Chapter 78: Chapter 78

The Mermaid’s Requiem

Kairen caressed her arm, gently. He understood everything she said, however, there was one thing that

was worrying the War God at that moment, and he couldn’t not say it.

“I am not leaving you,” he said.

Somehow, he felt as if, at one point, all of this was going to be too much for her. That fragile woman, no

matter how strong her heart was, would reach her limit, and be unable to follow whichever path he was

fated to follow. Kairen didn’t want that. Of all the things he had ever desired, since the moment he had

put his eyes on her, there wasn’t a single one that didn’t include Cassandra.

“I know,” Cassandra chuckled. “I won’t leave you either… Your fate will be mine, my Prince, I promise.

I’ve come to peace with that already. Don’t worry.”

He sighed, and once again, hugged her closely. Cassandra felt relieved he had understood what was

hidden in her heart for a while now. Even for her, it had been so hard to deal with the whole situation,

and come to terms with what she truly wanted… However, she knew one thing for sure: she wanted to

stay by this man’s side.

She stayed in his embrace for as long as it took for her to calm down. Once her tears were dry, and her

heart a bit more at peace, she sighed and took a step back with a chuckle.

“I really want to see our son soon.”

Kairen nodded, caressing her tummy.

“Let’s have many children,” he said.

“Why many?”

“You look better when you’re pregnant.”

Cassandra chuckled, amused. She knew what he meant, but his way with words was really too much…

She softly kissed him. 8

“I won’t suddenly go back to being skinny after our son is born, Kairen. But I am fine with having many.

I would love a big family.”

She took a deep breath, feeling a bit better, and turned to her little table.

“Alright, time to go back.”

The prince nodded and helped her take the medicine back to Kareen’s apartments. Kareen and Krai

were still in the same position, Dahlia standing a few steps behind, but strangely, Missandra and

Shareen hadn’t come back yet. Cassandra put her medicine down on a little table the Imperial

Concubine had in the garden, and sat, worried.

It only took a few seconds, though. Suddenly they heard a commotion from the entrance of the garden.

The servants went rushing, and Cassandra stood up.

Shareen was carrying Missandra on her back. When she gently put her down on the deckchair, it was

obvious the young girl had cried a lot. She looked exhausted, and the back of her dress was ripped

open. Cassandra did her best not to cry again.

Her younger sister’s hair had been put on the side in a braid, so the first thing she was saw was her

back, covered in cuts, some deep and still bleeding fresh blood. As if it kept her from breaking down,

Cassandra immediately ordered for her sister to be taken to a bedroom, and made to lay down so she

could treat her. Before the servants even got to move, Kairen gently lifted Missandra and carried her

himself, followed by the little group.

“Your sister was brave. She didn’t even scream or beg. She endured it until it was over.”

“…. I’m fine…” Missandra said.

Her voice was so weak, she could pass out at any moment. Cassandra gently helped her take little sips

of the medicinal water that could ease her pain, and kissed her cheek once she had drunk it all.

“It’s okay if you want to close your eyes, Linue. I will treat you,” she whispered.

“How did you… endure all that…”

But before she could end her sentence, Missandra’s tired eyes closed themselves, and she passed

out, exhausted. Cassandra sighed, but it was half of a cry. She grabbed the towel that a servant had

just brought, damped it in the clear water and started cleaning her sister’s injuries. The servant girl

stepped forward, wanting to clean Missandra’s injuries instead of letting the concubine dirty herself, but

Kairen glared at her.

“Get out.”

All of the servants cleared the room in a couple of seconds. Kareen sighed, caressing Missandra’s

head and hair gently.

“Poor thing…”

Shareen nodded. She had been truly impressed with the younger sister that day. Her resilience to take

in the pain without complaining had been admirable. Most people would openly scream and beg for

mercy, but Missandra had done none of that. She had closed her eyes and muttered things silently,

waiting for it to be over with.

