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Annalise

I knew something was wrong the day I awoke in this strange place. My body was broken, and I couldn’t recall why. The women who stood over me looked human, but their hands emitted warmth that mended the injuries beneath my skin. And once they realized I was awake, they sent for their king in a panic while ensuring guards watched over me as if I were a threat.

At the time, I didn’t even know my name. But the first words spoken to me were just that.

“Annalise.”

And I’ll never forget the malice that dripped from his tone as King Elias stepped into the room, ready to punish me for whatever he knew about me. Once he realized I didn’t know him, let alone myself, he quickly hid his true nature.

That day haunts me. It makes me fear the day if, ever, my memories return. Elias knows who I am, and he knows my past. Unfortunately, I don’t know who I was before this. And quite honestly, I don’t want to know. The scars that litter my body don’t tell the story of someone who lived a happy life. They only speak of suffering and pain. The scar that sits right at my hairline indicates my skull was cracked open at one point, and the wounds on my back show the life of someone who was beaten mercilessly at another. The wound on my left arm is the only one that I vaguely recall getting. I remember falling from a great height. Far and fast enough that when I collided with a tree trunk, the force caused my arm to almost wrap around the branch, leaving my bone protruding from my flesh.

But why was I falling? And from where?

These are questions I don’t want to delve into. Not when the king of this land looks at me as if I am a threat, testing me every second to see if my mind has returned to someone he is wary of.

He keeps me isolated. I have no friends, no family, and no one to speak to about the inner turmoil that I feel. Not even the servants who surround me dare utter a word or response to me. King Elias is the only person I have been permitted contact with. He’s made sure that I know he owns me with his actions. Although he was hostile upon my awakening, once he realized I knew nothing about myself or his intentions, he kept me close to his side, always watching as if waiting for me to reveal more about myself.

The jangle of chains echoes even to the highest balcony as I watch more subjects from the neighboring villages enter the palace. It begs more questions about this mysterious land and the king who rules it. He is preparing for something, that much is clear. And while I am aware the people who enter the palace in chains are human, I am also acutely aware that the creatures who roam these halls and the king himself are not.

As if sensing my thoughts, the king appears through the gates atop his horse. My body immediately recoils at the sight of him. His presence alone is intimidating, especially when my instincts tell me that something isn’t right. I know I should feel gratitude toward him for saving my life, but I only feel cautious of his presence. He is not a good person, and I know his intentions with me cannot be good, especially if I came from one of the villages he is now destroying for the sake of owning slaves.

Elias’s eyes drift knowingly over his palace, finding me almost immediately on the balcony. And as he jumps down from his horse, I enter the palace to greet him. He is a very particular king. I know, in part, it is because he does not trust me.

I quietly make my way past the servants who continue to avoid me, just as Elias enters at the bottom of the stairs. He watches me silently as I approach, his eerie gaze on me.

“Your Majesty,” I say as I bow to him.

I hate the way he watches me when I do this. It’s as if he’s looking for any form of hesitation from me in greeting him as my king. And as I rise, I am reminded once again why I hate his gaze. His eye shape is unnatural. The pupil sharpens like a serpent as his eyes roam over me, giving away his lack of humanity. And his eye color is unlike any I’ve ever known. It is dark blue around the outer edge, turning brilliantly blue like the sky toward the center. It would be beautiful if not for how abnormal it is.

“Another successful conquest, wouldn’t you say,” he says as he grips my fingers, guiding me to stand.

I shift my attention away from him through the large glass windows that overlook the entrance to the palace. The people being paraded in are chained. Each of them has tears, ash, and blood streaked along their bodies as they are brought unwillingly into a new life. It stirs something inside of me—something uneasy.

“Your Majesty should be pleased,” I say, unable to tear my eyes away from the display.

I tense as Elias moves closer to me, his attention following mine as he speaks.

“Does it bring back memories for you? Maybe of what happened to your own village?” he says, hinting at a life that eludes me.

I release a soft chuckle, moving closer to the window as I try to put distance between us.

“I remember nothing of my life before this one, nor do I want to know. I am happy that you chose to spare me instead of sending me back to wherever I came from… or letting me join in their fates,” I say, turning to face him. “Even now, you have extended your kindness by allowing me to see your kingdom’s history unfold.”

Elias watches me intensely, making me want to tremble as he slowly closes the space between us. He reaches for my face, his grip like steel, as he pulls me close to his. His smile drops as he speaks his next sentence.

“Where did you learn to use such a silver tongue?” he asks, studying me.

Silence passes between us. I know not to respond. Nothing I say would ease this man’s distrust of me. So, for now, I must learn him and learn how to avoid his anger.

Elias laughs, releasing me as another man approaches. I recognize him as one of the soldiers who accompanied Elias, but he must be important since Elias listens to him.

