Chapter 27

Malin woke with a start, droplets of sweat formed on his nose. He had been dreaming, a dream he didn't like it's outcome. He found Jonathan standing by the door inside his chambers, looking at him like a father would a young son. His aching head couldn't let him concentrate. The dream he just had was disturbing and complicated. He was always a dreamer and he had seen many faces of horrible beasts in his dreams before. But this was different for he did not only leave his body, he entered another body. He became Prince Medan.

Jonathan walked to him and asked in a calm friendly voice, "are you ok my friend?"

"Yes, I guess so," he answered as he sat by the edge of the bed, unaware of his surroundings.

"Well, you don't look it man, is there a problem," Jonathan asked, concerned.

"I just have a headache but it's nothing serious, I'll be ok. I must have slept too much. What's the time?" Malin asked as he got up from the bed to look out through the only window of his chambers. He was however disappointed to only see the insides of what looked to him like a hall. He had anticipated to at least see the sun or the moon.

"According to the time I suspect you fell asleep, you haven't slept much. It has been just two hours."

"What? It doesn't feel like two hours, it feels like twenty." Malin said and then remembered the celebration that was in the palace. "Why is the palace this quiet?"

"The palace is always this quiet."

"But there were people celebrating all ..."

"That already ended. Such celebrations don't last long here."

"In that case I can now meet with Pell right?" Malin asked, his face brightening. She was in his heart.

"Who, Pell? Why would you want to meet her?

"Because she is my woman Jonathan, don't you know already?"

"No. I thought your woman was Revina, when did Pell become your 'woman'?"

"I can see you've also joined them," Malin said as he walked past Jonathan and opened the door. Opposite to his room was Revina's room with the door shut. Along the hallway were some few soldiers and maids walking and standing and some chatting and laughing.

Malin's eyes caught a young soldier who he estimated to be in his very early thirties since nobody was younger than thirty here. The soldier was chatting with a maid happily while standing at a very close distance from each other, their eyes oozing burning desires. He watched them for a while until he got lost in his own fantasies. He remembered Revina from the day he rescued her. She was beautiful, sexy and naked. He imagined beautifully what could have been had Revina not turned out to be his best friend. Maybe she could have been his woman instead of Pell. Pell was beautiful with all the physical attributes any man would want in a woman but in some weird way, Revina outmatched her. His fantasies drifted slightly to the time they had kissed with Pell. But the memories were vague, as if the kiss never really happened, as if he never touched her. But he quickly lost his fantasies as the couple that had triggered his memories got entangled in a romantic kiss. He smiled and walked back inside, closing the door behind him. All he wanted was to relive that moment with Pell and make it everlasting and clearer in his memory, something he could fondly and clearly reminisce when he woke up in the morning.

"Do you happen to know where I can find Pell or are you going to stick to..."

"Wait man," Jonathan said. "I don't know where Pell is but even if I were to know, I couldn't tell you."

"Why couldn't you tell me?"

"Because you are clearly not well. Pell is known all over this palace as a... She is not good for you."

"Who fooled you that you can decide who is good or not good for me Jonathan? Who do you think you are?"

"I don't think I am anyone else other than Jonathan but I'm going to tell you this, that girl that just disappeared loves you with all her..."

"Pell disappeared?"

"Yes she disappeared too but the person I meant to say is Revina. She is missing and everyone is looking for her, everyone."

"Why has Revina disappeared, what reason did she have to disappear?" Malin asked, his mind roaming on the streets of confused questions. Revina didn't know anywhere in the palace other than the palace and the Lord's cottage. She couldn't just disappear, to where would she disappear?

"I don't know the whole story because they didn't tell me but I suppose you have everything to do with her disappearance," Jonathan replied as he sat on a couch two yards away and opposite to the bed.

"Me? What did I do to her?" Malin asked, surprised by Jonathan's flat answer. Then he remembered their previous conversation with Revina. "Now I understand."

"I'm glad you do man because I would also love to understand what's going on."

"Revina came up with a story which... It's like she ended up believing her own lie. I told her I love Pell because Pell is the... where is Pell?"

Shaking his head, Jonathan rose from the couch and walked to Malin. "I can't believe this could happen to you. You looked more powerful than hell itself outside there last night, more powerful than the so called dark magic. I thought you could not buckle under whatever magical pressure. But it seems every man, however powerful, has his weakness."

"I don't get what you are talking about, where is Pell?" Malin asked with his temper beginning to rise.

"Like I said, she disappeared and nobody knows where she is. She enthralled the guards who were manning her cell and escaped..."

"Cell? She was being held in a cell?"

"Pell, according to the Emperor, is a criminal..."

Malin punched Jonathan in the stomach and pushed him to the wall before he could finish his sentence. Pell was not a criminal. Pell was his woman and he didn't care what the Emperor or the empire thought of her. She had given him so much joy that no one in the empire could ever give him. The Emperor had just stolen his Victory and got praises for a triumph that wasn't his. But this time he went too far. Putting Pell in a cell was like an insult to him, making her disappear was a spat on his face. He couldn't let the Emperor get away with it, not this time.

