Burned

Burned at the stake. I never thought that would happen to me. As a legitimate heir to the throne, I had seen this occur a thousand times. Never had I experienced it so close. I could smell the hay surrounding me. It reminded me of when I would visit the palace farms. Such a beautiful place... That doesn't matter now, though. Today, I'll get the punishment I have so long deserved. How did everything begin? We could say in my underground mansion.

1 week ago

"...and that's how I killed them." Theo said as he finished his story. We were sitting in one of the many rooms in my grand estate. It was a fantastic place. Every bedroom had iron bars surrounding it. Room service would bring you food even if you didn't order it, and there were chains all over. The only unfortunate thing was that we could never get out. The security guards would kill us. By we, I mean me and my many guests. They had all kinds of backgrounds. Some serial killers, others were robbers, drug dealers, assassins. I would learn much from their stories. They were the best. You could even make a book. About horror, I mean. "Don't you love how we get to stay in this enormous house?" I ask Theo, a psychopathic smile surrounding my features. "You know this is a dungeon, right?" He says with a dead*ss face. "No, silly, this isn't a prison. We are here on a vacation!" I say. The same smile on my face. "Stop playing stupid and wipe that f*cking smile off your face." Theo says as he leaves. Of course, I knew. How couldn't I? It's not like I was retarded. This place was obviously a prison, but if I admitted that out loud... I wouldn't be able to control it. There is still some time to wait. I can't risk going crazy now. I am going to kill them all! My own mother and father had put me in this hell hole. I was sure gonna get them back. How dare they?! I loved them. Did everything they wanted, and then one day, they threw me in here. No reason, no explanation, no anything! At least they hadn't chained me to a wall like many others. I could still roam around the place and visit my buddies. It has been a year since the event, and I'm friends with everyone here. If I went to the past and told myself that I would be friends with the worst people on Earth, she would have said, "Hell, no!". Now that I'm here, though, it's different. I can see their reasons. Why they did it. I ...understand...them. Yes! That's it. Now that I know their stories I can't help but sympathize with them. If everyone were here with me, they would do so too. I'm going to use everything they taught me and get revenge. For all of us! We deserve to be free!

"How's my favorite assassin in the whole world?" I say, entering Ary's room. "Come on, Blair. I know you say that to every professional killer in here." She says, rolling her eyes. I tackle her. Starting a tickling session. "Hahaha...Hahaha...ok...Blair...stop...I know I'm your favorite..." She says laughing. "I thought so. Anyways, are you ready?" I say. Excitement seeping through. Tomorrow she was going to help me break out. "Yes, your highness." Ary says, a smirk on her face. I know she's joking. I know that she just wants to tease me. Yet, I can't help my face turning into a deep scowl. She knows how much I hate being called that. And she still does it. "Control yourself, Blair." I say to myself, trying to suppress my impulses.

I'm sure you are wondering how I'm friends with a bunch of people that would have killed me on the first day. Well, there are two reasons for that. One, it is strictly prohibited to kill me. I'm sure the first one doesn't matter much, though. Two, dominance. On my second day here, I broke havoc. Destroyed half the prisoners. I was going to stay here forever, so why not let my rage out?

I look up and see the shaken look in Ari's eyes. Ohhh. I made that face again, didn't I? My 'monster face' as the others call it. "Sorry, Blair. Shouldn't have called you that." She says fear and guilt written on her face. "Yeah, right, you shouldn't have!" I start in a stern tone, "though it doesn't matter. We are friends, right?" The fear disappears from her features leaving an ecstatic Ary. "Yeah! BFF!" She says, eyes watered. Poor girl... She had never had friends before.

When she was 7 her parents had sold her to a terrorist group. They needed money for their drugs. There, she was received with the harshest training and company. No wonder she ended up being like this. Everyone here has a similar background. They didn't choose to be 'bad' people the world made them so. "Before we get off-topic, here." Ary says as she gives me the object that will deactivate the electric walls. "Thank you so much. You guys sure are the best!" I say while hugging her. "No worries. Remember 12 am sharp. We'll cover for ya." She says before we give our goodbyes. Tomorrow will mark history. Imagine the headlines, 'Imprisoned princess comes back to take her throne!'

"Tic, Tic, Tic" Today is the day. I deactivate the walls. Everyone starts attacking the guards. Perfect. Running up to the entrance, I meet the last guard. Mom and Dad really wanted to keep us in, huh? He tried to punch me, but I quickly dodge and hit him in the stomach. Things go on like this for a couple minutes 'till I tire of torturing the poor guy and knock him out. Guess they never predicted we would get past the gates.

I'm out! Everything is exactly like I remembered. The sweet-smelling flowers. The women's elegant dresses. All the different places to eat. It was lovely. Tears slipped down my eyes. All the memories I made here. Aghh.It hurts. Why? Every time I try to remember, the pain comes back. I decide not to pay it much attention.

My eyes switch to the castle. It was in the middle of the city. Tall and strong. I enter through one of the hidden passageways. They should have repaired this, anyone could get inside! Not like they knew, though. Only me and ... ugh again. What the hell? It's like my brain won't let me remember that person.

As I walk inside, I find the room I have been looking for. Mom's room. Queen's Ragelia's bedroom. I find her brushing her hair, back facing the door. This is the perfect opportunity. I grab my dagger and run straight there. However, first, I must make this fun! I turn her to face me while covering her mouth. She immediately recognizes me. I can see it in her eyes, and I can also see something else. Guilt?

"Talk, but don't you dare scream. We don't want anyone coming do we?" I say threateningly. She nods, and I take off my hand. "Blair. Oh, my dear Blair. You have changed so much." Mom says. "How couldn't I after you left me with a bunch of criminals?" I retort, hate seeping through my words. "I'm so sorry, but we had to..." She says, tears appearing in her eyes. "Had to what? Leave me there to die." I uttered. "No, they would get killed if they did anything to you. We love you." She responds, sadness written on her features. Is she trying to play me or something? "Don't start! You know they don't care about that! You know what? I'm bored talking to you." I say, raising the dagger and launching it towards her heart. There I see it. I know that teddy bear. Big bro got it for me. Wait, big bro? I never had a brother. The tag on it says 'to my dear sis for her birthday' All the memories come back to me.

The knife drops to the ground. I killed him... No!!! I loved him! Why would I do that? I let my anger seep through and killed him. I'm so sorry, Andrew. I didn't mean it...I didn't want to. I promise.

My knees buckle, falling. The tears won't stop coming. "Did I really...?" I ask. I cannot even say the word out loud. "You remembered, didn't you?... Yes, you did." She starts looking down. "We didn't want to have to kill you, so we hid you with the other refugees in the dungeon." What? How could I be so stupid not to think about it? Killing and robbery are sentenced to death. Ary isn't being punished. She's being given a second chance. In some weird way, I mean.

"Why did I forget?" I ask, looking straight into her brown orbs. "I know you already figured it out, Blair. We erased them. We didn't want to see that hopeless look in your eyes..." Mom said as she embraced me into a tight hug.

After that, she wanted to send me to my uncle's kingdom. Where I could take refugee 'til the people forgot what happened, but I denied. I wanted to be punished for my actions.

That's how I ended here. The prosecutor lighted the hay, and I felt it as it burned through my clothes. The pain, unbearable. Still, it couldn't begin to calm the suffering the truth had given me. I had killed the person I loved the most, and now I had to pay for it.