Devil's Love

Settled (twenty-nine)

Two weeks went by and Arwyn had finally settled back into the palace. She had her own room, her own office, full access to the world's biggest library, a private bathing room, much like the Queen's. Her name was cleared. She was no longer wanted for a murder. She felt like she could do anything. She was free, finally. The Queen, Amiah, had given her everything she could possibly dream of. She had the power of a royal; she had expensive clothes; she had riches; she had men tripping over themselves, trying to impress her. But her heart longed for only one thing. Marcellus.

These past two weeks were hard on her. She hadn't seen him once. He made no attempt at contacting her. So she let it go. She had barely thought about him. The only time she really did think about him was before she fell asleep. When she was in darkness and silence. And it really made it difficult for her to fall asleep.

She spent most of her time in her room, her office and the library, trying to keep her mind off of him. Learning new spells, both for healing purposes and some for defending herself. She had also started training with swords. In case one day, she needed to use one.

She felt like she was growing stronger in magic and in her physique as well. She could feel the magic surging within her, running through her blood like it was apart of her. It always had been and it just needed to be unlocked.

A sudden knock sounded at her door and she opened it, coming face to face with King Octavius. The two had grown somewhat close. He had started teaching her how to fight with a sword and daggers, like a real knight. A real fighter.

The words Amiah had spoken to her yesterday rang in her head. King Octavius has a crush on you. It honestly made her feel compelling. From Marcellus to King Octavius. The Devil to a King. She sure did attract beautiful and powerful men.

"Training time?" Arwyn asked, looking up at the beautiful man in front of her.

He beamed with a grin. "Of course, mi'lady."

Mi'lady. That simple word caused a sharp pain to run through her heart. That was something Marcellus use to call her. A small frown appeared on her face and King Octavius' face dropped as well, before he offered her a small, apologetic smile.

"If you do not feel like it today, Ari, we can try tomorrow."

Ari was a nickname he had come up with and with reluctance, she had let him call her that. It was catching on and she kind of found it cute.

She had found out he was visiting because he was a close friend to the King. And without much to Arwyn's knowledge, the King had passed away a year ago. She must have been living under a rock because she knew nothing about it. Might have been the time she escaped to a different town for a while. Perhaps. And King Octavius agreed to regularly check up on Amiah. In a friend way, nothing else. They made that abundantly clear.

Arwyn gave him a smile. "Today is fine, King Octavius."

"Always so formal. Please, come up with a nickname. Or I will have to start calling you Royal Doctor." He said with a teasing smile.

"Oc-Ta-Vius." She tested out his name, looking for a nickname somewhere. "Your name is too hard to come up with a nickname." She pouted a little.

"Come on." King Octavius let out a small chuckle before he turned away from her and started to walk off.

"How about Tay?" Arwyn asked, catching up with him after she had closed her door.

"It could work." King Octavius told her with a grin, glancing at her briefly as he continued to walk in a brisk stride until they got outside.

A few hours later and both King Octavius and Arwyn's breathing filled the air. Sweat glistening both of their bodies as they both inhaled sharply, trying to catch their breaths.

"My God, Octavius." Arwyn whispered breathlessly.