Soft whimpers fell onto my ears which made me wake up. As I opened my eyes, my gaze fell onto the lass beside me. She was whimpering and shifting uncomfortably in her sleep. There was a deep crease between her eyebrows. A nightmare...I thought."Flora...Flora?" I called out to her and slightly gave her body a shake, hoping she'd wake up. But there was no positive response so I shook her a little more and called out to her again. This time, her eyes opened in a panic as she sat up and looked around. Taking in the surroundings, her eyes landed on me and a sigh left her mouth."Was it that bad?" I questioned. Flora nodded and buried her face in her hands.I slowly placed a hand on her back and gave her a gentle rub. "Would you like some water?" I asked."Yes" she mumbled. I quickly grabbed the glass bottle off of my bedside table and handed it to the distressed lass.She quickly took the bottle from my hand and took small sips until she was content. "Feeling any better?""A little, yes.
All of a sudden, Blade's expression changed from that of semi-satisfaction to extreme confusion with a hint of surprise. "Is something wrong?" I asked."Your eyes...they're red!" he replied. I furrowed my brows in confusion and slightly tilted my head. "What do you—" I got cut off when I heard a low voice in my head. I couldn't make out what it said but it spooked me too much. The longer I stared at Blade, the more erratic my heartbeats got. I felt a pull toward him, something which felt extremely natural yet unnatural."Must be my imagination..." Blade said and exhaled. "My apologies for the false panic!" "No, that's fine. You must be tired...I mean, I've troubled you enough..." I trailed off and looked away. But the beating of my heart quickened up, my subconscious forcing me to look back at the warlock.Blade shook his head and replied with a simple "No" before cupping my face. "Whatever this is you're going through, it is very serious. It's not something you can dust off!" he s
I followed Blade's gaze and then turned to look at him again. "Well, I'm glad you have something left of them. Do you read it often?" "Not very often but when I'm stressed or not in a great mood. Their journal entries are a good refreshers and tells me more about their love for each other. Or other things in general" he answered. "Must be nice to know more about them..." I murmured and sighed.Blade smiled small and said, "Yes, indeed. So do you plan on reading the book right now?"I hummed in response and glanced at the book. "I don't want to sleep...not yet" The warlock just shrugged and started walking toward the door. I followed him out as he turned around to lock the library again. We went back to his room and I decided to sit at his desk to read under the lamp. I didn't want Blade to sleep uncomfortably if I were to have lights turned on for me to read.I insisted Blade to just get some rest whilst I continued to read the book he picked out for me. Though he was against it at
What we all just witnessed was something unexpected and equally surprising. "Caspian, stay here with her, I'll have a look!" I said and rushed out of my room.Running downstairs, I almost bumped into Lenox. "Lord Blade, did you hear—""I did! Come with me!" I instructed Lenox and went out the back door of my manor.I looked around at first, trying to find anything, anything that could tell me what just went down. After finding nothing, I decided to have a look at the area where we all saw the blood covered bloke.Upon reaching the area, I and Lenox stepped into the woods, not deep though. But we weren't able to find anything. Not even a trace of the events we witnessed. "Blade! Anything there?" Caspian called out to me from my chamber's balcony. I turned to look up at him and shook my head. "Shall I join? We can cover more ground that way!" he suggested. "We'll do that later. For now we have the demon prince to worry about..." I linked him."Almost forgot about him. Well, come back
Princess Marina's request caught me off guard at first. She silently pleaded with her eyes and occassionally looked around to check for any third person witnessing the encounter. "Okay, how about we talk in my study?" I suggested. The princess approved of it and I signalled for her to follow me. Walking upstairs, I led the way to my study and opened the door for her to enter first. "Thank you so much for your time, Lord Blade!" the princess said as soon as I closed the door behind us. "Of course! What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?" I asked. Princess Marina inhaled slow and deep before speaking. "Well, I was linking with my parents back in Adriosana and I learnt something about..." she trailed off, leaving me curious. I urged her to speak as my brain started to run with multiple possibilities. It didn't take a genius to know this was about Flora. "Could you give me your word, that you won't speak to anyone about it? Especially not my husband!" She seemed a bit frant
A loud knock on the door of my bedroom jolted me awake. I hurriedly got out of bed and opened the door. My father was standing outside impatiently as he tapped his foot on the tiled floor. “Flora, finally! Have you seen the time? It’s way past your wake-up time!” He scolded. “Sorry, father. I was in a deep slumber…” I mumbled. “Get dressed into something presentable and meet me in the common room” I nodded and he left. Sighing, I closed the door, picked out a royal blue dress and a pair of blue flats to match it with. I took a warm bath and dried off my body with a towel. Slipping into my dress, I let my red hair down and combed it with a hairbrush before styling it. I put on my flats and made my way to the common room where my father patiently waited for me on the sofa. He looked a little lost in thoughts until he took notice of me. Giving me a once over, he got on his feet and approached me. “Perfect! Let’s go now!” He said and hurried out of the door. What was he up to? We b