He stormed out of the room, his anger boiling in him like a hot steam, his muscles tightened, ready for battle, his fists clenched, ready to strike. This time the Emperor had to know who he was. He didn't care whether the Emperor was the god of the empire, he only cared about the goddess of his heart.

He boomed into the courtroom where the Emperor was already underway with his meeting to appoint a new Prime Minister, Jonathan tailing him cautiously. He knew he couldn't stop Malin but if Malin was to attack the Emperor then as a soldier, he would have no option but to defend the Emperor. He had come to realize that the hatred he had felt towards the Emperor were all ill founded and unnecessary. The Emperor was a great leader, a better leader than he had heard in the empire's history. Prince Mamadu in his attempt to overthrow him, had proven that theory right.

The courtroom silenced when Malin stormed in, everyone looking shocked and frightened. They had seen Malin before and for all it takes, he was a beastly monster who could not be trusted with a normal human fair fight had he to attack them. The Emperor rose to his feet, astonished and disgusted. Jonathan stood behind Malin close enough to grab him had he to try to advance towards the Emperor. No matter how powerful he was, challenging the Emperor was the most stupid mistake Jonathan hoped Malin was not going to make.

"I want her back," Malin shouted to the Emperor whose astonishment widened.

"You want who back?" the Emperor asked in response.

"I want Pell back, now."

The Emperor looked at Malin for a while, understanding the degree with which the spell had consumed him. He hadn't imagined that the spell could affect him that much and that fast. Normally, such reactions would take time to develop as the victims of such spells grew slowly to become fully dependant on the host like a pest. But Malin had been swiftly corrupted beyond normal. There must have been something else other than the normal enthrallment. He knew very well that you can never argue with anyone under such spells, especially if it was a bewitchment of love. As far as Malin was concerned, he was deeply in love with Pell and nothing or no one could separate them. This could mean defending her from anybody including the Emperor.

realizing the magnitude of Malin's induced madness, the Emperor asked the court members to excuse them, leaving only him, the Oracle, Malin and Jonathan. This confrontation was better in private than in the full glare of the entire court. He motioned Malin to move closer, hoping to buy time by acting in his favour and giving him unending stories to allow the soldiers or the empress and Lord Parafon enough time to bring back Revina to the palace. But Malin wasn't persuadable. He had a fixed mind that if he couldn't find Pell, the Emperor had to feel his wrath on his bones.

"She'll be here soon, don't worry," the Emperor said, trying to appease Malin's ego that had rose way above his head.

"No. I want her now. You imprisoned her, put her in a filthy cell and now she has disappeared. Why did you do that? Do you hate me that much?"

"I don't hate you young man. I don't have a reason to hate you. But Pell has committed so many crimes in this empire and in this palace in particular before. She hadn't been charged before because she. ."

"And you only charge her now for those crimes? Why could you not do it before? Why wait until I fall..."

"Because we hadn't been able to capture her. She disappears and appears without giving anybody any notice, just like she did this morning."

"No. This morning she disappeared because you couldn't appreciate the fact that she recognized what I did. You are the criminal who should be in that cell and not her. I love..."

"Listen Malin, or whoever you are, I'm still the Emperor and you don't have the right to address me anyhow. You must treat me with respect..."

"Respect my foot! Did you not take all the praise for the victory you contributed nothing to and put me in that room so no one could know who..."

"Enough!" the Emperor shouted as he pointed his royal stick at Malin, glaring at him like an irate wolf. "I won't tolerate your insolence anymore!"

"And I won't tolerate your betrayal anymore too coward." Malin responded as he began to walk belligerently towards the Emperor.

Jonathan grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back. He responded by throwing blows at Jonathan who had beforehand anticipated his reactions and dodged all his blows, managing to strike one of his own on Malin's chest. Malin responded by kicking his legs off the ground and when he fell to the ground, Malin sat on him while holding his two hands in his one, punching Jonathan several times on the face until he began to bleed. The Emperor moved swiftly and kicked Malin off Jonathan, making Malin fall to the floor and slide to the wall. Malin roared towards the Emperor who just tilted his posture slightly and let Malin crush onto the wall.

Malin felt pain rush through his head to his toes. That was strange. He hadn't felt pain in all the fights he had had in Dalawa empire except for when he was fighting the dark magic. What he didn't know was that with the spell inside him, he was just like any ordinary prince, without the powers of the dragon. He had to fight like a normal prince, like a normal soldier would in Dalawa. But the anger that was brewing inside him was too massive for him to control.

He stood up and strengthened his muscles again, the soaring pain not withstanding. The Emperor, however, noticed he was in pain and instead of fighting him, ordered for his capture. Soldiers that stood outside the courtroom door were brought in and they captured him. Malin fought back at the soldiers, knocking others down but they were too many for him to overcome them. They held him tightly in their midst he couldn't move.

His body might had been subdued but his anger was still powerful. If he couldn't defeat the Emperor through his fists then he was going to defeat him by his hurtful words. But before he could start blabbing, Jonathan punched him on the mouth so hard he staggered backwards. The soldiers who had held him grabbed him and steadied him upright as one moved between him and Jonathan, preventing Jonathan from hurling more blows at him. The Emperor ordered Jonathan back as he sat on his throne.