Once the injuries were cleaned, Cassandra suddenly took one of her sister’s hair, and started sewing

her deepest and largest cuts, patiently. Kareen frowned.

“With her hair?”

“The body recognizes its own,” whispered Cassandra. “It lessens the risks of infection…”

It was a technique she hadn’t used in the army, since the men’s hair was usually cut short. However,

Missandra’s hair was long and clean enough to be used to sew her injuries. With determination,

Cassandra sewed each injury one by one. She was singing something softly, in their mother tongue,

probably to soothe her sister.

“That song… Missandra was mumbling the same thing the whole time,” said Shareen.

“It’s the Water God’s prayer. It’s a very sad song.”

She kept singing, softly, while applying the ointment on her sister’s superficial injuries. At some point,

she sung it again, in the Dragon Empire’s language this time, for them to understand it too.

Ô God of Water

Will you hear this prayer

Will you hear your children

When they die under the sun

O God of Water

Will you hear and remember

The prayer of your daughters

For they cried alone

O God of Water

All your people’s tears

Shall you ever hear

Please cry for us

O God of Water

If your children are gone

Please take them home

For you loved us

O God of Water

When I rest in your embrace

Please help me brace

The last river

Ô Father of Water

Let me dive and sleep

Won’t you cry and weep

For you loved us

Ô Beloved Father

Please cry for my sisters

Please cry for your daughters

For you loved us

For you loved us.

When she was done, both singing and putting on the medicine, she took a long sigh, watching

Missandra’s resting figure. Her sister had aged a few years in a couple of hours…

“It’s the saddest shit I’ve ever heard,” said Shareen. ]

“Our elders sang it in times of pain and grief… Our legend said it was the last song of the last

mermaids, the last they sang before their death. It was a requiem. Our people made it a prayer.”

“Do you really descend from mermaids?” Asked Shareen, curious.

“Who knows. A long part of our history was forgotten, the other comes from tales and legends. It’s hard

to tell how much is true…”

Cassandra didn’t care much for their ancestors’ secrets at that moment. She kept staring at her sister,

hoping she could heal faster, and feel the less pain possible.

“Anyway, with Missandra punished, that should settle it for Father,” said Shareen.

“Your second brother won’t be satisfied with that,” retorted her mother. “This was only a small payback

for how we insulted Phetra. He won’t stop there. A servant came earlier to tell me the Princess has

several bones broken and is suffering hell. He will want to pay thạt back.”

“I’m getting Missandra out of here as soon as possible,” said Cassandra. “I don’t want my sister where

she can be hurt again.”

“Don’t worry, we will make sure she can leave quietly.”

Cassandra stood up, shaking her head.

“She needs to rest for now… The journey to the Diamond Castle would be too much to handle for her

in that state. Hopefully, she will be fine by the end of the Celebrations, and we can all leave together.”

“Only four days to go,” said Kareen. “Missandra won’t leave my apartments until then, so she can rest

and stay safe. I promise nothing can happen to her here.”

Cassandra weakly nodded. She didn’t feel like going back to the Celebrations for the day, anyway. She

didn’t care what the Emperor would say, she didn’t want to indulge a man who had inflicted that tò her

younger sister, no matter what.

“Can I dine here for tonight?” She asked.

“Of course, Cassie. That old fart won’t dare protest if we say you feel unwell. Let’s just have you rest

here and do a little dinner together, alright?”

For the rest of the afternoon, Cassandra stayed by her sister’s side, with Dahlia. She didn’t want to

leave her side until she woke up, and everyone understood that. Kairen, Shareen and their mother

gave the sisters some space, finding their own occupations in the Palace, though they stayed nearby.

At some point around the end of the afternoon, Cassandra needed to use the bathroom. She had

stayed next to Missandra all this time and couldn’t take it anymore. She left Dahlia to watch her in her

stead, and went to the closest bathroom.

