Chapter 1

It looked strange. The fast-fading day was not inviting the pitch darkness it always journeyed with and the smell of the atmosphere was full of a feminine fragrance, a fragrance Malin could almost tell he was familiar with but couldn't ascertain its origin. As he stood on the cliff to the left of the river that flew with lesser intensity than it always does, a man-like creature stood right over the river with his legs spread on either banks of the wide river. His head disappeared into the space, not by height but covered in an unfamiliar fog that hovered just above the swaying trees. His hands looked taller than usual for they stretched almost fifty metres from his body, floating above the river like tree branches. And as Malin moved as if preparing to run, fear having taken a toll on him, the creature made a sound, or so he thought. A scary sound that persuaded him to stay.

Hanging on the long stretched hands was a woman, a woman whose voice reminded him of a life he wasn't sure he had lived, a woman whose plea of help stabbed his heart with both guilt and a strong but weird concern. As the woman screamed and wailed beneath the strong grasp of the mighty creature, her body fully plunged into the cold river except for her head which was dipping in and out of the water every now and then, Malin reached for his arrow impulsively and aimed at the creature, targeting a head he couldn't see. But just as he fired the arrow, the river dried and the creature disappeared. The woman remained lain on a soft grassy ground that was surrounded by beautiful trees in a tranquil atmosphere.

He descended from the cliff and walked cautiously to the woman whose face he now remembered but whose name was still lost in the files of his memories. But as he moved closer so did the darkness of the night start to bite, the wind growing stronger and colder and the ground becoming softer and smoother. Then, he heard her voice. He was standing just a few feet from her but her voice seemed distant, coming from miles away. A voice with a pained message and looking at her, he shuddered in horror for the arrow he had shot was lodged in her chest, just above the space between her breasts, pinning her to the ground. He felt her pain almost immediately and rushed to help but when he touched her, she flew away from him in a white glowing robe, and like a bird she ventured into the space, flying graciously with a smile on her face.

Malin looked and wondered for a while but just responded with a smile, a smile to the familiar stranger who was flying and glowing in the dark like the moon he rarely saw. Then she called for him. At first, he took it as his imaginations but she called again. This time, her voice was different but still familiar. And he heard her voice in alternations, like a sound penetrating through a tunnel, coming inaudibly and with a struggle. It first reached him as a groan, then a scream followed by a short silence but it was the sound that followed next that awakened him, a strangled whisper from a familiar voice, "please, don't do this to me, I beg you.... please."

He listened for a while, confused whether it was all in his head, whether he was still dreaming but he heard it again, this time it was much clear and louder. He rolled from the bed instinctively, took out a pistol from his bed's drawer, and hurried towards the door, several thoughts crossing his mind. "Who would dare bring someone into the Seventh Estate alive?" He asked himself. But why did he care?

With the gun in his hands, he raced downstairs to the parking lot from where the sound had emanated. On reaching the parking lot, he found two men, members of the seventh Estate, his soldiers, and a woman whose voice had woken him up. She was tied to the pillars of the Seventh Estate, wearing only her underwear, her eyes filled with tears and terror, her stomach trembling, her feet weak seemingly from the long hours of struggle. Her chest pounding fast, her hands tied towards the back of the pillar, exposing her naked breast which pointed straight into the biting cold. Jeremy was touching her as she resisted helplessly while Negro pointed a gun at her, warning her against making any noise.

"What the hell is going on here," Malin inquired, trying to hide the disgust in his voice having hidden the gun in his polo sweater.

Startled, Jeremy sprung to his feet and turned to face Malin, "nothing much commander," he replied after a few moments of silence. "We just picked a package for the emperor and since her fate has already been decided we thought it wouldn't harm anyone to take advantage of the little time she has left."

"Was that part of the assignment?"

"No it wasn't but I believe there is nothing wrong with pleasuring oneself with a death-row prisoner, commander, is there?" Jeremy asked Malin teasingly.

"No," Malin answered, crossing his arms on his chest as he walked towards the girl in slow steps. "There is nothing wrong with that except that no such an incident has ever occurred within the vicinity of the Seventh Estate, leave alone bringing a victim here alive." Turning to Jeremy, his eyes fixed on the girl, "so tell me, Jeremy, what was the order? Were you told to bring her here alive? And why was I not informed?"

