At night as I lay in bed, I ran my fingers over Amarisa's letter. In the dark, I could not read the words, but I could feel them. When I learned that sorrow had struck the love of my life, it struck me harder. I tried to tell myself that it would pass, but it felt like an eternity.

The night hours grew shorter, yet sleep wouldn't come and take me away from this troubling world. Maybe it was because I knew somewhere in a place filled with heavenly flowers, someone was waiting for me.

I couldn't stand it anymore and with a defeated sigh, I rose and got dressed.

The moon was frail as the edge of a fingernail in the sky. I walked against cold winds that sent shadows scampering on the ground. When I reached the gate of the Asoak Garden, I paused.

Should I turn back or go forward?

I stood contemplating this for a while. But at last, I stepped on the fertile soil again. The flower patch stretched deeper into the garden. My feet trembled beneath me as I had taken great care to be quiet.

I would just take a peek at my princess to see if she was still there. I wanted to know if she was alright and then I would leave.

The drumming of my anxious heart reverberated in my ears.

Walking towards the familiar boulder, I glimpsed the sight of my lover.

She was truly there, all alone and waiting. I decided to hide behind a knot of shrubs.

How I wished I could caress that dark hair again, hair that looked like silk dipped in black ink. I missed seeing her face the most.

Amarisa stood in silence. She had a long scarf about her shoulders, but I could still see her shivering. Beside her, the orange-coated Malis, sleeping by the boulder.

I wanted to run to her and hold her in my arms, but I had to refrain myself, or my plan would be for nothing.

Then she rose and went past the flowerbeds to the pond. I gasped and almost stepped out of my hiding, but something stopped me.

A sound from somewhere. The more I listened to it, the clearer it became. It seemed to echo from the depth of the water.

I sensed an unknown being lingering near. The feeling in the air was thick like a fog. I could have been wrong to assume that someone would be there with her, but I waited and listened.

Amarisa was now kneeling by the bank.

"Not even the sunrise shall end my wait," she spoke in scratchy voice to no one. "Has she lost her heart to someone else? Will she be merciful to come and release me from this torment?"

I held my breath. My chest tightened with pain. I wished I could comfort her in my arms and chase away all her sorrow with my kisses.

"Please answer me, Lord Father, are all her feelings gone? She told me I was her earth and her moon, but now I saw conflicts in her eyes when she looked at me. Tell me what I have done wrong."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched her bemoaning herself in this manner. Then something strange happened. The still water began to ripple. Amarisa seemed to be speaking to someone beyond my line of sight.

Did the princess expect her queries to be heard by someone?

I felt like a bird caught in the snare of curiosity and trapped by a craving heart.

Amarisa extended her dainty hand to touch the surface of the water. Suddenly, she recoiled as if seeing a strange sight. Then there was a green mist bubbling out of the surface.

"Whose tears burn me like hot embers?" a voice like no other I had ever heard came a rumbling thunder. "Daughter, why are you weeping? What is it that grieves you so?"

"Lord Father!" Amarisa breathed. Hearing her addressing the mysterious voice, I knew their encounter was not the first.

"Keep it not from me, dear child," the ancient voice spoke. "What caused you suffering here all alone? Tell me who has been troubling you?"

"You know it; Father, why demands me to tell you what you already know well?" Amarisa said. "But she will be joining me soon. Please, you ought to leave."

"Hear me," the voice said sullenly. "There's no use to cry over a mortal lover. You two are bound to part. The Fate has marked it so. Whoever the girl is to you, she will leave you in this world like she had done so many lifetimes before."

Amarisa shook her head vigorously in a denial.

"No!" she cried. "You're lying to me, oh Lord, why are you delivering me this terrible speech? She will stay here for she loves me true."

"To hear is to obey," the voice growled. "You haven't changed at all even in this new life. What is so great about being mortal? The Great War will come like a towering gloom. Soon you will rule the kingdom populated with widows and orphans and awake each day to the grief of the loss of loved ones. What's there to cling when nothing here is worth saving?"

Listening to their exchanges, the world waxed dark before my face.

"But I am not your child!" The princess stood again, still weeping. "I am not your daughter. You can't claim me from my beloved parents and my lover, please leave me! Nikita, the very fruit of my eyes, is not here to defend her right to my heart. Please stop swaying my mind. What sin have I done to anger you? What fault of mine deserves this terrible news?"

A mighty roar in the death of the night came from the water. It was as though the skies were falling, and the serene water broke into waves. Then from the pond emerged a black shadow like a dark pillar, towering higher than all the trees. It grew and grew until it rose into the sky and began making for the meadow.

The sight made me fearful for my beloved, and I was ready to jump out of the grove towards my princess, but Amarisa didn't show any sign of terror. She was still gazing at the strange presence. Then I drew in the air of utter shock when I realized who the visitor was.

The slithery movement of that scaled pile of an ophidian creature caused my heart to halt and shrink. Amarisa was in the presence of a gigantic seven-headed serpent. I remembered the spirit maiden I saw in the healing chamber. I knew who that was.

The Naga King.

Shock seized me, holding me still. Amarisa's head raised and her eyes gleamed with tears.

