Chapter 40

40 First Nightmare

Neera locked the door behind her after the guard left, and she placed her luggage on the couch and walked to the mirror. She did not get to see what she looked like, often. She was mostly occupied with chores; and they would be greatly punished if they were found idling away in front of the Castle hall mirror., which was the only mirror available to them.

Neera blinked as she stared at her reflection. Although she looked unnaturally thin and starved, and her cloudy white hair now seemed like it was dyed with dirt. Her face did not lose its beauty. She was still stunning to look at. Neera walked to the bed and sat on it; the foam was so soft and comfy. They slept on the hard ground with a few pieces of clothes separating their bodies from the cold hard floor.

Neera couldn’t believe she had gotten a bed of her own. The bed was big enough to fit two people comfortably and there were two fluffy pillows placed on the headstand. Neera stood up from the bed immediately and dusted the spot she had sat on, not wanting the dirt on her clothes to stain the bed.

Walking to the couch, she took out the new dresses from the boxes. Neera took off her clothes, and wore them one after the other, admiring herself in front of the mirror. The gowns were just her perfect size, and she wondered how the King knew her perfect size. They were not royal gowns, but they were not maid wears. She would not look like royalty in them, but certainly, she would not look like a maid.

She smiled in front of the mirror. She was no longer sad, if she was going to die for the queen, then she deserved this brief comfort.

Neera grinned when she thought of the look on Pen’s face when she told her that she had her own room now. She folded the dresses neatly and placed them on the couch. She was about to go join the king for dinner when she looked at what she was wearing. The king must have gotten her the new wears because he was appalled by what she was putting on. She could not meet him wearing these old ragged clothes again. Thinking that, she changed into one of the dresses, and went to join the king at his dinette.

He had already started eating when she came in. As she walked in, his eyes swept over her body and stopped on her face before he turned back to the food.

Neera walked quietly and sat down. She waited a moment before she picked up a plate and served herself as usual.

”how is your new room? Is it to your liking?” He asked after she sat down.

.....

”It is to my liking. Thank you, Your Majesty. ” Neera wondered why he was suddenly nice to her. Did he want to make her happy before she died? She thought as she ate, not looking up from her plate once.

They both ate silently for a long while before Zavian spoke;

”They are one of the oldest and strongest witches alive. They are half-witch and half-demon breeds. The witches here could not proffer a solution, so I had to call for them.”

Neera’s fingers tightened around the cutlery in her hand, and she gulped. She wondered why he was letting her know that; it was not like she had an opinion on her death.

”That is good news. I hope they find an answer. ” She smiled, and continued eating. That was the only reply she could muster. Obviously, he was letting her know that the witches would soon find a way to kill her, he did not expect her to be excited, did he?

Now she thought about it; maybe he had prepared that room for her to keep watch on her. He could not risk her getting hurt, not now that he was finally close to getting an answer.

Neera glanced up to read his expression, but his face was blank. She wondered what he was thinking at that moment; was he happy? That he would sacrifice an innocent person to resurrect the dead?

Oh, she must be stupid to think an ancient demon was capable of feeling guilt. He had killed people in thousands, and in front of her very eyes, he had ripped out the heart of that soul-eater, without an iota of hesitation. Who was she that he couldn’t kill?

She should even be glad that he was making her death favorable. At least she could enjoy the comfort of a good bed and good food before she died.

Zavian watched the girl in front of him after he heard her reply. She was eating without a care in the world, as though she had already given up and accepted her fate that she was going to die.

He did not know what to say; he had wanted to tell her that her death would be the last resort, but it did not seem like she cared at all. She was ready to die.

”Your Majesty; is anything the matter? ” Neera asked when she noticed him staring at her, unblinking and lost in thought.

Zavian blinked and shook his head; ”it is nothing, eat.” he said, and resumed eating.

That night, after chatting with Pen, Neera retired to her room. She wanted to bring Pen along, but her room was in the King’s court, and no one entered without permission from the King; so she bided Pen farewell and went back to her room.

That night, it was hard to catch sleep. She rolled on the bed for hours before she finally drifted. As she slept, she had a dream... more like a nightmare.

She had dreamt of terrible things in her life, but none had been this terrifying.

Neera saw herself walking along a vast lone road. The ground underneath her feet was made of flat rocks, like those formed after a volcanic storm. On her left there was nothingness, and on her right, same.

Neera’s heart beat fast as she looked around her, wondering where she was. She could not tell, so she started to run for her life. She had not run for long when the rocks underneath her feet started to melt. Like a sea of ice melting in the sun, the rocks began to melt from intense heat underneath it. Neera screamed as she ran as fast as her legs could carry but she could not run away from it, as in a matter of seconds, the rocks dissolved and she fell into the sea of fire.