“Your Majesty, the prisoners have all been accounted for,” he says.

Elias’s eyes remain lined to mine as he responds.

“Thank you, Maksim,” he says. And he finally straightens, scoffing as he studies me before turning away to follow Maksim to his new prisoners.

This is the only part of the day I’ve come to enjoy. The warm water soothes every ache and sore muscle that has plagued me since I woke up. My body is fragile. It’s been broken one time too many. So much so that even the best healers in the palace could not prevent scarring. I remember vividly the panic on their faces when they realized the limits of their healing capabilities. But I don’t mind. It reminds me that whatever I went through before, I have survived.

I slowly open my eyes, holding my hand out in front of me. A scar runs from my wrist bone wrapping to the back of my elbow, where my bones tore through my skin. Nothing here makes sense. The king refuses to tell me anything about my life. Yet he treats me as if I’m a threat. I chuckle to myself as I stand, the water trickling around me.

I couldn’t imagine myself as a threat.

I ignore the servants holding towels and robes for me as I go to the mirror. They haven’t been placed here to serve. They’ve been put here to watch me. My life has been like this every day since I awoke. I am treated like a threatening presence, and yet I am told nothing about who I am. I know nothing. I am nothing and no one.

I silently study myself in the mirror. I don’t know the woman who looks back at me. She looks broken, and even though I have no recollection of my past, that’s how I feel. There’s a weight that hangs over me even now as I enjoy the limited distance from the king. I push back the hair that clings to my face, covering my forehead to reveal the scar that resides there. I then push my hair over my shoulder and away from my back as I turn to look at the lightened skin that remains. Maybe I was a threat. But I’m not any longer.

Now, I am weak. My body is so fragile that I spend most of my days seeing a healer. And every bath I am given is filled with herbs to help heal my fragile form.

“Ah!” I gasp aloud as the strange symbol on my ribs heats up again. My eyes widen as I take it in. The veins surrounding it turn black as it slowly pulses with heat. I gently run my fingers over the symbol, but nothing changes. It does this ever so often. It pulses with life. But I don’t know how it’s happening or how to stop it. And no one will tell me what it is, including the king, who claims it is a mystery. I continue to watch it as it radiates the warmth I’ve grown used to. Sometimes, it does this for hours or even days. And some days, it’s as if it isn’t there.

A light knock sounds on the door, followed by a servant’s timid voice, pulling me out of my trance.

“Your dinner is ready.”

I stare at the symbol for a little longer, watching it somehow breathe under my skin. It’s never expanded, only ever remained in the small area that it is. It’s the only thing that catches my interest and gives me some form of desire to recall my past. But the moment the thought comes to mind, so do Elias’s watchful eyes. And I find myself wondering if this is the reason he eyes me in distrust.

“Miss Annalise?”

I turn away from the mirror, grabbing a robe as I leave the bathroom. No matter how interesting it may seem, there’s no use in getting caught up in the past. This is my life now. Nothing prior to this matters.

Elias

“Speak.”

I glare at my servant in irritation as she kneels, cowering before me. Each servant I have assigned to Annalise reports to me at the end of the day, letting me know if any changes have occurred. After a month, it feels tedious. But Annalise is a calculating human. Had she been able to use Cyrus’s seal properly, she would have succeeded in killing me. I won’t let my lust cloud my logic when it comes to her again. Not when I have important plans for my future.

“The seal has been acting up more frequently. It happened again today,” she says.

I narrow my gaze, sitting up in my seat.

“And how did she react?” I ask.

“She was confused, Your Majesty. She didn’t seem to know what to do with it,” she says.

I take in a deep breath, leaning back in my seat. Cyrus marked Annalise. Due to my nature of being, it was something I didn’t pick up until it was too late. Cyrus is a beast of old. And I am a beast of evolution. And it almost cost me my life. But Annalise has no desire to remember the life she had before this one. She has voiced that on more than one occasion. And she did not use the seal to escape while I was gone, meaning what my servant says must be true.

I shift my attention to the map of land beyond this kingdom. I have already begun taking the necessary steps. For weeks, I have been gathering humans from the neighboring villages to use for my cause. If Cyrus decides he wants to attack, having most of the land under my control and humans at my disposal for labor would be best. It’s an ugly future for humans, but it’s a new age for my kingdom. I’ve already seen what this kind of rule brings to its people.

I chuckle to myself, standing.

Everything is falling into place. And Annalise’s damaged mind is more favorable than anything I could have asked for. I will mold her to be mine, as I am doing with the new lands of my kingdom. And now that I am sure she isn’t planning anything, it’s time that I make my presence in her life known. So that even if she does get her memory back, she wouldn’t dream of returning to Cyrus.

Not alive anyway.