Escaping The King's Confinement

CHAPTER 5:

Ishan remained silent, the weight of the king's gaze heavy upon him as he stood there, a second mark now gracing his skin. The king believed he was now bound to another Alpha, a thought that sent waves of confusion through his mind.

As Ishan wrestled with the implications of this unforeseen bond, his thoughts drifted back to the series of events that had led him here, to this unreliable moment....

Six months earlier:

Just as he was about to step out of their house to join the ceremony honoring the newly crowned king of their land, a sudden commotion caught his attention. His twin sister, Shantal, dashed past him, her urgency palpable as she sprinted into the bathroom.

His heart sank; that frantic movement had delayed his departure. He frowned deeply, instinctively removing his cloak to get a better view of her. Ishan's gaze fixed on the bathroom door she had slammed shut, a barrier between him and the troubling thoughts swirling to his mind.

He had been noticing his twin in that fraught state for a week now, a shadow of her former self. Though he had longed to talk to her, the opportunity never seemed to present itself.

As he caught sight of her emerging from the bathroom, wiping her face, it was evident that she had just washed away the remnants of her turmoil.

"Is there something I should know, Shantal?" he asked, concern lacing his voice. His twin's eyes widened in shock at his sudden presence.

"Were you there earlier?" she asked, her gaze darting around the room as if searching for an escape. "I thought you left already?"

"Not yet. I was about to leave, but it seems I can’t walk away so easily after witnessing what I just did," he replied, striving to hold her gaze. "Why can’t you look at me straight in the eye? What’s troubling you? And why have you been throwing up so frequently these past few days? Are you hiding something that we shouldn't know about?"

He was reluctant to jump to conclusions, yet a nagging fear gnawed at him. If his suspicions about Shantal’s recent nausea were true, it would cast a shadow over their family, ushering in great shame. After all, from the very beginning, Father had a plan to bestow her as a gift to the new King, to become his wife.

And that was one of the things that made them feel sorry for each other: they were both Omegas. While her twin sister was valued for her femininity, he carried the weight of feeling inferior as a male Omega.

"F-forgive me, Ishan," Shantal whispered, her voice quivering as tears streamed down her cheeks. She enveloped him in a tight embrace, seeking solace in her brother's presence.

When she spoke those words, he understood her unspoken regret. Gently, he patted her on the shoulder and ran his hand soothingly along her back, as if trying to ease the burden they both bore.

"Why? Why did you let yourself be careless when you already knew our Father’s plan?" His voice was steady, lacking reproach, yet a sinking feeling entrenched within him. He couldn’t help but question her choices, knowing all too well the weight of responsibility that rested upon Shantal's shoulders.

"Forgive me. I love him and I can’t follow Father’s will. Help me, Ishan. Help me escape from this path our Father has laid out for me," she sobbed, pulling away to gaze into his eyes, desperation etched on her face.

He stared at her, overwhelmed, unsure of how to comfort her as he swallowed hard.

Shantal had made a grave mistake—one that threatened to bring shame upon their family when word of his twin condition inevitably spread. The weight of this revelation crushed him, knowing it would bring not only embarrassment but also severe consequences for her audacity in breaking their sacred vow.

He took a tentative step forward, searching for the right words.

"What help can I give you, Shantal?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, wrestling with his own helplessness.

The painful reality hung in the air between them; the only solution he could envision forced a separation from the one she loved. It demanded a devastating choice—an abortion that would sever her from the child growing inside her.

"Because there's only one way I know to remove the child from your womb and forget the one you love," he struggled to express, as if voicing the solution could somehow lessen its impact.

"N-no! I can't do that, Ishan. I won't let my baby be aborted. And I won't forget the person I love!" Shantal shouted, her voice cracking as she took a violent step back, her fists trembling with rage and despair.

"But you don't have any choice, Shantal!" he added, desperation lacing his words. "I hope before you brought this matter to me, you thought about the shame it would bring to our family. This could affect both your futures. The child you carry will be implicated if the new king discovers the truth about the omega being offered here."

"I know, but I never imagined marrying someone I didn't love," Shantal said, her voice laced with conviction. "Even if he is the new king, I refuse to submit to his power. Nobles are all the same—they only think about themselves."

"Not everyone is like that, Shantal. You can’t judge them without truly knowing them," Ishan replied, concerned in his eyes as he tried to reason with her.

"But I still won’t marry him, Ishan. My mind is made up," she declared firmly, her determination unwavering despite the weight of her decision.

"You're being selfish, Shantal. Your choices could bring shame to our father across all of Syria. Perhaps he’s still alive because of the sacrifice you made!" Ishan exclaimed, his frustration evident.

"Then do this for me, Ishan. Do it for our twin bond, for the sake of our family. You’re the one who will face him as if you were me. If avoiding shame for our father means marrying him, then it should be you who does it," she pleaded, desperation creeping into her voice.

Ishan’s eyes widened at her words, a mixture of disbelief and concern swirling within him. Was she truly that desperate for a solution to suggest such a thing?

"Are you really considering this, Shantal? You know it's impossible—if the new king is deceived, the consequences will be dire, and it will only bring more shame upon our family," he replied, shaking his head in disbelief as he felt the weight of their predicament settle heavily in the room.

“Then, just let us suffer. Because I won’t agree to marry him.” She declared firmly, turning away without a glance back at him.

He let out a deep sigh, the weight of her words pressing down on him. Confusion swirled in his mind as he gazed at the door through which she had just exited.

What was he supposed to do now? His heart raced, worried about how his twin would react to her refusal. He could already imagine their father’s fury if he learned about his twin's Shantal condition. He was certain that such news would drive their father to force his twin into a abortion against her will.

The thought churned in his stomach; he couldn’t bear the idea of his twin facing such trouble.

A whirlwind of questions raced through his mind: What was the right course of action? Should he risk everything for her? Was he meant to follow her lead, or should he put on a brave face in front of his Majesty?

Each question echoed in his head, intensifying the storm of emotions within him, particularly his concern for his twin’s safety.

He stood frozen in place, unable to move as his mind ran rampant with thoughts of their troubling circumstances, a result of his twin’s negligence.

The burden of responsibility weighed heavily upon him, leaving him to catch yet another sigh before he could find clarity.