A Better World (Record of Ragnarok x Reader)

Chapter 3 - Stranger danger

She really needed to start handling her emotions better.

[Name] was walking through the hallway, her eyes darting between doors and windows and pillars in an attempt to memorize the layout of the building, only to quickly realize that everything looked the freaking same. Wherever she turned her gaze, she was met with the same damn walls, replicated rows of the very same pillars, and frustratingly enough, the same irritating doors. How could anyone find anything in here? Is variation nothing the gods cared for? Not like any of that truly mattered. Not when someone had been tailing her since she left her companions behind in the dining room. Their footsteps had been hushed, almost undetectable against the marble tiles if it were not for the slight echo reverberating against the walls from their leather shoes tapping the floor.

Searching for her room would be a fool's decision, so, instead, [Name] took the first exit she laid her eyes upon that led outside to the gardens. As she walked down the bifurcated staircase made of white marble with intentional black cracks to it, memories of the past hit her in the face like a stone brick at the sight of the large, exquisite garden with properly maintained rose hedges, perfectly planted flowering plants, most of the kind that produce fruit, and differing botanical sections.

It had reminded her of the gardens in the glass castle when she had worked under the King of Adarlan as his champion in exchange for her freedom, not that she had spent much time in it. However, the more she observed her surroundings, the more... mundane they became. Whether that was due to the place being affiliated with the gods or her belief that nothing could rival the beauty of her own land she could not say. Perhaps both.

She stretched her arms, using it as an excuse to lean her head back and look at the closed double doors she had exited seconds ago. The corridor may have been huge but standing in a more vastly open space like this happened to be more helpful when dealing with an impending threat, especially if the dangerous nature of said threat was unknown. [Name] decided to walk toward the botanical section of the Gardens, where she sat amid a flower division, full of plants she for the life of her could not guess the name of. Some, she had never seen the likes of before, while others had a more familiar appearance to them. They were gorgeous, but her pride hindered her from saying that aloud.

A breeze drifted by, making her hair blow in her face, she used her hand to push the strands away as she turned her head in the other direction. Yet another reason for her choice of an open space - it presented her with more opportunities to inconspicuously study her surroundings.

Her eyes narrowed, partly to not get stung by the wind. She has yet to give any indication of being aware of her stalker's presence. Good. [Name] had purposely made it seem like she just wanted some fresh air after the overwhelming conversation that had taken place minutes ago. Faking a sigh, she put down the palms of her hands on the ground behind her, as she slightly leaned her head back. Her throat. She was exposing her throat for a fast kill. If the person's intention was indeed to take her life, he'd take the bait, only to realize all too late that the so-believed helpless maiden had one dagger in each of her hands, seated in a position that could easily kill a man. However, the minutes passed, and nothing happened, all while the queen's patience started to wear thin.

"It is quite rude to follow someone around without introducing yourself first, would you not agree?" she said.

[Name] was still unsure if the man would reveal his face, but either way, she deemed it safe enough to hide away her daggers in seasoned excellence, in case he decided to stop playing stalker, which he finally did.

Out of the tall evergreen thorny hedge, with oval leaves, and clusters of white and red flowers, came out a handsome man dressed in a butler uniform. His neatly combed black hair glistened in the sun, all while the red tattoos above his left eye and under his right eye added a more mesmerizing glow to his already captivating appearance. The distinctive mole on the right side of his chin became evident as a polite smile tugged the corners of his lips.