Chapter 24

Neera blinked but did not say anything in response. She could not object anyway. But how would the people in the castle take it? The king’s sister most especially. She had made sure she did not go anywhere near the King’s chambers, what would she do to her, if she found out that the King had asked her to work in his chambers?

”Call the servants to clear the table when you are done eating, ” Zavian spoke as he stood up from his chair, bringing Neera back from her thoughts. She nodded, and when he left the room, she proceeded to take the food to the kitchen.

Neera hurriedly hid a good portion of the meal under a table in the kitchen and ran to the maids’ room to call Penelope.

”Penelope! Pen!” She exclaimed in a hushed tone, waving her to come. When Penelope saw her, she sprang up from the bed and ran to where she stood.

”What happened? Are we safe? ” she asked, wondering why Neera was calling for her in such a hurry.

”Yes, more than safe. I brought some food from the king’s table for you. ” Neera said as she dragged her friend along to the kitchen. Pen followed in excitement.

”The king let you?” She asked, her stomach rumbling at the mention of food.

.....

”Yes, he asked me to eat with him. It seems I won’t complain about food anymore. He had asked me to join him the last time, too.”

Pen’s eyes widened at Neera’s words;

”You don’t say! Are you sure the king isn’t taking a liking to you?” She asked her friend as Neera squatted and pulled out the tray of food. A full grilled chicken, pork meat, and a plate of rice sat on the tray.

”Oh Neera!” Pen’s mouth watered as her eyes fell on the plate of food. ”You’re a blessing!” she exclaimed, pulling a thigh from the chicken and gulping it down.

Neera smiled as she watched her friend eat in excitement.

”The king does not like me, I’ve told you before. He just does not want his wife’s look-alike to be starved. Did I tell? He said we’re returning to the castle tomorrow and I will no longer work in the kitchen by the time we get back.”

Pen’s mouth fell open at Neera’s words; ”This is getting serious! Things are moving faster than I expected! What if the King starts to fall for you?”

”Pen! Please don’t get me into trouble!” Neera scolded her as she looked around, making sure that no one overheard.

”You know, the King is the best person you can have on your side. Once the king doesn’t want you dead, anyone that tries to hurt you will get themselves in huge trouble. ”

”Pen, I can’t think of any of such things right now. I’m just happy that we won’t have to be hungry anymore. Well, that is, as long as the King keeps asking me to join him at his table.”

”Oh Neera! I haven’t eaten a meal this good! Neera I’m so lucky to be your friend! ” Pen exclaimed excitedly as she hurriedly ate the food.

Neera laughed; ”Take it easy, it’s not running away.”

Pen laughed, ”I can’t, I have to eat quickly, who knows if it’ll disappear if I close my eyes. This is too good to be true!”

Neera smiled, folding her hands, she watched her friend. ”So we are going back? What of the soul eaters? Are they all dead?”

Neera shook her head; ”he says he’ll dispatch a few soldiers. Maybe there is something urgent he needs to attend to at the Castle, I am not sure. Shit! I have to return to the King’s chambers!”

Neera jumped up from where she sat when she remembered she had snuck out in the first place to give Pen the food.

”Okay! Do whatever he says! We need to have this blessing every day!” Pen exclaimed excitedly, as Neera ran out of the kitchen, to the King’s chambers.

The doors were tightly shut when she came back. She knocked for a few seconds, and when she heard a response, she pushed it open.

Zavian was sitting at the study table reading a scroll. His eyes lifted when she entered the room, and he asked;

”Where did you go to?” he asked, and Neera pointed at the table;

”I cleared the table. I did not want to disturb the servants this late at night. ”

She said, lowering her head. Zavian did not reply to her; he just turned back to the scroll he was reading. Neera stood there quietly, wondering what to do.

She looked around and her eyes fell on the bed and her heart skipped a beat when she remembered what had happened that morning. Thankfully, the rumors had not gotten to the King’s ears; else she would have been counting her days on earth by now..

Neera looked around the room, wondering what task she would do. As her eyes looked about the room, they glanced at Zavian, where he sat, a few feet away from her.

Big candles were lit around the table so she could make out his face clearly. He was reading the scroll calmly; there was no frown on his forehead, and he did not look like he could hurt a fly.

Where Neera stood was dark, so even when she watched him, he couldn’t see her from where he was sitting, so she took her time to admire him.

They wondered what the dead queen was like for him not to have forgotten about her even after 500 years. He must have loved her a lot. Neera sighed; inching backward, she rested her back on the wall to ease the weight of her body on her feet.

She knew her presence was a distraction to him. What if he delayed the queen selection because of her? Well, not exactly because of her, but because she could bring his wife to him?

Neera sighed. At this point, she did not know what to think. If she could really bring the dead queen back, then, she wished it would happen soon, and if she could not, she wished the King would send her away.

The last thing she wanted to do, was to cause a ruckus at the castle.