“Matthias, Matthias,” she shouted as tears dripped down her cheeks onto my face, now filled with blood.
“Please, my son, open your eyes. Lisa, where is she for goodness sake?” She inquired sharply while still holding my head in place.
It all felt like a dream, one that I had never expected. All my life I had claimed and even proved to be strong, doing things expected of not just the king’s son but the future king. Anything that disrupted the process was not an option, but then I met her. She was like a rose, beautiful yet so dangerous, and unfortunately I didn’t acknowledge that fact earlier because if I did, I wouldn’t have found myself lying on the floor with my head on my mother’s lap, taking what I presumed to be my last breath at that time. I sank into deep darkness, one that I thought would be eternal.
At that instance I found myself in what I always imagined paradise to be like. I stood firm, my body clean from what happened in the real-life realm, and once again I felt at peace. A part of me was zealous that I was here, and another part was not; my affairs on earth couldn’t have been exhausted so fast. I was just 20, yet to be coronated, and much more.
“Still deep in thought?” A strange voice came, interrupting me from any further thoughts. Confused, I looked round to figure out where the voice could be coming from. Wasn’t this supposed to be “me” time?
"Who’s there? Show yourself at this instance,” I shouted while trying to be intimidating to whoever was there with me.
“Easy now, boy, even if I wanted to kill you, I couldn’t,” the voice said, now feeling closer than ever.
In order to prove my strength, I stayed calm, trying to assess the type of situation I had found myself in. Alright, the last thing I remember was training in my chambers in an attempt to prepare for the fatal war ahead of time. When suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, and before I knew what was happening, I had already started fading. I suppose this was the place people found themselves in after death, but why did my own feel different in a way?
“Matthias, please, I beg of you. Do not prolong this process,” the voice said, sounding even closer than ever.
“Whoever you are, show yourself this instance.” I demanded while still looking around.
“If that’s what will speed up the process, no problem,” the voice replied back.
Still waiting patiently for the big reveal, I suddenly heard a loud growl from behind me. Startled, I unconsciously went into fight-or-flight mode, thereby swinging my fist in the growl’s direction, knocking the bear off balance.
“Matthias, how could you be this violent?” the voice said, annoyed, now coming from the knocked bear’s reaction.
I didn’t need to be told twice before I figured out I was actually dealing with an animal, a bear for that matter. I took slow steps towards it before crouching down to its eye level.
“What is going on? Speak now and fast.” I demanded as I placed my foot on its head.
“I am Timothy, your spirit guide,” he said while struggling to sit up with my foot still on his head.
“What sort of folktale is this? Why are you stressing out my brain with your baseless claims? Do you know who I am? Do you not fear what I am capable of?” I shouted angrily, pressing my foot deeper into his head, making him wince in pain.
“I have been patient enough; get your foot off me now”!! He growled, and before I could register what was happening, I heard a foot snap.
The beast had cracked my bone as if it were meat, with no mercy at that. I screamed out loudly in pain and fell back, hitting my head hard on a rock.
“I am tired of being patient with you, so I will be fast in my explanation,” he said as he looked down at me.
At that instance he turned into a human being, butt naked. I was traumatized at what I had just witnessed. I knew for sure that I couldn’t be in heaven, so where the hell was I? I looked up at Timothy and saw him mumbling what were likely to be incantations because all of a sudden a chair appeared and he was wearing clothes. My head was banging; I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to feel this amount of pain even if I were in a dream.
“Are you ready to listen now?” He asked while now reading a book.
“Do I have any other choice?” I asked defensively while struggling to sit up; thankfully, my attempt was successful.
“Good, now I’ve already introduced myself as Timothy. I don’t think I need to ask you for yours,” he started, now dropping his book on a table that was not there before.What sort of magic did this man possess, and why on earth was I here?
“Are you sure I am not dreaming?” I asked, hoping to wake up at that moment from this strange dream.
“I wouldn’t call it a dream, but you’re definitely not in your own realm for now,” he said, now looking at me with pity.
“Okay, I am going to listen to you, but please, I beg of you…be fast with your explanation.” I pleaded while holding the back of my head.
“See, was it that hard for you to agree? Tsk, you humans sure have issues,” he said as he rolled his eyes.
“Humans? Wait, aren’t you a human too?” I asked, now getting more confused than ever.
“No, I’m not, boy, and neither is your little girlfriend,” he said as he stood.He was referring to Rose. What on earth did he mean by that statement? Rose was a human being; I mean, she had to be.
“What do you mean she isn’t a human?” I asked while using my last strength to stand up as I approached him.
“You’re quite dull for a king; she’s a witch, for goodness’ sake,” he said as he looked at me with no hint of remorse.
“What!?”