A nudge to my elbow and my father’s hushed words, “Bow down to him in respect” made me break eye contact and lower my head. I slightly bent down, showing my respect to the warlock in front of us. Keeping my eyes to the ground, I saw his tall legs disappear from my view. He walked around and opposite us as he sat down on the large sofa. He was a natural leader. My father hastily turned to look at Lord Blade and bowed in respect again before saying, “Lord Blade, what a pleasure to meet you again!” I still kept my head low, so I couldn’t read the warlock’s face. “The pleasure is mine, Gerald. Now, if you’re done with the formalities, please sit down” his voice was deep and low yet intimidating enough to scare me. Chills ran down my spine and I hesitated for a moment to sit down on the sofa along with my father. I continued to keep my head low, not wanting to upset my father and Lord Blade. I did not wish to get into trouble and be punished. “So, Gerald, have you come to pay your deb
Ascending the stairs to the second floor, the maid started walking forward with me following her closely. She stopped two doors from the end of the corridor and turned to the door on the left. Opening it, she asked me to enter. “This is your room. The room opposite to you is where Lord Blade resides in” she said. “Thank you, uh…” “Grace!” “Thank you Grace!” “Would you like a change of clothes? I will quickly arrange it and then I will take you down for your meal” “If it won’t be an issue…” I hesitated. Would I come off as greedy to make such a request? “I’ve already drawn a bath for you. While you take a bath, I’ll get a fresh set of clothes for you!” With that, Grace bowed a little and walked away. I wasn’t used to such a treatment and felt extremely uncomfortable. I slowly closed the door but didn’t lock it since Grace would bring me new clothes. I looked around in the room which was a little bigger than my room back at home. The walls were painted a dark shade of gr
Princess Marina's request caught me off guard at first. She silently pleaded with her eyes and occassionally looked around to check for any third person witnessing the encounter. "Okay, how about we talk in my study?" I suggested. The princess approved of it and I signalled for her to follow me. Walking upstairs, I led the way to my study and opened the door for her to enter first. "Thank you so much for your time, Lord Blade!" the princess said as soon as I closed the door behind us. "Of course! What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?" I asked. Princess Marina inhaled slow and deep before speaking. "Well, I was linking with my parents back in Adriosana and I learnt something about..." she trailed off, leaving me curious. I urged her to speak as my brain started to run with multiple possibilities. It didn't take a genius to know this was about Flora. "Could you give me your word, that you won't speak to anyone about it? Especially not my husband!" She seemed a bit frant
What we all just witnessed was something unexpected and equally surprising. "Caspian, stay here with her, I'll have a look!" I said and rushed out of my room.Running downstairs, I almost bumped into Lenox. "Lord Blade, did you hear—""I did! Come with me!" I instructed Lenox and went out the back door of my manor.I looked around at first, trying to find anything, anything that could tell me what just went down. After finding nothing, I decided to have a look at the area where we all saw the blood covered bloke.Upon reaching the area, I and Lenox stepped into the woods, not deep though. But we weren't able to find anything. Not even a trace of the events we witnessed. "Blade! Anything there?" Caspian called out to me from my chamber's balcony. I turned to look up at him and shook my head. "Shall I join? We can cover more ground that way!" he suggested. "We'll do that later. For now we have the demon prince to worry about..." I linked him."Almost forgot about him. Well, come back
I followed Blade's gaze and then turned to look at him again. "Well, I'm glad you have something left of them. Do you read it often?" "Not very often but when I'm stressed or not in a great mood. Their journal entries are a good refreshers and tells me more about their love for each other. Or other things in general" he answered. "Must be nice to know more about them..." I murmured and sighed.Blade smiled small and said, "Yes, indeed. So do you plan on reading the book right now?"I hummed in response and glanced at the book. "I don't want to sleep...not yet" The warlock just shrugged and started walking toward the door. I followed him out as he turned around to lock the library again. We went back to his room and I decided to sit at his desk to read under the lamp. I didn't want Blade to sleep uncomfortably if I were to have lights turned on for me to read.I insisted Blade to just get some rest whilst I continued to read the book he picked out for me. Though he was against it at
All of a sudden, Blade's expression changed from that of semi-satisfaction to extreme confusion with a hint of surprise. "Is something wrong?" I asked."Your eyes...they're red!" he replied. I furrowed my brows in confusion and slightly tilted my head. "What do you—" I got cut off when I heard a low voice in my head. I couldn't make out what it said but it spooked me too much. The longer I stared at Blade, the more erratic my heartbeats got. I felt a pull toward him, something which felt extremely natural yet unnatural."Must be my imagination..." Blade said and exhaled. "My apologies for the false panic!" "No, that's fine. You must be tired...I mean, I've troubled you enough..." I trailed off and looked away. But the beating of my heart quickened up, my subconscious forcing me to look back at the warlock.Blade shook his head and replied with a simple "No" before cupping my face. "Whatever this is you're going through, it is very serious. It's not something you can dust off!" he s
Soft whimpers fell onto my ears which made me wake up. As I opened my eyes, my gaze fell onto the lass beside me. She was whimpering and shifting uncomfortably in her sleep. There was a deep crease between her eyebrows. A nightmare...I thought."Flora...Flora?" I called out to her and slightly gave her body a shake, hoping she'd wake up. But there was no positive response so I shook her a little more and called out to her again. This time, her eyes opened in a panic as she sat up and looked around. Taking in the surroundings, her eyes landed on me and a sigh left her mouth."Was it that bad?" I questioned. Flora nodded and buried her face in her hands.I slowly placed a hand on her back and gave her a gentle rub. "Would you like some water?" I asked."Yes" she mumbled. I quickly grabbed the glass bottle off of my bedside table and handed it to the distressed lass.She quickly took the bottle from my hand and took small sips until she was content. "Feeling any better?""A little, yes.
