I'm going crazy: 46
Lady Oh looked helpless seeing the King walk back and forth around the throne room, his once combed hair now messy being tightly clutched between his fingers.
The magnificent throne room was free of people and only held the grieving storm that was exploding inside the King.
" Lady Oh, help me! " he screamed, his eyes as never before swarmed with misery. " I can't control myself. I...I'm going crazy. "
A few minutes earlier, the King of Briston barged through the castle out of nowhere in the middle of the night when he was supposed to be in the conference with the ambassadors. Lucas explained that he was shivering throughout the meeting and couldn't help but think back to Ava's smiling face.
He was not love sick or whipped but extremely scared to the point he pushed everyone out of his zone, who were concerned about the King. He only let Lady Oh near him which was also because he knew no other elder to ask for help.
" This feels different, Lady Oh. I'm slipping out of my control. I- I cannot feel my control whenever she's around. She's- she's- " his words were a jumbled mix since they barely choked out. " I'm... I don't even know that I'm spreading my pheromones out here. I should stop this before it goes out of my hand, Lady Oh. Help me, "
" What about asking madam Ferdoll, Your Majesty? I don't think she'll be opposed to the idea of you finding your mate. "
At the mention of the certain person, Lucas seemed to halt for a blink before he gulped hard, stuttering. " Mother? Mother...she um... She would be happy to hear the news. But she'll ask me to marry her immediately. I- I can't do that. I can't do that to Ava. She has a life out there on her earth. I cannot bind her to Kouzlo. She-she has a life. "
" Your Majesty, you should... You should perhaps try talking with Her Majesty. " Lady Oh tried to persuade the distraught Lucas, softly.
" I can't! " Lucas snapped but immediately apologised shortly after Lady Oh hung her head low, shuddering.
After a calming breath, Lady Oh tried again.
" Your Majesty, please try to consider the suggestion. She will try to understand or we can at least try, "
" To be honest, she sometimes thinks she's maybe imagining things or she's comatose. " Lucas huffed.
Lady Oh had no idea of what to say further.
According to her, mates who found each other could never be apart from each other and they could never stand the thought of letting the other go.
The first Master of Kouzlo who found his mate was standing before her, with tears almost threatening to fall from his once fearless eyes.
All of her belief about the mate concept was unacceptable as the apparent glints of discomfort over the King's face write down different history and she sure didn't know, how the written down facts about the Mate bond were, truly, the basic facts and they had more than a mountain to dig.
" What the hell is going on here?! " Ava's voice suddenly boomed into the vast hall as the gigantic door was pushed open by none other than the mortal Queen, who scrunched her nose like an angry puppy taking a deep breath. " Lucas, what are you doing? Why is Aslan trying to threaten everyone away from the throne room? Lucas, are you okay- " she skidded on her feet on seeing Lucas standing with Lady Oh.
" I- I... Hehe, Lady Oh, tell me you didn't hear me coming in! " she squeaked closing her eyes with her hands.
Lady Oh tilted her head to look at the King, staring at the Queen. The sadness that spread over his face slowly washed away. With only a short inhale, Lady Oh could sense the strong aroma of pleasant and blooming dandelions streaming straight out of the King, spreading the aura of his inner emotions.
" I'm just noticing you, Your Majesty. Did you perhaps say something? I didn't hear you, " Lady Oh grinned at the embarrassed Queen and only then Ava peeked through the gap of her fingers to gape at them.
" I believe I was just singing a song, perhaps... " she shrugged her shoulders. " Your Majesty, how you doing? "
" I'm... I'm fine, " Lucas snapped out immediately nodding to Ava, his consciousness regaining back. However, he didn't miss the stare that Lady Oh sent towards him the second when he heaved back his scent.
" You don't look so, " Ava sent him a judging glare while Lady Oh slowly bid them farewell to walk away and let the couple have their time.
" It's just that I needed some time alone... I... I was stressed and needed to free my mind. "
Ava's eyes softened. She nibbled her lips and blinked timidly rubbing her neck.
" Should I...should I leave you alone then? "
" Maybe... Yeah, " Lucas saw her slightly hesitating.
For some unknown reason, Ava wanted to stay there by his side.
" Okay, then. " she shrugged her shoulder again turning to leave. " I'll leave, "
Lucas tried fighting it. Tried fighting the urge to pull her close to him. To feel the warmth of her body lingering so close. To wipe away the hesitancy on her face and to just tell her everything.
But he stayed put. Ava walked over to the door with slow steps huffing to herself and telling her whatever that was wrong would be fine in the end. She stretched her hand and grasped the knob when he shouted.
" Hey! No, come back. Don't go. "
Lucas internally face palmed finding himself staring at the Queen, who blinked and tilted her head to the side like a baffled kitty.
" I guess the King doesn't want to stay alone anymore. " she shrugged to herself mocking aloud which Lucas didn't bat his eyes for. She waddled back to the King with a wide smile and pulled his arms. " Come 'ere. I'll take you somewhere, "
Lucas let himself be dragged out of the throne room while he gazed at their clasped hands. He didn't miss Aslan's eyes rolling back at the sight of the Royal couple walking past him.
