Chapter 22

The ride back to the palace was a long and agonizingly quiet one for Revina whose heart was yearning for explanations from Malin. She wanted to understand how he could have easily forgotten about her and ran into the arms of Pell. Had he lied to her when he said he loved her too? No. She saw the truth and the sincerity in his eyes when he said he felt the same way too. So how could he have easily betrayed her with Pell so quickly? How could he have easily forgotten about their kiss? Didn't it mean anything to him? Was he just playing with her feelings?

As they entered the main gate of the palace, the people who were waiting for their hero despite not knowing who he really was, raptured into celebrations as songs and praises for the unknown hero filled the air. Malin's heart was filled with utmost joy as he smiled appreciatively with them. But what excited him even more was the wide happy smile on Pell's face. It was more than enough for Malin to know that Pell, the love of his life, appreciated his heroics. He would do anything for her to make sure that her beautiful smile never dies, never fades. He just met her but to him, he felt like he had always known her and always loved her. What he couldn't understand however, was why it took him so long to realize that she was the right woman for him. He looked at her blonde face, her well placed nose and the dimple on her face and felt erotic provocation when he saw the gap between her two front teeth. How could he have not met her before? What more could a man ask for in a woman other than a goddess who was crafted with utmost godliness!

The palace was teeming with people, both royals and commoners. The news of the attempted belligerent power takeover had spread like a wild fire and the royalties had traveled to the palace within no time as if they had prepared for that event. The former emperor and the father of the current Emperor, Royal Dulatap, was among the first royals who had found their way into the palace. He wanted to be with his son during this trying times. Prince Mamadu was his son too but the envy and the jealousy he always had for Micaleaon drove him away from his father. Royal Dulatap knew of this envy for it started during his reign.

The envy slowly and gradually turned into hate and even when Dulatap was still the Emperor, he had seen a dangerous rage feel his son's heart. He had not taken it into much consideration then, especially after the Noble war. Prince Mamadu had shown respect for his brother who was the crown prince since that fight and Dulatap believed his son had a change of heart. But the events of the recent past that culminated into the attempted overthrowal of Micaleaon from power by Mamadu had proven to Dulatap otherwise, that Mamadu only suppressed his hatred. The envy and everything else just remained, secretly hidden in the recesses of his heart.

Royal Dulatap embraced the Emperor when the Emperor rode into the palace, trembling with mixed emotions. Micaleaon had always loved his father. He had learnt and copied everything from him. Dulatap was not only his father, he was his best friend, his idol, his mentor. He had even tried to amend the laws of Dalawa that outlawed former emperors from staying in the palace or even in the capital city. He wanted to stay next to his god but his father objected saying that such an act would alter the balance of the royal family. He didn't understand his father's reasoning but he respected his opinion and didn't change the law. But today he wished he did. Maybe with his father by his side, prince Mamadu couldn't have done what he did. But what is done is done. He couldn't undo Mamadu's death neither could he undo his actions. He wished he couldn't say this but now he believed Mamadu's death was not just good riddance but the best thing that could ever happen during his reign. Mamadu had tormented him quite enough. His terror was eventually gone with his death and the Prime City would finally know peace again.

Malin, Revina and Pell were not allowed to enter the courtroom. Malin may have killed the terrorist but the victory belonged to the Emperor. He was taken to a chamber that was formerly occupied by Kamau, Nicadeaus' former best friend who was beheaded on suspicion that he was an accomplice to Nicadeaus' crimes. Revina was put in a chamber opposite to Malin's while Pell was placed under tight security in a cell underneath the palace. It was only Lord Parafon who was allowed to join the Emperor in the courtroom.

While the merriment was going on in the palace Malin started to feel betrayed. He started to feel anger and fury building up in his chest. The kind of anger he felt when he rescued Revina from his father, the kind of fury he felt when he was attacked by an enemy in his own territory. He killed Prince Mamadu and deserved to be recognized as the hero, not be hidden as the villain. "Why would the Emperor take all the credit for what he did absolutely nothing about?" he wondered. At least he deserved some respect, some recommendations. The Emperor could say he is one of his new recruits into the Royal Army and still take credit for the victory while appreciating the real hero in the process. But what he was doing was unfair, taking away all his happiness. The Emperor was humiliating him. Pell loved him only because he was a hero. What will she do now that the Emperor was being crowned the hero? She might break up with him and call him a fraud. He couldn't bear that, not at all. He had to do something to prove to Pell that he was the hero, the real hero and that the Emperor was just an opportunistic fraud who was using his position as the Emperor to humiliate him by taking full recognition for his victory.

