Chapter 118 - Recurring Dream Within A Dream (2/2)

The blood of her loved ones.

It was everywhere.

She could not tell where one ended and the other began.

All she knew was that nothing was ever going to be the same again.

She could not think straight, her head was pounding as if a thousand nails were being hammered into her skull. Her chest felt like it was going to burst any moment, but tears would not fall. Breathing became an arduous task as she scrambled through the pool of blood in search of a familiar face.

”Father, brother, Mother!” she cried. But no answer came.

”Brothers, Mother, Father!” she screamed, blood splashing onto her face.

”Rajkumari, get out of here…” Came from the dark hall.

She scurried towards the sound, hope the only force moving her forward. They are okay. Nothing will happen to them. Nothing can happen to them, she repeated to herself as she reached the guard.

”Maharaja, Maharani, Yuvraj, Rajkumars, where are they?” she anxiously rasped.

But before he could answer, a man with a cruel mouth stepped into her vision and knelt to peer into her face.

”Aren't you a pretty thing?” he drawled.

”Leave her alone,” the wounded guard's voice sounded like a croaking frog, as he choked the words out with difficulty.

But Durga saw nothing.

She saw nothing but red, darkness, and then red.

Her jolting mind was not able to register what her eyes were seeing. The mangled bodies of her mother and father, piled together, their blue royal robes the only thing separating them from the others.

Lighting struck, and as if the last string of her crumbling mind was snapped, she fell and her powerless body crumbled into the mass of severed bodies. Before sinking into complete darkness, one last whisper left her throat.

”No.”

A weak, silent plea. A plea no one was around to hear.

Stranded in an unfamiliar land, Durga ran as fast as she could, trying to outrun the shadows relentlessly chasing after her. Her sari got caught in a twig, as she pulled it free, she fell and got back up, not sparing herself the time to acknowledge the wound forming.

The blinding pain was now starting to slow down her pace, blurring her vision. She felt herself gasping, her lungs burning desperately for more oxygen.

Still, she kept running, afraid of what will become of her once she was caught by her pursuers. Ahead, she could hear and see no sign of life. The trees were dead and frozen, small icicles dangerously jutting out from them.

She struggled to make her way around them as gingerly and quickly as possible, trying not to incur another wound to slow her down even more.

As the warm breath of her pursuers brushed against her nape, goosebumps formed over her bare arms and she shuffled forward, her eyes scanning for familiar grounds.

Her pulse quickened and her stomach tightened as frozen and desolate landscape stretched before her.

Durga caught sight of a body of water ahead and drifted towards it, her nostrils filling with the scent of blood and sweat. After what felt like forever she halted in front of the water, her mind straining to comprehend what her eyes perceived.

Dead end.

A dead-end was what she had been running towards.

Hopelessness and defeat made her stomach clench, the sudden lack of mobility causing cold to seep into her skin.

Dread and exhaustion brought her to her knees only to be replaced by a sudden recklessness. No longer caring about what became of her, she slowly turned her head to the side.

She at least wanted to take a glimpse of the monstrous shadow relentlessly chasing her.

And the moment she did, she screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped decisively into the icy water.

Emerging from behind the temple, a Queen. She was no longer Eona Skyler. She was Durga Krishna, self-named Versailles Skyler.

Named after the goddess Versailles who fought for justice and brought peace to the world. And the goddess Durga and god Krishna who took the side of righteousness and duty to parents, family, relatives, and society.

Who vanquished evil and darkness, bringing light and peace to the realms.

Her red and yellow sari swayed in the light night breeze as she made her ascent. An audible gasp had the crowd stirring noiselessly at first before going into full-on murmurs and developing rapidly into hollers and shouts.

She paused in front of the gold statue of Shiv and turned her back towards him, her gaze fixed on the roaring crowd.

It was time to go home.