REJECTED SAVIOUR

ONE《BEFORE 》

《TWENTY YEARS BEFORE》♤ ♤ ♤FIRE-CITY

♤ ♤ ♤

Carim sat outside the house as he helped his mother lit the woods which she had gathered to cook. He arranged the woods and placed a pot on them. He then stooped, placing his hand underneath the pot and flicking his fingers in such a way that fire came out and consumed the woods. He sighed heavily, wondering why his mother had decided to undergo such stress of cooking when she could easily use the newly launched cooker the king had provided. Ever since he had brought it home, it had remained untouched and he was already getting angry at that.

He turned to inform his mother about the fire when a pebble dropped next to him. A crook smile crept unto his lips as he took the pebble in his hand and gazed at the direction it came from. The bushes moved violently then and more pebbles were thrown at him. He chuckled this time, cleaning his hands and turning in the direction of the bush when his mother's voice stopped him. She was carrying some ingredients for the meal she was about to prepare and a frown was etched on her face. Her once black hair which had now turned grey due to ageing, was tied up in a bun with some short strands falling down her forehead and to her freckled cheeks which looked puffier than ever.

Carim sighed wearily, knowing exactly what his mother had to say.

"Going somewhere?" Her grey eyes narrowed as she sat on the stool and poured some oil into the pot.

"I think I need to have my bath," Carim said to her, hoping she would give the matter up and let him be. He didn't have to explain himself or his whereabouts to her all the time. He was a big boy and could take care of himself.

"Mmm, how many times will you do that? Anyway, hasten up, food will be ready soon."

Carim nodded as he tried hiding his smile. He had not expected her to buy his lie that easily. Perhaps, he was learning well from Po who had a degree when it came to lying. He wasted no time walking to the bush where the pebbles had come from and a young beautiful lady jumped at him immediately he got to her. He laughed happily, holding her as her crimson wavy hair tied into two ponytails bounced up and down as she jumped in his arms

"What took you so long?" She finally stopped and stared into his eyes. "I've been waiting for so long." Her hazel eyes dilated as she drew her words. Carim smirked knowingly and he traced the line of her oval jaw, not breaking eye contact with her.

"I'm sorry. I was helping my mama. I wasn't expecting you."

"Yes. I wanted to pay you a surprise visit." She smiled at him.

"But we were together two days ago."

"That was two days ago."

"And yesterday too." Carim rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know." She glared at him and he chuckled, enjoying teasing her so much. He tried ruffling her hair and she smacked his hand away, causing him to laugh all the more.

"But it feels like ages since I last saw you. You know I want to be with you every minute." She pouted; her pink lips sticking out in a cute way that made him want to kiss her that moment and he did without hesitation.

"I miss you too," he proclaimed after he had broken the kiss, "and will love to be with you every second and minute but," his face became serious and the lady lowered her eyes, knowing what he would say next and not liking it one bit. "I don't like you sneaking out of the palace. The outside world is too harsh and dangerous for a princess like - "

"Who knows I'm a princess?" She cut him off and he raised a perfect brow.

"And what if you get caught?" He continued, ignoring her question and she pouted, disentangling herself from his arms and taking two steps back.

"I'm willing to pass through that risk for you." She threw her arms in the air. "If I don't sneak out, how will I meet you? You can't come into the palace." She replied, oblivious to the ball of fire balancing on her finger as she spun it. She was fond of doing that when she was upset or deep in thought. Her fingertip where the ball was balanced had now turned red and Carim knew what would happen next, so he grabbed the ball from her and blew it off.

"No fireballs." He shook his head and she nodded.

'Let's go to the riverside then." She offered and he agreed.

They ran whilst holding each other's hand as they made way to the red river which had been in existence for as long as the city existed. It was treated as a deity but people still washed themselves in it nevertheless.

The duo got to the river out of breath and fell lazily on the ground, panting. The princess sat up after a while and she gazed at the river, deep in thought. Carim sat up also; his eyes on her as he stared at her intently. He could tell something was bothering her which was strange because nothing ever bothered the Princess. She was always happy, exuberant and energetic. How else would he describe a princess that fled the palace every time without being caught? She loved adventure and she had the spirit and strength to carry out her desire.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She lowered her eyes.