Just then, the empress walked in followed by Lord Parafon and then Revina. They were all disgusted by what Malin had tried to do but not surprised at all. Any man under the spell of love was not known for good or measured behaviour. But even so, Malin's reactions were slightly overboard.

Revina looked at him sympathetically as he struggled to break free from the strong hands that held him. Since the first time she met him, Malin hadn't shown any signs of defeat. He had always been on top, winning every battle. To see him completely subdued made her heart bleed for him.

"Release him please, you are hurting him," she managed to say, feeling hurt as he continued to struggle under their tight grasp.

The Emperor ordered the guards to move to the centre of the room and release him. He then ordered them all to leave except for Jonathan who stood guard by the Emperor. Malin felt as though they had all ganged up on him, that every body didn't want him, everyone didn't appreciate him. If Pell were here, she could have been on his side. He had to leave to look for her. He needed her support, he needed her love. He had become and enemy of the people in a flash of a moment. But it didn't matter anymore. He wasn't going to regard them as friends if they regarded him as an enemy. He wasn't going to leave Pell to please anybody.

"Ok. I get it," he said, looking at everyone's faces one by one. "You all don't want me here. You all don't want to accept that I fell in love with Pell. You all don't remember what I did to save all of you. I have become your enemy, so just let me go," he said and turned and tried to walk towards the door before Lord Parafon blocked his path.

"You are wrong son," Lord Parafon said. "We don't have anything against you my boy. It doesn't even matter to us who you love, whether it's Pell or not. That's your choice son. We can't make it for you. But you have to understand that Pell is..."

"Pell is a criminal?" Malin mumbled. "Is that what you want to say? The Emperor already did me the injustice of telling me that nonsense to my face. I don't want to hear it anymore."

"That's not what I wanted to say son."

"Whatever it is that you wanted to say, just keep it to yourself. I'm leaving and don't expect me to come back to this palace. It's clear to me what you'll think of me," he said and walked past the High Priest towards the door. Nobody followed him, nobody tried to stop him.

Revina, who had been standing next to the door, moved aside to let him have his way. He walked past her and stopped when he was almost one foot away from stepping out of the courtroom and looked at Revina. But Revina looked down, hiding her eyes from him as if she didn't want him to look at her. When he turned to leave, Revina bumped into him, throwing him off balance as he reeled outward. Revina moved swiftly and grabbed him by the head, pulling it to hers and before he could find enough balance to push her away, planted a quick kiss on his lips. She pulled out and stood aside to watch if in deed her kiss had the magic it was intended to have.

Malin fell to the floor gently like someone who intended to fall asleep. Everybody, including the Emperor, came out to watch what was going on. Malin closed his eyes so tight that one would have thought he was preventing them from poking out, his hands and legs spread on the floor. Weak rays of light emanated from his chest, brightening and dimming. His breathe increased as his chest heaved, rising and falling like waves in the sea. Sweat rained his face as if all the pores on his body had opened widely in a wicked conspiracy with the sweats. He moaned and groaned like a man possessed with evil spirits that were resisting removal by whatever means.

Revina watched, her hands on her mouth as tears welled in her eyes, dropping one at a time. She couldn't understand what was happening. This was supposed to be a simple process. The empress had explained to her that the kiss would just remove the specs in Malin's eyes and awaken him to the realities around him. But she didn't expect it to be like this. This thing, whatever it was, tormented her heart. She didn't want Malin to be like this, to go through such pain as was evident in his groaning and moaning. She wanted to help him, wanted to take it all back, wanted to relieve him of all the pain. She just didn't know how to.

Suddenly, the groaning and moaning stopped, the sweating and the sweats disappeared. Malin quieted into a non-breathing non-talking state where even the wind that was blowing through the open windows and doors could not move a single hair on his body, not even a single thread on his clothes. His chest stilled, his lips remained parted as if waiting for something or preparing to make a speech. Everybody was dumbfounded, confused and shocked into an eerie silence. With their mouths agape, they stared at him in hollow gazes that were punctuated with frightened expressions. Revina's heart stopped as she stared at him, transfixed to the floor as if she had been electrocuted, statued.

Malin's chest started again,not moving but radiating feeble rays of light that were at first invisible to the perplexed onlookers. But when the lights became visible, everybody had to return to their senses and shut their eyes for it was a blinding glittering luster that transformed the palace into a glistening ball of light, overpowering the clouded sun, making the sun look like a small lantern in a hall of darkness.

Like a feather picked by a strong blowing wind, Malin rose from the floor upwards in a horizontal position to the roof, rising as if the wind was his lift. He stopped a few inches from the roof and descended to the floor, stepping on the floor with his feet, still covered in the scintillation. Nobody saw this for everyone had their eyes closed. He placed his right palm on his heart and slightly pressed, slowly and gradually diminishing the light like the setting of the sun. And when the lights finally totally faded, he fell to his knees, fully awake and aware of what had happened and what he had done.