Elvira
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Something wet and warm dripped down from my lips, and I unconsciously swiped at it while still staring at King Aden in shock.
He stared at me for a while, his brows raising in surprise. His eyes then dropped to take in my outfit, then his face turned cold.
“What are you doing here?” His icy voice rang out, drawing me out of my daze.
I quickly scrambled to kneel on the cold marble floor, bringing my forehead to do the same- I bowed.
“Gre - Greetings your majesty.” I stammered out, wracked with fear and nervousness.
My show of respect earned me nothing but a tension-filled silence. The silence was so long that I found myself gaining interest in the marble pattern on the floor. An interesting back tile, with white swirls it was.
An insistent dull ache came from my lips, and something wet still dripped down from it.
Resisting the urge to wipe my lips again, I tried to make myself smaller, hoping it would ease the glare I felt from the pair of eyes above me.
Gosh, I wish this beautiful marble floor would just open up and swallow me.
“I said, what are you doing?” I heard him say again.
“Um, I was just cleaning up your chambers your majesty. I was just - just about to head out.” My voice came out frantic. Why couldn’t I speak well without stammering, the king probably sees me as an idiot now.
“If I recall, one of the rules given to you servants was to make yourselves invisible. Yet why do I see one scurrying around in my chambers?” His voice grew icer “Perhaps Matilda has gone soft”
Oh boy, I’ve done it now. Madame Matilda will definitely get in trouble for this, and the result of it would be several punishments bestowed on me. She’d be sure to make the next two years of my life hell.
“Your majesty, I -”
“Raise your head.” his voice cut me off.
“Pardon?”
“I said, raise your head” he repeated again,
Gulping, I slowly raised my head meeting his black leather boots.
Damn, he really wears those boots nicely. Suddenly, the said boots in question started walking toward me until they stopped right in front of my face.
One of the boots then stretched out to touch my jaw, lifting my face even more until it met with a pair of hazel eyes. My breath hitched.
I knew he was already good-looking from afar, but seeing him this close was blissful. He had on black leather pants to match his boots, a white shirt threaded with gold embroideries, and then a complimentary white cape hanging from his shoulder. The right side of his hair was slicked backward and the left side was hanging out, making his hair fall above his left eye.
“What is your name?” he asked.
I was beside myself in shock and happiness that the king himself wanted to know my name. No doubt this was so he could report me to madame Matilda and see to it that I was punished.
However, the mere fact that my name was something he was curious about made me leap for joy. I don’t typically have a crush on this man or anything. It was just simply that I admired him.
He was tall, strong, witty - from the way he governed us and most of all good looking as hell.
My sniffing his clothes wasn’t because I had a crush on him, it was simply because his perfumed oil smelled good.
I loved nice smelling things, especially floral and earthy ones. And it seems most royals base their perfume oils on naturally scented themes.
“Are you deaf or is it that you have a speech impediment?” he spat in a venomous tone. His feet yanked my face even more upward, causing me to wince from the pain that traveled up my lips. “I do not like slow people”.
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“My name is Elvira, your majesty” I managed to speak through the pain.
“Hm.” was all the reaction he gave to my name. I didn’t know what I expected from him, but my initial happiness was starting to fade.
His eyes dragged all over my face like he was scrutinizing my facial feature, stopping on my lips for seconds long. He must be staring at the liquid dripping from my lips, and no doubt it was blood.
He dropped his foot from my jaw and I immediately lowered my head, feeling extremely self-conscious.
Just then, a voice yelled out from the hallway leading into the room.
“Darling!” the smooth voice called out
Another pair of shoes came into view, and this time instead of black leather boots, it was blue ankle-strap shoes, with pearls and ribbons decorating them. One could tell the shoes were meant for royalties, they looked expensive and gaudy.
“Darling, you are back! I missed you so much. How was your meeting? Do you need anything? I ordered the maids to prepare your baths, would you like me to join you in the bath too? oh, and I can’t wait to tell you about my day.”
Based on the way the owner of those fancy shoes called King Aden ‘darling’ I’m guessing she must be the king’s fiancee, lady Esra, and goddess she talks too much.
He sighed, his eyes moving away from me to look at her.
“Esra, I’m really tired from the day and would like to spend the night in peace, so please return to your room,” His Majesty said in a voice that was a little nicer than the one he had used while speaking to me.