He decided to head to the courtroom and tell everybody the truth, that he was the hero, that he was a prince, the son of Prince Medan. It was time all the secrets came out into the the light. The people needed to know who he was so that they could direct all the plaudits to the right person. He walked to his door and jerked it open and stormed out of the room. He was going to humiliate the Emperor just the same way he was humiliating him. He couldn't just allow him to hide him from the praises while he bathed in them despite being just a spectator to the victory. Unfortunately, Revina stormed out of her room at the exact same time he did and blocked his way with tears dropping from her eyes.

She got tired and could not wait any longer. The uncertainty was killing her. She wanted him to say it, to say whether he really loved her or Pell, to tell her whether all he had previously told her were just lies that he was using to bamboozle her. She wanted to believe that Malin was not Jeremy, that he didn't take advantage of her feelings for him to use her like Jeremy did. Even though she didn't love Jeremy as much as she loved Malin, she actually never loved Jeremy at all, the similarities in their actions was beginning to tear her apart. She needed assurance that Malin's heart was not that cold, not like Jeremy's.

"What's wrong, why are you blocking my way?" Malin asked, his movements showing a huge lack of patience. He didn't want to delay any longer. The royals or whoever they were needed to know the truth of who he was. The useless emperor was not going to steal his victory from him.

"Are you going to her?" Revina asked in an emotionally trembling voice.

"To who?" he asked confusedly. He couldn't understand why Revina was behaving like she was or why she was crying.

"You know who I am talking about Malin," she replied, wiping her tears from her eyes with her left hand. "Was it just a joke to you Malin, was I just a game?"

"What on earth are you talking about Revina?" Malin asked, genuinely surprised by Revina.

Revina felt like a storm had just been unleashed in her heart. She felt as if she was drowning. Malin's question confirmed all her fears and her heart was breaking into smaller pieces. But she needed to be strong. She needed to hear him say it.

"So it's true then. I was just a game to you?" she asked in a painfully forced polite and calm tone.

"I'm sorry Revina but I don't understand anything you are saying. What do you mean you are just a game to me? How can you ever say that Revina?" he asked as he put his hand on her shoulders.

"Then tell me what I am to you Malin. How can you kiss me and tell me that you love me and in just a matter of minutes you are kissing that bitch like i never even existed. Like we never kissed. Why Malin, why?"

"Wait, have you been to the party downstairs? Did you drink too much alcohol? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Do you want to deny it Malin, huh? We caught you red-handed with her and had we not arrived at the time we did maybe you could have..." her voice thinned as she held her face into her palms. Even imagining what could have happened had they not arrived early enough was almost giving her a heart attack.

"Oh! Is that what got you so upset? You don't like Pell? Is that why you are crying, just because you don't like Pell?

"What are you talking about Malin?" Revina asked, shocked by his response.

"I love Pell if that's what you would love to know," he replied as he moved away from her to his door. "I thought you would be happy for us Revina, not..."

"What?"

"Yes you should be because I'm your..."

"Because you are my what Malin? You kissed me and told me you love me. You made me believe everything you ..."

"Have you gone mad?" he shouted at her. "When did I ever tell you something like that? Are you trying to cause problems between me and Pell? What if she hears this nonsense you are talking about?"

Revina's eyes goggled in shock. Could it be that Malin was playing games with her or he didn't really remember? Did she dream the whole thing or was it all in her fantasies? How could Malin have completely forgotten everything within such a short spun of time. Looking at his eyes she saw the confusing truth, the sincerity in his eyes spoke of a man completely surprised and bewildered by what she was saying. But how could that be?

"What, you don't remember?" she finally asked, unsure of what answer to except or hope for.

