Chapter 6 - Soul Eaters

Neera turned around in fear, and in the middle of the room, stood the king. He had a loose robe on, and his bare chest was revealed. His golden hair was wet and dripped water unto his face. As much as Neera was scared to her wits, she couldn't help but admire the demon standing in front of her.

He was absolutely beautiful.

Neera forced her eyes away from him and bowed her head;

''Your… Majesty, I wanted to carry the plates, I knocked but no one answered, I did not know you were in…'' she stuttered. The room was empty when she came because he was taking his bath. Neera wanted to disappear into the ground.

Zavian pulled his eyes away from her and walked to his bed where his clothes were laid out; ''Alone?''

Neera looked at the plates, they were really too much for her to carry alone.

''I will return to take the rest, Your Majesty. ''

Zavian did not reply, as he wore his clothes. He did not ask her to carry the plates, so why was she?

Neera stood with her head bowed, she wondered if she should continue with what she came to do without his permission.

''What is your name? ''

''Neera. Neera Lancelot. '' Neera replied. She just wanted to take the plates and leave but it didn't seem like he was letting her go anytime soon.

''Come here. '' Zavian said, as he walked to the mirror and sat down. Neera trembled, but she walked forward, not like she had any choice. She stopped a few meters away from him.

''Closer, I don't bite. ''

Neera gulped. He actually did bite, maybe he just wasn't going to bite her. She walked closer to him, not because of what he said, but because if he wanted to hurt her, he would have.

Zavian handed her a brush when she was close enough. She took the brush from his hand and began to comb his hair. Her heart was beating fast and so many questions running through her mind. Why did he tell her to brush his hair? He had personal maids who served him, where the hell did they go when she needed them the most?

Neera' s hands were shaking without control, she was scared to her wits. Scared because she knew the king knew she looked like his wife and yet he was not saying anything about that, so she could not tell what was going on in his mind. But more scared of what his sister would do to her if she caught her in this position.

Neera, whose eyes were glued to his hair, raised her eyes to look at his reflection, but she regretted it immediately because the moment she looked at the mirror, her eyes locked in his, like he had been staring at her.

She quickly lowered her eyes, daring not to look up again. At that moment, she knew she had made a wrong choice by coming into his chambers. She should have stood her ground against Adeline, a few strokes of the cane on the back was surely better than this torture.

''I'm done your Majesty; '' Neera said, stepping to the side and bowing a little as she handed him the brush. Zavian stretched his hand but instead of taking the brush, he held her hand.

''Even your hands are exactly like hers. ''

Neera nearly fainted. She did not expect that the king would hold her hand; she was shaking so much that she feared she might die at this rate.

Zavian touched her palm, it was chapped from all the work she had done, he looked at her face which was pale from fear, and he let go of her.

His hands were strangely satisfying. Even though she was scared, she felt a feeling of calmness when he held her hand, and weirdly, she did not want him to let go.

''You are scared of me?'' Zavian asked, her face was pale, and she looked very uncomfortable.

Neera could not respond, her pale face and trembling had already given her away.

''You may leave.'' Zavian said and Neera looked at him then she bowed. Walking to the table, she stretched her hands to carry the plates, but Zavian stopped her;

''Leave the plates, they are too much for you to carry. ''

Neera bowed again and left his room. The moment she was outside, she practically fled. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her back to the kitchen, panting heavily.

When Penelope saw her, she stood up; ''what happened? Why are you running? Where are the plates?''

Neera sat down, a sad sigh leaving her lips;

''Penelope, I don't think my life would ever be peaceful anymore, as long as I look like this.''

Penelope sat down beside her; worry in her eyes; ''what happened? Did any demon harass you? Did you see the king? ''

Neera stared at her friend, not even knowing what to say in reply. She just hugged her, thoughts going through her mind. She just wanted to live peacefully, was that too much to ask?

Maybe it was…

…

Zavian sat on his throne, as bodies wrapped in cloths were carried into the throne room.

''what are those? '' he asked, standing up from his throne, he walked to the bodies;

"We don't know Your Majesty, they were found in the woods; one of the soldiers said as he stood by the side.

''Open it; '' Zavian ordered; and they opened one of the bodies, and instantly the hall was thrown in chaos. Inside of the wrapped cloth was a man who looked like a mummy kept for centuries. It looked like it had every essence sucked from it.

''Take it away; '' Zavian ordered and the soldiers took the three bodies away. Zavian walked back to his throne and sat down. He had lived long enough on earth to recognize the bodies when he saw them. Those were the actions of the soul eaters.

But that was not the problem, the problem was that he had banished them to the underworld during the blood war so how were they on earth?

''Summon the witches immediately. ''