She was not born a lady, she was made one.
She was not born into wealth, she was given it.
Laila is a woman of the king, and she fell in love with him, the day she first met him. Whether it was the kindness he'd shown her or the charming face and bo...
Without thinking twice, Laila walks up the stairs and straight into her room, plopping on the bed. She blinks her eyes rapidly trying to prevent her tears from falling but it does not help, as they come running down her cheek. Her hand covers her mouth as she sobs, allowing the words she heard at the saloon to get to her. No doubt, Stephan would have laid with another of his women, had they been the one scheduled to bring him breakfast that morning. The annoying thing is that she let him in. Even as he called another woman's name while he was inside her, she let him continue, as her heart kept getting stabbed with the name of the woman that clouded his mind, Saya. How old is she? How beautiful is she? She must be captivating if she could get the attention of the two great kings; Xerxes and Stephan.
She has nothing to offer Stephan except her love. He would never think of looking at her the way he looks at his other women. She is even below average.
A knock on the door gets Laila's attention. Quickly, she wipes her tears, rushing to her dresser to powder her face, all traces of her sobbing gone.
Clearing her throat she announces "Come in!"
Turning to the door, she sees the Lieutenant General there. Startled, she quickly runs to the door, opening it and checking to make sure no one saw him enter her chambers. Closing the entrance, she comes face-to-face with the man. He is certainly taller than her, his beard small but scruffy, his shoulders broad and his body built, his golden-brown hair up in a man bun, with his piercing silver eyes on her.
"Commander," she acknowledges the handsome man standing in front of her, her back to the door. He is not wearing any armor, probably so that it wouldn't make noise as he walks.
"You know my name Laila," he replies, slightly irritated by her formality.
"Arthur, you shouldn't be here."
Arthur lets out a scoff, shaking his head, before putting his hand against the door, trapping her.
"The guard on duty told me you cried this morning after visiting the king's chambers."
"I did not," she replies sharply.
"Bullshit Laila. He does not treat you right, and you know it," his eyes piercing through her soul.
She avoids his gaze, swallowing hard, before finally saying,
"I love him,"
"But he does not love you"
"I know that"
"There's so much competition"
"I know"
"He may never see you that way"
"I know!" Laila exclaims, tears rolling down her eyes as she meets his again. Arthur's face softens his hand, wiping away her tears.
"You know I love you, Laila," he says, caressing her cheek.
"Why? There is competition. Out of all the ladies in this castle, why me? I know I'm below average-"
"You're not. You don't know this but you shine amongst all of them. I knew it the moment I first laid my eyes on you." Laila averts her eyes, sniffling.
"Look at me Beautiful"
"Stop calling me that"
"I should not tell you the truth? That you are the most beautiful woman in this kingdom?"
"That's not the truth"
"Bullshit Beautiful. All those ladies that talk down on you do it because they are insecure. All those "unique features" that you talk about, they don't think it's enough to compete with you, and I will keep saying it, if Stephan cannot see that, then he's a fool."
"You can't insult your king"
"If he hurts the woman I love, then I don't give a damn."
Laila watches Arthur closely. They became close when she first got here. Lady Mara and the rest gave her the task of feeding the king's army as they trained for the war that would lead to the expansion of new land.
Arthur was mesmerized by Laila, the moment he saw her. He started out by helping her, with an excuse of knowing the men more and how to ration things. She accepted his help and for the first year this went on, their bond strengthened and he confessed to her when she turned twenty-four.
Of course, she turned him down, but he made it clear it would not change the way he felt, and he would keep trying. It's been a year since then. And he's still going strong. If she was not in love with Stephan, she would have instantly fallen for Arthur, but her heart belongs to another.
"Arthur, you should go."
"Allow me to take you out some time," he says, watching her lips, before moving back to her face.
"I don't think that will be a good-"
"Please, at least just think about it."
Laila lets out a small breath before nodding. Arthur lets her go kissing her cheek, before she moves away from the door, watching him head out. When the door closes she sighs, moving to her bed.
She knows she won't fall in love with Arthur, not while Stephan is alive and breathing. But she cannot deny how happy she felt when Arthur was praising her 'beauty' even though she finds it hard to believe that the other ladies are jealous of her, it's still nice to have someone that sees that she has value. If only the king would see her that way.
Laila lets out a sigh thinking about her competition when there is another knock on her door. Arthur should please not have come back, he will get them in trouble.
"You may enter," she calls, turning to adjust her pillows, and sitting more comfortably on the bed. Looking up she sees the devil that had just been on her mind.
"My Lord!" She rushes to stand, but he holds out his hand for her to remain seated on the bed.
"It's alright Laila," he says, closing the door and walking to the bed. Her heart races upon seeing this breathtaking man. Stephan sits on her bed, backing her, before laying down, his head on her lap, while his feet are still on the floor.
Laila is frozen for a second. Stephan used to do this a lot with her, earlier on. He would come in and lay his head on her lap, talking about his day. But then it changed from once a week, to once in a month, finally once in a blue moon. This is the first time since the beginning of this year, so her brain froze when he suddenly did it.
Recovering immediately, she looks down, meeting his blue ones that are staring back at her. He furrows his eyebrows scanning her face, causing her to look away instantly, she knows exactly what he was doing.
"Eyes Laila," his deep voice instructs. Slowly, the woman looks back at him, and he declares,
"You cried. Not once...not twice...but three times."
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