"Boris... why?" was all Zhanna could say to herself as she cried. Boris was her loving husband; they had been married for two years, and it was a perfect marriage. Well, there was only one flaw in their otherwise perfect marriage... Tatianka! She was Boris' close and only friend. She had been jealous of their marriage, and she never once tried to hide it. At first, Zhanna didn't mind because Boris paid no attention to her, but then Tatianka's advances became more extreme, and Boris started heeding them... or so it seemed. He always gave excuses when it came to spending time together, and the few times they did, he always had to cancel to visit Tatianka because of one thing or another. Zhanna would watch her husband smile at another woman and choose to swallow her pain.
In Boris' kingdom, Volkorod, women were treated as trash. A man could marry many wives, flirt with a woman in his wife's presence, and nothing would happen. But if the woman tried it, it would be 'off with her head.' Also, marriages in Volkorod were for life, which meant once you married a man, you couldn't leave the marriage unless one of you died. That's why Tatianka and Boris got all lovey-dovey in front of her, knowing she couldn't do anything about it.
"Boris, why?" Zhanna repeated and sobbed harder as she remembered the events of that evening.
[Earlier that evening]
A party was going on in the ballroom. Boris' coronation date was announced, and everyone celebrated. Zhanna was the happiest, she knew how hard she had worked to help Boris achieve this title. She was part-immortal and had helped Boris kill the people stopping him from inheriting the throne. She also went on dangerous journeys and performed various charity gatherings in Boris' name, giving everyone the notion that Boris was a leader who cared about the people's welfare.
Now, all her suffering wouldn't be in vain. When she became queen, she would make sure women were treated equally in marriage and do many other things for her kingdom. Her kingdom... she liked the sound of that.
"Darling," Tatianka said to Boris as she shoved Zhanna out of the way to meet him. Zhanna snorted silently. Soon, she was going to become queen and show Tatianka her place.
The party was at its peak when the dance floor was opened. Zhanna didn't hesitate to drag Boris to the dance floor before Tatianka could do it first. With bright smiles, Zhanna danced shamelessly. Tatianka frowned, watching them from a corner, and when Boris gave her the sign, she didn't hesitate to carry out the plan.
The music was suddenly interrupted by a faint recording. From the discussion of the recorded voices, Boris and Tatianka, it could be heard that they were talking about the crown and the position of queen while having sex. This should have been a thing of shame, but the men in the room started congratulating him... on what? Satisfying a woman perfectly! As for Tatianka, she wasn't short of praise because the audio revealed Boris' plan to make her queen.
Something snapped in Zhanna, and before anyone could react, a SLAP echoed.
"Boris, how could you? You know I wanted this position, and you gave it to who? A mistress? Boris, I did everything for you... I killed people for you. I risked my life for you. I just had a small request, and you decided your mistress was more worthy?" Zhanna said in anger, tears pooling her eyes.
Everyone froze and stared at her. Zhanna had always maintained her image in public, calm and composed, even when Boris and Tatianka were all lovey-dovey in her presence... she looked like she didn't mind. Of course, everyone was shocked seeing her act like this. What they didn't know was that Zhanna had her limits and Boris had just reached them.
Zhanna walked out of the ballroom quickly with her head bowed. She didn't want any questioning or accusations. Once she reached her chambers, she let all her tears flow and sobbed.
Boris didn't know what hurt more- the slap or the tears on Zhanna's face. He wished there was another way to get the throne, but she wasn't the only available option...she was the only one. Did he love Zhanna? With all of his cold heart, he did. But he needed to ascend the throne, for the sake of his future and the future of his descendants...and that meant giving up the only person he had ever loved... Zhanna.
His father always said, "He who seeketh reward must first endure travail." Now he knew what he meant.
Tatianka saw Boris lost in thought and walked up to him. She didn't want him thinking about Zhanna. Since she first saw him, she had loved Boris, but he never reciprocated. She tried to get his attention. It never worked, and she eventually gave up... well, until Boris came to meet her one day.
He told Tatianka his plan about accessing the throne, because he knew the only person as obsessed with the throne as he was- was Tatianka. She dreamed of becoming queen. Maybe that's what attracted her to Boris.
The plan involved killing Zhanna and giving her blood to Zhanna's stepmother, Queen Darya. But Zhanna had to be killed when experiencing intense emotion. At the mention of killing Zhanna, Tatianka agreed.
"Boris dear," Tatianka said as she took his hand into hers. Boris immediately withdrew his hand. Tatianka smiled slightly, and her smile was mixed with pain. Who was she to think Boris would ever love her?
