16.
The queen was not in the room when we entered. In my state of distress I could only see the room's setup vaguely, but certain things stood out that were noteworthy. I could see a gigantic bed with an antique tone to it. The ceiling had markings of the same creatures I saw in that pit. There was also a table that had different bottles on it. The bottles contained different colours of liquid. It also had book on it that was so large,it could occupied one-third of the table. This woman must be a witch or a sorcerer, I thought to myself.
I heard the sound of the door opening,fear gripped my heart and I became as pale as a withered flower. She came inside with the crown prince. I noticed his wounds and the lifeless look he had were all gone. He looked at me with his eyes filled with hatred and rage. 'Young warrior,you must be surprised to see us come to you together. Do not be surprised,what did you expect? That I would trade the place of my Sea's Crown Prince for you? A stranger? Certainly not!' the queen said laughing wickedly.
I managed to gather up courage to talk. 'What about the prophecy of me hosting the YAO? The transformation of my armour? My victory in 'the battle of the burning flames?' Were they all lies?'. The queen smiled dryly and said 'No! Far from it, all of it are actually true. The point of my displeasure is that why did YAO choose you? Why not me! I have awaited her return from my teenage years. I consecrated my body from such a tender age, in order to gain the favour of YAO. I even ensured that I did not give birth,for YAO favours a womb that hasn't nurtured a child! All that,yet, you,a total stranger with no known order was preferred above me? What an absolute disgrace to me!.
It was very obvious that the queen really intends to execute that evil plan of hers. At this realisation, I became more terrified and really prayed that Tiana Yu would come to my rescue,as he promised. ' YAO's chosen one, let me be straight with you. You will die tonight. And I will rejoice to see the spirit of YAO leave you and reside in my queen.' he said this with the most disdainful laugh I've ever heard. 'Lets waste time no more. It is decided and must be done! Bring me the bowl from the whistling mountain!' the queen spoke to no one in particular. I know that name! I tried to recall for some minutes, finally it occurred to me. That was he location the evil centaur took us to. What exactly am I up against now?!
The door opened up and in came two servants carrying a large pot covered with a strong lid inside the room. The pot oozed out on all sides and looked like it could burst open the lid in no time. The queen instructed them to drop it right in the middle of the room. She sent everyone out and gave the prince a powdered substance to pou inside his ears. I did not know what to make of it until she opened up the pot and I was thrown into a frenzy. The whistling sounds were deafening. I could hardly sustain my stance. In no time I fell to the floor as I rolled in pain from the sounds. They were not just ordinary sounds, it was a mixture of many cries and wailings from different creatures unknown to mankind. I was already going mad in my mind. I felt something run through the side of my face and it felt so warm that I was curious to see what it was. I managed to touch it and I saw,blood. Am I really going to die from this. I most definitely need to do something fast. I could barely sustain a thought, because the pain was just too much for me to bear. I tried opening my mouth to cry out for help,but my voice was like a minute fraction of the noise from the whistling sounds. I took my hands away from my ears,stopped rolling and just laid still on the floor. My determination was to just lay down, recall the beautiful moments I've had in this world and travel with those memories into the great beyond.
As the pain got more intense from my stillness,I mustered all my strength to focus on the Sea before this. My warrior companions and the general. The children and their excitement,the kind centaur,Tian Yu and my beloved Wei Chen. As I focused on these, something began to happen within me. Gradually, the sounds were becoming distant and I could hear a voice from within the noise saying to me 'You are Zhen,the Chosen one of YAO! The Chosen one of the great Sea. Holder of the Sword of the Seventh Sea! You are a warrior beyond all order. You are Zhen! As the voice ended,so did the whistling sounds end to me. I felt strength within me as of four unicorns fused into one. I could stand up and rip both son and step mom apart,but I chose to lay still. So still,that they could have sworn that I was dead.
'It seems life is gone from her. Check if she's still breathing' the queen said. I heard the prince's footsteps,as he moved towards me. He reached out to check my pulse and I immediately grabbed his hand flipped him over and kicked him in his torso. He cried out with pain as regret and amazement filled his face. I beat him up to a pulp. I did not need any special powers to deal with him,a few blows and kicks some minutes later and he had passed out on the floor. The queen in a rage of anger, grabbed some of her potions and tried to conjure up some spells. I ran towards her and kicked them out from her hands. 'You scoundrel, what exactly are you! You should be dead by now!' As she screamed,she drew out her in sword just in sync with the door being flunged open.
' Return your sword back to it's sheath right away! It was Tian Yu and the rest of our company. I felt so relieved, I just sat on the floor laughing and crying at the same time.