“But your majesty, it is my duty to take care of you,” She said, now fully walking into the room. She was just about to take some more steps when she suddenly bumped into me.
“Ow!” she shrilled “My goodness, what is this? Who are you?”
I lowered my head more, knowing I had just landed myself in more trouble. Not only did I appear in the presence of two royals without permission, but I also obstructed the path of the future queen.
It wouldn’t be surprising if I get starved for a whole week in the dungeons.
She yanked my head upward so I could face her. I hated to admit it but she was beautiful. Her head was full of straight blond hair that fell to her butt. The silk blue dress she had on, hugged every curve on her body, from her slim waist down to her mid-thighs. A blue corset wrapped around her upper half pushing her breasts up so it looked perky.
Compared to her, I was a slobbering mess on the floor. I had on my brown and white maid uniform that was no doubt dirty, and my hair probably looks like it had never been met with a brush.
She pulled my head backward with my hair and scrutinized my face with a scowl.
“What’s a dirty thing like you doing in the King’s bedroom at this time of the night?” She asked
When I didn’t answer, she kept shaking my head around, swinging it like a leaf in the wind and demanding I answer her. The movement caused my hair to unravel and fall backward, exposing my ears.
The moment her eyes landed on my ears, she yanked her hand away as if she had just touched something scalding hot. Disgust was written all over her face.
“Are you an elf?!” her eyebrows rose in surprise.
The king who had been walking away from us earlier, stopped in his tracks. His head snapped towards us as he slowly retreated his steps, coming back to us. His earlier disinterest was now piqued.
Esra noticed him coming back to us, and quickly shielded the king from my view “Stay back your majesty! She’s an elf, she’ll put a curse on you. It’s not safe”
I was about to protest when I felt a slap land on my cheeks.
Esra had slapped me. That bitch.
“You dare to stare at his majesty? were you planning on bewitching him with your eyes?”
I knelt there bewildered at what she had just said. Since the kingdom of Elysia is fully occupied by humans and secluded from the other kingdoms, we didn’t have knowledge of other supernaturals. Therefore any information we had on supernaturals was purely based off of rumors and misconceptions. For instance, the dragons are ruthless beasts without any logical thinking, they just live to destroy. Likewise, the werewolves and lycans feast on humans and each other; carnivorous monsters. The rumors about elves were that they were creatures that used magic to bring misfortune, their beauty great enough to insight lust and bend any soul to their will.
I had none of those features, sure I think I’m pretty good looking but that was about it. No bewitching curves, no magic or special ability. So to me, I was nothing but an average human.
Although I’m pretty sure the king thinks me to be a monster now, so my opinion matters not.
Maybe he’ll even have me executed.
However, to my surprise, the king resumed his steps again, shoving Esra out of the way and gradually coming to a stop right in front of me. My ears started to burn for some reason, and I reached over to rub it.
He crouched down and inspected my face again, then my body, and back to my face.
I curled back into myself, expecting the insult - and maybe beatings - that would come from him. It was one thing to hear harsh things from others, but it was another to hear it from the king himself, the man whom I admire.
Several seconds passed, and there was nothing, no insult or beatings. I then raised my eyes to meet the king’s, there was something unexpected there. There were twinkles in his eyes, something so similar to awe.
King Aden, ruler of the human kingdom Elysia was in awe of me. This was looking as funny as it sounded.
A smile broke out on his face, as his hand reached my hair, tucking a loose chestnut curls behind my ears. His hands grazed mine in the process, making me blush and self-conscious.
What was happening today? I got to see the king, talk to him, and now his touching my face and hair? This is just fucking crazy.
Lost in my trance, I didn’t notice King Aden bring out a cloth and hand it to me.
“Here, wipe your lips you’re bleeding”
“Your Majesty! What are you doing, You’re touching the elf girl. You may get cursed” Esra - seeming to have recovered from her initial shock of getting shoved, screamed.
King Aden ignored her, as he took my hands and placed the cloth in it.
“Elvira you said your name was?”
I nodded, still in shock.
“You must be tired from all your duties of today, you’re free to go back to your quarters.
I nodded my head again in response like I was mute. Slowly getting up to my feet, I reached to pick up the laundry basket but was stopped by the king.
“Leave it here, you can take care of it tomorrow. It’s pretty late now, you may leave”
“Your majesty!? you can’t just let her go!” I heard Esra whining again.
Deciding it was best to leave before the king changes his mind, I rushed out the huge double doors.