Chapter 45: Ready for the night?

"What do you think suits me better?" He asked, holding a black robe in each hand. "This or that?"

"Both look the same to me," Eve replied with a shrug, acting indifferent to his question.

It had been at least three hours since he had been standing in front of his life-sized mirror, the silver plating behind the reflective surface mirroring his image flawlessly unlike any other such object she had seen before.

She had been standing alongside him, not bothering to hide her irritation as he made her go back and forth between his cupboard and the mirror to fetch a different pair of clothes every few minutes. He would shamelessly discard his clothing in front of the servants who were waiting on him by his bedside who were doing no other work than staring at the both of them bicker like old sailors.

Her legs were starting to ache already from all the standing. Eve sighed tiredly, yearning for a moment's worth of rest.

Theodore burst out laughing, the jewels on his crown sparkling as it reflected the light from the chandelier above them. "I'm sure it does." He said, poking at her self-respect again. "Your brain must be as plain as your face." He remarked, throwing the heavier one of the two robes towards the servants.

A girl quickly caught it before it hit the ground, heaving a sigh of relief as she clutched the material to her chest gratefully. After spending a few hours with them, Eve had realized that unlike most of the women and men in the palace, there were some whose eyes reflected fear rather than devotion when they looked at the king.

She was yet to find one like her, who hated the man, enough to want to stab his brain out with a rock. But for now, she alone was enough for that role, Eve thought, glaring at the king's back as he turned towards the servants.

"You all may leave now." He said, waving at them dismissively.

The servants bowed, the only man among them glaring at her jealousy before following the others out the room. The girl with the coat, bowed, walking over to his closet to keep it safely inside. When she slipped out of the room, she shot Eve an apologetic look before disappearing behind the line of guards that stood outside the room.

Theodore turned towards her, adjusting his sleeves with a satisfied smile. "Ready for the night?" He asked, not bothering to look at her.

Eve clenched her jaws, narrowing her eyes at him. "I would like to remind you one last time." She said, her fingers closing into fists. "I had strict orders to stay inside my room."

"Like you're one to follow them, anyway." He said, huffing at her warning dismissively. He turned towards the door, walking forward as he said, "Come, they must be waiting for me."

Eve gritted her teeth. throwing curses at him in her mind as she followed behind, walking between the fluttering embroidered cloak of the king and a dozen soldiers whose gazes were fixed on the nape of her neck, ready to put her down in a moment's time if ordered.

When they stepped into the garden hall, Eve was astonished to find the place hardly recognizable. Gone were curtained cubicles and the wild scenes of the frenzy. The room sparkled with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, shaming the soft glow of the moon with its brilliant warm blaze, a thousand unmelting candles balanced on their wings.

Pure white roses adorned the railings of the stairs, climbing up the tall pillars that ran through the circumference of the hall. She walked forward, her naked feet reveling in the soft feeling of the pure white carpet that was spread throughout the length and breadth of the stairs, her figure hidden behind the king who was nodding at his guests in acknowledgment.

As soon as they stepped onto the marble flooring, men and women dressed in the finest of jewelry and clothing rushed to him, offering their greetings with wide smiles pasted on their faces as they thanked the king for his invitation. A few stayed back to talk politics as the others slipped back into the crowd, taking different partners as they danced to the rhythm of the string instruments playing from the dais below the stairs.

What surprised her was the number of human guests who had come to the celebration, receiving the invitation from Nightwell Hold. She watched ambassadors and kings, princes and their siblings sucking up to Theodore enthusiastically. They praised Ibitea's beauty and sang of the king's virtue and mercy- fallacies that made her ears itch.

Some talked of rumors, gossiping about their neighboring kingdoms while others pleaded for Ibitea's support in possible upcoming wars. Theodore nodded to some while ignoring the rest, his blank expression rarely changing unless when glancing at her shift her weight on her other leg irritatedly. The corners of his lips would assume a slight tilt then, only to vanish as the next guest competed for his attention.

Eve sighed, putting a hand to her head impatiently as she eyed the staircase. There was a door under it that would lead them straight out of the room and into the kitchen- a path only used by the walkers and the servants.

"Don't even think of slipping away unnoticed," Theodore whispered, leaning towards her ears. "Even if I disappear, you are to wait at my tent."

Eve huffed, stepping away from the man in irritation. What was going through her mind was something more than slipping away unnoticed. She wanted to go to the kitchen to grab something sharp to push into his heart. She fought the urge to glare at him, keeping her eyes trained towards the floor.

"I'm just tired. My legs hurt." She murmured, irritably.

The king sighed, taking a step towards her. Eve looked up, her eyes widening at the man's courage to approach her in public. He opened his mouth to say something when suddenly, someone called him from behind.

"King Theodore."

Theodore turned around, his attention diverted to the man who was now walking towards them with a full-blown smile.

"Victor." The king acknowledged, the corner of his mouth raised in a smirk.