"The emperor ordered us to bring her alive and as for the reason why you were not informed, only the emperor can answer that commander," Negro interjected, getting pissed but remaining respectful to Malin. Turning to Jeremy, "now if you don't mind, and considering that this mission of pleasure is causing not so much happiness, can we just hand over the package to the emperor?"

"Just a moment," Malin interjected, "why does the emperor want the girl alive?"

"Listen, commander, the emperor is your father so why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"Take it easy Negro, I ..."

"Rub your sleepy eyes clear and look closely at the girl. If you manage to recognize her then you'll have the answer to your question." Negro retorted, untying the girl and throwing her clothes to her face.

Malin's face went blank, expressionless. The package was the princess of Palawa, the daughter and the only child of Queen Cindy. She was adored by the residents of the Palawa kingdom. He adored her too even though he had never gotten the privilege of meeting her in person. As she dressed up, he sympathized with her situation and wondered how she had ended up here, in the arms of death. There is nothing he could do to save her either, not until she is taken to the emperor and the emperor decides what to do with her. Maybe he just wanted to kidnap her and use her to force the queen into doing something.

A tall chocolate man, Malin was a handsome young man whose muscular and military body was both a reason for a beautiful wonder and deadly fears. His beards were trimmed to the front of his chin while his mustache that seemed to have just grown a few weeks ago, gave him a young baby-face look that assimilated beautifully with his masculine body. With a moderate body size, his shape rhymed well with his role as the commander of the Seventh Estate Army.

As a man, Malin was a kind-hearted gentleman who interacted well with people, caring and understanding. But all these attributes disappeared the moment one became an enemy or a target. He was a ruthless soldier who cared less about who died or why or how they died for as long as the order had been given by his father, the self-proclaimed emperor and the general leader of The Seventh Estate, Nicholas Ocholla. Malin could dine and celebrate with you today and slit your throat the next morning should your death warrant be signed by Nicholas. In times of war, it didn't matter to him how many people died for as long as they were on the side of the enemy. He carried his orders with such a brutal force that he was feared both by enemies and his soldiers and friends. Malin was a formidable force to reckon with. But today, he felt different, HE CARED.

He watched as Negro led the princess away into the Chambers of death as the fourth floor of the Seventh Estate was known. He said a silent prayer, hoping his father would show mercy and spare the life of the young princess. There was nothing he could do to help her. He only hoped that Nicholas had other ideas other than that of killing her. But when Nicholas showed up in the room, all his hopes were squashed in a matter of seconds. Nicholas wanted her dead.

Sweats. Droplets of hot salty water formed under his armpits as the heat within intensified. He tried to look calm, collected, and unaffected by what he termed as a reckless and heartless murder. If it happened. The room was cold, ice cold. The intensity of the increased rhythm of his heartbeats had warmed him, heated him. He balled his fingers into a fist, looking straight at the terrified eyes of the young princess sitting opposite to him on the sodden floor. He tried to battle the anger and the confused fury that was slowly building up in his chest. Approximately twenty-two years old, Malin imagined the numerous opportunities she had ahead of her. Opportunities and a life that had been doomed to end. Immaturely. He looked into her eyes and saw terror. Tears cascaded down her cheeks forming lines of twos and threes. Her hands tied behind her back, her mouth zipped, and forced to sit on the ice-cold floor, Revina was terrified to death, shivering, sweating, and shaking like a blade of grass.

It's not her fright that affected him. No. Malin had seen, experienced, and inflicted a lot of pain on people without an ounce of guilt or sorrow. That he cared about Revina's situation scared him. Why? Why would he care about a stranger? It didn't matter who Nicholas killed. It didn't matter either how or why he killed them. But this time it somehow mattered. For some strange reason, he cared for her. He listened painfully as Nicholas gave the order for her execution. She had seen too much. More than anyone who had been into the Seventh Estate. But that was not all. She was the daughter of Nicholas' eternal enemy, an enmity that had deeper roots than anyone could understand, an enmity that existed in every aspect of their lives. Revina, though unaware, had walked into her slaughter, lured into it by what she had called a moment of temporary madness, her failure to control her lust, her rush to become a woman, to feel what all the other girls around her always felt.

