The Death Kingdom

Chapter Fourteen

"Another day, another request from Prince Kavi," Nena tells me with a joyful smile on her face.

Rome sighs and doesn't even bother with any kind of response. Instead, he simply walks away to work on his own heap of laundry.

I quirk my eyebrow slightly at his lack of hostility but I don't dwell on it in case this tempered Rome is only sticking around for the next thirty seconds. I hastily follow Nena out and start the trek to the now-familiar route to Prince Kavi's rooms.

"I heard Prince Auden requested your presence the other day," Nena whispers to me as we maneuver through the filled hallways.

I cringe, unsure what exactly to tell her. I don't want to lie, but at the same time, I wonder how she would feel about one of her idols being a bit of a creep.

I turn my head to her, keeping my voice low as we reach the stairs. "Honestly, he was flirting with me and it made me super uncomfortable."

Nena gasps, her face showing every bit of shock openly. "What?" It seems she's unable to produce more words on the matter.

I bite my lip, holding in the words that want to come out. I rack my brain, trying and failing to come up with a better explanation. "It seems he enjoys pointless banter. It's strange because he wishes for me to not treat him like a prince. He wants me to play a game with him."

"What do you mean? What game does he want you to play? Like cards?" Nena furrows her brows.

I nearly freeze on the stairs when I realize she doesn't understand what I'm referring to. I want to cringe some more. I tend to forget our age difference since she always acts so mature and has this unwavering strength to her that gives her the illusion of being older.

We reach the top of the stairs and turn toward Prince Kavi's rooms.

"No, not like that," I tell her, debating internally how best to explain this to her. "I just mean he enjoys the easy flirting banter I can give him. He wants me to play along with it, but I'm a servant and don't find it as amusing as he does. I feel like it's a bit inappropriate and a little annoying since he is a prince after all so I can't exactly refuse him. I don't feel like he'll try anything, but he just wants to use me as some sort of amusement while he's here."

Nena frowns, her eyes trailing down to the floor. I can see I've upset her a little bit. I want to protect her, but at the same time she needs these lessons, Gods know she's going to need them in the next few years. Not everyone is as they seem, and it's smart not to be so trusting of what you see on the outside—especially in this kingdom.

We arrive at Prince Kavi's rooms before she can say anything she's thinking. I'm somewhat disappointed, but think it might be for the best if she has time to simmer with the information a little. Maybe we'll talk about it some more later.

We enter Prince Kavi's rooms and find him once again in the bathing chamber sitting in front of his vanity.

"Excellent," Prince Kavi thrills as we curtsy low. "Saige, would you be a doll and braid my hair for me?"

"Absolutely, Your Highness," I reply, walking over to stand behind him.

We fall into an easy rhythm, me braiding his hair, and Nena sitting before him massaging his feet again. It's quiet apart from Prince Kavi letting out a contented hum every now and then or telling Nena or me something specific he wants us to do. After thirty minutes, it seems Prince Kavi is done with his foot massage because he pulls his feet away from Nena's small deft hands suddenly.