The Land of the Cursed Ones

Lady Leah & Lord Cedric - Part 1

Leah groggily got out of bed and headed for the bath; she could smell the oils that the servant had put in the bath for her. Leah hummed happily as she slipped out of her nightgown and into the still warm water. Leah slid into the tub so that all that was out of the water was her head, her long red hair was moving beautifully in the water. Leah smiled to herself, last night was Lord Tobias's birthday ball.

Leah had asked him how old he was turning, he had laughed and said that he didn't keep count anymore, he just loved throwing the parties. Leah giggled as she remembered how hard he had partied last night; she had helped his partner make sure he made it into bed.

Leah was the only human she had ever seen in Polia, but everyone here was so welcoming to her that she barely even remembered that she was just a human married to a fae. Leach jumped when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Lady Leah?" Elette's soft voice called out.

"W-What is it?" Leah asked as she tried to calm her racing heart.

Elette opened the door and poked her head inside, she was very small. Elette had short black hair that was cut short, just above her shoulders. She always had the front pieces pulled back away from her face, now secured with a barrette that Leah had bought her. Elette always wore a grey dress that was very plain to her features, made her seem bland. She had a round face and her face was a very pale shade, almost as white as a piece of paper.

"Lord Cedric is back from his trip to the palace, you told me to tell you when he arrived. He is in his study." Elette said before she slipped out of the bathroom.

Leah gasped and stood quickly, "Thank you!" She cried before she nearly stumbled out of the tub and quickly pulled on a simple blue gown which had been laid out for her.

Leah nearly fell as she tried to put it on but she was in too much of a rush to care at this point as she slipped on her slippers and ran out of the bathroom and out of her chambers. Cedric had left weeks ago, saying that the King needed him for urgent business. Leah nearly fell once again as she rounded the corner to the hallway where Cedric's private study was. Leah yanked open the door to show a very surprised Cedric.

His blonde hair was longer, but the style was still the same. It was always slicked back away from his face and left to fall over his back. He wore a black vest over a black dress shirt, but the vest had embroidered designs on it. Cedric's eyes were the normal bright blue. His cheekbones were sharper than when he had left. They were slightly flushed with surprise. 

"Lord Cedric..." Leah said, her chest heaving as she tried to take in big gulps of air, "Welcome home!" She cheered, throwing her arms up as she still tried to catch her breath.

Cedric tried to hide his smile with a cough, "You will catch a cold, running around the house with wet hair, Leah." He tried to say sternly.

Leah ignored his comment about her wet hair and sat on the leather couch that was on the left side of his study near Cedric's desk. Cedric sighed and picked up some papers on his desk and began to read them, but Leah could tell it was hard for him to focus with her staring at him. Cedric sighed once again and Leah could see how tired he was.

"You seem very tired," Leah said with a frown, "What happened while you were with the king?"

Cedric shook his head, "Nothing worth talking about." He flashed her a forced smile, "It was mainly social gatherings and meetings."

Leah could tell it was a lie, Cedric hated social gathering's and did nearly everything he could to get out of them. She was unsure if she should press for more details or just leave it. "You're lying, Cedric. What happened that is so horrible you must keep it from me?" Leah said in annoyance, he had become more and more secretive.