Rose's Birthday

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King Epirius paced up and down in his chamber while drinking a red wine, he looked restless and he was Trembling. His mind was on that slave girl for some reason, he had expected her to come running back to beg him to touch her, that she couldn't take the suffering anymore after what he had put her through, but it has been a year and some months and she managed to endure all that.

"Argh!!" He yelled and angrily threw the wine glass on the wall as it shattered into pieces, He clenched his hand into a fist so tight that his knuckles turned white.

A knock was heard at the door and Epirius permitted the person to come In, expecting his General but it was a young girl with long brown locks and deep brown eyes, He recognized her, she was Athena's younger sister but what he didn't notice was how beautiful she was, maybe it was because they were always together and Athena seemed to outshine her younger sister's beauty.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Rose asked as she dropped the tray of tea on the stool next to him and went to pack the glass.

"Maidservant Esther asked me to bring your night tea," Rose said when she accidentally cut herself while picking the glass but didn't pay attention to it as she stood up and bowed slightly. Epirius stood from his seat and walked towards her he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and held her hand in his.

"You cut yourself, you should be more careful next time," Epirius said cleaning her hand as his lustful gaze trailed from her face down to her chest where the thin fabric revealed the shape of her plump breasts.

"Thank you, your Majesty," Rose said as she noticed something was off and withdrew her hands before bowing as she turned to leave.

"Where are you going, I did not dismiss you!" Epirius said and the girl halted turning back, He walked towards her, She bent her head down slightly, looking at the tiled floor, Epirius used a finger to lift her chin to meet his gaze and then he carried his finger from her face down to her chest, causing her to flinch and step back.

"Your...Your Majesty," She said stuttering as she stepped backward while he moved forward.

"Come on now dear, don't be a stubborn brat like your sister." He said and leaned in to kiss her.

"Your Majesty. May I come in...it's very urgent" General K whom he was expecting knocked and Epirius pulled away with a loud grunt.

"You're dismissed, "He said and Rose quickly ran out of his chamber.

Rose's POV

"Where are you going, I did not dismiss you."King Epirius said and froze and turned to him. He suddenly got up from his seat and walked toward me, I avoided his gaze and looked at the floor, I have read a lot of novels to know that King Epirius's gaze was not ordinary, but filled with lust. He touched my face and trailed his fingers down to my chest.

"Your... Your Majesty. " I said stepping backward while he moved closer, I stopped before hitting the wall and tried to reach out for the vase placed on a tall wooden stool unknown to him, but just as I touched it...

"Come on now, don't be a stubborn brat like your sister. " He said and leaned in, I grabbed the vase and...

"Your majesty, may I come in, it's urgent." A knock came at the door and he pulled away with a grunt while I sighed in relief, instantly leaving the vase.

"You're dismissed. " He said and I quickly ran out of the room. I walked through the dim-lit hall, filled with portraits of the ancient rulers of Stones kingdom.

'What was I thinking, hitting a vase on the king's head would be treason, would be beheaded in an instant."I said inwardly, battling with myself in my head until I bumped into Princess Evie.

"Rose, what are you thinking about, didn't you hear me calling?" She asked politely and also with a smile.

"Evie, I'm so sorry, I wasn't...I was just..."

"No worries, Since you're here, you need to see my chamber. "Evie said without waiting for me to respond, she grabbed my hand and dragged me carefully further down the hall until we stopped at a white door, decorated with flowers.

She opened the door and we both went in, I was awestruck at the interior designs. Evie's room was covered with a flower design on the wall and forest-green curtains dangled by the window. Her queen-sized bed sat at the corner of the spacious room, a circular pink carpet was draped on the floor at the center of the room, a huge cupboard sat at the right-hand side of the room, and a shelf that contained nothing but shoes. at the upper part of the room beside her bed were her study, a chair, and a table with a lamp at both sides of the table and a jar filled with glowing fireflies giving a beautiful contrast.

"Wow," I said in admiration as I walked over to her study to check out the beautiful jar of fireflies.

"My Father set all these up for me before he became King. He was the best Father a girl could ever ask for and suddenly he switched to being the devil he is now. "Evie said walking toward where I stood, her sad expression returned to the smiley one she had on first and she picked up the jar.

"They are perfectly trained, wanna see?" She asked and I nodded vigorously, she opened the jar and the opposite of what I expected happened, I was expecting the fireflies to fly out of the Jar and scatter everywhere but the fireflies remained there despite the lid being opened.

"Come out," She whispered and the Fireflies came out, dancing around the room, illuminating the dim-lit room with light, since it was nighttime, it was a sight to behold, it was even more beautiful than the northern lights.

Evie drew a heart shape with her finger in mid-air and the Fireflies combined into a glowing heart shape, it was all so surreal.

"In," She said and they all swooped back into the jar in a dive.

"Hell!" I said, eyes bulging out in excitement.

"You see!" Evie said all smiles.

"That was the best thing I have seen so far," I said, and Evie handed the jar to me and I creased my brows in confusion.

"Happy Advanced birthday, it's a gift from me to you," Evie said and my eyes widen.

"Heavens, I can't accept this, it looks precious to you," I said.

"It was, but now it's just a meaningless bunch of glowing flies in a jar," Evie said.

"You take it, it was the first thing your eyes caught when you came in here, so I want you to have it." She said again and I gazed at her thankfully.

"Thank you, Evie," I said with a bow but instead she pulled me in for a hug.

"You're welcome," She said