The Desert Alpha's Mate

CHAPTER 9-FLASHBACK 2

When Eleanor was left alone, she didn't know what to do. The heaviness of her situation slowly weighed her down. Now that she was alone in this vast room, her reality struck her. Here she was, in an unknown land, alone and with nowhere else to go. She needed to ponder what she was going to do next. Although she was afraid of what tomorrow might bring, she needed to be brave. She was already stuck in this situation even though she truly wished that when she went to bed and woke up, she was still on the train on the way home to her grandma's.

To distract her from succumbing to her emotions, she turned her attention to the room that was assigned to her. Her eyes scanned the entirety of the room. It was big and grandiose in a different way. No electronic devices could be seen. The floor was made of wood instead of stones and bricks like the others that she had seen in the part of the palace where she was before. The king-sized four-poster bed was made of dark wood with an intricate design on its frame, and it is the prominent furniture dominating the whole room. The white sheets covering the mattress were an entire contrast to a red duvet that folded halfway neatly on top of the bed. The red pillowcase tied together the whole look. The floral canvas in the middle of the headboard of the bed made the room look cozier. Two decorative wooden trunks that served as side tables on both sides of the bed were holding oil lamps. She saw another open doorway on the other side of the room. She thought this could be a door leading to a bathroom.

There was an open window at the foot of the bed. When she walked near it, she found out that she was in one of the higher rooms in one of the towers of the palace. She could see from there the garden and the rocky mountainside. Unlike in the watchtower, this part of the palace seemed quiet. The room was starting to turn dark as the sun was already setting, so she went to one of the oil lamps and tried to figure out how to open it. She turned it around to check if there is a knob or anything that she can use to light the lamp.

"Allow me to do that, My Lady," a quiet voice spoke from the door, startling the living daylight out of her.

"What the f*ck!" she exclaimed loudly, causing the man, who spoke, to wince and tremble. Upon seeing this, Eleanor regained her composure and regretted shouting. She was just startled, she didn't mean to shout at him. When she looked closely, she corrected herself for thinking that he was a man. 'He is just a boy,' she thought to herself, 'barely fifteen or sixteen'. It was because of his towering height, she mistook him for a man. His frail and skinny body and the innocence in his eyes were enough for Eleanor to realize he was younger than her. His trembling hand holding her things and low cast gaze were evidence that he was afraid of her.

"I'm sorry if I shouted. I didn't mean it. You startled me by coming here without a sound," she softly said to the boy. The boy still didn't look up at her and just remained silent, although his trembling was slowly diminishing.

"You can look at me," Eleanor said to him again softly.

The boy shook his head vehemently. "I am sorry if I startled you too, My Lady. Please don't punish me for not making any sound and informing you that I had entered," the boy said to her with a trembling voice apologetically.

"I won't punish you for it. Why should I do that? And could you please look at me when we talk?" she said softly to the boy, hoping her words would assure him.

Again, the boy shook his head. "We are not allowed to look at the royals directly, My Lady," he answered. "Me, entering your room without your consent was already punishable. Please don't punish me for it or tell the Prince about it. I just want to help you light the lamp because it seems you are struggling to do it. It is my job to serve you," he said, still shaking like a leaf.