Her Fear, His Obsession

To Be Rid of Her

Back in their room, Alia sat, bored. She had been so upset with Luca that she fell into a pattern of obedience, that wasn't like her at all. Remembering Luca's first words to her, "you can do whatever you wish in this castle," she decided to test the waters.

If she could speak truthfully, she felt conflicted. There was a part of her that yearned to be free, back in her mundane yet rewarding life as a doctor. There was a part of that wanted to be cherished and childish in love- because someone who cared was around. And there was a part of her that was still deeply terrified of what could happen.

For the past two weeks, that fear had been reigning havoc on her life. But now, the child in her wanted to run free, knowing that someone who cared was there to protect her. Not to escape but just to be nonchalant.

So, that was the part of her soul she would feed. Stepping outside the room, she was faced with a kneeling Liam. All too familiar with his formality, Alia wore a smile on her face as he roted his wish to be commanded. She told him to stand, close his eyes, and count to twenty. She then ran down the hall and yelled, "Catch me if you can!" And took off running full speed.

Giggling all the way, Alia felt alive. She passed several people who all dodged her and then smiled as she ran past. Behind her, they could hear Liam panting, yelling and begging the Queen to stop as she may hurt herself.

But Alia didn't care- she wanted to just run without a worry in the world. Dodging in and out of halls and rooms, she ended up near the maze. But Luca's fright from the last time made her keep away- as if her intuition knew it was the wrong place to be.

After a few minutes, she felt bored just running, it was time to hide! But where? She thought. It had to be somewhere inconspicuous but not so much that Liam would never find her- cause then Luca would get involved and that would not go well.

Jogging along, she found a set of double doors, she burst into the room, only to find it empty and smelling quite awful. "What died in here?" she thought to herself. She was about to go back into the hall where she heard Liam calling out to her. As she whipped her head around, she settled on another set of doors.

She pushed through the doors and ran in, her head turned as she looked behind her for Liam. Still giggling, she didn't even notice that she was in a conference room until she hit the back of a chair. She whipped her head forward and saw an entire brood of men staring at her.

There must have been 30 men in there and they all had stood. The elders, ready to run, the young, ready to kill her.

As she looked around, panic set in. Where was she? Who were these people? She could feel their auras and they were not slaves. No, these were warriors. One of these warriors could destroy her, what would thirty do? She began hyperventilating and backed up slowly, her back hitting the now closed double doors. She wanted to turn and run out but she was afraid of turning her back. That would be even more dangerous. So she cowered, hoping they wouldn't see her as a threat.

"What are you doing in here, girl? Don't you know you've interrupted the King's council?" Hearing King, she whimpered. There was no way Luca wouldn't get pissed at her for being here.

"Speak!" The voice thundered. She again whimpered.

Then another voice spoke up from behind, this one reeked of power and authority and Alia knew- it was Luca. "Everyone. Kneels. NOW." Almost like robots, every man in the room dropped to their knees. Alia, still in shock, began to slowly lower herself, hoping to hide but she wasn't quick enough. He had seen her.

"Not you, my Queen," he spoke, now in a much softer tone. The council and their guard looked amongst themselves- Queen? And what was this voice? Was this really their King?

They all watched, astonished, as he stood up and walked towards her, softly. Despite his calm tone, she still had shrunk to her knees, likely from shock. He knelt down next to her and scooped her up, walking back with her and settling her on his lap. 

She sat there, breathing heavily, as rigid as a board. It wasn't until he started muttering sweet-nothings to her that she finally relaxed, allowing herself to slump against him while wrapped one hand around her legs and buried another in her hair, moving her face into his chest. He let her sit there for a moment before she heard his voice reverberate, "My sweet, my love, did you need something? Why didn't you send a message through a slave?"

She shook her head and reached for his palm, tapping no.

"So, you came in on accident?"

She squeezed his hand, hoping he wouldn't get upset.

As if it was divine intervention, Liam then burst into the room, panting. "My Queen?!?!" He froze when he saw the kneeling men and his eyes slowed led his view to the spectacle of the Queen in the King's lap. He immediately bowed deep and began backing out, "Apologies, your Majesties. Apologies, council elders, a thousand apologies." He closed the doors and Alia winced.

She turned to Luca, "Sorry, I was just having some fun. I didn't know there was a meeting."

"Ok, love, that's ok. You know you can go anywhere you want. And you never apologize, especially for not being in the same room as me." Alia breathed a sigh of relief. But what she couldn't see was him glaring at the guards that had been assigned to patrol and secure the door. If they couldn't stop someone as bumbling as her, how would they stop a true enemy?

He then looked over at the council, their mouths still agape as they kneeled on the floor. "Council is dismissed. Clearly we need to work on our security precautions."

Moving to stand, he turned to the council once more. "Yes, I have chosen a queen. If any of you dare to speak of this before she has been crowned, it will be the last words you ever speak." He strode out, still holding the woman in his arms.

He nodded to Viraj and said, "Have all the men meet me in the throne room in 15 minutes." Walking to their room, he gently placed her on the bed before turning to the slaves that stood beside the bed. "Get her something to eat. I imagine all that running must have wiped you out." Pausing to brush his hand against her cheek, he spoke, "Love, get some rest. I'll be back soon and then we can go to the garden."

Exactly 20 minutes from when he instructed Viraj, Luca walked in to the throne room, every male and warrior present, including the Council. He boomed, "When Your Queen walks in a room, I expect all of you to instantly be on your knees. Unless you have been explicitly told otherwise or you are a fly on the wall protecting the Queen, that is your new place. You are dismissed." He turned and walked off the stage.

The guards and slaves left, leaving some of the warriors and council. Although they clearly looked displeased at the weak human the king had chosen, they wouldn't dare speak ill of her. They would have to find another way to be rid of her.