As the princess of the Palawa Kingdom and the only daughter of the god-like Queen Cindy, Revina had been kept away from the prying eyes of the men within the kingdom. She was as beautiful as the lovely queen. She had a moderate height, not short, not tall. Her skin was as light as that of an Arab with dark natural hair that complimented her beautiful face beautifully. She had a gap between her two front teeth with stunning dimples on either cheek. She was slender and had a beautiful and attractively well-curved back that made a lot of men salivate for just a piece of her glory. She was beautiful from both the front and behind.

As the princess of Palawa Kingdom, she was both adored by both the nobles and commoners, male or female. Her mother, the queen, had made sure that men both respected and feared her, and those whose lust or feelings had brought closer to the princess had paid dearly. As a result, nobody dared to get close to her, something she hated for she always envied her friends and maids who had one or two boyfriends at any given time. She had almost given up on men for they feared her like death itself. But they also adored her, loved her, and longed for her. Secretly.

When on this day she managed to get out and go for a party, though under tight security, and an irresistibly good-looking Jeremy approached her, she decided to try everything and become a woman. What happened next was something she never expected, something that scared her and is still scaring her. When she realized the kind of mess she had gotten into, she tried to escape. She was too late.

To Malin's right stood Jeremy, a tall dark, and handsome man whose charm had lured Revina into the mess she found herself in. Jeremy was attractive. Most ladies like tall and dark men but very few of them could even dream of Jeremy. He was the complete package. He had a soothingly seductive voice, attractive and compellingly sexy eyes. When he looked at a woman in the eyes, she felt warm as if he was looking into her soul, breaking all her defenses. However, his beauty notwithstanding, Jeremy had a heart of ice. The perfect and secret weapon that Nicholas loved the most. A beautiful seducer of women into death. A useful monster.

Malin and Jeremy were not the best of friends but they had mutual respect. The man standing to Malin's left was a different story. Negro, a short dark, and scary man, with a flat nose, a slightly protruding belly, and sturdy hands, loved the adrenaline in action, in war. He had the thinnest of patience and was quicker to anger than anyone in the Seventh Estate. He was loved by the Emperor, Nicholas, for his daredevilry. Unlike Jeremy who loved women (though he shot them in the eyes after romancing them), Negro hated women of whatever race or color. Tell him to kill a woman and he would dig out her heart in a flash.

Nicholas, the Emperor of the Seventh Estate, an organization that reigned upon the city as if it were the government, stood facing his soldiers, asking them who would carry out the order and bring him Revina's head and heart. He wanted to surprise the queen. It had been long since she last received a gift from him. Their rivalry was centuries deep. While Nicholas had concealed the identity of his son, Malin, from the rest of the world, making him the leader of his army as a perfect disguise, Cindy made the mistake of making her daughter known to the world, to Nicholas Ocholla. She was going to pay, to mourn, and to cry, if she still had tears.

Malin's heartbeats intensified, his confusion shaped into hot flames of anger. His eyes closed as his hands reached for the gun he had hidden in his black polo sweater. He felt his pulse, his breathing heightened. He couldn't let this happen, no matter what. He had to save her from his father's insanity. When his right hand had a firm grip on the gun, he swiftly moved to Nicholas' side, flashing out the gun and training it at his father's forehead, his eyes reddened with terror and fury. "STOP!" he ordered, holding the gun with both hands.

Nicholas froze. Malin was not just a soldier, he was the smartest of all of the Seventh Estate soldiers. Being the emperor's only son, he was trained from the age of six. He knew how to use all sorts of weapons. With a gun he was a sharpshooter, never wasted a bullet. He was the most dangerous swordsman in the army, the blades blended perfectly with his temper, respecting his every command. The arrows, however, were his best weapons. He could shoot a target behind a bend with absolute precision as if the arrows and the wind were in sync with his wish. No one in the Seventh Estate could dare face him in physical combat. He was not just skilled, he was a ruthless beast who could break all your bones with just one blow.

"You have to stop this now. I'm a very sorry father but I can't let you kill her," Malin said, his voice menacing. Nicholas looked at him, silent for a couple of moments, unsure of what to tell him or what had gotten over him.

"What's wrong with you Malin?" He finally asked in a low and surprised voice.

