Shadows of Avarice (BxB)

Chapter 18

Xia had a restless night and when morning finally arrived, he could barely manage to get out of bed. He couldn't get Osiris out of his head, even when he desperately tried to think of something else. His thoughts kept drifting to the things the sultan did and said to him. He was frustrated with himself for enjoying it as much as he did and for wanting more. Xia never craved a person's attention this much before. He blamed it on his loneliness. Though he had his family, they couldn't fill this void in his heart.

He sighed when he heard the knock on his door, and then Alishba let herself inside. Xia didn't bother to get out of bed or to greet her. He was too exhausted, and he contemplated telling her that he was sick, but his sister would see right through him if he claimed that. He didn't want to go over the events that transpired last night either. There were things he didn't think that he could tell her. She would get upset if she knew some of the details.

"Well, good morning to you, too. What's wrong with you?" Alishba asked when all she received was silence.

"I'm just tired, Alishba. I didn't get any sleep last night," he responded, unwilling to go into any more detail than that. He pulled the covers over his head to block out the sunlight and added, "Let me sleep in for today."

But his sister wasn't in the mood to deal with this attitude of his. Alishba grabbed the blanket and pulled it off him. She tsked at him. "Get up. It won't look good for your reputation if people start to believe you're a lazy wife. You need to make an appearance."

Xia groaned and sat up. "The only reason that we're here is to make Osiris fall in love with me and then he'll give me things. What's the point of showing my face to people I don't care about? If I'm not going to see Osiris, then why bother?"

"You still need to play your part whether you see him today or not."

As Alishba looked at her brother, her gaze landed on his neck. Her eyes went wide at the large and multiple bruises that covered the left side of his neck and shoulder. "Xia . . . what the hell were you doing with Osiris last night? Those marks look horrible."

Xia touched his neck where he was bitten. He felt a dull, throbbing pain before he touched his neck, but touching the bruises hurt more. He never looked in the mirror last night to see how bad the hickeys were. Xia was still reluctant to see the damage the sultan had done, but he didn't have much of a choice when Alishba picked up one of the hand mirrors and gave it to him.

The bruises were worse than he expected. Some were bright red and purple, and there were more than he thought there would be. Osiris really did take it too far last night. If that were him giving a little example, then Xia would hate to see what the actual punishment would be like.

He handed the mirror back to his sister without looking at her. He couldn't meet her gaze after she witnessed him in this state. He didn't want her to see him like this, but Alishba was the only person who could help him cover this up. He was too ashamed to ask anyone else for help. Alishba was mad at him, but she would forgive him eventually.

She sighed. "Let's fix you up. I should make you walk around with visible hickeys on your neck, but I won't punish you like that. I'll just make sure it hurts when I apply the makeup."

Alishba wasn't kidding when she said she would make it hurt. She made sure to apply the makeup hard when she worked on his neck. She didn't keep this up for long, though. Once she felt as though her brother had been punished enough, she was gentler. Xia didn't complain about the pain at all. He accepted his punishment, which he knew that he deserved.

As she worked on the rest of his makeup, Xia quietly said, "I'm sorry, Alishba. I'm going to screw everything up if I keep going down this path."

She didn't respond right away as she continued to fix him up. She was angry, but she was more worried than anything. "Xia . . . I just don't want to see you get hurt. Osiris is the sultan of Rasea, and you're a thief. You two aren't meant to have a future together. Once we get out of this city and go to one of the other kingdoms, then you can think about finding someone to be with. Osiris is not the man for you."

It was the hard truth, but Xia didn't want to hear it. Once Alishba finished his makeup and chose a dress for him, he left her alone in his room.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He didn't have a destination in mind. Xia kept walking in hopes of clearing his head. Alishba's words stung. He was only a thief and for once, he hated that that's all he was. He wasn't anyone important, and if he were someone else, then he never would have met Osiris to begin with. Maybe things would have been better that way, but he couldn't escape who he was. He was Xia, the thief, and the elf.

Xia found himself stopping in the gardens, but he wasn't the only one there. Sitting on the bench, Shiva and Amani quietly spoke to one another. Shiva had her back turned to him, but Amani was facing him and when she saw him she smiled brightly at him.

Amani waved her arms and called out, "Xia, over here!"

He wanted to turn and walk the other way, but he didn't want to appear rude. He didn't want to stoop down to Soraya's level. So with a sigh, Xia approached the women. Perhaps he could get some answers from them.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Shiva curtsied and gave Xia a pleasant smile.

The formal greeting made Xia feel uncomfortable, as well as the title. He wasn't their ruler, so he didn't deserve this treatment. Shiva's kindness made him feel bad for deceiving her.

Awkwardly, he said, "Please, just call me Xia." He shifted back and forth on his feet. He decided that he would get straight to the point. With a deep breath, he asked, "Is there something going on with Osiris? Last night after we returned, Soraya was angry at him for being out late and she took him back to his room. He also seemed different . . ."

Xia tried to ignore it at first, but after giving it some thought, he could tell that Osiris wasn't himself. He didn't do anything terrible, but he seemed . . . forceful. The way that he grabbed Xia, how he bit him, how he spoke to him. There was also a brief glimpse of darkness that Xia saw in the sultan's eyes. Xia was too infatuated with Osiris last night to notice all of these things, but now that he had a clear head he could see the red flags.

The girls looked at each other, then Amani shrugged. "Osiris is cursed."

"That's just a rumor, so don't believe everything that you hear," Shiva quickly added.

"Is it really just a rumor, though? Soraya takes Osiris away every third Sunday of the month and keeps him locked in his room. Days before that happens he starts to act weird, and then he's back to normal after Soraya takes him away. Our hunky sultan and his bitchy princess are hiding something," Amani said.

So even these women didn't know what was going on. He hoped that he would have been able to get some answers from them. They were easier to talk to, but it looked like he would have to wait until Soraya or Osiris opened up to him about it. He doubted that Soraya would ever tell him the truth, and he didn't know when he would see the sultan again. Xia thought it would be better to avoid Osiris for a while. Due to how he was feeling, he needed to put some distance between himself and that man. He couldn't afford to screw everything up now.

Xia sighed. This exchange had been fruitless. He was about to excuse himself to find somewhere he could be alone, but Amani grabbed his arm before he was able to depart.

Amani asked, "About the wounds on your neck, tonight, why don't you go to the baths in the north wing?"

At the mention of his wounds, Xia quickly touched his neck. Doing so stung, but he didn't want the bruises to show. Alishba did a good job of covering them up. He made sure that they weren't visible before leaving his room. Did the makeup come off already?

"Oh, don't worry. Alishba is a talented makeup artist, so they're not showing. When you returned last night, I happened to see you while you were going back to your room. Anyway, the baths in the north wing have healing properties. The water is supposed to be blessed, like holy water. You should go around midnight tonight." She smiled at him; a smile that said she was up to something.

"Amani . . ." Shiva scolded her with her eyes but didn't say anything else.

The other woman giggled. "What? It should be fine. Everyone should be sleeping at that time, so no one will disturb Xia. In fact, let me show you where to go tonight."

She didn't wait for him to protest as she took Xia's arm and led him to the north wing.