Chapter 29: Inside the Carriage.
"Your highness, should I be amused?" Raziah threw him a phlegmatic look with her slumbered eyes. He was looking down into her eyes, looming over her small stature. His grey eyes looked like they were studying her, trying to get as much information as he could with her body language, but the ever-so-composed woman didn't give anything away on the outside.
"Did it sound funny, Princess?"
"It should, but I was not amused at the very least." She replied plainly with a slight shrug.
"It wasn't meant to be funny," His eyes constricted.
"No wonder I didn't laugh," She retorted, holding his ferocious gaze on her skin. If he thinks for a second that his look was affecting her, then he should think again, "Have I answered your question now, your highness?" She turned and faced him completely, tipping her chin higher voluntarily.
"Not even close," He mumbled, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
"I'll explain then. I've had enough training to have that level of accuracy. Anybody can do it. If you don't believe me, I can teach you - it should come simple for someone like you," She didn't even blink as she said all that.
Then, a small smile touched Eleazar's face. He wasn't expecting that reply, but at the same time, he couldn't come to a reasonable cause for why he suddenly thought she was something other than human. Everything about her was Normal - well, everything except for her scent. If not for Agon's, something would have definitely gone down from the moment he set eyes on her.
"I'll be looking forward to the day you teach me, then." He replied, still smiling at her. But Raziah knew something was lurking behind his smile, and behind his light eyes. So far, amongst all the people she had met in this kingdom, he had the most rigid and dominating aura around, and once again - it was dodgy like the rest of them.
She almost rolled her eyes at his words. Where on earth does one find a Princess teaching a great king how to throw a knife around? Though she was the one who suggested the idea. With a deep internal sigh, she only nodded at his words, "Answered. I'll be leaving now."
Eleazar blinked.
"I appreciate everything. I'm off, your highness."
Eleazar already knew he was in trouble. He had broken a favor between two royals, and not just any person, but it had to be Aragon Odysseus of Erandell. He had promised Aragon that he would not let her, even if she begins to prove a little stubborn and absolute, but she had managed to slip past him.
When the king remained quiet, Raziah turned around and began walking out of the throne room. Her movements were steady and averagely fast. She looked so very in control of every step she took, and Eleazar watched her leave. Really? Should he?
"Princess!" He called out just before she could take the first step outside. Raziah paused in her tracks, glancing at the king who now stood somewhere behind his throne. Eleazar crouched down and picked up something long from under his throne, his light brown eyes accessing every inch of it before he suddenly hurled it at her.
Raziah watched it roll in mid-air as it came straight for her, then she caught the thin-long rod-like thing without stress, and what sat in her hand was a sword. The sheath was embroidered, looking like it was designed specially for a King. Confusion etched in her brows, and she looked back at him seeking an explanation, "A gift for my leaving...Visitor, and an appreciation present for saving my daughter." Eleazar said from where he stood.
Raziah stared between him and the sword, "I'll take it!"
Then, she was gone.
"Your highness!" Felix beckoned when he saw her walking out of the room. He had been a little worried about her, but seeing that same look in her eyes as she approached them, he could breathe a little more properly again.
"She didn't go in with that," Fertiti whispered beside him, motioning at the sword with a slight tilt of her head.
As if Raziah heard what she had just said, she clarified it by waving the sword at their faces, "It was a parting gift. If the carriage and horses are ready, let us leave." She stated, walking past them. The three of them headed out of the palace, and the carriage was already waiting for them. Felix quickly pulled out the strong, agile, and well-fed horses out of the stall not too far away and fixed them to the Carriage, while Fertiti was packing up the stuff they would need for the journey.
Raziah had just stepped in when she almost sheathed her sword at the unfamiliar small figure resting inside the carriage. There was something lying inside, covered by a large ash sheet of clothing. It had the figure of a human, and was sleeping so soundly inside the carriage.
Using her sword, she gently poked the figure a few times till it stirred. The person under the covers yawned loudly and pulled himself into a sitting position. Raziah's palm was still clenched over the hilt, awaiting any form of attack but instead, the face of a little boy poked out of the covers.
He was cleaning his eyes sluggishly, "What happened? Did I sleep-walk again?"
"Your highness, are you alright?!" Felix called from outside, coming over quickly. Raziah's body was partially inside the carriage, and the rest was outside, and Felix had already heard the other voice. As soon as he pushed his head in, he also saw the young boy staring back at them.
"I'm not home," The boy looked around, cleaning his eyes harder this time, "Did I walk for too long?" He asked, turning back to Raziah, "Am I inside a tower?"
She gently shook her head at him. The boy looked about nine or ten years old, and his blonde hair needed a lot of washing. Glancing at Felix with the question of the boy in her eyes, he gently replied to her with a slight shake of his head himself.
"Where did you come from?" Felix asked, moving in to get a closer look at the boy. The sheet had slipped off his body, and the boy was naked from the waist up. Scratching his head, the boy grinned at Felix, "Let's ask Aunt Ana, she's a doctor."
"Ana?"
He nodded enthusiastically, "Maybe she wasn't back, and I forgot to lock the doors before going to sleep." He replied before he looked at Raziah and asked again, "Am I inside a tower?!"
"Carriage." Felix replied, then added, "How did you even get into the palace in the first place? Anyway, come with me first. Let's find... Aunt Ana,"
His eyes shined, "Carriage? Are we going somewhere?! Can I come?!" He looked so excited, his eyes dancing between the both of them.
"We could be kidnappers," Felix creased his brows.
"Nope, you're putting on a uniform. You're a guard! Where are you going? Can I come? Don't tell Aunt Ana, she'll never let me go." He suddenly reached out and grabbed Raziah's arm, pleading with his eyes, "I won't complain. I'll be a good boy, Just take me out!"
"We can't," Raziah answered, shaking her head slightly, "It's not safe. You have to get down now. We'll have someone help you get back home."
The boy frowned, his lips forming a pout, "I said I'll be good!" He cried.
"We don't even know you." Raziah tried to reason.
"So that's what you wanted to know?" He grinned again, jumping on the seat while patting the space beside him, "I'm Caius. Caius Lazar, come and have a sit." He pulled on Raziah's arm, earning him a small glare from Felix for touching the princess so casually.
Raziah climbed into the carriage with him, making quick eye contact with Felix to let her be for the time being. Even if it wasn't intentional, she had subconsciously thrown a cold gaze at him. Giving the carriage a quick scan, Felix was a little assured that everything would be alright, so he stood back outside, but he didn't move.
Meanwhile, Fertiti was sitting up front holding the reigns, kindly waiting for Felix's go-ahead.
"Do you want to be traumatized?" Was the first question that fell off Raziah's lips once she was alone with the kid. She wasn't planning to play the 'Kind Princess' to him, because he was still nothing but a complete stranger to her.
"Trauma?... Aunt Ana said something about it..." Caius thought, caressing his chin, "Ah! I know the meaning. If you mean an emotional injury, I've got tons of them running around this big head of mine," Caius grinned again, looking like the happiest boy on Earth, but his words had struck Raziah very, very hard.
How could he still smile this wide when...
"What trauma?" She inquired first, before jumping to conclusions.
"Aunt Ana is a doctor, so she's taking care of me. I have a disease." He just kept on smiling. It was so weird because he was so welcoming and free around her - someone he barely knew. Does he not have a fear of her suddenly taking him away? Striking him? Or is he still too young to realize all that?
"And do you think you should be going around with a stranger like me in this state?"
"You're not a stranger, you're snow-white." He cooed in reply.
Raziah Froze. How did he know?
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Enchantment Of The Night
Core of Her existence His fatal Destruction
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