"There is nothing wrong with me. I've seen enough of your killings and this has to stop, today. This young woman still has a lot of opportunities in life and you can't take that away from her, I can't let you do that. She has done absolutely nothing wrong to you."

"Are you going to stop me?" Nicholas retorted, his voice slightly rising, his composure regained. Jeremy and Negro inched closer to Malin, anticipating an order from Nicholas to take Malin out. They could do nothing until the order was given since Malin was the prince. "Tell me something Malin, since when did you start caring about this kind of people? How many have you fallen with your arrows, your blades, or your bullets? Why didn't you think of the lives they had ahead of them or were they already dead and decaying when you slashed their throats?" He asked, his temper rising. "Is she special because she is a princess?"

Malin felt his stomach twitch, his knees wobbled and a shivering pain ran down his spine. His father was right. He never cared. No one in the Seventh Estate ever did. But now, he felt the pains of every one of his victims. Their anguish before they gulped their last breath, the fear in their eyes, their pleas for mercy. He never cared, never sympathized, or considered their age or gender. But today, all their torments, melancholy, and pain sent a quiver of stinging pain into his chest, his heart ached for them. He felt their pain and wished it was all a dream, that it had always been a dream. But he was a soldier and soldiers followed orders. All those deaths had been sanctioned and ordered by his father, he never acted on his own. However, even that knowledge didn't offer him much solace, didn't take away his guilt.

"You may be a right father. I have done a lot of terrible things at your command. I have never cared just like you said. But that doesn't mean I can't care, that doesn't mean you can't care either. I know what I have done before today and trust me, father I never imagined a day would come when I could feel this much pain in my heart, not only for the princess you intend to kill but also for those whose lives I have taken." Removing the gun from his father's face and pointing at Revina with his left hand while holding the gun next to his right thigh, he said in a calm but pleading voice, his anger receding, "you have to let her go, father, I beg of you. Let her be the first person you ever cared for or the first you ever let go. Please, father, I have never asked you for such a thing in my entire life, but just this once, please heed my plea."

Nicholas stepped back, looked at his son, and then at the princess held by the corner of the house. He didn't feel anything, not compassion, not pity. It would be a sign of weakness to let her go. Even worse, she already knew too much, the Identity of Malin, the Seventh Estate headquarters, the faces of some of his soldiers. No. Revina can't walk out alive. The mere fact that he held her hostage itself was enough to spark a war with Cindy. He wanted war with Cindy, he loved fighting with her but not this way. His pride would be wounded and Cindy would capitalize on that. If Cindy knew about Malin she would show no mercy. He couldn't risk that. Cindy's daughter had to die.

"I'm sorry son, but I can't grant your request. Ask me anything but this. This girl, if freed, will bring our downfall, my downfall. She knows too much already and what she knows puts all of us in danger, mostly you. I'm sorry son but I can't honor your request." Turning to Negro, " bring me her heart", he ordered as he's turned his back to Malin.

Malin felt something strange forcing itself into his chest, something cold and slithery. He quickly removed his polo sweater and tore open his shirt like a mad man to remove whatever it was, but he couldn't. They all watched with gapped mouths, wondering whether Malin was completely losing his head. As far as they were concerned, Malin had shown signs of madness by trying to challenge Nicholas.

Revina, whose fright and pain had greatly subsided because of Malin's stance, watched in shock. He was her only hope. That he could challenge his father for her surprised her and strengthened her resolve to survive. She just didn't know how she was going to do it until he intervened. But now Malin was acting strange and she was getting desperate and confused. Her body was cold but somehow she started to feel warm. "Strange," she thought. She looked at Malin's open chest and thought she saw something like a flash of light emanating from his chest. Surprised, she looked again keenly, just to be sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her, but she saw it. The light was within his chest. Revina looked at everybody to see whether there was the same shock on their faces but no, nothing except Negro's murderous gaze at her. They either didn't see it or they were used to it.

The slithering stopped but Malin felt heavy on his chest. Something had entered him, he knew it, he could feel it. He just didn't know what it was. When he saw Negro moving towards Revina, he raised his gun and shot at the ceiling. Nicholas turned, shocked as Negro remained rooted where he was as if he had been welded to the floor. Jeremy scampered towards Nicholas in fright. Malin was never known for wasting a bullet. The next target was going to be one of them.

