinister, hooded figures surrounding her.
"Where is the boy, Queen Irene?" one of them hissed.
Anger surged through the Queen, her eyes glowing a deep, dangerous red. "You will never have him!" she declared. "Over my dead body!"
One of the figures erupted in a dark, mocking laugh at her threat. "Well, I guess you will have to go then."
"He must be hidden somewhere in this room," another hissed.
With a sudden movement, they raised their hands. A pulse of dark energy erupted from their palms, striking Irene with such force that her body collided violently with the floor.
She coughed up blood, her frame trembling as she struggled to stand. That was when her eyes fell upon the cupboard, meeting Ivan’s gaze through the narrow crack.
Seeing his mother in pain, Ivan began to step out, but she gave a discreet shake of her head. It was a silent, desperate reassurance telling him that she was fine.....a lie told to keep him safe.
Ivan’s small form shook with terror. Before his mother could pull herself up, one of the hooded figures materialized beside her. He raised a gleaming sword and drove it through her back.
Ivan watched as the blade pierced his mother brutally.
A soul-shattering scream tore from his throat. "Mother!"
The hooded figure’s head snapped towards the direction the scream had come from. Before anyone could rush to reach Ivan, his powers awakened for the very first time.
His eyes blazed like fire as he watched his mother collapse in agony, lying in a growing pool of her own blood.
Then the ground began to shake violently.
When Ivan’s stunned gaze shifted to the shadowy figure still holding the sword buried in her, something inside the five-year-old finally broke.
For the first time, true, consuming rage boiled through his veins, and he screamed, "I will kill you all!"
Then an enormous blast erupted through the chamber, engulfing everything in roaring flames before he could stop himself.
The last thing he saw was his mother’s blood-stained lips curving into a gentle smile. Her lips moved soundlessly, but Ivan understood.
"Do not blame yourself. Protect her."
Then she was swallowed by the fire.
The scene dissolved into darkness.
The next time his eyes opened, the little boy was lying limp on the pale, whitened ground.
Lifting his head, he saw white specks drifting through the air. Everything was dark, and as he looked up, he saw the open sky.
The first thought that entered his hazed mind was, ’Is it snowing?’
He reached out his small, trembling hand, expecting the cool, wet sensation of melting snow. Instead, the flakes felt like dust, crumbling away between his fingers.
He whispered a single word, "Ash?"
He looked around to see the moonlight falling upon him through the gaping hole where the walls of the chamber had once stood.
Beyond the ruins, the open sea stretched out into the distance. The remains of the broken structure were coated in thick soot, and the sky continued to rain grey cinders down upon him.
When he searched for his mother, he found only a hollow, terrifying emptiness.
"Mother?" he whispered.
"Mother, where are you?" he asked again, his voice trembling.
He tried to push himself up and walk through the rubble, but his small, weakened body collapsed. He had no energy left. Tears filled his eyes as panic began to rise, for he no longer heard his mother’s sweet voice answering him anymore.
"Mother!" he called again. He searched the rubble until he saw the broken pieces of a red stone glinting under the faint moonlight. It was the gem his mother always wore, now peeking out from beneath a heavy pile of ash.
The small child could not comprehend what had happened. Overwhelmed by a horror he was too young to name, he let out a blood-curdling cry.
"Mother!!!"
His cry was so raw, so filled with yearning and agony, that anyone who heard it would have felt their heart shudder in pain. He lost all track of time as he continued to scream and weep in despair.
Finally, his body could endure no more; he collapsed onto the ash-covered ground, falling into unconsciousness right where his mother had fallen.
