Chapter 4: The goddess of seduction
"Did I really kiss that disgusting woman?" Michael's eyes were wide open unable to believe what had happened. He looked like a flower, Ever thought. Maybe that was the reason why he attracted so many women.
"Yes, you did. All three of you kissed her." Ever said, laughing as she remembered how the three Water brothers were kissing Roop, wrapped around her.
Angel Water laughed as well. Joseph was silently lying on his bed while the other two brothers were going insane after they heard what they did.
"You should have stopped us." Complained Peter, washing his mouth, "Bring some more water." He ordered the maid.
"I was the one who saved you, you should be thankful." Ever protested, still laughing.
"How is it possible that Cedric didn't kiss the ugly woman?" Michael asked.
"I stopped him." Ever said, offering Peter the jug of water the maid brought.
"Thank you Ever, for saving my children." Angel Water spoke, holding Ever's hand.
"It's nothing. We are family, we must help each other." Ever replied.
Julian rushed into the hospital room. The first thing Ever noticed was that Julian had gotten a haircut.
"My lady Ever, Cedric is waiting for you in the royal library." He said quickly before exiting the room.
Why did he call her 'my lady', Ever wondered.
"Will you excuse me?" She excused herself from Angel Water and followed Julian hurriedly without waiting for Angel Water to reply.
He was practically running, he had managed to reach the far end of the hospital wing.
"Julian!" She shouted.
He heard her but he kept going.
"Julian, stop!" She yelled again but Julian was persistently ignoring her.
Ever raised her hand to create a wave of blue rays, sending them in his direction which finally made him stop. She had stopped him. The blue rays tied his legs together so he could no longer move. He tried to pull his leg out but he failed.
"I told you to stop. You heard me, right?" She sneered, walking closer to him.
"No my lady, I didn't." He said, lowering his head, not looking at her.
"What is wrong with you, Julian?" She asked, taking hold of his hand.
"Nothing is wrong with me, my lady." He responded, his head still lowered.
"Stop calling me 'my lady', you never called me that, why now?" Ever yelled.
Julian raised his head and peered into her eyes.
"Answer me, Julian." Ever demanded.
"Unlock my legs." He said.
"You've never been like this, Julian."
He was staring at her without uttering a reply.
Ultimately, Ever lost hope. She unlocked his legs and walked away from him; disappointed.
He let her walk a few steps before he gripped her arm and yanked her towards him.
"Julian, what are you doing?" Ever asked, startled.
He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer into him. Their breaths were fanning each other's face. She felt a wave of ice and fire coursing through her veins. They were so close.
"Julian," She said again.
"Ev, I'm sorry." He muttered.
"Hey, it's okay." She said touching his face, "You're my best friend."
"I was worried about everything, I was worried about you being in danger." He said, loosening his grip on Ever.
"Everything will be solved, okay."
Julian nodded.
Ever took ahold of Julian's hand, "Come on. Let's get out of this place. I hate the hospital wing. You know that."
Both of them smiled as they exited the hospital wing.
* * *
The royal library was one of Ever's favorite places in the palace. It was where she had met Julian for the first time in her life, when both of them were just ten years old. Years later the library was the same; unchanged. The only modification was the addition of new books. The library was vast and spacious; it was as big as the Capital's battle arena.
She walked in and found Cedric and Elizabeth seated on the round table, discussing something. They did not take notice of Ever until she came and dragged a chair to join them.
"Ever." Elizabeth hugged her sister tightly.
"Ever, I sketched the woman." Cedric informed Ever, handing her a drawing of Roop.
"She's hideous. I can't believe the three Water brothers kissed her." Elizabeth said with a disgusted look on her face.
"She's the Goddess of Seduction. She can attract both men and women." Cedric said while flipping through a thick book. He showed Ever the opened page.
"This is her." He said pointing his index finger to a drawing in the book.
The woman in the drawing was tall and slender with long snow white hair.
"But she's not the woman we saw in the river." Ever said.
"What?" Elizabeth looked puzzled.
"Yes, the woman we saw in the river wasn't Roop. That woman is Rosy, a baker from the Capital." explained Cedric.
Cedric was a counselor, he was the eldest son of the Grand Councilor and Marie Roosevelt and the brother of Julian. Cedric was a paradise of knowledge.
"How do you know?" Elizabeth questioned.
"After I drew the sketch, I gave it to the soldiers. I got information about her from them. Rosy went missing two days ago. Her family said that she went to the Darranoi to bring some herbal plants from there but never returned." Cedric further explained, Ever and Elizabeth listened to him with great attention.
