A crush on Iskander
"Did you refuse me?" Iskander asked her.
Yohana nodded at him. "What if I get caught? I've heard that the elders are dangerous people. And I don't wish to die early. I'm only twenty one. I have to live a long life," Yohana pronounced, giving him the reason why she refused to bring the map.
Iskander chuckled to hear her and started smiling. "You fear the Elders, but you refuse to scare from me. Even I can give you a death punishment. But in front of me, you acted so brave and mighty," Iskander remarked as he moved his eyes on her face.
"You would have killed me by now if I had angered you. But you didn't. That means I don't have to be scared of you," Yohana stated. "So, what does this map hold that even you cannot ask it from your uncle?" she quipped.
"As I said it's the map of a lost city," Iskander answered crisply.
"Yes. Explain please," Yohana requested him.
"There is nothing to explain if you don't wish to do it. Also, why is a servant so free today? Did you hide from the work?" Iskander asked her.
"I'm in your service. Madam Jolie said that I should serve you only and I've no need to work like the other servants. However, you were upset with me," Yohana stated.
"If I ask you to serve me, then you refuse. I ordered you, yet you refused to do that work," Iskander remarked.
"That's because the task His Majesty gave me is difficult. It can risk my life. I'm an unaware of his uncle's house, so I can be caught easily," Yohana asserted the reason why she had to refuse that task.
"I'll make sure you remember every corner of Jasper's house." Iskander finally took out the name of his uncle. "I will free you from the tag of the slave if you succeed in this task." This time his offer was tempting, which Yohana couldn't refuse.
"Give me a promise," Yohana extended her hand. In the werewolves, a promise was made, locking hands with each other and make an eye-contact for 5 seconds.
Iskander smiled and held her hand. "I will free from being a slave, Yohana Arlington," he pronounced. She noticed a slight glow in his covered eye, but before she could observe it further, Iskander let go of her hand. "5 seconds are over," he added.
"Ahh, yes," Yohana lowered her hand to her side. "Why do you keep that mask?" she finally asked, bringing his gaze to meet hers.
"I am hungry. Include roasted chicken in my lunch meal today," Iskandar instructed her before leaving.
Yohana headed to the royal kitchen to give the order. As she told the chef, she noticed her favorite dish being cooked as well in the dessert- a custard pie. Her mouth turned watery and she shook her head.
"We will start the preparation for it," the head chef informed Yohana. She nodded and left the kitchen. While coming toward the chamber, she found out Ria.
"Ria! Are you free? Can we talk for a moment?" Yohana inquired as she stopped her.
"Ah, yes," Ria replied. "What is it?" she questioned.
"Does King Iskander never remove that mask?" Yohana questioned her.
"I'm certain he does, usually before retiring for the night," Ria replied.
"Indeed?"
"Why do you ask? Didn't you observe the expression on His Majesty's face?" Ria inquired.
"I missed that," Yohana admitted.
"Well, nobody has. I've heard rumors that His Majesty's face is badly charred. Whether it's true or not, I can't say," Ria asserted, though she believed it to be true given the efforts Iskander made to conceal it.
"I thought he had a scar. Was there a burn incident?" Yohana inquired.
"I'm not sure, Yohana. I'm not privy to such details," Ria responded. "I must attend to some tasks now. We'll catch up later." With that, Ria departed, leaving Yohana to enter the chamber.
"I think it may be related to his childhood," Yohana murmured.
"What is related to my childhood?" Iskander's voice reached her ear and she saw him in front of her, though at a pretty good distance. "Did you order the chefs to cook the roasted chicken in the lunch?" he asked as he folded the parchment.
"Yes, I did, Your Majesty," Yohana replied.
"I'm not used to your respect. It makes me suspicious of you. Your face says you want to know something about me." Iskander half-read her thoughts and she wondered how. "Your eyes are readable and so is your face," he clarified to her.
"Will His Majesty answer me if I ask him?" Yohana pondered, hoping to glimpse the tender side of Iskander, knowing it existed too.
"If I feel like answering," Iskander replied, moving to the plush maroon sofa and taking a seat.
"I would like to see your face, Iskander," Yohana mustered her courage to speak. "I didn't mean to offend you." She turned around to face him and found that he had already removed the mask from the right side of his face.
Yohana's eyes widened as she beheld his countenance, momentarily forgetting to blink.
Iskander's face wasn't charred; there was no burning scar or battle scar to be seen. It was as clean as the left side. Then, why did he always cover his right side? The mystery lingered in her mind.
Yohana realized Iskander was no lesser than the Gods about whom she had heard or read. He was like those fictional heroes, which could only existed in the stories or graphic novels. His face was perfect without any flaws, his eyes were sparkling and they looked as deep as the ocean.
Yohana found her throat getting dried and her heart skipped a beat. It took seconds for her to develop a crush on Iskander and her fingers curled because this was the first time even her wolf got attracted to someone, who was definitely out of her reach.
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