Sit Still

Neera's face flushed as she washed quickly and stepped out of the water.

''I had a lover back in my kingdom, Kira continued, "But I was a slave, and he was my master's son. We could never be together. We could not dream of it. We loved each other in secret, but when his father found out I was the reason he had refused to get married, he gave me away when the soldiers came.''

Neera put on her clothes. ''everyone in my kingdom detested me, and even the young men that might have taken a liking to me were scared away because they were afraid of being deserted by the people. Those were the times I wished I didn't look like this.'' Neera said as they walked back to the camp.

''But you're lucky here. Humans and demons interact much more than in other kingdoms. After a while, you'll fit in.'' Kira explained and Neera smiled; ''maybe… ''

''When we told the king that we had seen you go into the woods, you would not believe how instantly he disappeared to go search for you.''

Neera looked at Kira, surprise in her eyes.

''I heard the king was stricken by his wife. Demons are not like humans who can fall in love with multiple people. Once they fall in love, it is for eternity. And when Delilah died, he was never the same. Ordinarily, he shouldn't have cared so much as to go by himself to look for you. He could have sent his soldiers to search for you, but he went himself. So what if…''

Neera frowned; ''what if?''

''What if the king thinks you might be his wife because of the striking resemblance?''

Neera's eyes widened, ''That is not possible, Kira.''

"But what will you say about how he reacted when he heard you were in trouble?''

Neera was quiet; ''I really wish this is not true because I'll be in a lot of trouble if he thinks I might be his wife because I certainly am not. The demons would be furious if they got to know that a mere human like me is the reason the king is being distracted. They would not waste a second to kill me off, and I do not want to die.''

''Yes, that is true. ''

''My life has never been easy, but I did not think it would get this worse.'' Neera smiled;

''You just have to avoid the king, so he would not be reminded of his wife when he sees you. I can imagine how it feels for him to look at you and remember how she was killed in front of him. His only wish would be that one day you might turn out to be his dead wife who had returned to him.''

''Yes, that is the best thing I would do for myself and for the peace of the kingdom.''

When they returned to the camp, the soldiers were getting ready to go to the woods again. That day was the last day in that vicinity before they would leave for another place. As soon as they saw Neera, one called for her.

Neera left Kira and walked to where they were and greeted;

''The king wants to see you in his tent. ''

Neera nodded and walked towards the King's tent. She announced her presence and only entered when he told her to.

Neera bowed as she walked in; ''You called for me your Majesty; '' She said, not raising her head.

Zavian, who was putting on his clothes, turned to look at her. His eyes trailed from her face to her body; she looked really skinny and drowned in her maid's dress. He wondered how much work she had to do, seeing that her bones were showing on every corner of her skin.

Neera stiffened when she felt the King walking towards her, her eyes stayed rooted to her feet as she did not dare to move.

Zavian stopped in front of her, and after some

seconds of silence, he asked;

''Why is your head bleeding?''

Neera touched the spot where she had been injured and looked at her hand, and truly, she was bleeding. She did not even notice she had hurt her head again;

''I did not know. '' She replied; ''I will wipe it when I get back to the tent.''

Zavian watched her intently. He wanted to ignore her injury, but he just couldn't.

''Come with me. ''

Neera raised her head in shock, but she still followed quietly.

''Sit,'' Zavian ordered, and she sat on the stool. Her heart was beating fast and loud that she could hear it loud in her ears. She was terrified.

Zavian took a piece of cloth and shredded it, pouring water into a bowl from his jar. He walked to where she sat and sat down beside her.

Neera nearly shrunk from fear. The image of him from the previous night appearing before her eyes, she shut her eyes and opened them, but the sight of his fangs and bloody hand clasping around a beating heart could not leave her.

Zavian tilted her jaw, so he could see her face, and Neera trembled slightly when her eyes met his face. She had not looked at him since she entered the room, but now, seeing his face this close, she could barely breathe. If not that she had witnessed him turn into that monster the previous night, she would not believe the person in front of her was who she saw the previous night.

This demon's beauty was something else. He was sparkling and spotless.

Zavian leaned closer to her to take the stained cloth off from her head but Neera inched back,

''Your Majesty, I will do it myself. I do not want you to stain your hands with my filthy blood.''

She said as she tried to stand up, but Zavian held her hand;

''Sit down.'' he spoke carefully but at the same time intimidatingly; "and stay still. It's an order.''

Neera whole body froze as she sat back down carefully on the stool. She was both scared to her wits and nervous as hell.

Scared because he had ordered her so seriously, and nervous because the king was holding her hand!