Elvira

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“El? What’s wrong, why are you crying?” an alerted Adelio asked, his - now golden eyes - scanning my face and body.

I shook my head and started wiping fussily at my eyes.

“Come on El don’t do this to me. I need to know if you’re hurt.” His voice was soft and pleading and I almost felt tempted to tell him what I was worried about. But I couldn’t.

How could I just blurt out that I was crying like a child because I didn’t want him to leave?

I haven’t even known him for half a day, but it feels like I’ve been with him for a lifetime, and the very thought of him leaving makes my heart hurt. I instinctively felt like if he were to go away, I’ll miss him so much that my soul might shatter. The idea didn’t sound nice in the least bit.

My thoughts did nothing but widened the floodgates for my tears. No matter how much I wiped my eyes, they just kept falling, drenching my face. I was about to take a swipe at my face again when my hands were caught by another’s.

“EL,” Adelio said in a voice that sounded demanding.

He then brought his forehead to touch mine. A gesture I have come to find calms him down a little.

“My sweet El. Won’t you please tell me what’s wrong?” His voice was quiet and gentle but still held a demanding tone.

“I-” I started, but then lowered my eyes and bit my lips.

“EL” he breathed my name again.

“Empress if you don’t stop crying, the emperor may tear down this entire area and then some” Milo said with a smirk on his face.

“What?” I asked, taken aback.

“He may not show it, but he’s seething with rage right now.” Milo continued.

I lifted my gaze to study Adelio’s face, it was then that I noticed a vein popping on his head as if he was ticked off but was trying to restrain it.

“The only reason he hasn’t gone on a rampage all this while is because he can’t leave your side at the moment. He knows you need him, that your body needs him. Thanks to that, Elysia is still standing, and hasn’t gone up in flames yet.”

He knows I need him by my side...? Does that also mean he knows that right now I don’t want him to go? But if he thinks I need to be with him, would that also mean he’s willing to take me with him?

Who am I kidding? I scoffed at my thoughts.

I’m not even sure he would want me in his empire. I mean I am just a peasant girl. Surely his people wouldn’t approve of him bringing a human servant back to the palace. Maybe I am just a thing to erase his boredom with during his stay in Elysia.

My emotions were going haywire and my head was flooded with so many hurtful questions. I was extremely confused as to why I was feeling the way I was. It was like someone had opened up a Pandora’s box that was filled with nothing but doubts and self-criticism.

My heart rate picked up and I could feel my chest constrict. I needed everything to stop. The irrational thoughts in my head, the pain in my chest, the confusion blending in with my emotions. I just wished the world would pause for a minute.

“El. Deep breaths.” Adelio’s voice drew me out of my stupor. “Follow my breathing okay? I heard him say.

He adjusted me from my laying position to a sitting one, so I was now straddling him. The posture made my ears closer to his heartbeat and I could hear it clearly.

“That’s right Fleur. Breathe with me”

When his temperate chest rose, I took in deep breaths. When it fell, I exhaled lung full of air. With each notion, my foggy thoughts dissipated.

I pushed my ears closer against his warm, bare chest and nudged it. Somehow it was washing away my negative emotions and calming me down. It was like hearing his heartbeat made the connection I was feeling towards him grow stronger.

“Good girl,” he said, kissing my tear-stained skin.

Then he dragged his soft gaze from me and landed a hard glare on Milo.

“Milo. Be careful of what you say. Her emotions are heightened because I haven’t marked her.”

Milo’s face grew funny “Your majesty, why would you assume it was what I said that caused her to be distressed?”

“Because she started acting like this as soon as you walked in here and opened your mouth,” he said in a harsh tone.

Milo gave a fake exasperated expression and said “Dear goddess, you wound me your majesty. I would never make a lady cry. Unless in the bedroom of course.” he winked.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“I find it a need to remind you of the number of court maidens, servants, and noble ladies that have fallen victim to your poisonous mouth. Some court maidens shaved their heads from grief, the servants all quit, and most noble ladies ignored their suitors and chose to be single for life.”

The entire situation was comical and I couldn’t help but admire their friendship. It reminded me of Mira and myself, the Way we would sometimes banter and compete on who does the most chores.

The fond memories streaming through my head caused me to let out a giggle, which made the entire room go silent again as they both stopped to stare at me.

Adelio’s eyes widened and I could see a flash of emotion ripple through them.

“You... laughed,” he said, rubbing my lips in fascination. As if they were the button to trigger my laughter again.

I blushed and ducked my head a little. “Sorry, it’s just you and Milo are quite funny.”

“Aw, you think I’m funny empress? Thank you. At least someone appreciates me” Milo said with doe eyes.

“Milo shut up. Aren’t you done with your report? Be on your way.” Adelio growled.

“On the contrary your Highness, I neglected to mention I found something else other than chains.”

The mood instantly shifted and tension laced the air.

Milo dipped his hands in the pockets of his black pants and slowly pulled out a little sachel. He opened the sachel and took out the content. It was an object that was oddly shaped like a scale and light blue in color. I stared at it in awe, wondering where it was from and why it was of importance.

