Epiphany

⇞ dawn of the curse ⇞

"So you are not the princess of water kingdom," Jillian asked as we sat in the resting place in the place between Udairis and Krobet. The cave was kind of cold because it was mostly near Udairis but it was still to rest and with Nazereth's fire keeping us warm, it was actually kind of relaxing.

Apparently drowning as a princess of water kingdom is a dead giveaway of the fact that I was not even remotely compatible with water. But what made sure was his sister who shattered a secret held for years.

"No," I said carefully.

I was leaning on Nazereth's shoulder and his hand was looped around my shoulder patting me gently as if trying to keep me calm after the drowning incident as our ship, Syrion's ship was destroyed in the storm caused by Ermeline. Clarence being the prince of Udairis did manage to make his way to stop or rather save his sister and yet we still had no idea how it all went. The storm stopped and everything was calm but it was kind of calm before a bigger storm.

"So who are you?" Jillian asked after a while of silence.

Maybe he was contemplating why someone like me would marry a King of Fire Kingdom.

"Her maid." 

He mouthed the words wow, obviously completely shocked at this.

"He sent you in place of his daughter? And he knew?" Jillian asked pointing at Nazereth.

"He found out later," I said avoiding looking at Nazereth or Jillian.

Instead, I stared at the fire in front of me. Drowning caused me to feel a little sleepy and I was dozing off barely listening to what Jillian was asking.

"How did you survive?" He asked clearly indicating the fact that how did I survive living with the enemy.

I waited for a few seconds hoping that Nazereth would defend himself but of course, he didn't. He just silently kept caressing my arm and I think that was one of the few reasons my eyes were becoming heavy.

"I found a reason to live," I stated simply.

And It would be a lie to say that I didn't see the disappointment in Jillian's eyes. 

"You tamed the beast." He said in a light tone.

"No, he never was a beast. He is the kindest human I have ever met." I said in a defensive tone.

That made Jillian chuckle.

"You are lucky, Your Highness." He said.

"I know, now let her sleep." Nazereth finally spoke in a strict tone.

"Yeah, I will check up with Syrion instead. He must be dealing with quite a lot at the moment." He said and got up.

"Thank you," I whispered as I relaxed as soon as Jillian left.

"Sleep, we will soon get some bad news." He said and pulled me down on his lap.

His affection and care were overflowing to me with the slightest use of power. He was worried and also slightly agitated due to Jillian and his intrusive nature.

"You know about something?" I asked my eyes already closing.

"Sleep, we will talk later." He said and I did because I could barely stay awake.

➻➻➻

"Zephora, Zephora, dear." It felt like Nazereth was calling me in the dream but I knew it was real because I could feel his hand on my shoulder shaking me.

"We need to go, Ermeline has declared a war on the Air Kingdom."

That made me get up from sleep.