Word Count: 1869

Tai leads me from the ballroom, the gazes of those still inside dancing following us.

He doesn't reveal any of his plans until we are out in a foyer, the great expanse of the room making me feel small, the thin fabric of my dress allowing an icy breeze to crawl through it to kiss my skin. I haven't been to this part of the manor, although the grandeur of it suggests it's only for the most prestige's guests. 

Tai pauses in the middle of the foyer, a pine scented breeze coming through the open windows and us ruffling at his loose curls. He looks at me with an impassive expression, trying to reign in what might reveal whatever this surprise is. When he looks over his shoulder, I turn around, seeing what has caught his attention.

It's my mother.

It's strange seeing her like this, in such a lavish place when she raised me with such modest means. She worked as a teacher, while my father was always a soldier, so we weren't exactly impoverished, although definitely not having the scale of wealth Tai has. Yet here she is, wearing a simple dark green dress, clearly not here to indulge in the festivities. 

Immediately a smile erupts onto my face as I dash toward her. "Mother, you're here."

Before I have a chance to clasp her close, to breathe in her familiar scent while my emotions overwhelm me, realising how much I've missed her, she strikes me in the face with the back of her hand.

The physical pain that streaks through me isn't comparable to the shock and dismay that floods my senses, my hands coming up to cradle my cheek while I try to fathom what just happened. When I pull myself back up, the familiar features of my mother are contorted in rage as she regards me as though I'm the most disgusting thing she has laid eyes on.

"You have disgraced your family," she growls lowly, the sound turning my blood cold. I'm speechless; unsure of what to say, how to make sense of what is happening right now. My mother has slapped me when she otherwise hasn't laid a single hand on me in my life.

"I...I-"

"You disbelieve. You expect me to welcome you when you allow one man to sway your opinions," she snaps, taking a step backward as if being close to me utterly disgusts her. "And here I was thinking you were so much better than that."

"Mother...what are you talking about? Of course I believe," I tell him softly, my voice shaking uneasily. As I say that, the words taste sour on my tongue, as if I'm lying to her. Of course I am...I plan to have the Beast killed for what it has done, and yet I'm trying to convince my devout mother that not much has changed.

Her dark eyes narrow. "Rumours spread, Akara. You have done nothing but shame our family."

I blink, considering where these rumours have spread from. Perhaps it was the man we tried to get information from to leave here that has contact with my village, although that seems unlikely. It must be a servant here, someone who overheard and it trying to ruin my life...Right?

"How can you say that? I was kidnapped, and then forced to be here. I'm marrying a King, mother, can you not give me a break?" I question, motioning around myself. By the rolling of her eyes, it's painfully apparent she doesn't see how drastically my life has changed over the past few months. Of course my beliefs in life would begin to mould and change shape.

Tai still lingers behind me, thankfully having enough respect to not intervene despite my mother's sour reception to me. I can't imagine what his expression depicts right now.

She looks over me. "I thought I taught you that even in the hardest times, you look toward your Tani first."

"I want to believe, I want to have faith," I find myself saying, blinking at tears welling up in my eyes, spilling out down my cheeks uncontrollably. "But how can I, when more and more people are revealing how cruel the Beast is?"

"And you believe them? I taught you everything about him, was that not enough?" She questions, the anger seeping from her tone, only to be replaced by disappointment, by sadness seeing what I have become.

"I can't pretend like what I've found out since leaving the village doesn't devastate me. I saw a man who had been ripped apart by the Beast to save his daughter," I tell her, unsure of whether I'm trying to make a case with myself or I'm trying to convince her to see the truth too. Painfully, I know that she would never want to love me unless I love the Beast.

She steps backward, looking so much smaller, so much meeker than I remember. "Don't come home. No one will want to see your face again, including me."
Pain and despair wrap around me, compressing my chest as realisation hits me, that I'm witnessing my own mother disown me.

"Mother...please," I beg.

She doesn't give me another chance to make sense of this, to have her understand where I'm coming from as she turns around, walking away without glancing back. With her, she is taking with her any chance of me being able to return back to my home village, as it seems everyone there will hate me now.