Lucas turned around and scowled at his Knight for messing his shriek-over-love-sick-problems-with-himself by getting the right person at the right time.
Lucas knew if Ava hadn't come around, he wouldn't have let anyone sleep a blink that night.
" I'm not in the mood for a walk, Ava. Let's go sleep, " Lucas whined when Ava continued to drag him out of the castle to the ground.
He, of course, loved the six minutes that Ava took to get him to the ground by holding his hand. But still, it was almost 1 at night and the thought of Ava batting her sleep for him made him worried.
But the Queen was stubbornly rolling her eyes to the back, bickering loud about how he didn't look like he'd slept for a fortnight.
" See! I found this place last week, there's a wooden house. " Ava nearly beamed whispering the last part, pointing her hand to the somewhat old tree house built over a large tree that was right behind the nursery providing the hub with natural shadow.
The tree house was a bit old but had a ladder on the back of the tree.
" Was it Alaia's? "
" No... " Lucas mumbled feeling a sense of nostalgia hit him with a truck as he walked past his mate, whispering: " It used to be mine. "
He calmly climbed up the ladder with heavy steps and broke out into a smile when he was met with the once familiar sight of a messy small open hall with two wide windows on the sides and a small cosy bed with multiple old books scattered here and there.
Lucas remembered the place like the back of his hand. It was the only place that the Crowned Prince or more like, the Young King of Briston loved in the entire palace grounds.
For almost three months, Lucas stayed in the tree house, that he built with his own hands, of course, with some thankful help from his lovely Grandparents, even after he was coronated to be the King.
The Royal family wasn't sure what they should say to the young King. His father tried the first day and immediately gave up when Lucas refused.
Lucas wasn't stubborn. He wasn't against anyone of their family's words. He simply liked the tree house more than the luxurious castle and he thought he wasn't needed in the castle as he wasn't really forced or demanded to be inside. Until the day when he met Lady Oh, his Governess, who gently explained to him that this tree house wasn't the castle of a King but the superstructure was.
Since then, Lucas had no chance to visit this small part of his lost childhood.
" Woah! Did you just ditch me down for the house?! "
Lucas flinched on hearing the voice out of the blue and immediately peeked his head out of the window to grin at the Queen standing on the ground with an annoyed pout, who grumbled loudly to earn his attention.
" Climb up, "
Ava mumbled something to herself climbing the ladder slowly. He giggled giving his hand when she had three more steps to reach the floor but Ava huffed an annoyed breath, cutely, and slapped his hands away to climb up by herself.
" Woah... This place looks...bad. " Ava hesitantly commented looking around while the King still had a whipped smile on his face.
When Ava raised her brows pointing him to the place, he awkwardly cleared his throat and chuckled.
" It's been decades since I came here. So... apparently it hasn't been touched since. " his left hand rose to the air as he twisted two of his fingers towards the windows of the house and swished it back towards the wall.
The windows were pushed open wide for the air to sweep in with godforce which almost made Ava's skirt fly up. Her eyes widened like saucers as Ava quickly ducked down with a short scream while Lucas immediately shut his eyes close with his other hand over his face.
" It wasn't supposed to happen- " he mumbled with chapped lips but huffed before closing Ava's eyes with his hands.
" Luc-
" Sh! You're fine. Let me handle this. " he quietly shushed with a reassuring hand over her hand that was over her waist. He pulled her to his front and pressed her hands over her eyes preventing her from seeing anything.
" It's okay. You don't have to see, " he whispered feeling her eradicating heartbeat on her back.
He didn't have enough time to curse himself as always as he was keenly focused on calming down her heartbeat on one hand while quickly and quietly tidying the place on the other.
Ava was barely holding her breath when she heard a loud swish a minute ago. She heard the faint noise of something here and there while the swooshing sound of the air occupied her ears like an unknown breeze at the untime.
After a minute, everything went silent and her eyes were freed.
" Come here and lay down. "
She turned immediately to her side on hearing Lucas's voice. Lucas was half laying on the small bed that was suddenly tidied and wrapped with a new sheet. She eyeballed around and gawked at the clean space.
Ava didn't get a chance to inspect the room close as Lucas was fast enough to pull her down quickly, after spotting her gawking like an astonished squirrel, which accidentally resulted in Ava's body falling straight on his chest with their heads bonking with each other with a soft thud.
She squeaked loudly and was about to scream at his face for his sudden action when Lucas awed at their proximity feeling her breathing so close to his face.
To be honest, Lucas had no intention of moving away by himself as he was for the first time in the last three to four months got the chance to dive into the foamy blue eyes of his desires.
Ava's eyes were wide and gave the perfect chance for Lucas to drown in them. But she had no heart to scream her shock out but stare back at him, letting him have the pleasure of gazing deep down every nook of her eyes.
Never once they lied when they told the world that eyes were the most beautiful part of one's body.
" Do you know how much I'm keeping all those things to myself...? " he mumbled not in a straight mind that sadly reached Ava's ears all clear after a second.
She softly tsked, showing him questioning eyebrows on not understanding the question.