Kareen’s apartments were vast, and among the prettiest in the Palace. There were many, many rooms

for her to use, though she only seemed to use a few. Cassandra hadn’t gotten accustomed to the place

yet. She was used to the Diamond Palace, but inside the Palace, a lot of corridors and doors looked

the same. Somehow, she got lost on her way back to the room Missandra had been taken to. She

might have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because, after a few minutes, she still wasn’t back. She

knew she was still inside the Imperial Concubine’s apartments, she just had no idea where.

There was something strange in this area. Actually, she had thought about asking for the way back to a

servant, but this corridor was completely deserted. Cassandra was lost. This part of the Palace looked

abandoned, nothing like Kareen’s rooms full of plants and life. In here, there was a deadly silence

floating around, like a cathedral.

As she was trying to figure the way back, she came across what might have been a dining room, long

ago. It was all dusty, and less refined than the one they actually used. Some cutlery had been forgotten

in an old buffet, along with spiderwebs and dust.

Cassandra frowned. She didn’t understand why Kareen, who loved clean and decorated spaces, would

leave an aisle of her apartments empty like this… She kept walking until she found another corridor

with rooms. All the doors looked alike, but one caught her attention. It was torn down. Not like it had

crumbled naturally, but like some beast had attacked it. The room was open, and, pushed by curiosity,

she stepped in.

It was a child’s room.

There was a bed a bit smaller than the norm, some old furniture, and toys… She collected one that

looked like a Dragon plushie, left on the floor. It was cute, but old… Whose room was this? There was

such a nostalgic feeling hanging in the air. Something deeply sad, too. Cassandra glanced around.

There were toy blades, three of them, on top of a chest, so probably a boy’s room. The desk still had

some old books piled up, collecting dust. The library next to it as well. A bit further, something like a

couch made of straw was in a corner, a shape still visible in its center. Was it for some pet to sleep in?

A dog, or…

“Cassandra.”

She jumped and turned around. Kairen was standing a few steps behind her, outside of the room. She

sighed in relief after that scare.

The Mermaid’s Requiem

Kairen caressed her arm, gently. He understood everything she said, however, there was one thing that

was worrying the War God at that moment, and he couldn’t not say it.

“I am not leaving you,” he said.

Somehow, he felt as if, at one point, all of this was going to be too much for her. That fragile woman, no

matter how strong her heart was, would reach her limit, and be unable to follow whichever path he was

fated to follow. Kairen didn’t want that. Of all the things he had ever desired, since the moment he had

put his eyes on her, there wasn’t a single one that didn’t include Cassandra.

“I know,” Cassandra chuckled. “I won’t leave you either… Your fate will be mine, my Prince, I promise.

I’ve come to peace with that already. Don’t worry.”

He sighed, and once again, hugged her closely. Cassandra felt relieved he had understood what was

hidden in her heart for a while now. Even for her, it had been so hard to deal with the whole situation,

and come to terms with what she truly wanted… However, she knew one thing for sure: she wanted to

stay by this man’s side.

She stayed in his embrace for as long as it took for her to calm down. Once her tears were dry, and her

heart a bit more at peace, she sighed and took a step back with a chuckle.

“I really want to see our son soon.”

Kairen nodded, caressing her tummy.

“Let’s have many children,” he said.

“Why many?”

“You look better when you’re pregnant.”

Cassandra chuckled, amused. She knew what he meant, but his way with words was really too much…

She softly kissed him. 8

“I won’t suddenly go back to being skinny after our son is born, Kairen. But I am fine with having many.

I would love a big family.”

She took a deep breath, feeling a bit better, and turned to her little table.

“Alright, time to go back.”

The prince nodded and helped her take the medicine back to Kareen’s apartments. Kareen and Krai

were still in the same position, Dahlia standing a few steps behind, but strangely, Missandra and

Shareen hadn’t come back yet. Cassandra put her medicine down on a little table the Imperial

Concubine had in the garden, and sat, worried.