A warm hand lightly touches my shoulder, turning me around. Numbly, I look up at Tai and his furrowed brows, his darkened eyes.

"I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. I shouldn't have invited her," he breathes, voice trembling slightly. That was hard for him to watch too, considering all his own family issues.
Wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, I let him wrap his arms around me while I rest the less sore side of my face on his chest.

"You didn't know she was going to act like that," I tell him, knowing I don't blame him for that. I may not be able to make complete sense of it, but him inviting him here doesn't make this his fault. Eventually I would have seen the truth, whether Marek and I ended up here or not. "Neither did I."

"I'll have her sent home immediately. Unless you're not done talking..." Tai murmurs, resting his hand gently on the back of my head while I lean against him, wishing these tumultuous feelings would vanish as quickly as they came about.

I shake my head, pulling away slightly. "No, I can't see her right now, or not even for a while."

"Once you talk to her more, she will come around. She loves you, and believe me, that alone will change her mind," he assures me, although I'm not sure.

As I pull away from his hold on me, I breathe in a shuddering breath, refusing to cry anymore. It's not worth it, not when my mother should be feeling guilty, not me. Tai still looks concerned, watching me intently with careful precision, waiting for me to blow up as a whirlwind of emotion strikes me.

"You don't have to feel sorry for me, especially considering your own family drama," I admit, mustering a smile onto my face, but it quickly falls short.

Tai watches me uneasily, a wet patch on the front of his jacket from my tears. "You seem awfully passive about this."

I'm not being passive about this, I simply just don't know how to process the sting in my cheek, the way my mother looked at me. Part of me wants to fall to the ground and cry in despair for disappointing her, but the other part of me wants to run from it, to not allow myself to think about too deeply.

"I think I need a drink," I admit, brushing past him. He protests, but I ignore him, his voice failing him as we remerge into the ballroom, where people still sway and dance beautifully to the gentle music flowing across the floor.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Tai mutters beneath his breath as we approach the refreshment's table.

"No," I respond, grabbing the stem of a wine glass anyway. Tai and I both know I don't make a habit of drinking alcohol ever, so the moment I take a sip of this, there may not be any coming back from it. "But this hasn't exactly been a good night."

Tai winces as I quickly down all the contents of the glass, which tastes disturbingly sour as it goes down, leaving an uncomfortable burn along my tongue and down my throat in it's wake. Tomorrow I'll curse myself for making this impulsive decision instead of facing my emotions, but for now, I want to brush reality away until I'm ready for face it again.

Just as I reach out to grab another glass of wine, Tai grabs my wrist, his grip awfully firm as he eyes me carefully, silently warning me not to drink it.

"Last time I checked," I breathe, narrowing my eyes upon him as the alcohol swirls in my stomach. "I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions."

He hesitates, clenching his jaw tightly enough to have his muscles feather, before he finally lets me go.

I hold his gaze as I sip tentatively at another glass full of wine. "This is my fault, and I'm just letting you drink yourself into oblivion."

"It's just one night, Tai," I tell him, giving up on the foul tasting drink, leaving it discarded on the table. Tai's perfect composure suggests he hasn't so much as sipped anything all night tonight, having an easy time judging me. "Now, will you dance with me."

He shakes his head. "Let me escort you to your room."

I pout, pathetic, however the slight buzz that has grown within me is stealing away all sense of embarrassment.

Tai releases a long sigh, tipping his hair back as he runs a hand through his dark hair. "Fine, one dance and then you're going to sleep."

I look out among those still dancing, their dresses suddenly far brighter, the glitter almost blinding as it reflects off the light coming from grand chandeliers hanging from the roof, framed by ancient paintings depicting long since gone Tani.

"Two dances," I barter, holding my hand out as my final offer. He sighs, grabbing my hand to guide me back on the dance floor, appearing reluctant, although I don't miss the glimmer in his eyes.

💙••💙

If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S POSSESSION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

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I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radish! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!

I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:

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~Midika 💜🐼