//Chapter 24//
1260 Words
I did not want to admit it, but outside felt like a miracle.
I could not help but smile as some green and brown came to the view. Then, I was out of the tunnel. The floor was slightly wet on my bare feet. I took a deep breath of fresh air as Zone finished closing the tunnel. Now it was like the tunnel didn't even exist in the first place. Insides of my nostrils went cold from the damp air and my eyes watered a bit from the feeling.
Before I could take another step, Savin carried me in a smooth motion. I shook him. "Put me down! There is nothing wrong with my legs. I did my workouts. I am not sick!"
He didn't budge even a little. "The floor is dirty."
I went completely still in disbelief. What?
Behind us, Kylan and Zone was snickering. Resh also was so busy looking at his nails. Unbelievable.
I haven't been carried like this after I was a toddler. The entire experience made me terrified of my life. My feet were above the ground and I was literally parallel to the ground. I clung to Savin for my dear life. I didn't know what to do if I slipped, though the odds of that happening was highly unlikely.
"Don't move around." He said. "I might lose my grip and drop you."
"Ha! Put me down then." I clutched him harder.
"It does not seemes like you want to release me." He said, snickering. I glared at him. Did he just made a joke about my situation, when he was the one carrying me in the first place? Where was the Savin always sighed like an old man? I did not like this new Savin.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"Our home." Kylan replied instead. "We have a bath prepared for you. And a meal. And your old room, fully decorated anew."
"Really?" I asked. "How come you guys were so sure about getting me out?" I wondered.
"Well, when I had to dig holes on the earth for the past two years because a certain someone could not forget-" Zone started.
Savin cut him off. "I informed them ahead."
I decided to not to say anything. Instead, I put my head on Savin's shoulder. If I continued like this, he won't be able to see the road at all.
Again, the little ones snickered while my brother started to examine his invisible manicure. I decided to ignore them.
It took us a little more than fifteen minutes to get to Lord Draken's mansion. Lady Draken was waiting for me. Little Naeoh (Not so little now) was hugging her legs.
I felt my cheeks burn. Savin was still carrying me in his arms. I felt like I was introducing my secret boyfriend to my family.
"Put. me. down." I whispered in to Savin's ear. His body was burning against mine. I felt like it got hotter even more.
"Not yet." He said.
"My lady, my Lord." I awkwardly greeted them. They smiled at me. "Princess Sumi. It's a pleasure to have you back." Lady Draken said.
Naeoh continued to stare at me. I didn't know if I should stare back or just ignore him. Both seemed to me bad options. Been in the air, being carried like a toddler did not help at all with the situation.
I looked for Kahlee. She was nowhere to be seen. I did not worry that much about her. If I was to stay in the mansion, then I will meet her sooner or later.
Savin did not put me down till I reached the bathing chamber. He carried me through the halls. My somewhat long bare toenails scraped the walls in the narrow hallways sounding horrible to the ear. My hair had grown past my knees in the last two years. Even though I had bathing facilities, there was no soap or a comb or anything to trim my hair, so my scalp was stingy and caked with oils that the water wasn't able to rinse off. Being this close to Savin in this situation made me more self conscious than I've ever been and my situation did not help with that.
Two maids were in the bathing chamber, waiting for me. They bowed to us when we walked in. I knew Enhla. Other one was a new face.
Savin went straight for the bath tub and set me down gently, his hands supporting my waist and knees. I quickly got out of his embrace. The water soaked through my already half destroyed clothes. He eyed me up and down and went out without saying a single word.
Seriously, what was his problem?
I took off the torn cloths on my body. Then I remembered. There was a huge hole on my top, to the sideways. The dim moonlight in my cell or the darkness in tunnel was not enough to see that. But when we were outside, it must have been visible. I did not know if I should thank him for covering me up. I probably should.
The maids rinsed my hair and body. They clipped my toe nails. I engaged in some small talk with them. I knew Enhla from the time I was here, so it was not that hard.
"This is Wincy." She introduced me the new maid. "We are to serve you from now on. If you need anything, one of us will be right there."
"Thank you." I said. "But I don't want maids. I can manage to look after my self. But I would appreciate some friends."
They faced each other. "If that's what you want us to be, we will gladly be that." Wincy said.
Only if I could trust anyone that easily in this world.
I smiled, resting my head back as they worked on my legs. "Tell me all the gossips I missed." I said. "It was so boring in the cell. My ears are dried from all the silence. The only thing I heared was rain." And Revenen.
"Oh, we will." Enhla said.
-
About two hours later, we were done.
I felt like I had never been this clean before. I asked them to trim my off-white hair as short as possible, but they just cut it to the middle of my back, saying it suited me more. I was too busy digesting the information I had heard, so I didn't argue with that. I was dressed in lose pants and a top. I refused dresses. I wanted to feel clothes against me, not to have them drape around me. I could deal with outer appearance later. Right now, I just wanted to be comfortable.
I was lead to a room. Fruits, cake and a bottle of mortal wine was sitting on the table. I ate a few pieces of cake. I was tired of fruits.
Lady Draken had come to tell me to rest as long as I wanted. Enhla and Wincy had left me alone to rest.
I got into the bed. I wanted to think about what I heard from them about how Daniel had already betrayed me even before I was imprisoned. Then for some reason, I remembered Savin.
I could not sleep on the bed. After tossing and turning, I took my pillow and came to the floor. I pretended the cold floor was Savin's legs and closed my eyes, hoping for a dreamless sleep.
As if the fate would let me have that.
- Writer