Amusement took over me when I saw Lord Blade smile at me. I never expected to ever witness him smile—let alone at me. His chuckle was even more deep and attractive which I found difficult to resist. So I did the first thing that came to my mind. I traced my fingers along his jaw as I placed a soft kiss to the tip of his nose. My heart flipped in my chest when I heard him chuckle.I pulled away when he went silent and looked into his light grey orbs. "I love your eyes..." I muttered.A light red tint spread across the warlock's face as he averted his gaze from me for a moment. "Thank you...I've never gotten that before so my apologies if I—""It's fine, really!" I said and laughed a little. My hand hovered over my mouth as I yawned small. Sleep was slowly starting to take over me."You should sleep now. It's getting late" the warlock said and placed the stray strands of my hair behind my ear. I nodded in agreement and tried to get off of his lap but I realised that his other hand was
I looked at Flora silently, waiting for her to change her mind, but she didn't. It seemed like she was ready to open up about her past. "Are you sure?" I asked."Yes, I am. It's about time you know about it..." she said."Then we can get in bed and talk. I want you to be comfortable" I pointed at the bed with my thumb.Flora nodded and joined me in bed. She pulled the duvet over her lap as she got comfortable on the soft mattress. "Where do I begin...?" she questioned—more like to herself."Whatever you're comfortable with. I wouldn't want you to go through another trip down the fucked up memory lane" I said.The lass looked up at me briefly before averting her gaze elsewhere. "It all started when I turned eight. My mother wouldn't be home almost all day and my father would be at work. My mother would drop me at school and from there, one of my peers' mother would take me to their home upon my mother's words..." she started and inhaled slowly."It's okay, take it slow" I assured her a
A low growl left my mouth when I heard the knock on my bedroom door. I had just been getting comfortable when that stupid knock ruined it all.Getting out of bed, I walked toward the door and opened it slightly to see who it was. To my surprise, it was Prince Luke standing at the door. "Your highness? How may I help you? Do you need anything?" I asked and opened the door a little wider so I can be in his view."My apologies Lord Blade, for showing up at such an hour but I wanted to mention something!" he said. "Could I come inside and talk?" he asked which made me freeze."Uhm..." I trailed off, unsure of how to reply. I turned around to glance at Flora who was now sitting upright in bed."Am I interrupting something?" Prince Luke asked. "N-no! Don't worry!" I immediately replied and stepped out of the room. "We can talk in my study!" I said and gestured toward the door to my right.Prince Luke nodded and said, "I also need to have a word with your mistress. So if you can ask her to
I was too terrified to go back to sleep alone in my room so I had to bring myself to ask Lord Blade if I could at least stay in his room for a little while. I wasn't expecting him to agree to do so easily. As I lied down on the soft mattress, I struggled to fall asleep again. Turning to face Lord Blade, his eyes met mine and held me captive. "Can't sleep?" he asked, his voice deep yet whispery."No..." was all I could mutter. I bit my lower lip, not wanting to work upon a newfound thought in my mind. The handsome warlock being in the same bed as me wasn't helping either.I almost gasped as soon as the warlock reached out to my face and brushed his thumb across my lips. Slowly and carefully, I moved a little closer to the warlock and saw his expression changing into something I couldn't read and make out.His hand slowly rested on my cheek, his thumb leaving my lips and starting to make circles on my face. I leaned into his touch as my eyes closed and a small smile rested on my lips.