Met Sophie again

Chapter 8

"Help! I shouted. Suddenly, I felt a pair of big hands holding my body firmly.

I felt myself fall to the floor, but it didn't hurt, as I felt myself sinking into a thick mattress. I pulled down the cloth that had covered my eyes and met Theo's glowing amber eyes, his warm breath coming at me, and I couldn't help but feel tingly like an electric shock.

"You are so greedy, you just learned to walk, and already you want to run!" he doted.

The midday sun shone warmly on us, my head rested on his firm chest, and for a moment I felt I had entered a fairytale world, wrapped in the arms of Prince Charming, protected and pampered. I closed my eyes and enjoyed this somewhat surreal peace.

I don't know how long it took, but I heard a crisp bird call and I opened my eyes, realizing that I was on top of the king, and I was horny as hell! How could I! I felt my cheeks burning and tried to get up from Theo in a panic. I couldn't move because he had his arms tightly around me.

"Stay a little longer." His hand gently stroked my hair while asking me lazily, "Do you know why I asked you to hide from the stone blindfolded?"

"Because you wanted to trick me!" I rolled my eyes.

"Boxers in training have sandbags tied to their legs to help them adapt to having heavy legs; when they remove the sandbags, they will feel much lighter when they move. I had you try to avoid the stones blindfolded so that later, when you're not blindfolded, you will be able to dodge them with ease. The enemy is always in the shadows. They won't let you discover them straightaway, just like your stepmother, and by the time you find out, you won't be far from death."

"My ears have suddenly become very sharp - is it because I drank your blood?" I asked Theo, looking at him gratefully.

"Werewolves' ears are very sensitive, especially our Lycan, they're a hundred times a hundred times more sensitive. Now that you have drunk my blood, you are stronger than before without a doubt. Wait until you shift, and you will be stronger still."

"When will the poison clear my body?" I couldn't wait to have my own wolf.

"Under the full moon, I will help you remove the poison from your body. Can't wait? I can't wait either."

I understood what he meant, and my face burned even redder. Despite my restraint, my body felt a stirring, especially as his fingers stroked through my hair, and I couldn't help but moan. The primal desire inside me overwhelmed my consciousness. I wanted to touch him, to kiss him.

I moved my body up and wrapped both arms around his neck, then my lips were against his ear, sucking gently on his earlobe, then my lips were on his cheek and a tingling sensation crossed my face as the beard brushed my face.

My lips raked over the moustache above his mouth, and then I penetrated his mouth with my tongue. I sucked hungrily on every inch of his mouth, filling me with a delicious sensation of pleasure.

I felt his breathing become rapid as his hands had reached into my clothes, caressed my back, then unbuttoned my bra, and when his hands touched my breasts, I stiffened, a rush of electricity coursing through my veins, and I kissed him more frantically.

"BOOM!" a violent thunder disturbed me; I looked up and saw that there were already dark clouds overhead. "We must hurry, the rain will soon fall."

I quickly tidied up my clothes, and he pulled me down the hill. At this point, we were caught by the rainstorm.

"I'll carry you, it'll be faster." His voice was firm.

Really? I suddenly squirmed, the man in front of me was the supreme King. How could I let him carry me! The next second, I was already bouncing on his back. I felt like I was sitting on a roller coaster soaring down, so fast that I screamed and couldn't help but close my eyes.

In a flash, I felt myself being thrown to the ground, "Ouch!" I opened my eyes, rubbing my sore buttocks. As I looked around, it turned out that we had reached the foot of the mountain. The Palace was just one mile away, and the guards could already be seen patrolling ahead.

"Go on by yourself." Theo's voice at this point changed back to a cold command.

I looked up at the sky, a clear blue sky with some white clouds. It was hard to imagine that there were dark clouds and bolts of lightning but a few minutes ago. I pouted and complained, "You are quite a good actor, you change your face faster than this weather."

I felt a little upset as I followed him towards the Palace, but my spirits lifted suddenly when I saw a familiar figure among some gardeners pruning the plants near to the Palace building.

"Sophie!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Your Majesty, I can see my friend. I've missed her so much, I am going to talk with her now." I turned to Theo with a beaming face.

