To Bewitch a Devil

134 I am the same

He left the stables and headed to his room to see Neera. There, he met her making the bed. She put down the pillow when he came in, and he could see the sadness in her eyes.

“You are back”, she said, as if not expecting him soon. Zavian looked at the made bed and noticed something was amiss. He looked around the room, and every sign of her, from the littlest things like her comb to her bits of clothes, were all out of sight. His heart sank immediately.

“What is going on?” He asked.

“I am leaving for the maids’ quarters, your Majesty”, Neera said. She let out a quiet sniffle. She must have been crying.

“Neera, did something happen?” Zavian walked up to her, and with his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face him.

“I have to go.” She said. “It is the right thing to do. I was just hoping you wouldn’t be here when I do.”

“Neera, talk to me”, he shook her slightly.

“You have a duty, and I won’t come between that duty,” Neera said. “The halls are being decorated, preparations are being made, all for your wedding. And I can’t be sleeping in here knowing that there will be a Queen to occupy this place in one week’s time.”

“Neera..”

.....

“Zavian”, she held his face in her palms. “Please, I kept telling myself I would leave the next day over and over again, but each day I woke up here and I still stayed, but now I know it is time for me to leave. More than anything, I want to relive every second I spent with you, but this has to come to an end.”

He pulled one of her hands away from her face and placed it on his chest. “I don’t want you to leave. It doesn’t matter. I am king.”

“I know, but it is not right, and it has to be done out of respect.” She said. “I have to leave, and please, don’t seek me, I beg you. You need to focus on what is important right now, and the Dukes will soon arrive.” She hugged him. “Thank you for showing me how beautiful life is.”

Zavian felt a chill from where her hands wrapped around him when she let go. She wiped her wet face and headed towards the door. Zavian could not bear her leaving, not yet. She would keep him sane, always have.

“Neera”, he called her. “As the King, I ask you to stay.” He commanded. That was the last straw but the look on her face seemed like she was ready for the consequences.

There was a watery smile as she held unto the doorknob.

“Goodbye, Zavian”, she said and shut his door close. The room returned to a deaf silence and Zavian felt his heart drop into his stomach.

...

Azriel had been so busy organizing the guards for the wedding preparation that he only came back to his court late in the evenings or spent the night at the palace.

The Night of Selection was in three days, and Dukes, governors, knights, and all royalties from far and wide were going to attend the wedding the following day after the soon-to-be queen was chosen. Azriel would have been excited about the whole affair if not for the King walking around his palace with the somber mood of someone who had heard of a loved one passing.

He knew the cause of that mood, but he chose to ignore it. It was bound to end, whatever it was between him and the maid, and the hurt would fade away with time, he was sure of that.

As he moved towards his room, he caught a glimpse of midnight black hair before it disappeared from his view. Only someone he knew with hair that dark against pale skin, and he hurried after her.

“Pen”, he called, breathless. Penelope turned to him, but as soon as she saw him, her expression became as hard as a stone.

“My Lord”, she answered.

He didn’t know what reception he expected from her, but definitely not this one.

“I was here thinking you weren’t here anymore. I haven’t seen you around.”, he said.

“I never left, my Lord.”

He tilted his head to the side and regarded her. There was something completely off about her. He could have sworn she was a different person.

“You are coming with me to the castle tomorrow. You could stay till after the wedding.” He said. He expected her expression to morph into a happy, excited one, but she only nodded.

“Is that all, my Lord?” She asked.

Okay, what was happening?

“Pen, did something happen?” He asked her. When he made a move towards her, she took a step back.

“I think it is better to keep things between us the way a Lord and a maid would interact, my Lord,” she said.

“Why? What happened?”

She sighed. “It is the normal order of things, my Lord.”

There was no warning to the way he walked up to her fast. Before she could take any step back, he was already up in her face. She swallowed hard, but didn’t back down from his gaze.

“There is no order for anything, so don’t put one,” he said. “I don’t know what is wrong, but this...”, he gesticulated to the entirety of her. “Isn’t like you.”

“Oh?” Pen spat. How was he pretending like there was nothing wrong, like it was all in her head? Or maybe it was. “I am sorry, my Lord, but I am the same, Penelope.”

She saw a muscle on Azriel’s jaw tick in annoyance. Good, she needed to rile him enough so he would stay far away from her.

His jaw relaxed, and he let out a breath of air. Two maids walked past them both, and Azriel waited for them to be out of sight before he continued speaking.

“You know, the condition to bring you here was that you leave the Castle,” he began. ”I know that can be hard for you but sometimes I feel we are getting closer and then you push me away, and I get so confused. I really don’t know what is wrong, so please, can you tell me?”