Emriana
"Emriana!" She yelled, running over to me and engulfing me in a tight hug.
"I was so worried, you weren't anywhere I looked," she added, and I stood there completely confused.
"Huh? You were worried about me?" I asked, and she pulled back from me, holding onto my arms.
"Yes, I feel so bad for how I talked to you earlier. I'm so sorry. I should never have said those things, and I feel so bad. You were only trying to help me, it wasn't fair on my end," she said, and my eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yes, I went outside to cool off, and when I went back to our rooms, you weren't there, and I got really worried," she explained.
She let go of me, and I walked further into the room, sitting on my bed to remove my shoes. She went over to hers and sat on the edge, facing me.
"I should never have spoken to you the way I did before. I was just so scared, and I kind of lost it on you. You are such a good friend, probably the best I had in a long time, and I feel very guilty," she admitted, realizing she was crying because of me and not because of Mav.
"Dana, it's-
"Don't say it's fine because it's not. I should've known better than to snap at you," she cut me off, and I gave her a half smile.
"You're under a lot of stress, those things can happen. I understand," I said, placing my boots by the foot of the bed.
"Thank you, but I promise you. This will never happen again," I nodded, folding my cloak and putting it in my closet.
There was a brief moment of silence as I walked into the small bathroom and changed. I undid my braid, brushing it out little by little.
"Where were you?" I turned my head to her.
"Just out with Akira. I was waiting for him to hunt," I didn't mention the three men I also met that night, not wanting to add to her plate. She already had enough to deal with.
"Why do you have grass in your hair?" I chuckled, looking through my mirror to spot a few strands.
"I laid down on a hill while waiting for him," She nodded, and we exchanged a few more words before going to sleep.
The morning came in no time, as I had no trouble sleeping this time. Dana and I met the team after breakfast, and Roza went over a few tweaks she wanted us to make after checking in with the Queen. We then began our work.
Ryenne was in a very bad mood for some reason this morning, sending out glares at whoever tried to talk to her, but especially at me. I stayed clear of her, knowing I wasn't on her good side. I didn't know why she hated me so much, but now wasn't the time to investigate.
My mind wandered as I painted, and I thought about them. They had been constantly on my mind, to be honest. I couldn't explain their sudden change of mood, but I wasn't complaining as their company last night was almost pleasant. They did succeed in lifting my mood after the whole Dana thing.
"Are you still planning on going out with Kove tonight?" Dana asked me as she came back with a new towel. She settled next to me, glancing down at my work.
"Yes, that's the plan," I said, and she nodded.
"I'll try to remember this day from when you guys get married, and I have to do the speech," she said, and I rolled my eyes with a smile.
"It's not like that, I swear. I don't see him that way, he's...um...I don't know. He's nice, but I think he knows like I do that we're not anything more,"
"Fine, I believe you...but it's a shame because he isn't bad-looking. In fact, I think he might be one of the best in the castle if you don't include the princes, of course. They are totally drop-dead gorgeous," she said, and I laughed.
"Aren't they also really bad people?" She shrugged.
"Yes...but them being total beasts doesn't make them any less gorgeous. I'll show you a painting of them later, you'll change your mind," she replied in a sure voice.
"Okay, I'll be the judge of that," I laughed.
- Time Skip -
"Hi," I skipped toward Kove, waiting for me by the entrance of the castle. His head whirled around, and a boyish smile covered his face. He wore a simple blue undershirt with beige trousers. I noticed his hair was elegantly combed to the back, and I smiled.
"Hi, Emri. You look beautiful," he said, his eyes giving my attire a quick up and down.
"Thank you," I replied before clapping my hand. "So...where are we going?"
"To that restaurant we went to when we first met," he said, and my smile faltered slightly. I was hoping we would go somewhere new, but I brushed it off, grabbing unto his arm.
"So...what did you do...um...today?" He asked, clearly nervous.
"I painted most of the day," I replied, "What about you?"
"I...um...spent the day working too, I guess," he replied, and I smiled.
"Are you getting along with everybody?" He asked me as we turned into the busy street.
"Yes, mostly. There's this girl on the painting crew that doesn't seem to like me for some reason," Kove frowned.
"Really? What's her name?"
"Ryenne," he chuckled at the name.
"Oh, that girl! Yes, she's quite the woman. She's all about her looks," he said.
"Is that bad? Someone should be proud of how they present themselves," I chided in.
"Yes, of course...but...um...she does it...I don't know...you make me sound like a bad guy for saying that," I laughed.
"I didn't think of it like that, I swear," I quickly assured him.
"What else do you know about her?" I asked, and he began to think for a moment.
"Oh! She's also like super obsessed with the Royal family, especially the princes," I nodded.
"Because of their good looks?" I asked, thinking about what Dana said earlier.
"You think they're handsome? You saw them?" He asked, his voice dropping an octave.
"No," I shook my head, "Dana told me about them earlier,"
"Oh, okay! Good thing you didn't see them. Somebody like you shouldn't be around them," he said, and I raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Somebody like me, huh? What exactly is somebody like me?" I laughed, and he didn't seem to get my playful tone as he frowned.
"I just mean somebody nice," he justified himself quickly, and I nodded.
