Raziah collapsed on the bed the second she arrived in her room the next morning. The journey had been long and it was almost midnight when they returned. She was glad she didn’t run into anyone on her way here or else it would have been hard hiding her swollen face and puffy red eyes from them.
She had cried all the way here. Her tears refused to dry, and now her head was pounding very hard. She laid there like a statue on her bed, trying to get past the pain. She forced her mind to remind her why she wanted to leave In the first place, but it didn’t seem to quench the burn in her soul.
Dread filled her, and she closed her eyes. It was the first time he appeared in her dreams since she met him. Her heart instantly melted with his touch, and she leaned further into his warm embrace. He held her in the dream and kept smiling at her. His smile was one of the most beautiful things she’s ever seen, and her heart begged to stay in that position forever.
When she woke up the next morning and realized it was a dream, anguish and hurt recoiled around her being. She didn’t bother trying to keep it cool as she began pounding hard on the bed, almost screaming out her pain. She missed him sleeping next to her. The Night was cold without him. She was cold without him.
Dragging her miserable self into the bathroom, her reflection stared back at her. She looked as pale as a ghost, her eyes were still swollen and her face was wet. Looks like she still cried while she slept. As she stood there wondering if it was really her reflection, she prayed deeply in her heart that the pain would end soon.
Raziah told herself that it was just because of the change in environment, and because she was getting used to him sleeping next to her and performing her duties as his wife. She kept repeating to herself in her head that it was the reason she was feeling this intense and heartbreaking feeling since he wasn’t here anymore.
Probably in a few days or weeks, she would come back to her senses after breathing in the fresh air of Naria and knowing in her heart that she wasn’t surrounded by monsters anymore. She would walk around the palace, and have good conversations with Malcolm and Naria. She would go around town, and Maybe if she feels like it, she might attend balls and get herself entertained by the events. She was beginning to convince herself that all these ideas would help a great deal.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Maria was already coming in. She had fetched her a warm bath and quickly helped Raziah into the water. They hadn’t said a word to each other after what happened the last time they were together.
The whole process had been almost unendurable. From the baths to drying her hair to wearing a dress, all her mind could picture was when Aragon did it for her. Another person doing it felt...new and unnatural. Raziah swallowed and finally saw the process through.
She had been thinking about skipping breakfast, but that wouldn’t help with her current situation. What she truly needed was a distraction, someone that would engage her in intelligent conversation, someone she would see and wouldn’t remind her of her former husband.
With this thought in mind, she headed for the Royal dining room. She already had Malcolm tell her the time King Octavius sits for breakfast and she arrived just as he was about to start eating. Seeing her, a Kind and warm smile touched his face.
She bowed with a greeting, "Good morning, Your Majesty." Raziah’s eyes twitched badly the second she called him ’ Your Majesty ’. Now it was becoming simply annoying. She instantly made up her mind to call other royals ’ Your Highness’ instead.
"Raziah," He stood up to return the greeting, extending both hands to her. She looked between the king and his old yet strong-looking palms for a second before she placed hers Into them. Octavius gave them a big squeeze as if telling her not to feel uneasy with him about what happened, and a soft smile filled her eyes.
He didn’t ask her what happened because Malcolm had told him all about it last night. Instead, Octavius engaged her in political talks and the affairs of the kingdom. He brought up the problems he had problems tackling, and Raziah used the knowledge she had gathered reading books to think of solutions that could be given a try.
Their conversations were light and interesting, and Octavius noticed a few changes about her. Her eyes weren’t as hard as before like the cold inside them was making space for warmth, and she was smiling more often than before. When he looked closer, he concluded that the warmth in her eyes was filled with a distant and sad look.
They spent about an hour together because he excused himself and returned to his duties. Raziah then saw herself around the palace to know the place better. It was weird enough the last time she was here that she didn’t even know the way to the dining room and Ms. Ophelia had to lead her there.
Speaking of the palace caretaker, Raziah was looking around the palace for her when she found her speaking to a group of maids and guards in hushed tones around a corner. The scene looked quite serious with Ophelia gesturing to them with her finger as of she was giving out warnings about something.
Raziah decided to wait behind till she was done and had dismissed everyone before she walked up to the woman.
"Oh, your highness." She greeted, plastering a smile on her face, "Malcolm told me you’re back. I hope you’re doing well,"
Raziah nodded, "I am. Have you met Maria?" She inquired.
"Oh, the girl you brought with you. I introduced her to the others this morning. You don’t have to worry about that," She replied. Raziah had forgotten to ask Malcolm to help her speak to the middle-aged woman about Maria who would also be her maid here, but it seems Malcolm had taken care of anything. She would have to see him after this, but first...
"Is anything the problem? You seemed to be warning them about something," Raziah piped up curiously. She wouldn’t have asked since she has nothing to do with their affairs, but she needed to be distracted at all times till she can breathe well again without thinking about Aragon Odysseus.
"Yes, Princess. You see, last night a maid was murdered along the corridors of the palace. I found the body when I woke up at dawn. I didn’t know how it got there, but there was ash covering the dead body," Ophelia whispered, looking around carefully and aimlessly as if the culprit was nearby.
The moment the word ’ Ash ’ had left the woman’s lips, Raziah’s eyes had popped wide open. If her memories were correct, then the spinning spear that almost killed Caius the other day had also dissolved into Ash. Could it be that...the killer was now here at Naria? Inside the palace?
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10 Golden Tickets and I’ll drop the next Chapter as soon as possible. Double it, and I’ll double the Chapters!
Warning; 30-50 Chapters more and we would achieve a major turning point in this book. You do not wanna keep yourselves waiting!
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