“You know that there’s nothing we can do for him here. If he comes back, I will have to hand him over to the commander. It was his majesty’s orders,” the headmaster said as he sat down before her in his office.“Louis won’t come back here,” Elinor said with a calm tone, “ I think he already knows what awaits him if he comes back,”“I hope so. I can’t help but think there is something wrong about this. I am trying to contact his majesty as of now, and all my routs are getting blocked,” he said“I will look into it, hopefully, this crisis is nothing but a misunderstanding on my father’s part,” she said and the headmaster sighed and nodded.Elinor stood up to leave after excusing herself and the headmaster stopped her as she was exiting the door.“Don’t do anything reckless,” he said.“I do not know whatever you are talking about, head master,” she said.“You are not permitted to leave the academy,” he ordered.“And I do not intend to leave it in the near future,” she answered before ope
Elinor was standing in front of her door waiting, one beat went then another, then she heard the knock on the door. “Come in,” She said Azeph opened the door to her room his eyes widening when he found her waiting for him right behind the door. “You were expecting me,” He stated, “I was, you were acting weirdly distant all day so I knew that you would be following me tonight,” She said and he sighed. “I wish I could stop you, but I know better than to try to do that anymore,” He said and she gave him a rueful smile. “You know better, huh…” She answered, “You seem to speak from experience,” she teased, “Elin, this is not the time to joke around,” He scolded and she laughed. “I know. But I will never have the time to laugh if I wait for the right time,” She said with a smile and his eyes saddened understanding her meaning. “I thought that you would be worried sick about him again,” He said. “I am worried, but I know for a fact that he is still alive and well and that’s all I ne
Elinor felt goosebumps rising up her skin as she reached for her gun aiming it toward the stranger who appeared before them.Azeph hadn’t hesitated to pull out his sword as he faced the intruder before her pitting himself in line of danger despite the fact that they barely spoke a word to each other in the last half hour.“Woah, calm down you two it’s me,” a familiar voice said and Elinor’s eyes widened as Will stepped out of the shadow before them with a grin.“Did you think that I would let you go without me?” He asked as he slowly walked toward them.Both Elinor and Azeph sighed at the same time, surprised, they looked at each other only to look away awkwardly when their gazes met.“Did something happen between you two?” Will asked and Elinor awkwardly busied herself putting the gun back into her pocket.Azeph sighed and put back his sword in place.“You could’ve gotten hurt,” he told his friend who grinned at them not seeming remorseful at all.“Sorry, I kind of forgot about that
“Another secret passage,” she said with a plain tone, and Azeph chuckled.“I will go down first, to make sure that the route is safe,” he said and she nodded.“I can’t get my dress dirtied after all,” she said “You’re weirdly obsessed over your dress tonight, it’s very unlike you,” he commented as he jumped down.“Well, a lady must always maintain her posture and elegance. For there are times when it is the only thing that speaks for her character and origin,” Elinor said with a huff and Azeph grinned before picking her up and pulling her down toward him.She gasped in surprise only to circle her arms around his shoulders as he put her down in front of him.“Where did that sentence come from? It sounded terribly like a quote from an etiquette book,” he said as he pressed his forehead against hers.“That’s what my mother used to say back when she was teaching me etiquette,” she answered "Hmm, then I must thank the duchess for raising such a graceful and beautiful woman. You don't hav
Elinor stared at Azeph for a while before he looked down at her with a smile.No, not a smile, a mask. A fake smile, like the one he gives when he's troubled by something."Your Highness, this is Count Amel, the person who was supposed to marry my sister before she passed away," he said,Elinor didn't need the introduction. She knew who count Amel was. What she didn't know is that he used to be Azeph's sister's fiance. "I see..." She answered,"We all thought something happened to you since you disappeared right after the funeral. My parents are extremely worried about you," Azeph said,"My apologies," the man said, "After that, I needed to remain alone for a while. My plan had been to eventually contact you one day but his majesty's orders prevented me from doing so until now. I am glad to see that you are doing well. I keep hearing about your achievements often wherever I go,"Elinor remained silent as she watched the interaction between the two men. She knew that there was too muc
"I was teaching them to learn their places," Elinor answered Louis simply looking at him in the eyes with a calm expression. She wasn't intimidated by his outbursts or glares, they were part of the man himself to her and she had gotten quite used to them.Louis looked at her like that and she returned his looked entering a staring match with him before realizing it. Azeph who had entered the room with them, remained silent as he watched them from afar. He knew not to get involved in their quarrels since the beginning. Louis then smirked down at her seeming amused. The trickster..."Didn't you say that you do not care for the throne? Why would you go through the trouble of making them believe the contrary?" He asked"Because I do not feel the need to reveal my personal plans to them. They are part of the nobility and if we're not careful they will be stepping on our shoulders to get what they want. Better make them learn their places while I can before they start taking liberties,"
Elinor and Azeph silently walked out of the street where Louis’s hideout was. It was already dawn but she could barely register it in her mind. So much happened in such a short span of time that she felt like it had been days not and not one night since she entered that house.“Are you sure that you don’t want to talk to Lord Amel?” She asked Azeph after a while.“We have nothing to say to each other,” Azeph said stubbornly.Elinor watched him for a while before sighing and reaching out for his hand holding it in hers and tugging at it so that he would look at her.“You know that you want to see him, Azeph,” She told him, “You must be anxious to learn what he had been up to. What he was able to find out…” she added and his eyes went to her immediately.“Elin…. I don’t want any of this to come in between us,” he declared with a sigh.“My father is already a criminal, Azeph,” she said, “if this hasn’t put you off, nothing is going to,” Elinor told him wondering if she was going to tell
Azeph pulled Elinor against his chest her palms resting against him as she gasped slightly, closing the door behind them he took a small step back wrapping her in his arms as he looked down at him.“Where are we?” She asked as she looked up at him with her honey-colored eyes shining through the street lights like jewels as they held his questioningly.“An apartment Ed and I use often when we need to get away for a while,” He explained as he pushed a lock of her soft hair away from her forehead and she blinked up at him looking so beautiful and innocent.“Get away, huh,” She whispered a seductive smile tracing her lips and making him almost lose his composure for a moment there.He took a lock of her hair and bent down to press a kiss on it surprising her.“Not a single woman set foot in here before you,” He said, “If you don’t like this…” He started only to be interrupted by her lips against his.“I am completely fine with this, Azeph,” She said with a soft smile as she looked up at h