The serpent deity showed himself under the beam of moonlight. His eyes shone bright like black gems. His forked-tongues lolled in and out, hissing from those horrible mouths.

I caught a glimpse of flashing knife-sharp fangs dripping with deadly venom. My body shivered at the sight. The serpent's sleek scales reflected like raven feathers as he slithered forward. Even Malis backed away from the serpent god in fear. Her protective growls had turned into kitten-like snarls.

Many time I tried to move my body. I tried to run to Amarisa, but my feet were stiff and heavy like a stone in the bottom of the sea.

"I have said it before but I shall say it again. You are indeed my Naga-born daughter whom I cherished above all. I have claimed you since your new birth into this world. Therefore you will always be a Naga princess," the serpent hissed in an airy voice like the wind blowing through leaves. "The Lord of Destiny had promised me your return. Hell shall be all I see if I lose you again."

"No! I refuse to accept this!" Amarisa cried, hiding her face in her hands and wept. "Let your heart be troubled no more for this is my life I lead and not yours. I'm a human, and I won't leave here with you!"

The Naga King arched his body and lowered his multiple heads until he and the princess were at the same height. I was amazed that Amarisa remained calm for all this time. Indeed, she must've inherited her mother's sound senses and her father's bravery.

"I wish to be kind to you and your human companion, but I fear for your sake, daughter. I counsel you to cut your tie from your mortal lover before it destroys you both."

"No! It would be better for me to lie dead and buried if I lose her, for I shall have nothing left to live for anymore!"

"The gods are cruel," the Serpent King whispered. "But they have been crueler than usual to me. The girl was sent here as a sacrifice, do you hear me, child? The Lord of Destiny shall use your role to turn the wheel of her prophecy. I want you to forget this impure life on earth and return to our world where you belong. Come back to our kingdom, Amarisa dear, before the Fate snatches you away from me again."

"I can't comply to your wish, Lord Father," Amarisa said resolutely. "I was born here as a mortal and a daughter of my dear parents. I must stay here until the end of my lifetime. Nikita is my one true love. So long as she is within my heart, I fear no blame nor shame, or even death."

The serpent god seethed with his forked tongues in anger. I couldn't see very well in the dark, but by the many sounds the god made, I could tell the numerous heads were turning and tilting in fury and disappointment. Yet it seemed the King had no wits to argue.

"Dear child of mine, I will leave you to your thoughts, but I shall come again when you need me," he spoke in resignation. "Heed my words carefully before I leave. If I ever hear that she has wronged you, I shall be the judge of her crime."

As the Naga King said those words, a few of his heads with pairs of glowing green eyes looked in my direction. I recoiled from that powerful stares that stabbed at me like flying arrows.

The serpent god knew I was there. His threat had engraved fear in my mind. It didn't surprise me that this divine being had come to deliver the same exact prophecy. Of course, the serpent god might have dreamed of our destiny before it even happened.

Our love was bound to part.

Slowly, the waves rolled over the edges in tandem and the water trembled once more. Amarisa was still weeping on the ground. The towering silhouette soon slithered back into the depth of the raging torrent. After a while, the garden was as quiet as a disconsolate land once again.

I recovered from my spell-binding paralysis and jumped out of the grove, heading straight to my princess. When she heard me calling her name, Amarisa wept her eyes and rose to her feet again. A smile shone on her surprised face when she saw me.

"Your Highness!"

"Nikita!" she cried and ran to close the short distance between us. I held her in my arms and noticed the cold night air had been brutal upon her soft skin. She was shivering, or perhaps it had been the chill of fear and distress. I had decided not to say anything about the divine serpent.

"Your Highness, why are you still here?" I asked, staring at her distressed visage. "Forgive me for my delay, my love."

Malis leaped back from the flower bush.

Amarisa shook her head and smiled at me. Her hands went to my cheeks. Her forgiveness broke my heart.

"It is alright, Nikita. You came to me at last. I'm just glad to see you again." Her tone was filled with tears. "I thought you had forgotten me, but in my heart, I still had hopes that you would not abandon me."

"Why would you say that? I will never forget you," I said and kissed her forehead. But once again I longed to understand what had just happened.

"You have prolonged our meeting purposely, have you not, Nikita?" Amarisa said softly as she clung to me. Her forward question was unexpected.

"What are you talking about?" I said, feigning innocent. "I'm here now."

"How long this harshness, this unloved phase, shall I bear with you?" she said again. "In patience, I endure my share of torment. I'm willing to go through whatever be my fate, but your ignoring me oppresses my heart. It tortures my soul and makes my life a woe."

Tears leaked and flowed from my eyes like broken clouds releasing rain. I wiped them quickly before Amarisa could see them.

"My love, you're worrying too much," I said. "There is none left to cheer me but you. I'm so sorry I had been careless, but I love you always."

I pulled away with a bright smile. Amarisa stared back into my eyes.

"Is it true?" she said and I nodded.

"I swear on my life."

"There's no need," she said and smiled again.

"Let us not linger here in the night so cold," I said. "You must head back to your chamber."

"No, I wish to be with you tonight," she said. "Will you let me stay until the morning birds start to sing?"

It was the first time she had suggested it. I was ready to make excuses, but when the princess looked at me, I lost my resolve.

"As you wish," I said.