Saving The Abandoned Empress

In the past, Eleanora was only ten when she first had a crush on him. At twelve, she realised her feelings for Cathain.

At Sixteen, she knew she was in love with him.

All her life she had grown up believing that he would be her one day, hoping she would make him proud.

She was groomed, controlled, and moulded to become the perfect empress from the moment she was born.

She remembered when she first felt their magic bond connecting them together after her coming of age ceremony.

It was like the air around him shimmered, beckoning her forward, demanding that she gravitate around him.

Pulling her towards him like a magnate.

In the world of darkness, he was the only shiny person to her, who could save her, complete her.

.....

If she focused enough, she could even still recall how his skin felt on her; like tiny sparks of pleasure wherever it touched even if it was rough.

He was a strong, an incredible leader, a capable emperor who had everything that no one else had accomplished.

She stood beside him and felt proud on him, she wanted him to feel the same way for her as she does for him.

She worked hard and hard to get his attention, a little bit of warmth.

Those were the good memories of Cathain, that Eleanora buried deep down in her heart.

So why was her mind surfacing this now? Maybe she was trying to justify to herself that at one point in her life I’d wanted this.

That the old Eleanora would have revelled in this moment. To hear him confessing his love to her.

She wants to hate but can’t... Doesn’t want to love but have to do it for her gain.

So what did she want now?

...Did her wants even matter anymore? What choice was there if it was this or war?

As a duchy princess, she won’t have much authority to investigate the past or stop the war from happening, that she will have as a crown princess.

Realising this, Her eyes suddenly become gentle as she smiled at him warmly.

Cathain’s eyes widened and his heart started to beat fast. This is the exact smiling face he have seen in his memory right now.

She was finally willing to smile brightly at him, like she did for Ain.

But... her disgust can’t be hidden in those deep blue eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide.

The smile she showed to Ain was genuine, there was no hidden intention or hatred on them.

She never pretended infront of Ain. She trusts and believes in Ain, like the way she hates Cathain.

Cathain let out a heavy breathe before he smiled at her too.

‘Even if you lie, I want to believe it like truth.

Even if i know, but i want to turn a blind eyes to the truth and believe in you like a fool.’

“Eleanora, it’s only fair if you let me know your concerns... at least let me know the reason for you being like this...”

Cathain’s grip over her shoulder momentary loosen before it tighten again.

‘No matter what it is... i will believe you... fix it... but i can’t let you go...’

Hearing him saying about fair, Eleanora sneered. His words struck a nerve, igniting her inner emotions once again despite her trying so hard to supress it.

But one final piece inside her still cared about how he would react if he knows the truth.

“Fair?” Eleanora spoke in a low voice.

“Cathain De Valerian Valentino, You want to talk about fair with me? You find my disgust and hatred so intolerable... but in fact, i lived with it my whole life...”

Cathain become dumbstruck, does she mean the memory of their past life? But even if he was a little indifferent to her, he never once hate her.

Eleanora heaved a heavy sigh and run her fingers into her hair.

“Agh! Am sick of whatever this is...”

Eleanora’s eyes once again become emotionless as she looked at him.

“This version of yours, who is goddamn unpredictable that i feel as though everything i learnt the first time around is completely meaningless.

You make me feel like the past me was useless. The living hell i went through for years, living in your indifference and hatred, silent abuses, taking me for granted... now you talk about ‘fair’ with me?”

Eleanora stopped on her words to observe his emotion, who wasn’t getting a single thing she was saying.

“Ele...”

Cathain opened his mouth but except her name, not a single word came out. He didn’t understand what she was saying but for the first time, he saw the truth in her eyes.

The raging hatred in those emotionless eyes wasn’t a lie...

Was the memory he saw, incomplete? But it didn’t seem so... it feels like both of them are talking about to opposite memories.

Seeing him not responsing, Eleanora let out a low grin as she tucked herself into the blanket.

‘You think you can fool me like before into believing you? Am not that dumb anymore, whose life revolved around only you...’

Despite doing everything, she couldn’t get his love but now he says he loves her?

She can forgive...but not forget.

Cathain kept on sitting in the bed and after some time, when he heard a stable breathing, he sighed.

‘Finally she fall asleep...’

He slowly laid down beside her and kept staring at her back, which was facing him.

At that time, He didn’t had the courage to lay down beside her again after hearing her words.

So, he awaited for her to fall asleep first. Cathain kissed her silver hair and sighed inside.

There are too many puzzles that he need to solve.

‘The answer lays in my heart...’

Cathain finally understood the meaning of this, the ultimate answer and the main mystery of this puzzle is no one else...

...But Eleanora.

She is the only one who can solve and complete this puzzle of mystery.