CHAPTER 16

Neal left Talia with his mother and the first place he went was the bar. He took out a beer and gulped it down as fast as he could. Who did he marry? What was going on? If that was what she was capable of when she was just angry, what more would she do in the future?
He was doomed and didn’t know what to do at all. Drowning himself in alcohol as his wife was lying on the bed, his honeymoon interrupted and all the drama, he just wanted the earth to swallow him.
“I knew I could find you here,” Jane one of the long serving maids of the palace said.
“What do you want? Did my mother send you?”
“No, she didn’t but I’m here to tell you about Talia.”
“Is there something more I need to know apart from what I have seen already?”
“There is a lot you don’t know and I will tell you all bout so that you won’t regret it.”
“Okay, I’m all ears. Tell me everything.”
“Apart from the obvious things you know as well as the rest of the world knows. Talia is a passionate woman, someone who takes love and loyalty very seriously. She doesn’t like being bullied and hates quarrels a lot. Sometimes she would let others make fun of her just to maintain some peace.
If it was for the greater good then she was willing to do it. Her love for her nanaba made her to work even before she graduated from high school. She wanted the best for her and worked hard so that she would be the way she was now. She never had time to date because it was a luxury for her until she met you.
You changed her life and I could see how relaxed she was even when you never visited her. She would sympathize with you on how you must be hurt for not choosing the love of your life but her. She had always felt sorry for causing sorrow to your life. She blamed herself for being the cause of all it.
She never asked for this but she was born to be one. She only learnt about when she got selected. It’s all new territory for her, so please understand her and don’t cast her aside now when she needs you the most. What she need is calmness; anything can make her upset and causes a great havoc.
This is something the kingdom doesn’t know right now. So, whatever you do, remember she is your wife and you have to be responsible for her. I’m not asking you to love her but please just be there for her. She doesn’t have a lot of people to lean on.
There are so many people out there, who just hate her and now that her powers had manifested, she needs as much security as possible or else many people will be hurt,” Jane narrated.
“It is that serious?”
“Not really when you get used to it.”
“Will she ever hurt me?”
“No, she won’t hurt you no matter what. She would rather hurt herself and not you.”
“Why would she do something like that for me?”
“Because whether she likes it or not, you are her husband, the only person she will give her heart to. Her duty will be to protect you, so she might end up hurting herself in order to do that. Just make sure it doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Thank you for telling me that.”
“That’s my job, my prince. I will go and look after the princess now.”
“Thank you. I will go and rest and join you later.”
“Okay, my prince.”
Jane left and he was alone once again. Maybe he was supposed to just live one day at a time. He stood up and went to his room to freshen up. After freshening up he threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes.
He had not slept an ounce since the previous day and he would be not fit to look after his wife if he was sleepy like this. He could look after her when he was no longer like this. Maybe by that time she would be wide awake. He just prayed that she woke up faster.
***
It’s been a week since Talia was bedridden. She never woke up and yet everyday something strange kept happening to her. It began on the second day; he was reading his book while watching her when he saw that her hair color was changing bit by bit.
They started as single strands of silver hair and by the seventh day her whole hair was silver and she was still not awake. Such a young girl who was yet to reach her twentieth birthday and now her head was like that. What kind of demons and battle was she fighting so hard that she was still not yet awake?
“Your highness.”
Neal turned his head and saw the Priestess by the door.