It only took a few seconds, though. Suddenly they heard a commotion from the entrance of the garden.

The servants went rushing, and Cassandra stood up.

Shareen was carrying Missandra on her back. When she gently put her down on the deckchair, it was

obvious the young girl had cried a lot. She looked exhausted, and the back of her dress was ripped

open. Cassandra did her best not to cry again.

Her younger sister’s hair had been put on the side in a braid, so the first thing she was saw was her

back, covered in cuts, some deep and still bleeding fresh blood. As if it kept her from breaking down,

Cassandra immediately ordered for her sister to be taken to a bedroom, and made to lay down so she

could treat her. Before the servants even got to move, Kairen gently lifted Missandra and carried her

himself, followed by the little group.

“Your sister was brave. She didn’t even scream or beg. She endured it until it was over.”

“…. I’m fine…” Missandra said.

Her voice was so weak, she could pass out at any moment. Cassandra gently helped her take little sips

of the medicinal water that could ease her pain, and kissed her cheek once she had drunk it all.

“It’s okay if you want to close your eyes, Linue. I will treat you,” she whispered.

“How did you… endure all that…”

But before she could end her sentence, Missandra’s tired eyes closed themselves, and she passed

out, exhausted. Cassandra sighed, but it was half of a cry. She grabbed the towel that a servant had

just brought, damped it in the clear water and started cleaning her sister’s injuries. The servant girl

stepped forward, wanting to clean Missandra’s injuries instead of letting the concubine dirty herself, but

Kairen glared at her.

“Get out.”

All of the servants cleared the room in a couple of seconds. Kareen sighed, caressing Missandra’s

head and hair gently.

“Poor thing…”

Shareen nodded. She had been truly impressed with the younger sister that day. Her resilience to take

in the pain without complaining had been admirable. Most people would openly scream and beg for

mercy, but Missandra had done none of that. She had closed her eyes and muttered things silently,

waiting for it to be over with.

Once the injuries were cleaned, Cassandra suddenly took one of her sister’s hair, and started sewing

her deepest and largest cuts, patiently. Kareen frowned.

“With her hair?”

“The body recognizes its own,” whispered Cassandra. “It lessens the risks of infection…”

It was a technique she hadn’t used in the army, since the men’s hair was usually cut short. However,

Missandra’s hair was long and clean enough to be used to sew her injuries. With determination,

Cassandra sewed each injury one by one. She was singing something softly, in their mother tongue,

probably to soothe her sister.

“That song… Missandra was mumbling the same thing the whole time,” said Shareen.

“It’s the Water God’s prayer. It’s a very sad song.”

She kept singing, softly, while applying the ointment on her sister’s superficial injuries. At some point,

she sung it again, in the Dragon Empire’s language this time, for them to understand it too.

Ô God of Water

Will you hear this prayer

Will you hear your children

When they die under the sun

O God of Water

Will you hear and remember

The prayer of your daughters

For they cried alone

O God of Water

All your people’s tears

Shall you ever hear

Please cry for us

O God of Water

If your children are gone

Please take them home

For you loved us

O God of Water

When I rest in your embrace

Please help me brace

The last river

Ô Father of Water

Let me dive and sleep

Won’t you cry and weep

For you loved us

Ô Beloved Father

Please cry for my sisters

Please cry for your daughters

For you loved us

For you loved us.

When she was done, both singing and putting on the medicine, she took a long sigh, watching

Missandra’s resting figure. Her sister had aged a few years in a couple of hours…

“It’s the saddest shit I’ve ever heard,” said Shareen. ]

“Our elders sang it in times of pain and grief… Our legend said it was the last song of the last

mermaids, the last they sang before their death. It was a requiem. Our people made it a prayer.”

“Do you really descend from mermaids?” Asked Shareen, curious.

“Who knows. A long part of our history was forgotten, the other comes from tales and legends. It’s hard

to tell how much is true…”

Cassandra didn’t care much for their ancestors’ secrets at that moment. She kept staring at her sister,

hoping she could heal faster, and feel the less pain possible.

