Chapter 10 (Part 3)

Brooding is not my style; apologizing, even more. I have too much pride for that. So I’m not going to apologize to Noirxus but I may clear up some misunderstandings if he even misunderstood. There is a chance that he got my real meaning and not the double meaning or he got both meanings but chose to ignore the other. But if he only got the second meaning, the embarrassing one, then I’m going to turn it around and slap my intended meaning on his face, mock his weakness, twist the words and the situation to insult his perverseness (not mine) among other things, so he won’t get the wrong idea next time. I’ll make it so that he got the wrong idea not me because I’m perfectly innocent in the first place. Yeah, that’s a good plan. I’m going with that plan.

 Sighing with relief this time, I got up from the bed and noticed that I wasn’t wearing the clothes I remember wearing. Gone were my favorite red traveling clothes and in its place was a laced, long-sleeved, light blue night gown that ends a few inches below the knee. It was aesthetically pleasing but highly uncomfortable. Sure it was made from a breathable fabric but it was too drafty down there, making me feel all exposed. But the biggest surprise was that even my underwear was different.

I took a shaky deep breath. Who took off my…touched my…saw my…all of it?!

I took another deep breath. Wait. Calm down Chryisle. Now think and remember. What do you remember happening before all of…this?

I massaged my temples in small circles with both hands while piecing together memories before I blacked out. So I remember the moment I entered the city, I had a massive headache building up until I fainted in front of…a nameless guy who seems to be Rascielle’s lover or something like that, Rascielle herself, Noirxus, Captain Daisy and Kahel. If a delicate girl like me fainted in front of the palace, logically, I should be in the palace because it’s the nearest resting place or at least some inn in the city grounds if not the palace. But do inns usually have these big balcony doors in their rooms?

I calmly walked towards the said glass doors and gingerly opened them. As soon as I stepped out, I received confirmation of my location. I was in the palace indeed and the city view from the balcony was absolutely breathtaking. The crescent moon was subtly illuminating the whole city. Some windows were lit by yellow light coming from the inside of the house, but most were dark meaning it is already late in the night and people are sleeping.

From the city view, I shifted to the immediate surroundings. The palace is something I’ve seen from the distance but never seen from the inside but it didn’t disappoint me. Well it didn’t impress me either. It’s just how I imagined it and nothing more. It was grand, expensive and expansive to say the least. Smooth polished marble stones line the inside and rough hard stones the outside, gold and silver, the whole setting typical of a rich household. Well at least the architect was decent and there was not a wasted stone to the castle’s defenses, truly a magnificent fortress indeed.

So back to the original topic, since I’m in the palace, the person most likely to have undressed me would be an unknown palace maid or someone like that but definitely a servant. I let out a sigh of relief at the comforting thought.

A soft knock on the door broke my reverie.

“Come in,” I called from the balcony, looking over my shoulder just to see who entered. I wasn’t surprised to see Rascielle sauntering in with a female servant pushing a wheeled cart of food behind her. Noirxus did say he was going to send her in. When the food was placed near the bedside, Rascielle dismissed the servant politely, leaving the two of us alone in the room.

“It’s good you’re awake, Chryisle. You’ve been unconscious for two days straight. We were worried,” Rascielle said until she reached the balcony doorway and stopped there. She hesitated but continued anyway, “Noirxus said you were cursed.”

“Cursed?” I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her.

“When Kahel bit you. Apparently it was contagious. Noirxus didn’t explain what kind of curse it was but he removed it for you,” Rascielle explained.

I looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue and disclose whatever events occurred while I was passed out.

“Don’t ask me how he removed it but he was alone with you the entire day the day before yesterday.”

I didn’t let that irrelevant piece of information bother me. I still have unfinished business with him and I’m not letting anything influence my brilliant plan to save face. “Speaking of which, where is Kahel?”

“He never left the garden since he entered the palace.”

I hummed dismissively but then asked, “Who changed my clothes and where are the old ones?”

“The servants did. Your old clothes are in the closet behind that door over there together with other clothes given to you by the prince,” Rascielle said pointing to a door I never noticed. I can’t be blamed though with only moonlight as my light source.

“Let me guess. The prince was the handsome young man who greeted you when we first came here, claiming you to be his beloved?” I smirked confidently.

Rascielle blushed. That was enough of an answer. My intuition was never wrong.

“Which reminds me, Chryisle…” she looked at me with searching eyes while biting her lower lip. She was feeling uneasy which made me uneasy. I saw her swallow before continuing, “You didn’t mean what you did, did you?”

“What do you mean?” I asked uncertainly. “What did I do?”

“When you…when you kissed Prince Cerian before you passed out…” she looked at me accusingly. “You didn’t mean that did you?”

I was drawing blank but decided that since I was walking on dangerous territory, I must reply honestly and sincerely. A jealous woman is not someone anyone should mess with. “I honestly do not remember anything like that. And if I did do that, and by looking at you I think I really did, that would be an accident. I can’t really control where I land when I faint, you know? Besides, surely your beloved prince is unaffected by it. Have some faith in your romance.”

Rascielle breathed a sigh of relief and nodded at me enthusiastically, smiling from ear to ear. “You’re right!” She exclaimed before grabbing my hand and started dragging me back inside the room. “Come, your dinner is ready!”  

But as we reentered the room, a soft thud sounded behind us. I turned around, instantly on defensive, and glared at the intruder who landed on his feet on the balcony. He wore all black attire with a black mask covering his face and hair. Seriously, if I see more of the color black, I’m going to go color blind! But if he wasn’t a thief, then he was an assassin. Either way, he’s dangerous. I quickly pulled Rascielle behind me, clearly the only person in the room worth assassinating.

“Good evening, Ladies,” the intruder greeted.


AN: Alright~! Chapter 10 done!! Yay~!