"So, what's the conclusion?" Ever urged him.
"Roop was exiled from Heaven to Angelic several years ago. Her soul was removed from her body and sent here. She must have used some sort of trick to lure Rosy into the water and enter into her body. Roop is using Rosy as a host."
"How is it possible that we didn't know about Roop being exiled to Angelic?" Ever asked, taking a closer look at the sketch and the drawing in the book.
Cedric was silent, after few minutes he spoke, "The Queen knows." "What?" Both Ever and Elizabeth said together.
"How come she didn't tell us?" Elizabeth asked rising from the chair.
"How do you know?" Ever asked, looking into Cedric's pale eyes.
"Remember I told you that Richard brought me some books when he was returning from Azera. He found them floating in the water. Everything is written in those books." He took the book which Ever was holding, "This is one of them."
"Mum knew everything and she didn't tell us." Elizabeth yelled, "Ev, this is strange. We have to talk to her."
"No." Both Cedric and Ever said together.
"First I'll meet Amota." Ever said while storming out of the library.
* * *
Night befell the lands, no more than an hour ago the sky was painted with hues of red, orange and pink. However, all the colors had faded leaving a starless black canvas hanging above the Capital. The darkness was thick but she lit herself, she was glowing like a torch, the light radiating from her made her look like an Angel. It illuminated her path allowing her to capture her surroundings vividly.
Apart from darkness and herself all that seemed to exist was the chilly wind which could be felt through her satin dress. She heard footprints behind her which reminded her of the warmth of Fire. It must be Cael, she thought.
"Ever." He called.
"Cael." She stopped, waiting for him to join her.
"Why do you always walk on the streets at night?" He asked, walking along with Ever under the darkness of the Capital, "It's cold isn't it?" He added when there was no reply from Ever.
"Do you feel coldness?" She asked, amazed.
He laughed lightly, "Of course, but when it's cold I can warm myself."
He could feel the hairs on his arm stand erect and the bite of the wind which had left its mark in the form of small bumps that were tingling on his arms, but the bites were more than flesh deep. His blood ran cold through his veins and his bones were chilled. Regardless, he always loved the cold, he loved the way it hit him.
"What about you?" He asked from her.
"I too feel the cold but I can warm myself, like you."
They walked in silence. The house lights were still alit but the streets were empty. They were close to the market and the saloon when Ever asked, "What are you doing here?" Breaking the silence.
"I saw you walk out the palace so I followed you." He said, plucking two red berries from a tree planted in small house garden.
"So, you are following me?" She asked.
"Yes." He answered shamelessly and gave a berry to Ever.
He ate his one but she folded her berry in her palm.
"You found out about Roop?"
"Hmm." She nodded.
"Found anything else?"
"Yeah."
"What?" He probed.
"Roop is the Goddess of Seduction."
Cael laughed, "I heard the Water brothers had a good time with her."
Ever giggled lightly, remembering how they had been kissed by that gigantic woman.
"By the way, why's it so cold when it's summer to the Capital?" Cael asked.
"I don't know." Ever answered.
"Hey, look. Look at the market." He pointed at the market where music was been played and people were dancing.
"You want to enjoy?" Cael asked.
"No Cael." Ever rejected.
He took hold of her hand and pulled them into the crowd. She silently let him take her. The music stopped, people stopped. Everything came to a halt as the crowd bowed in respect to Ever and Cael.
"My lady!" They all said together.
"What's this celebration about?" Ever asked.
"We are having a wedding celebration, my lady." An old man who was playing the flute answered.
"Who's the married couple?" She asked from him.
He showed Ever a couple holding hands. She walked towards them. They bowed to her again. She held out her hand, a bright blue light emerging from her fingertips. The light created two bracelets. The bracelets were the colour of the morning sky. She tied the two bracelets, one by one, onto each of their right hands.
"This is my gift to you, stay safe and happy together," Ever said and raised her hand, creating a shower of snowflakes. People cheered, the small children jumping up to catch the snowflakes.
"Thank you, my lady." Said the newly wedded couple.
"Thank you, my lady!" Repeated the crowd.
"Okay, enjoy." Ever said and the music played again, more energetically. Everyone continued their dance, their arms waving from side to side above their heads, their heads swaying, their garments fluttering.
"You will be a great Queen." said Cael to Ever.
Ever smiled, "You want to dance?" He grinned and nodded.
Cael grabbed Ever's hand as they walked into the dancing crowd. He guided her arms around his neck and he placed his arms on her hips. Finally, they were spinning to the melodious music.
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