The Crown and The Rose
Chapter 16: I Will Kill Her

Chapter 16: I Will Kill Her

The Crown

"Seraphina will kill you, Your Highness," Phillip says, gasping for air. He ran down those stairs just to tell me this.

A cold wave jerks down my spine but I keep my face straight. "What do you mean, Phillip?" I take a step closer to him.

"Seraphina is dangerous, stay away from her." He pauses and is suddenly alarmed, "Especially on the mat."

I open my mouth to ask him about it but am interrupted, "What are you talking about, Phillip?" The same poison-dripping voice raises every hair on my body. Edward, who is standing a few feet away from me seems suddenly on guard too.

Seraphina slowly descends the steps of the deadly staircase, her hands folded across her chest, and that never-wavering smirk is etched on her pretty face. "Were you guys talking about me?"

How is she just coming down? Didn’t she leave before us? Why is she still here?

Questions start to pool in the back of my mind but I force them to subside. Seraphina slips in between me and Phillip, her back facing me. Phillip seems no happier than I am. He peers down at Seraphina, his gaze narrow and challenging. "It doesn’t concern you, Seraphina."

"Whether it concerns me or not." Seraphina looks over her shoulder and smiles at me, for a moment I wish I were blind "It’s their first day here. Don’t want them to be late."

She is just trying to drag us out of here. But why?

Phillip stares at her for a brief second then turns his attention back to me. He nods and whips around, then starts to ascend the steps. I watch his back slowly disappear, there is a tight feeling inside my chest. I want to talk to Phillip but Seraphina is here and she doesn’t seem to want me to talk with him. And I have a faint idea of why. Phillip knows something about Seraphina that I don’t.

Seraphina turns to me, "So now if you may please," She pauses, and her smile widens, "Your Highness."

My blood runs cold and my brain stops functioning. For a moment I forget to breathe, and my heart forgets to beat as dread and anxiety coil in my stomach. "Seraphina..." I only manage to blurt out her name. Edward gasps as if trying to inhale the whole room at once.

Seraphina’s smile is a fully bloomed grin now, and this action of her facial muscles can only be described as sinister. "Your Highness, you seem very surprised."

"How do you know?" My voice is a low growl as I eye the demon standing tall before me warily.

"Well, I overheard you." She drawls and I have this urge to throw a punch at her gut and squirm with pain so that she wouldn’t be able to smile like she is doing now.

"So what are you going to do now?" I scoff, I am so frustrated and infuriated by the whole situation that I am laughing.

"I am going to kill you." Her smile doesn’t subside for the least as she spells out those deathly words.

Seraphina’s words sink in and my instincts flare red. The moment she says these words I know that I have to run. But I refuse. I refuse to run or die like this. I am here to push through and I will push through. Even if it means that I have to kill Seraphina.

I chuckle and lean in, my lips hovering over her ear, "I’d love to see you try." I whisper in her ear. "And I can assure you that the way to kill me wouldn’t be easy, president. Oops, former president." Seraphina’s expression darkens. It seems I have managed to hit a nerve. A sweet feeling of satisfaction tickles at my heart and my smile widens at her grim expression. I am loving the effect I have on her.

"We will see about that, my prince." She manages to give me a strained smile and then walks out through the slightly crooked double door. The heavy doors shut behind her with a loud, resounding thud.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Edward approaches me. He is looking so pale that I really think that all of his blood has been drained and his body is so stiff with tension that he is like a broken doll now. One look at his face and I can tell that Edward is thoroughly and utterly horrified.

"Y-Your Highness, what should we do now? Seraphina knows who you are now... Should we just silence her like Erick?" Edward’s voice leaves no room for doubt about how worried and wary he is of this situation.

"We can’t kidnap Seraphina." I shake my head, my mind is running a mile in a second, "She has influence here. And I am her roommate. If something bad happens to her then the eyes will be on us. We need to think of another way." I slowly conclude.

"Then what should we do?" Edward’s eyebrows are knitted together, creating wrinkles on his smooth forehead.

I prop my chin with my forefinger and thumb, my other hand supporting my elbow on its palm. "We need to think of something. Or we need to get out of here soon before Seraphina can do anything."

"But how? Erick hasn’t said anything that will help us, yet." Edward questions.

"We will interrogate him again tonight and if he still doesn’t answer my question we will kill him," I say nonchalantly. In spite of what Vermilion said, I know if I killed one or two of his students then it wouldn’t make any difference to him at all.

Edward looks even more terrified, "Your Highness, are you sure about that?"

"I am not joking here, Edward." I say, my face contoured with seriousness, "Seraphina now knows who we are. She is already a handful for both of us let us not count Erick. We will kill him if he tries to cause any problem and the same goes for Seraphina."

Edward is silent for a moment before saying softly, "Your Highness, you are changing. You could never think of killing someone before..."

My heart squeezes tightly and my expression softens at his words. I smile mildly at him and grab his hand, "I know I wasn’t like this Edward but if I don’t do this both of us will die and I am sure that this isn’t something any of us want."

Edward nods and I crass his hand warmly, "I understand Your Highness."

My smile widen a bit and I nod back at him, "But don’t worry, I won’t kill them if it’s not necessary. But they will have to die if they try to go berserk."

Edward’s lips quiver but he nods nonetheless, "Yes, Your Highness. This servant will follow you until death."

"Okay now." I let go of his hand and turn to the exit. "We have to attend our classes today. Don’t want anyone to be suspicious of us."

"Yes, Your Highness." Edward has pulled himself closer and now is his old self all over again.

Today we have the History, the potion, and the swordplay class. History and the potion are not a problem but the swordplay definitely is. There will be unmistakable one-on-one(s). I am a skilled swordsman but I don’t have any idea how much-skilled demons are in this specific aspect.

Demons are known for their impeccable strength but strength only isn’t enough for sword arts. Sword arts are beautiful and strategic. Demons are hot-headed beings, they are not fond of strategies so there is a chance I have an upper hand in this aspect. Other than that I too have considerable strength. This is something I inherited from the family bloodline.

"Will you be fine, Edward?" I ask him, there is a hint of worry in his voice and he picks it up, "We don’t know if we can outmatch demons in strength."

"You don’t have to worry about me, Your Highness." He smiles softly, his eyes are filled with affection and I suddenly feel guilty. Edward is here because of me, fighting with the odds here alongside me but he is not blaming me for any of it. Meanwhile, all I am thinking about is myself, how can I save my ass from this nightmare. "Even if I am no match for them in strength I can outmatch them in many other things."

I heave a breath, "I will hold your words onto this, Edward. I will kill you if you die there."

Edward chuckles, "Yes, my prince. I will mind your orders."

***

The sword arts class is after the lunch break and Edward and I are currently making our way to the classroom. I have retied my hair since some strands were sticking out. I think I have managed to capture a good amount of attention to myself and so does Edward. It’s not our fault since we’re indeed beautiful.

The classroom is enormous and it is located on the third castle’s fifth floor. The rules of this classroom are simple yet brutal. Kill or Die. There is no room for any other option like injury and anything. Demons are prideful beings. When someone wounds them and then leaves them alive they count as an insult.

However, today Edward and I will insult at least a single demon here. That is for sure.