“A Dargon’s scale,” Adelio said answering my unvoiced question.

Milo continued. “Yes, which is undeniable proof that they had dragons locked up there at some point. However, here is the odd part. The town’s people were all acting normal as if nothing was amiss. If there were dragons hidden there, surely there would be some rumor going around. But there was neither talk of dragons nor the supernatural.”

“I also couldn’t sense any dragon’s presence when we went past that town, so it must mean their presence was being masked. There may be witches at play here .” Adelio said.

“Which brings me to the question,” Milo said dropping his eyes on me. “Empress by any chance do you remember any details on the people that had you chained up in that room and why?”

My body instantly stilled.

Truth be told, I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about what happened, and how King Aden tossed me away. He wasn’t even looking at me as a person, he just looked at me as a means to an end.

Goosebumps prickled my skin as the unpleasant memories of that cold room slowly crept in. The smell of the damp air and the biting feel of the chains were gradually becoming vivid. I unconsciously rubbed the bruises on my neck with my wrist and shifted my body a little.

A warm hand wrapped around mine, and the tingles that spread from it instantly made me know it was Adelio’s.

“It’s okay love, I’m here. Just relax, and don’t force yourself. Just tell me when you feel ready.” He stated.

I nodded my head in understanding and he kissed my forehead.

I loved the way he gave me little kisses here and there like it was a reward or something, or like a show of his approval.

“With the evidence we’ve gathered, it should be sure enough reason to get rid of King Aden” I heard Milo say.

“No. We’ll do this the slow way. It’s easy to destroy the entire kingdom of Elysia in less than a week, but that won’t provide us answers as to what the grand scheme here is. If the witches are involved, then they are definitely planning something big.”

At the mention of ‘grand scheme’, my head throbbed and a memory swirled in.

When King Aden was speaking to me, he did say something about a grand scheme. About how you could take a dragon’s powers through some sort of ritual. He also talked about stealing a...dragon’s power.

Just like that, a connection was made. My eyes widened at the realization. If they were talking about missing dragons, then that means King Aden is definitely involved in the incidents. He must have kidnapped them for his sick experiments.

I was about to tell Adelio and Milo what I had just figured out, but a sudden thought had my mouth suspended open with no words coming out. They just said they were going to destroy Elysia as soon as they figured everything out. If I gave them this information, Elysia is going to be reduced from a great kingdom to a pile of rubles.

A stray, cold sweat slid down my back at the mental image I formulated.

“Were you about to say something empress?” Milo suddenly asked.

I instantly shut my mouth and shook my head. “No, nothing.”

However, Milo didn’t look the least bit convinced by my reply, never mind Adelio’s face that was mixed with worry and scrutiny.

“I uh- I...” I was wracking my brain for excuses and couldn’t come up with one. With my brain being a letdown, I gave free reigns to my mouth for an explanation.

“I just wanted to ask where the bath was, I’d like to take a shower. I’m kind of, uh, hot and sticky all over.” I muttered.

Ugh, I groaned internally, resisting the urge to palm my face. What in the awkward conversation change, was that? That’s the best you could do? Screw you, mouth and brain.

I pressed my lips in a firm line and drew my gaze to Milo and Adelio, hoping they fell for my distraction.

“The bath is two doors down the hall from this room” Milo answered, his face still wearing a carefree expression.

“Thank you,” I said, giving him a small nod.

Just as I was about to get up, Adelio tightened his arms around my waist. I gave him a puzzled look, wondering why he wasn’t letting me go.

A small smirk played on his lips, as he placed them next to my ears. “Darling, mind telling me what exactly has your body feeling hot and sticky?”

His words almost came out in a purr, as he rocked me a bit against the restless little dragon in his pants.

I gaped at Adelio.

One...two...three...

It took me three seconds to recover from what Adelio said, and I quickly smacked him with a pillow.

“What is wrong with you?!” I squealed, hopping down his lap and pulling the bed sheets along. This time he didn’t stop me.

“Well, that’s my cue to leave” Milo scrunched up his nose.

“No. Wait. Take me to the bath please” I said scurrying after him

A loud growl came from behind us and my hair stood on ends, but I willed myself to ignore it.

“Please take me to the bath Milo,” I said again.

This time, the growl came out louder, and it shooked some standing lamps, almost toppling them.

“Nah uh, empress. I’m not getting myself into this lover’s spat”

“We aren’t lovers!” I yelled.

“Ugh, couples” Milo muttered with a little distaste and walked out.

What a traitor. These people always seem to leave me to deal with Adelio’s temper.

Before I could make a run for the bathroom, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Warm hands roped my waist, warm breath fanned my cheeks, and a warm chest flushed against my entire back. That’s what my body recognizes his Presence to be, a ball of warmth.

I instinctively pushed myself back into his body and rubbed a little against him. Sparks and torrents raced through my veins and I shuddered. My ears started to subtly tingle.

“Tell me my El, who isn’t your lover?” He whispered.