"Of course, there's something. You look worried, Lizvy. Tell me." He coaxed.

"I am worried." She finally looked at him. "My dad is planning a contest for the young men of the Fire-City so he can choose a groom for me. According to him, since I had refused to get married to the princes that had been proposing, he would organise a contest and the winner would have me as his wife."

"But it's a taboo for a princess to get married to a commoner." Carim chuckled in disbelief. His golden-brown eyes staring at her in amusement and she frowned at him.

"This is not funny, Carim. Yes, it is a taboo but my dad wants me to get married as soon as possible and he thinks that I'd pick one of the commoners since I have rejected all the princes that made advances."

"That's good news," Carim commented in deep thought. "It means there's a chance for us to get married. Why do you look so sad when a great opportunity for us to finally declare our love to the outside world has appeared? Do you like all this sneaking around and hiding?"

"You don't get it, Carim."

"What do you mean?"

"I think my father is planning something. it looks so strange for him to organise a contest out of the blues, it seems like someone had told him about us. This might be his way of getting you."

"That doesn't make sense to me. Nobody knows about us. My mum doesn't even know."

"But what if somebody knows? This so-called contest doesn't seem genuine to me. I have a bad feeling about this, Carim." She took his hands into hers and caressed it, staring at his face. His dark brows were knitted together in confusion and all the princess could think about was burying her fingers into his dark brown curls which were now well past his shoulders and heading to his buttocks. He had plaited the strands into one long braid which bounced when he walked.

"I'm scared, my love. My dad can be very fierce and hostile. I know he's my father but he can destroy just to get what he wants. Carim, my love, don't go for this contest. I can assure you, this is only a set-up. He will never give my hands in marriage to a common man." Her big hazel eyes were already glossy and Carim looked away, not wanting to give in. This could be his only chance to finally be with the woman he had fallen so deeply in love with.

"Carim." She nudged him when he remained silent for a while and he finally stared deeply into her eyes and sighed heavily. "I don't think there's anything your dad can hatch that I cannot overcome."

"I know, Carim but - "

"I want to go!" He said stubbornly and she gaped at him. "But for you, I won't. Since you don't want me in this competition, then I won't go." He completed and she jumped into his arms, pushing him to the ground as she sat astride him.

"Thank you, my love. If anything happens to you I'd die. I don't want to lose you for anything in this land."

Carim shut his eyes as she pecked him on the lips and when he finally opened them, she saw pure fury. The yellowish glint in them now evident as his pupils turned red.

"I hate this world." He spat. "It isn't fair at all. When two people are in love, let them be together. King or slave." His pupils now had flames of fire in them and his muscular body was now very hot.

"Calm down, my love." She placed both palms on his broad shoulders. "I believe that we'd be together and no one will be able to separate us." She encouraged and lowered herself unto his chest, smiling sadly when he held her close to himself.

His mother had already finished eating when Carim finally came back and he didn't mind. The last thing he had on his mind at that moment was food.

He wasted no time lying to his mother the reason he had wasted so much time and she finally let him be, offering to serve him his meal which he rejected. Not that he enjoyed hiding the truth from his mother, it was just that his relationship with the princess was to remain a secret for her sake and that of his too. He sure would be eliminated without any delay if he was found anywhere around a royal figure, not to imagine what would happen if they knew it was the princess. It was no news to everyone how the king valued and treated his daughter like an egg.

Carim fell to his bed and shut his woes tightly. He understood things from the princess's perspective but he still wanted to try. He sighed miserably and drifted to an uneasy sleep.

★ ★ ★

Hello! Just felt this might be useful to werewolf readers. There's a new book Titled the Alpha's Resurrected Mate by Chidiogor and it is really awesome. You might want to try it out.

 Now, there are two books with this title so make sure you insert the apostrophe (') when writing this title down so you don't read the wrong book.