Chapter 46
1169 Words
CHAPTER 46
Zonia was tasked to water the plants. It was Dina’s job to take care of Queen Amira’s plants, but the queen asked Dina to massage her. Watering the plants wasn’t tricky, and she enjoys doing it while she was in the hut back then.
Zonia cheerfully sang to the jasmine, daisies, and tulips. She saw Burn in the distance, and the dog smiled at her. She smiled back.
Dina said that the queen took care of her plants since she became a mother. She can conclude it, though, because of the blooming flowers in all of the plant boxes. The king specially asked someone to construct it for her queen.
Queen Amira was the most down-to-earth person she met. She’s the most powerful woman in the whole palace of Caspian, yet she wasn’t proud and arrogant. She treats her servants like her daughters. If only she became a palace servant instead of a concubine, she wouldn’t have had to experience the nightmares that William gave her.
She remembered how she became friends with William’s first wife. She was kind, and she didn’t mind if the two of them should be rivals. They both have one goal: to escape from the man that locked them in that situation. William is a prosperous merchant and bought a lot of women for his own needs. He made himself a harem where he can enjoy sleeping with these lovely women. Zonia hated she’s one of them.
She and William’s wife became friends. Zonia became William’s favorite but doesn’t affect their friendship. Until one day, William had killed his first wife in his own hands. They were required to shut their mouths, or else he’s going to kill all of them.
Then, William brought her to the park. He was still his favorite and said she was the most blossoming woman in his harem. She wanted to vomit that time until Aragorn and his group saved her. She had no more freedom than she has back then.
She continued on watering the plants when she heard a whistle from a distance. It shivered her whole body as she slowly raised her head. She dropped the watering can and fell to the ground. She can’t be wrong. It was William who grinned at her.
She stood up and checked again where she found William looming in the distance. He disappeared like a bubbly. Rattling, she walked back to the palace, but someone hid her eyes using its hands. It was a man’s hand, and she can smell it, smells like rock or the most fragrant flowers in the whole garden.
“Who are you? Let me go! Or I’ll scream.”
The man let her go. She heard laughs, and she almost hit Azrael using her hand. He tricked her again, and she hated it. She likes how he made the atmosphere feel lighter, but she didn’t like how he did his tricks when she saw William earlier in the distance.
“You’re funny, Zonia. If only I could playback what happened earlier, I would’ve shown it to Hideo, and he’ll laugh also.”
“That’s not funny, Azrael,” she said, and she let him face her back. She was rattling in fear, yet he still manages to joke around her.
“Uh, wait, Zonia.” Azrael caught her arms. “What’s the problem?” He stared at her eyes, fear reflected from them. “You look scared. Is there something that happened to you?”
Zonia shoved him. She reconciled what happened earlier: William standing a few blocks from her. She knew she was out there, free, escaped from his punishment, and she knew she’s in danger if that man decided to take revenge on what she did to him.
“There’s nothing that happened to me.”
He did not let go of her hands, still holding the two. “You’re lying. Tell me, Zonia. Don’t you think it would be better, and it will go away once you tell me?”
Zonia gasped. Azrael was wise to know what she’s feeling right now. He looked like a psychic who can determine one’s feelings through the lens of their eye.
“I saw William while I was watering the plants. He grinned at me as if he plans to hurt me. I don’t know what to do, Azrael. I’m still afraid of him. When I saw him, the memories of the past reminisced inside my mind.”
“Calm down. He can’t hurt you. You’re here in the royal palace, and there were guards everywhere. The king and queen were here. I know he won’t enter the palace.” He pulled her towards him. Face on his chest. He comforted her, brushing his hand on her hair.
“I hope so, Azrael. I hope so.”
“He won’t. Just believe.”
“Why did you pay a visit here?”
“Hideo is in love. I never thought he will write poems and letters for the woman that he adores. I told him that he should talk personally to her, but he refused. He said Lolita won’t talk to him unless he writes a letter.”
“Hideo likes Lolita?”
Azrael shook his head. “He was silent most of the time but kind. I never thought that he’ll see a woman where his heartbeats. He already asked Lolita for a marriage, but he got rejected. Hideo tried again using this letter and poems. Do you know where Lolita is?”
“She’s mostly beside the queen, but I think Dina is the one who’s with the queen right now. Try to check the dining. It is her home since she started working here.”
“I remember that she’s the one who cooked the meat stew when we visited here. What if it’s the one that makes Hideo likes her? I just don’t know that Hideo has a heart, and it beats to this woman. He said she’s extraordinary. I’ll go and see.” Azrael was about to leave when he remembered what happened to Zonia earlier. “If you’re scared and you saw William earlier, don’t go outside. Stay inside and stay with someone.”
Why can’t that person be him? Why can he be the one to protect her?
She forced a smile back to him. Then, he left, and he’s getting smaller in Zonia’s eyes until he disappeared.
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