Annette, Zhanna's handmaid, walked into the room. She had seen all that happened at the ballroom and went to console her mistress. Annette let Zhanna scream out her frustration and tell her all her regrets. After a lot of consolation and light laughs to cheer her up, Zhanna fell asleep. Annette let her thoughts consume her as she stared at her mistress' sleeping face soiled with tears. 'Her mistress was a kind and generous woman who treated everyone equally no matter what. She deserved a better husband... not Boris!'
Boris suddenly entered the room, causing Annette's thoughts to vanish. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear" She murmured.
"Leave us," Boris said immediately as he entered the room. Annette got up, bowed to him, and left. As she left, Boris could swear that he saw her glaring at him. Boris stared at his sleeping wife's face, which was full of dried tears.
"I'm sorry, Zhanna… for everything. You'll never hear this from me again, but you deserve to know, before anything else- I love you. I always have." Boris pecked her on the forehead and carried her out of the room.
Zhanna had an amazing dream, the dream lit a fire in her blood. She would reclaim her crown, and if seduction was the weapon, so be it. No man can rule his thoughts when he's ruled by want. She opened her eyes, stared into the dark, and smiled coldly. It was after this thought that she realised that her hands were chained and she was in a dark room.
'What's going on?' she wondered. It was then she heard footsteps. They stopped at a corner and began discussing... Zhanna could hear them.
"Boris, you can't back out now. You know what Queen Darya would do if she found out about this," a voice, certainly Tatianka's, said.
"I don't want to lose her. But that throne… it's meant for me," Boris said softly, the ending trailing into a whisper. Zhanna, on her own end, wondered what they were discussing and why it included her stepmother.
"Even if we spare her life, she'll die soon. She's cursed, remember?"
As soon as the word cursed was mentioned, Zhanna knew it was her they were talking about. She had no idea why she was cursed or who cursed her, but she knew she'd die at the age of twenty.
"Let's get this over with," Boris said and opened the door. It was then Zhanna realized she was in a room, and when the door was opened, she was blinded by the light.
Well, well… look who crawled back from the shadows—Zhanna," Tatianka drawled, her voice thick with mockery. "I saw your little performance at the ballroom. Was that your big move? A desperate dress, a desperate smile, hoping he'd change his mind? How pathetic."
She chuckled, low and cruel. "Here's a reality check, ou matter to no one. Not the nobles, not the servants, not even your precious stepmother. She never once saw you as a daughter. Just a vessel. A source. Your blood was all she ever wanted."
"And guess what? We promised to spill it for her. In exchange, we get something far better- a world where you never existed."
Tatianka leaned in, eyes gleaming. "You remember the day you told me you were better than me? Look at you now. Weak, alone, hunted. Who's better now, Princess?"
Then she smiled, wicked and slow. "Oh, and before you cling to hope- Boris? He was behind it all. Every lie, every trap, every step. He sold you out with a smile."
Zhanna had thought he only gave Tatianka the crown, but it turns out he also planned to kill her! What kind of monster did she marry? Zhanna was in so much pain, but she held back her tears and hoped they'd kill her quickly so she wouldn't feel the pain anymore.
"So… it's the spear in your hand, isn't it? That's what you'll use to kill me. Of course it is. Just do it. Do it, Boris! What are you waiting for? I loved you… God, I loved you with everything I had! And you...you...you used that love like a weapon. You played me, Boris. You played me like I was nothing! And the worst part? I don't even hate you for it… I hate myself. I should've seen it. I should've known. But I didn't. I was blind. Stupid. I was a complete cretin, maybe even worse. I was willing.
But listen to me, Boris Igor. I swear before the God of Heavens, if I ever get a second chance… I will make you pay. You will bleed for what you've done to me. Death is too kind for you. You deserve to drown in what you've built. You deserve ruin." Zhanna screamed, sniffling between words.
Boris couldn't bear to hear more of her hurtful words and threw the spear straight through her tummy. Tatianka put Zhanna's blood in a jar and smiled.
"Mission accomplished," she said to Boris, expecting him to shrug off her death and move on instantly. But when she turned, she saw him crying.
Boris, a cold-hearted, throne-thirsty man who wouldn't think twice before doing anything for the throne, crying?
"Leave, Tatianka," Boris said, his voice full of hurt and pain. Tatianka dropped the jar and left. Boris needed some time alone.
After some time, Boris wiped the last teardrops from his eyes and took the jar to leave, when it started glowing. The blood in the jar started glowing! He looked at Zhanna's dead body and her wounded area started glowing too...
What is happening? Boris wondered, and proceeded to leave the room when...