"One more move and I will burry all the bullets in the barrel of this gun into your skull," he threatened Negro who looked more terrified than Revina. Malin was a man of his word and his voice suggested he meant all of it. Turning to his father, " like I said father, this girl is leaving this place alive. I made a request which you declined but now am not requesting. Anybody who wants to kill her is going to do so through me." Turning to Negro, who was already sweating all over, "are you willing to dance with me Negro?"

"Do not take it personally Malin, I... I'm just following orders," Negro responded in a trembling voice.

"Well, it's time to reconsider. Let me give you another option, soldier. As the commander of the Seventh Estate army, I command you to untie the captive, unzip her mouth and bring her to me." Looking straight at his father's face but still addressing Negro, he added, "can I count on your obedience, soldier?"

"I'm so sorry commander but your order is inferior to the emperor's, I hope you understand my decision to disobey your command," Negro responded, threading his words with at most respect while standing straight at attention.

"I'm sorry to soldier but your disobedience is not understood. It was nice working with you, soldier." And with that, he splattered Negro's head on the floor with one gunshot.

Nicholas spun on his feet, anger boiling inside him, his eyes turning darker as the internal dark rage started to build up. "Why! Why! MALIN! DAMN YOU!" Nicholas shouted. This was rebellion. This was insubordination. This was treason. Malin was his son, yes but he had no right to do what he just did. He stumbled on a piece of wood and almost fell, his anger having intoxicated him. The consequences of Malin's action were nothing less than death. But how could he kill his only son? His flesh? He looked at Jeremy, the scarred soldier who was looking up to him for help. He tried with all his will and might to subdue the dark rage from taking over him but he couldn't. The atrocious action of Malin challenged his royalty. Malin had to be punished to maintain the balance. But the punishment he deserved was one that Nicholas Ocholla was reluctant to administer. But he had no option for his will was nothing compared to the dark rage in him.

Jeremy was the first to scream as he dashed away from Nicholas, or the person he thought was Nicholas. Malin froze, his feet wobbled, his fingers loosened their grip on the gun as the gun fell on the floor. He staggered towards Revina, not sure of what he was doing or where he was. Regina groaned, trying to scream through the gag in her mouth. She trembled, turned, and tried to stand on her feet, to run. But she was too weak or too scared to even stand, long hours of sitting on the sodden floor taking a toll on her. If Nicholas scared him, the monster he had turned into numbed her with terror.

Nicholas' face was covered in total darkness, his head a crown that glowed in the alternation of red and blue, his eyes burning flames of blood, his body covered in grey hair with the thickness of animal fur but longer. He had grown in a matter of seconds from merely over five feet to over seven feet, his body size bulged.

"You may be my son Malin, but your treasonous action against the emperor and the crown is only punishable by death." he said, his voice deep, cold and signaling horror, reverberating across the room, shaking the house like an earthquake. Jeremy ran towards the door, trying to escape from the monster but with just one flip of a finger, Nicholas threw him to the ceiling and when he fell onto the floor, he was fleshless a skeleton. "Nobody witnesses the crown and lives to tell the tale, not even you commander. If you had only followed my orders and not rebelled against the crown, all this could have been avoided."

"Who...who are you?" Malin stammered, fear written all over his face. He had moved to just three feet from Revina. This was not his father. Nicholas may have been heartless and ruthless but he was a normal human being, not this monstrous seven feet tall creature looking at him like a doll.

"My name is Prince Nicadeaus Ochondrion, the second in line to the Royal Throne of Dalawa. You challenged that line and my position among the royalty and I have to protect it even from my son by my oath as a prince of the Dalawa empire."

"What have you done to my father, Nicholas? I'm the one who disobeyed, not him."

"I am he. In this world and for your likes I'm Nicholas Ocholla, your father, but in my world, I am Prince Nicadeaus, a fugitive from my father, the Great Emperor, Micaleaon Ochondrion."

Malin tripped on Revina and fell on her. In the confusion and fear, he had not noticed her since the monster was moving towards him in slow strides and he kept moving backward, trying to keep his distance. Regina groaned, trying to wiggle away from his heavy body.