We arrived at the restaurant, and it was packed. The combined smell of all the different dishes on every table made me smile. I began to stress as I saw all those people and wondered what was going to happen with Akira. The restaurant went completely silent as we walked in, all the eyes fell on us, and I blushed.
Kove grabbed my hand in reassurance, but with a warning growl from Akira, he let go of it pretty quickly. The people scooted away from us as we made our way to our table after Kove went into the kitchen. We settled at a table that was a little secluded from the others. I reached for the chair, but Kove grabbed it before I could.
"Allow me," he said, pulling the chair from the table, and I blushed.
"Thank you," I said, taking a seat. He moved to the chair opposite to me, sitting down with a smile.
I picked up the menu and began to look over it, but he gently took it from me.
"I took the liberty to choose for you," he said, and I bit the inside of my cheek.
"Why?" I asked, and he chuckled.
"Because I know how new this is all for you. We have to take it step by step," he said.
"I'm not a baby, Kove," I said, and he shrugged.
"I know, but I thought you wouldn't know any of the dishes anyway," he said, and I frowned.
He reached for my hand over the table, giving it a squeeze.
"Don't be upset, I did that to be nice,"
"I'm not upset," I mumbled.
The food came quickly, and although I hated that Kove had chosen it for me, I had to give it to him, it was delicious. It was seasoned pork belly along with a thick sauce so good I had to stop myself from moaning at every bite.
The waiter came over with an enormous piece of meat and lowered it onto the ground next to Akira.
"That's a little something I prepared. I know you have to go to the forest every night to let him hunt, so I thought I would save you the trouble," he smiled, but I instantly recognized what type of meat this was. Akira did too, and with a sniff, he turned his head the other way.
"What's wrong?" He said, noticing Akira wasn't touching the meat.
"Akira doesn't like sheep," I said, and Kove nodded.
"I didn't know that," he mumbled, and I dismissed his concern.
"Don't worry, you couldn't have," I said, but his frown stayed.
"Still, I should've known," he seemed angry with himself, and I let him cool off. I slipped a few occasional bites of pork under the table, feeling his rough tongue scrape any traces of meat from my fingers.
"Wait...how did you know I go out with Akira every night?" I asked, and he blushed.
"A few of my guard friends told me they've seen you. They know we're friends, so...um...yeah," he said, and I nodded, wiping off the sauce from the corner of my lips with the tablecloth. The dim light from the restaurant made me relax to the point where I was starting to fall asleep.
We talked some more, discussing various subjects. It was nice. We left the restaurant after he insisted on paying, and we made our way back. We had barely made it inside the castle when Kove pushed me behind a door after Akira. I was about to ask him what was going on when I heard an angry voice from the other side.
"I'm telling you, my sons are fucking cowards, Droga. This is going to fucking piss me off," the voice growled out.
"Yes, I understand, your Majesty," another voice replied.
"Bring them to my fucking office. I'll fucking remind them of who they are!" A door opened and slammed shut, and I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I turned to Kove to find him just in front of me.
"Oh!" I jumped.
His eyes stayed on me as he looked over my features. I stepped away from him awkwardly before leaving the room.
"Was that the King?" I asked, and he nodded. I noticed how terrified everybody looked in the hallway he had just passed.
"I hate the princes with everything I have, but their father is much worst," he said, and I nodded.
We made it toward the wing I stayed at before stopping in front of the doors. I turned to Kove, already watching me.
"Well, that was fun," I said, giving him a quick side hug.
"Yes, it was. I hope you aren't bored of me yet," he mumbled. I gripped his arm to make him look up at me.
"No, of course not. Don't say that about yourself," I said, and he gave me a sheepish smile.
"Thanks, Emri. You're the best," he said, pecking my cheek. I blushed, and he chuckled.
"See you later," he said before leaving me alone.
Akira growled, and I realized he still hadn't eaten anything. My gaze move across the hallway to see it was already dark outside. I wouldn't mind going to the edge of the kingdom usually, but I didn't feel like walking for over two hours at this time.
"Come," I said, and he fell into my step as I started searching for the kitchen. Maybe they would have some food he could eat. I waved at the few guards standing against the walls as I passed as I tried to find my way into the castle.
I finally found it. It was empty, no one was there. Dinner had ended a long time ago, and there probably wouldn't be anything left. I still checked through the shelves, and looked inside the barrel to see if some meat had been left, but there was nothing.
I was about to give up when I spotted a closed barrel at the back. I managed to budge the top open and smiled as I found exactly what I was searching for.
I pulled out all the meat from inside, looking through the salt. The amount of meat I managed to find was the equivalent of the size of a fox which wouldn't be enough for him, but it would have to do for now. I shushed him when he growled, not wanting to make any noise. We definitively weren't supposed to be there.
I quietly pushed the door open, dragging the different pieces of meat out into the hallway.
"Nobody can find out I gave you this, okay? It's a secret," I whispered to Akira, who was happily trotting next to me, meat lodged in his mouth.
Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I froze. I turned around to see Zeke, Zander, and Drakkar watching me with arms crossed over their chests. Zeke was smirking like always, and even Drakkar looked a little amused. Zander was only staring like always.
"I can explain, I swear," I said, unable to control my laughter at the fact that I had just been caught red-handed.