Kitanna
Chapter 264: GOODBYE AND NEW BEGINNING

Chapter 264: GOODBYE AND NEW BEGINNING

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: GOODBYE AND GOODBYE ~ BAEK A]

After speaking with Lady Hash, Axilla made a request to see her friend Kayla. She had been scared the Supreme King of Venantius would have the girl killed, but she felt relieved to hear that the girl was tied up in a dungeon.

Getting to the dungeon, Axilla stepped inside. The walls of the dungeon looked old with cobwebs all around, its only source of light was a burning torch left at the entrance. The dungeon gave an eerie vibe that scared Axilla. She couldn’t help but wonder just how anyone could sleep in a place like this without having a bad dream.

"Kayla?" Axilla called, holding her gown up to avoid drawing too much dust from the ground.

Kayla, who was bound both hand and feet with chains, raised her face when she heard Axilla’s voice.

Axilla stopped in front of the cell that the girl was held in, and was relieved to see that she wasn’t harmed or tortured.

"How are you doing, Kayla?" she asked the girl.

Kayla bowed her face down in shame, the guilt of betraying someone so close to her broke her heart. "I’m sorry," the girl apologized, sniffing back her tears.

Axilla sighed. "I won’t say I’m not disappointed, but at the same time, you didn’t have a choice, right? You had your family to save." Bright Flower tried to find the reason why someone she took as her friend would betray her. And she wanted to accept that reason.

Kayla didn’t say anything; she just stood there quietly, ashamed of her actions.

Axilla said, "I’ll plead that you’re released, but I don’t think I can keep you beside me any longer. I hope you have a good life from now on. Take care of yourself, Kayla."

Kayla finally raised her face, watching Axilla turn to leave the dungeon. She muttered, "Thank you, Axilla," as tears streamed down her eyes. When she remembered all the good times they shared, and the troubles they got into together. She had lost all of it.

Axilla could hear the silent sobs echo in the dungeon as she walked out of the place. But she couldn’t turn to console the girl, for some reason the words Venantius told her still etched at the back of her mind. Was it truly because Kayla’s parents were held captive? Was that why she had betrayed her? It made her question the girl’s loyalty, and all the trust she had for Kayla was gone.

Outside the dungeon, Axilla used her hand to dust off the particles, which the hem of her dress had attracted while walking.

"Love?" Cortez called, seeing his woman focused on what she was doing.

Axilla raised her face to meet the midnight black eyes of Cortez that stared at her with so much love. She smiled.

Cortez closed the distance between them, locking their fingers. He said, "How was your conversation with Lady Hash?" he asked, using his free hand to clean off the dust that latched onto the girl’s hair.

Axilla sneezed, "It was okay..." her voice trailed.

Cortez narrowed his eyes, looking behind Axilla he asked, "Did you go somewhere that has been closed off for a while?" He noticed that her dress, too, had dust on them.

Axilla rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I was in the dungeon, Kayla was held there." She informed, going further to tell Cortez about what happened.

Cortez listened to the girl as they walked around the palace. Axilla noticed the servants of the palace bowed deeply in respect at the sight of Cortez.

"It’s okay. Any decision you make, it was you who her actions hurt the most. Are you okay?" Cortez asked, when they stepped outside towards the place with a large swimming area.

Axilla nodded, "Mmhm, I guess I’m fine. I’ll really miss her company; she was the first friend of my age I made." She replied.

Cortez nodded, "That’s true."

Axilla stopped in her tracks, moving her hands up to rest it on Cortez’s chest she said, "Enough about me, how are you?"

Cortez’s lips twisted, as he touched the girl’s face gently. He couldn’t get enough of Axilla worrying so much about him; it felt good and she felt like home.

"Venantius asked that you stay back if I want you and Lady Hash to have freedom," Cortez replied.

Axilla pressed her lips, "He wants to keep you here," the girl hummed thoughtfully then she said, "Did you accept?"

Cortez shrugged his shoulder, "I just played along," was his short reply, which had Axilla confused.

"I don’t regard that man as my father, no matter what he does. His actions now do not exonerate his sins no matter how hard he tries." He clarified.

Axilla sighed, "So you have no intention of taking over his throne,"

Cortez nodded, "I don’t care about a throne that was protected by killing numerous lives."

"What if he finds out that you’re just acting along? You know how he is. He might do something terrible," Axilla said, worried about the strained bad blood between father and son.

Cortez scratched his brow, "He already knows, Venantius just wants to use what he can get."

Axilla nodded, it was not until they had walked a long distance did she realize that they had left the palace. The girl turned her head,

"Cortez, T-this is not. Where are we?" She asked, finding the surrounding calm and soothing.

Cortez replied, "I came to show you my mother." he replied.

Axilla turned to look at his face, then she looked forward in front of a large tree was a headstone. The girl pointed at the headstone, then looked at Cortez.

"She was buried here?"

Cortez nodded, "Lady Hash helped me bury her as I was still a child when she died, and she told me just where I could find her. Let’s go greet her." He nudged Axilla as they walked closer to the lone headstone.

Cortez stood in front, with his hand dipped inside his pocket. He stared blankly at where his mother laid.

"She had the best eyes but it was always filled with tears," Cortez said in a low voice. "Mother, I’m sorry it took me a long time to come back for you." He inhaled deeply trying to keep his voice steady.

Axilla stood beside him, she could feel his sadness, the boy must have had a deep relationship with his mother. This was why Cortez would never forgive Venantius, the man took his solace away.

Without saying a word, Axilla stared at the headstone praying that the woman was at peace wherever she was.

Cortez reached out to hold Axilla’s hand then he said, "Mother, I didn’t keep my promise to you. I lost my innocence while trying to survive in this world. But I found her, she spread her bright wings in front of me and she saved me. I promise to protect that innocence and that of our children."

Axilla raised her face to look at Cortez; he was asking her to be the mother of his children.

"What are you doing, say a word to your mother-in-law, she’s waiting."

Axilla blinked, she turned to look at the headstone then she bowed. "Lady.." she paused and cleared her throat, "Mother, my name is Axilla, I didn’t get to meet you but seeing your son I know just how much of a great woman you were. Thank you for giving birth to Cortez, we will always have you in our mind." The girl bowed again.

A multicolored butterfly flapped its wings, first it rested on the bridge of Axilla’s nose causing her to sneeze then it flew and rested on the shoulder of Cortez before going to the headstone.

"I have a feeling mother gave us her blessings." Cortez smiled, turning to Axilla he said,

"What do you say, sweet girl, we have our wedding before leaving for Morado or when we are done visiting the Queen who just gave birth."

Axilla widened her eyes, she couldn’t gather her thoughts properly. First was a proposal, second was...

"Queen Kitanna has given birth?!" The girl exclaimed.

Cortez nodded with a smile.