The lion and the witch

~Chapter 6: Troubles and bouquets~

~Sophie's POV~

She may have wanted to become a queen since she was little, but Sophie knew she could never turn down an offer of having the chance to do the purest of evil.

Since briefly walking with Rhian through the gardens, she couldn't stop thinking how wicked the broken pot shards were anything but accidental.

Of course, the plant had fallen from Sophie's own bedroom window by her own accord, only minutes before Rhian had arrived to pick her up. Obviously she played it off by an accident, yet fortunately, she was the only soul out there who knew how truly that "accident" had happened.

In the process of the wedding (not blessing) being scheduled to be taking place in only two days time, she knew she had to do anything in her willpower to try and stop it from happening. And fast, too. 

No signs of Agatha and Tedros had reached her after the letter they had sent her anonymously, in some sort of code they knew Sophie would be able to understand.

She had considered trying to write back to them, of course, but she knew how risky the game would be if she didn't play it right under Rhian's nose. 

Unfortunately for her, instead of trying to push him away and put some distance, he was becoming closer to her throughout the days, although that was a benefit in itself.

If he was becoming closer to her, it only made Sophie's job easier to try and kill him within the two days time.

She tore away from her thoughts and straddled across the hallway, glimpsing Rhian speaking indistinctly to his twin and captain.

It only made her queasier, unknowing of what the future had in stock for her two best friends. 

She stared down at her bland attire, Evelyn Sader's dress itching more than ever. It took everything within her not to trim it all over again if it wasn't for Japeth and his mysterious ways on bringing it back.

Her idea with the dress was to have Rhian appreciate the fact she was trying to respect him by doing what she was told, but to her disbelief, she didn't even think he noticed.

At last, when she had finally reached her chambers, she closed the door with a sigh and immediately strode over to the nearest glassed window she could find.

To her devastation, neither her fiancee, his brother, or even Kei were anywhere to be seen.

She grimaced on a groan, sulking over to the bed with a sunken posture. She may have kept the broken pot a secret, but losing hours of sleep may have been the most honest thing Sophie had ever told Rhian.

The mattress and sheets seemed far too good to be true, and her grief immediately turned into something far greater than pure bliss.

The sensation had barely lasted a good two minutes before a knock on the door interrupted her serene joy.

She held in a blood-curdling scream and pretended to be asleep, careless of her clothes before sinking deeper into her sheets.

She had no doubt Rhian was behind the door, even though it was a surprise how fast he had come back to visit only after having a conversation in the garden just minutes ago, but she couldn't bring herself to even yell out her permission to come inside, let alone get up and open the door for him.

She stiffened as she heard it open, her back to the sound, although she relaxed her muscles a bit after hearing the familiarity of the soft voice.

Footsteps began to come closer as she closed her eyes, unwilling to have a conversation. The steps came to an abrupt stop, before trailing closer to her.

Moments passed before she sensed a light weight beside her, yet she still remained in a dazed form. 

She retained from flinching as warm lips gently pressed against her cheek, pulling away before receding. 

She only arose from her spot when she was certain the door had completely shut, and her eyes widened at the sight beside her, knowing better than to reach out towards it. 

She also knew better than to listen to her head, letting her innermost emotions control her as she stroked down the delicate parchment holding the variety of flowers together, gold ribbon as a finishing touch to form a beautiful bouquet. 

A folded paper sat on top of the flowers, and Sophie unraveled it to make out the inked letters inside:

"Picked these up on the way here for you.

"They caught my eye and I instantly knew their beauty had something in contrast with my queen."

Sophie didn't know if she should flush in the shade of a million rubies, or reel in disgust by Rhian's words supporting his gifts.

Instead, she distracted herself by reading on:

"Please forgive my brother and captain for their sudden arrival. Truly, I thought they'd come later.

"If you're free, (from sleeping, I mean) I can make up for it by taking you somewhere alone tonight. Just the two of us, without my brother, Kei, my guards... no one.

"Let me make you feel as safe as you were once before with me, before anything had happened. I sensed your discomfort and hesitation since the moment you had arrived, so allow me a chance to help you feel at home once again.

"Please? I'll talk to you at lunch.

"P.S. thank you for the dress, by the way. It truly means a lot.

"-Rhian"

This time, Sophie truly did feel sick. 

At least he had noticed the dress?

She was guilty to say some part of her truly did want Rhian to change her perspective on him, and yet she knew the consequences that would partake after those desires.

If she allowed Rhian to take her to that same place he had in store for her that night, then she could proceed in trying to form an "accident" just like in the garden.

The only difficulty was that she'd have to endure a whole of god knew how many hours with him in either awkward silence, or a deepened conversation; possibly both.

She exhaled and plucked a rose from the bouquet, noting how generously Rhian had plucked the thorns for her, and lifted it to her nose, finding satisfaction in the floral scent.

She stared at the lonely flower once again, her gaze lingering longer on the thorn-bare stem.

The king thought he had picked out a sweet, gentle combustion of petals as his queen.

She smiled to herself, a witch re-awakening. 

How she couldn't wait to become the thorn in his side he had so fearfully deemed she become.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God, how long has it been? Because apparently, almost a month.

I'm terribly sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was on writer's block AGAIN (as per usual) 😓

I'm really aiming to update more now, since my exams are now over and my time's a bit more stable, but I really can't make any promises (sorry!) 😭

I hope you liked the chapter though!

(And seriously, thank you so, so much for 1.35k reads! What the heck?! I still remember when I was thanking everyone for 15 reads 😭)

(Like Rhian had said earlier in his letter, it truly means a lot. Sometimes, I even touch my screen to see if the numbers are glitching-)

But seriously, thank you.

-Eva ❤️