Chapter 25: CHAPTER#25:Merchants
Unable to get to a conclusion, she looked up at the stained glass doors that led to the terrace. The warm rays of sunshine finally appeared passing through the stained glass of reds, blues, yellows, whites, and green. She laid a hand on one of the doors. It was more of a mosaic art. It was creative and had a mystical look.
-"Whoever designed it must have a great sense of art." she looked around.
The room had some wall paintings within wooden and metal frames. Some had plain snow scenery of steep mountains, valleys, or forests, and some with paintings of war, dead soldiers, and demons. There were even two paintings of Leo, his three-legged demon wolf.
The room was spacious enough befitting for the master of the fortress. But the items used were of low quality. She heard Jafar once arguing with him about economic issues in his domain. Yet he brushed him off without paying heed to the attendant's words.
She looked at the fireplace and the wooden table nearby where he placed his axe and cloak.
She saw a small painting that was the size of the palm of her hand. It was expertly painted on a small round piece of wood. A painting of two children. She immediately recognized him. However, the other was a mature-looking boy of the same age and height. A boy of six. But the only difference was the golden eyes.
-"Golden eyes?Demons?"She thought. Before she could get a better view she heard his voice.
"Don't touch it!" he called out. This startled her out of her skin. She frantically let go of the piece of painting and turned around.
Water dripped from his hair. He wore a black woolen robe and a pair of black ankle-high trousers.
"That! I apologize. I didn't mean to" she tried to justify when he cut her halfway.
"You don't want to be cut by it. It's too sharp."
-"Ahh~!"She looked back again.
-"He was talking about the axe."
"I will be more careful next time." she convinced him. He waved off with a shrug.
"How long do you plan on wearing that thing?"He asked her.
She took a quick look at herself.
"The dress..."She muttered.
She had forgotten to change into the clothes Mina had prepared for her. She hurried with the clothes and rushed into the bathroom to change. When she entered the smell of blood was everywhere. She saw the bloodstained bandages on a small table near the stone bathtub. She went paler at its sight. It was no wonder he took too long to bathe himself.
-"Another battle..."She guessed.
She reached out to inspect the bandage.
-"His wounds! They are lacerated! Which means it's infected."She exclaimed in shock. She remembered her mother worked on medicine for the soldiers who were battling against the demons who managed to enter the borders of Amanécer through the human realm. She heard her specifying the types of wounds and the type of medication to use for their treatment. Those who were infected by poisons from demonic weapons.
She put back the bandage and hastily changed her clothes and rushed out of the bathroom. He sat by the window and sharpened his axe.
He looked at her with a surprised look. Things became awkward in prolonged silence. He got up and sheathed the axe and put it beside the fireplace.
She couldn't understand how to convince him to take off his robe.
-"He would think of me as a pervert!"
"Umm-My lord-" she began slowly.
"Erebus." he interrupted her again.
" Pardon?"
"Call me by my name. Aren't we married? No need to be formal."
"Ah then please address me as Luciana."
"Is it normal to wear such revealing clothes in your country?"He stood in front of her.
She realized that the sleeping gown was too revealing. She tried to cover it up but he grabbed her wrists and stopped her from doing so.
This time he was gentler with her. He lowered down to her level and stared at her.
Her face turned redder. Her chest was half exposed. She was often complimented by her seamstress for having a voluptuous figure.
"P-Please let go of my hands."She stammered.
"You have a weird sign on your chest. Did you hurt yourself?"He asked ignoring her plea.
"N-no... It's a mark of purity that every girl receives at birth. It disappears once we are intimate with our spouse."She explained and tried to free herself from his grip.
-"He won't budge an inch!"
He straightened up still holding up his grip around her wrists.
"So you are a virgin."He said not knowing it meant offense to be openly told to a woman.
She felt too embarrassed to look him in the eye.
After a brief moment, their attention moved at the knock on the door.
He slowly let go of her wrists and walked to the door and opened it halfway. She looked back at the fireplace. A new batch of wood had been fed to the fire to keep it lit. It was warmer inside than in the hallway. A faint gust of cold breeze entered the opened door. She shuddered and covered herself with the light woolen overcoat. The pendant was gone, she realized.
"Apologies for interrupting you at this hour master."An elderly man spoke to Erebus.
-"Is it mister Derran?" she thought. But his voice seemed tougher than the old physician had.
"What's wrong?"
"The merchants from the human world have arrived. And they wish to speak with the lord."He conveyed their message and awaited his response.
"Which caravan is it?"He inquired about their identity.
"They claim themselves to be the caravan of the Blue Van, My lord." his voice was low as it was close to a whisper.
"Blake, take me there."He grabbed a fresh fur cloak while the butler excused himself to fetch the bloodstained cloak from the table.
"Please rest well madame, "He wished her a good day and escorted Erebus to their location.
She nodded as he closed the door behind him.
"The merchants from the human world. It's a Blue Van!"She recalled the famous merchant who had expanded his trade far east and to the far west in the last four years. A highly trusted merchant he was. She remembered Cornelius mention him a few times in his letters.
-"What should I do? This might be the only chance for me to Amanécer."She bit the nail of her thumb and walked back and forth.
"Think Luci... Think?!"She racked her bra8n and finally came to an idea.
"Jafar!Yes!"She ran by the bedpost and rang the bell thrice.
"I can't let this chance pass by me."
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Hello Readers! This is an average author writing an extremely common romance trope...
I hope you are enjoying the content. Firstly I am thankful for those who are supporting this book and want to read it further.
I anticipated that this book wouldn't be as famous as my other works. And I was sure it wouldn't receive enough support since it is a common trope of a weak female lead sold off to a typical war-crazed male lead. And whatever the story continues. However, I wanted to try out my version of this genre. I am not well-versed in this kind of dark romance. So shamelessly requesting that viewers and readers alike please add a review for this book. I would love to hear your reviews. Also, it would be great to comment on a chapter so I may know how you feel the character's development should be.
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