“Anyway, with Missandra punished, that should settle it for Father,” said Shareen.

“Your second brother won’t be satisfied with that,” retorted her mother. “This was only a small payback

for how we insulted Phetra. He won’t stop there. A servant came earlier to tell me the Princess has

several bones broken and is suffering hell. He will want to pay thạt back.”

“I’m getting Missandra out of here as soon as possible,” said Cassandra. “I don’t want my sister where

she can be hurt again.”

“Don’t worry, we will make sure she can leave quietly.”

Cassandra stood up, shaking her head.

“She needs to rest for now… The journey to the Diamond Castle would be too much to handle for her

in that state. Hopefully, she will be fine by the end of the Celebrations, and we can all leave together.”

“Only four days to go,” said Kareen. “Missandra won’t leave my apartments until then, so she can rest

and stay safe. I promise nothing can happen to her here.”

Cassandra weakly nodded. She didn’t feel like going back to the Celebrations for the day, anyway. She

didn’t care what the Emperor would say, she didn’t want to indulge a man who had inflicted that tò her

younger sister, no matter what.

“Can I dine here for tonight?” She asked.

“Of course, Cassie. That old fart won’t dare protest if we say you feel unwell. Let’s just have you rest

here and do a little dinner together, alright?”

For the rest of the afternoon, Cassandra stayed by her sister’s side, with Dahlia. She didn’t want to

leave her side until she woke up, and everyone understood that. Kairen, Shareen and their mother

gave the sisters some space, finding their own occupations in the Palace, though they stayed nearby.

At some point around the end of the afternoon, Cassandra needed to use the bathroom. She had

stayed next to Missandra all this time and couldn’t take it anymore. She left Dahlia to watch her in her

stead, and went to the closest bathroom.

Kareen’s apartments were vast, and among the prettiest in the Palace. There were many, many rooms

for her to use, though she only seemed to use a few. Cassandra hadn’t gotten accustomed to the place

yet. She was used to the Diamond Palace, but inside the Palace, a lot of corridors and doors looked

the same. Somehow, she got lost on her way back to the room Missandra had been taken to. She

might have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because, after a few minutes, she still wasn’t back. She

knew she was still inside the Imperial Concubine’s apartments, she just had no idea where.

There was something strange in this area. Actually, she had thought about asking for the way back to a

servant, but this corridor was completely deserted. Cassandra was lost. This part of the Palace looked

abandoned, nothing like Kareen’s rooms full of plants and life. In here, there was a deadly silence

floating around, like a cathedral.

As she was trying to figure the way back, she came across what might have been a dining room, long

ago. It was all dusty, and less refined than the one they actually used. Some cutlery had been forgotten

in an old buffet, along with spiderwebs and dust.

Cassandra frowned. She didn’t understand why Kareen, who loved clean and decorated spaces, would

leave an aisle of her apartments empty like this… She kept walking until she found another corridor

with rooms. All the doors looked alike, but one caught her attention. It was torn down. Not like it had

crumbled naturally, but like some beast had attacked it. The room was open, and, pushed by curiosity,

she stepped in.

It was a child’s room.

There was a bed a bit smaller than the norm, some old furniture, and toys… She collected one that

looked like a Dragon plushie, left on the floor. It was cute, but old… Whose room was this? There was

such a nostalgic feeling hanging in the air. Something deeply sad, too. Cassandra glanced around.

There were toy blades, three of them, on top of a chest, so probably a boy’s room. The desk still had

some old books piled up, collecting dust. The library next to it as well. A bit further, something like a

couch made of straw was in a corner, a shape still visible in its center. Was it for some pet to sleep in?

A dog, or…

“Cassandra.”

She jumped and turned around. Kairen was standing a few steps behind her, outside of the room. She

sighed in relief after that scare.