"What don't I remember Revina? You are my best friend, how could I do all those things you are saying to you? What you are saying just never happened and it will be great if you don't make up stories and try to cause problems between Pell and I. I love her so much and I would really appreciate your support as a friend."

"Malin I'm not crazy and I'm not making up stories. What I'm telling you is true and even Lord Parafon was there when it happened, you can ask him if you want. You really said you love..."

"Stop. I said no such thing Revina. I know Lord Parafon has a problem with his daughter and if he sent you here to make up stories then I'm sorry but your plans won't work. I said no such thing. But if by any tragic bad luck I said what you are claiming I said, then I must have lied."

Revina fell dejectedly to her knees, confused and hurting beyond bearing. She meant nothing to him, absolutely nothing. He lied to her, he fooled her. How could she be fooled twice in such a short time? How could she believe Malin was different when he was the commander of the army in which Jeremy was just a soldier? How could she believe he was different when his own father, Nicholas, was the the monster that mired Palawa Kingdom in constant chaos. She must have been more than a fool to believe in him, to trust him with all her heart. Even as a princess, she was still dumb enough to fall to a cunning seduction.

But this was different, this was real and this hurt more. She loved Malin with all her life, she loved him with her everything. How would she move on, how would she bear the pain of losing him to another woman, how would she bear his rejection. This was a completely new world to her, where will she run to, who will help her broken heart to recover, who will console her troubled mind. She wished things were different, wished she hadn't met Malin, wished she hadn't fallen so madly in love with him. She wished her mother, Cindy, was here with her, she longed for her comfort. It didn't matter what Lord Parafon said about her. Cindy was her mother and she had always loved her. She couldn't just let her suffer. She was her mother, her family. If only there was a way of heading back to Palawa Kingdom, even if it meant losing everything, she would take it for she had already lost her everything. It would be better to be killed by an enemy than to heartbroken and killed by sorrow.

An arm raised her up from the ground where she had bent, weeping. She staggered to her feet and through the specs of her teary eyes, she saw a blurry image of a man trying to embrace her, to comfort her. She pushed him away, not knowing who he was but when she wiped off her tears and realized it was Lord Parafon, she ran to his arms and cried on his shoulders. The high priest tried to soothe her, to console her and to plead with her to take it easy, but her pain was overwhelming. She was inconsolable. In her pain and in her cries, she fell asleep on Lord Parafon's shoulder, her tears having wetted his royal robe. Lord Parafon carried her to her room and laid her on the bed. She was too tired too after missing sleep for a while now."Poor girl," Lord Parafon pitied her.

"What have you done to her?" he asked Malin who stood by the door of his room unconcerned by what Revina was going through. According to him, she was putting up a show and crying crocodile tears.

"Nothing," he replied flatly. "I just told her that the plan the two of you have of separating Pell and I is not going to work, that's all."

"What plan are you talking about?"

"Don't play innocent with me Lord because there is nothing you or anyone else can do to separate me from Pell, nothing."

"Ok," Lord Parafon said. "Nothing or no one will separate you, not even me. But does that mean you have to make Revina cry that much? Don't you have any feelings... sorry... don't you have any pity or sympathy for her?"

"She was just putting up a show. I wasn't going to fall for her melodrama. She is my best friend but she tried to play a very sick game which, by the way, I believe you took part in crafting. Why should I care about how she feels when she doesn't care about how I feel?"

"And how do you feel Malin?"

"I feel happy around Pell, I feel alive when I'm with her. I love her so much and if only you and Revina could just see what an amazing person she is..."

"For how long have you known her to know how 'amazing' she is?"

"I don't need to know her for long to understand what a goddess she is. Love comes in different ways sir and whoever that plane of love lands on, it doesn't matter how long you've known them, it only matters how happy you are and will be with that person. I know you and Pell have a bad history but that's just too bad because she is just such a sweet person Lord Parafon."

"And do you know why Pell and I have a bad history?"

"No I don't and I don't want to know. For all it takes, I just want to be with her and you are not going to stop me. Besides, I didn't fall in love with her history, I fell in love with her present and our future together so please, you and Revina just need to accept it and move on."