"You've missed her so much, you're practically slobbering over her – what exactly is your relationship?" Theo's voice had turned surly. Could it be that the King was jealous? But I couldn't think about Theo's feelings at this moment, as I screwed up my face at him and ran towards Sophie.

When Sophie heard my voice, she stood waving her arms at me; soon, we hugged each other and we both broke into tears. My tears were filled with both the joy of us being together, and the guilt that she had suffered because of me because I had been incapable of protecting her.

It took a while before we both calmed down. We held hands and sat on a bench beneath a tree. I felt I had a lot to say to her, but I didn't know what to say when the time came to speak.

"Dory, are you okay now? Last thing I heard, you had been arrested by the King and I was so worried about you. I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life if you were killed because of me." Sophie's eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm fine now Sophie, don't worry about me, Andrew is dead. We're friends, of course I couldn't leave you alone in danger, and I'm sure you would have done the same if it were me." I chose my words carefully, trying to erase the bad memories.

"Dory, I can't thank you enough, I haven't felt like I had family since my Gran passed away, you're like a sister to me." she whispered and leant her head on my shoulder.

My own family had cheated me, abandoned me and even tried to kill me. I hated the word family, it was the same as the word devil for me. But for Sophie, I'd only known her for less than a month, and yet she treats me genuinely.

Sophie sensed my discomfort at this and talked happily about other matters, "Dory, my job is not too hard now, and I can eat meat every day. Things are so much better."

Sophie's words made me cry with happiness again. We talked for quite a while, before I told her, "I need to go back now, I'll catch up with you later."

"Do you promise? You know I'm forbidden to visit you at the Palace." Sophie sounded a little reluctant.

"For sure, you have my word!" I held out my hand and made a pinky promise with her.

I returned to the Palace to see Esther coming out of a dining room and greeting me warmly, "Dory, I made lasagne for dinner, do you want some?"

I nodded and followed her to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, I could sense a strong meaty smell combined with melting cheese, which made my mouth water.

Esther took the piping hot lasagne out of the oven, cut a big slice and handed it to me on a plate. I took it to a table in the kitchen, sat down and started to eat.

"Is the King sleeping well these nights? He's been in a good mood of late," Esther sat opposite me and chatted with me while I ate.

I thought about it. I realised that I didn't pay attention to how well Theo slept at night, because I slept right through to dawn. When I opened my eyes in the morning, he was no longer in bed.

"Um…I didn't pay attention to whether the King slept well or not. I've been sleeping the sleep of the dead," I was a little embarrassed to say. "Does the King have difficulty in sleeping?" I asked curiously.

"The King was brought here at the age of five when the old King died, and as many people were eyeing the throne, the King as had many thorns inside. From the time he was only five to twelve years old, almost every year someone would come to try to assassinate him at night, including his own uncle. Three of the guards who had served him from childhood were killed at night while they protected him, so the King often had nightmares as a child and could only sleep for three or four hours a night," Esther explained with a sigh.

She took a sip of coffee as she continued, "Then the King grew up and was more powerful, and those who coveted his throne could not dare be so reckless. Outside the Palace, the King seems tough, but what other child sleeps in fear at night time and witnesses all this bloodshed and murder?"

On hearing this, I didn't know what to say for a moment, only that I felt very sorry for Theo. Although Zoe and Zelda were vicious, I nevertheless had lived in a happy life for nineteen years; but poor Theo, although he was a King, must have never experienced the love of parents. If he hadn't been cold blooded and ruthless, he would surely have died by now.

In the following days, I followed Theo every day and trained hard. My ears became more and more sensitive, my movements became more rapid, and soon almost at the moment he threw a stone, I was able to judge its direction according to the sound without ever misjudging.

One day, I arose and walked out of the bedroom to see many more servants than usual coming in and out of the Palace. I bumped into Esther and asked curiously, "Esther, it seems like there's some kind of an event today, is there something going on?"

"Today, the King is hosting a garden party at the Palace," Esther hurriedly explained.

I looked out the window and saw a bright white cluster of tents elegantly arranged on the lush green of the manicured lawn, making them stand out even more. An array of gourmet dishes and appetizers was beautifully presented on large, shining silver plates.

I realised that I'd been staying here all this time and had been feeling just a little bored up to now. Excitedly, I asked Esther if there was anything I could do to help.

Fearing that she would refuse, I added, "I can put on a servant's clothes and help."