To Bewitch a Devil

126 You know I won’t hurt her

Zavian, as if slapped across the face, retreated two steps back. He looked at her face, but it didn’t hold any emotions for him to read. When he could barely have a good night’s sleep without her by his side through all his travels and back at his castle, he didn’t know that the suffering was only on his part.

“I must have mistaken that all that time we had together was more than it was,” Zavian spoke, his voice breaking as he stared at her.

“I do not regret the time together, your Majesty, but I cannot keep being with you, I might...”

Neera paused as she controlled herself from speaking too much;

“You might do what?” Zavian asked, closing the gap between them;

Neera bit her lower lip and then she looked at him; “I might start to fall for you...”

There was a long silence as though they were both processing what she had just said. Neera regretted her words the minute they left her lips but she couldn’t take them back. The look in his eyes told her he was surprised and she bit her lips, she opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it;

“Move back to your room”, he ordered. Neera was about to refuse, but he continued. “I need to make sure those nightmares do not come back, ” he said an obvious lame excuse.

Her words had ignited something in him. It meant that she liked him... even if not totally but a part of her wanted him.

.....

“Your Majesty...”

“I will give you the space you require”, he said, “but I still want you to be safe Neera.”

Neera didn’t protest anymore. She had missed him badly and she could not in her sane self, reject this opportunity; so without thinking twice, she nodded.

There was a long silence between them before Zavian moved to the side and walked away.

Neera moved back that very day. After she had settled in, she went to clean the King’s study. It was the same as she left, and she didn’t need to do much cleaning other than to organize a few books and his desk.

True to his promise, Zavian stayed away from her, and he attended to other matters of the kingdom.

That evening, Zavian sat by his table when the knock came on the door. He asked the person in and Axel walked in, he didn’t look good.

Zavian instantly remembered what happened with his sister and he gritted his teeth but held his anger;

“I heard you wanted to see me”, he asked, leaning back on his chair.

“For quite a long while, your Majesty, but I was always sent away.” Axel tried to control his fuming.

“What for?”

“My sister. Why was she sent out of the castle without my knowledge?”

Zavian laced his fingers together. “Are you sure you can handle that bit of information?”

“I would like to know, yes.” Axel stood firm in his request. “She didn’t deserve to be sent out as if she was an intruder. She has scaled through every contest like the rest of the Princesses. If you didn’t like her, either due to something she did or because of something I did, you should have requested we leave, you shouldn’t have e thrown her in that manner.”

Zavian stared at him for a pretty long while, before he answered;

“She had plotted to kill Neera.” He spoke. Axel was quiet as he processed what he just heard. It was not even anywhere close to what he expected to hear. Kill Neera? Was this some kind of a joke?

“I...I don’t believe that”, he spoke, his voice a little loud;

“Believe what you want, but I’m sure you know I am too busy to have your sister thrown out for no reason,” Zavian replied casually as he turned back to the scroll in front of him.

Axel walked to the chair at a side of the room and sat down to process the information. She had asked him to get with Neera and when she saw it wasn’t working, she tried to kill her, was that it?

“No, no, she wouldn’t do something like that”, Axel whispered, as if trying to convince himself.

“Well, you can ask her when you get back to your Kingdom today”, Zavian said and Axel looked at him, “why do I need to leave? Your majesty.” He asked, looking confused;

“I have lost trust in you as well, so I have no choice but to send you back to your kingdom.”

Axel shot up from his seat. “I would never hurt even a hair on Neera’s head, you know this, your majesty!”

“Oh do I? I didn’t expect your sister to as well, but she ended up trying to snuff the life out of her, didn’t she?”

Axel had the urge to throw something, God, if it was true, what was Lyra thinking?

“You are to leave before sundown.” Zavian dismissed him, his eyes turning back to his book. Axel, still in turmoil over the entire revelation, stared at the king. He knew he had no choice but to leave, although he knew part of why Zavian was sending him away was because he didn’t want him close to Neera. If he was going to leave, he should at least see her for the last time;

“I know she stays in your chambers”, Axel said, knowing fully well that Zavian knew who he was referring to. “I would like to ask for your permission to see her.”

“No”, Zavian said immediately. “I don’t give you permission.”

“You know I wouldn’t hurt her...” Axel tried to plead,

“...I have given you an order”, Zavian stopped him. “If you want me to be compelled to use force, I won’t hesitate.”

That made Axel stop talking. He stood to his feet. The time would come when Zavian would pick a Queen, and when it does, Axel would come for Neera.

With a single bow, he walked out of the room and went ahead to prepare for the journey back to his Kingdom.

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