Chapter 51

51 Can I refuse?

Azriel followed the doors Penelope had gone through and he traced her. When he found her he walked slowly behind her.

She went to the Princess’s quarters, and he waited by the gates for her to come out.

Pen carried a small bottle wrapped in a cloth and walked briskly. She did not notice the man standing in the darkness as she passed by the gates.

“Penelope,” Azriel called, and Pen stopped in her tracks and she turned around in surprise.

When she saw the general from earlier that day, she was shocked and quickly bowed.

What was he doing here? She thought but was more surprised by the fact that he remembered her name.

“My lord...” she answered, before raising her head.

“Where are you going to?” Azriel asked, his eyes gazing straight at her. Penelope blinked, her mind thought of a hundred things but she did not want to believe that it was what it was.

“Princess Lyra asked me to bring something to her.” She replied.

.....

Azriel was quiet for a while before he spoke;

“Meet me by the gardens after you’re done.”

Pen looked at him, many questions written in her eyes, but she did not ask any, nodding she turned around and left.

As she turned away from him, color drained from her face.

Since she came to the Castle, she had been avoiding any of the royals and generals, she especially did not dress pretty nor did her hair in a beautiful manner, just so she would not be noticed.

It was not that she did not want to leave the castle or have a good life, but what was the possibility that a noble would love a slave girl?

She had heard stories of maids, who had things with the nobles, and most of them did not end well.

At first, they would be promised a good life, but once they had had their fill with them, they abandon them and leave them to their fate.

Humans did not get pregnant for demons unless they were turned into demons so it was easy to abandon them. And if the maids succeeded in persuading the Nobles to be with them, they would just join the lot of their concubines after being turned into demons. The concubines did not have mercy on the maids and made sure their lives were living hells, most of them ended up dead in the end. Although a few of them ended well, it was just a few.

She did not want this for herself. Instead of her ending like that, she had rather stayed in the Castle and got old and retired.

When she was little she had dreamed of what she wanted her life to look like. A small house, a baby crawling about, and a loving husband; who was either a trader or a fisherman.

But she had been taken as a slave and now that dream had been quashed. Now, she had to serve the king for the rest of her life and pray no noble would notice her and mess the rest of her life up.

But now... this general. She knew him. She had heard tales of him. How he changed women like beddings, how he lost interest in women after the first night with them and now he had noticed her.

Pen bit the inside of her tongue so tight until she felt blood in her mouth. What would she do?

She could not dare go against the orders of the commander unless she was courting death.

Pen did not know what to do. As she approached the hall, she breathed in and eased her tension, before walking to Princess Lyra and giving her what she had asked for.

Lyra took the bottle and poured a drop of the perfume onto her hand before patting the sides of her neck with it.

After she had given Lyra the bottle, Pen stood by the side contemplating what to do. He knew her by name, so she could not escape, and she could not keep him waiting either. She had no choice but to go and answer him.

Pen walked toward the garden, her heart slamming against her chest. She prayed that whatever it was that he called her for, was not related to staying the night with him.

She could not turn him down. How could she, a mere slave turn down a general and the commander of the army?

Pen prayed to her heavens that he just wanted to send her on an errand because she was done for if he requested to spend the night with her.

As she approached the garden, her eyes searched around for him and a part of her prayed that he was not there so she could turn back; and if he asked her why she did not come, she would have an excuse; but to her dismay, she saw him, standing under a cherry blossom tree.

The moon was high in the sky and the petals of the flowers radiated; when he heard her footsteps he turned around and Pen looked at his face. She stared for a few seconds as she wondered why the deadliest creatures had the prettiest of faces.

When Azriel saw her, he smiled. Her head was bowed as she walked to him. She did not look excited like most of the women he had been with.

They were very excited to be with him, even when they knew of his lifestyle but this one looked like she wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole.

A smile stretched his lips as he became more interested. It’s been ages since he had wooed a woman who was uninterested.

“You called me, my lord;” Pen spoke when she came to stand before him;

There was a long silence as they were both drenched in their own thought, then Azriel spoke;

“I like you. Pen. Would you like to spend the night in my chambers?”

The world came crashing down when Penelope heard him. She had thought he would at least beat around the bush, but he had just gone straight to point.

All the hopes she had just came crashing to the ground. Her hands tightened by her sides as her fingers dug into her palms

She was quiet for a few seconds before she looked at him;

“My lord, I am sorry, but can I refuse?”