" You're literally the moon in my life...Ava. "
" And why is that? "
" Because even if it is dark...you brighten the place like a star. "
Ava blinked, surprised. Her cheeks slightly heated up with a soft red hue spreading all over her face in a short span of time that Lucas suddenly broke out of his trance seeming half tensed.
" I-
" That was a terrible pick-up line, Mr Aston. " Ava giggled with a hand over her face as she wanted Lucas to not spot her reddened face.
It was not on her ethics to blush all of a sudden but it's been many years since she was complimented in that way.
Either way, it doesn't mean she had ever heard or listened when Lucas actually complimented her more than ever in the last few months.
" What? "
" Nothing. Let me go, " she smiled turning to look at the real moon peeking at them from outside the small windows that were kept open.
Though Ava was yet again reminded of the act that happened only just a while ago, she shrugged it off for the time being and focused on the King beside her.
He was staring at the moon and stayed quiet as if he was somehow ghosting Ava.
" What is your biggest objective in your span of life, Ava? " Lucas turned to face the Queen finally after a long silence.
" I don't know... " Ava honestly puckered her lips with no definite answer. " Maybe settle well and yeah, be happy... What is yours? "
" I don't have an objective. I don't know but I wish to lead a life... A normal one where I can be myself and...you know... Have someone that I'd not be afraid to show love to. " Lucas didn't know where he got the courage to confess such a thing to the woman of his life just like that.
But she only hummed staring down.
" More power comes with more responsibilities. I know. " she sighed fumbling with her back to just lay on top of the bed, scooting closer to the King for the warmth and nothing more. " Were you always ready for this life, Lucas? "
" I wasn't. " Lucas chuckled remembering the memory. Ava blinked, baffled and before she could ask it out, Lucas explained. " I had no idea I was going to be coronated as the King when I was taken from the...you-know-where place... To be honest, I didn't know Briston ever existed. "
Ava was surprised. This piece of information was truly new and exciting as she continued asking if it was true and how come he was in Kouzlo, which was you-know-where according to Ava, to which Lucas chuckled, explaining:
" I was fostered truly by a witch in that place. She was somehow...a chief or a head of that place. She trained me and raised me well telling me that I was a Prince of some kingdom and all. But apparently, I didn't think of it that well when I was 10. When I was almost 16, there were people outside the house and my foster mother returned me to Briston where I was born... "
" So...what you're telling me is that you were born in Briston but was taken care of by a witch, who raised you and trained you to be a leader and returned you after you were almost 16... Nice story, yeah, let's change the topic. " she clapped happily slipping off to the next topic as if Lucas had finished a fictional story with a satisfying happy ending.
" Then what was once your aim? " Lucas shook his head but obeyed like a good boy unbothered about the fact that the Queen simply slammed the important part of his past to the ground with a simple roll of her eye and Lucas didn't mind it for a bit.
" Hmm, I don't remember. But I used to think to want someone who would...you know fight to get me. "
Lucas was silently waiting for her to continue as if he knew something was awaiting at the back of the small sentence.
" I'll tell you about my past. " she sighed but still the guy was calm, curiously watching her. " Apart from Xavier and Nancy, I had other companions around the school. But they weren't always nice... " she closed her eyes, her hands slowly wrapping themselves around her in a helpless hug as the gentle breeze now made her shiver. " I always had to run behind them like a puppy and I was fighting to get each one of them as I was afraid to be alone. I fight against myself. I fight against my feelings, and my dignity and run behind them even if they made me cry hundreds of times or just hurt me thousands of times. 'cause I didn't care... "
" Those people...they- They meant the world to me until the day I realised not all feelings were mutual. But when I was finally alone... All lonely inside the counsellor's cabin, I craved someone to tell me that they were right beside me. " The gasp of a breath alerted Lucas but he calmly waited for Ava's confession to reach an end.
She looked fragile and almost powerless as if she had let herself be embraced by those memories she despised.
" I know... I know it was me who opposed Xavier's help because I didn't want to be a burden on one hand. But...but he didn't fight me! " she almost whined sounding desperate, her head buried in her now fisted hands. " I- I don't blame him, of course. It was me, who acted crazy. Because I wanted someone to stay beside me even if I throw them out of the room harshly. "
" Ava- "
" If you are going to tell me that I was hysterical, then yes, I was. I agree, Lucas. Because I know. "
Lucas had nothing to respond to her shaky whispers. She sounded broken and he was never in place to have the courage to break her even more.
" I wanted someone to fight for me the way that I used to do for everyone else. I wanted someone to stop me from lashing out at everyone like a psychopath. I wanted someone to understand my pain while I kept my mouth shut. It took me some months to come out of that phase in my life... Now I understood that no one could understand me if I kept my mouth shut. But since then and from the beginning, I never once asked for anyone's company by myself. "
The awful silence that followed after she choked whimper prevailed longer than Ava's expectancy.
Once she calmed her heart going crazy over a mile, she slightly craned her head towards the side finding the King already staring at her.
He found her teary eyes seeking for a small comfort in the form of any response to her truthful answer.
Lucas, truthfully, wanted to present Ava with a worthwhile response to let her know that she was worthwhile and that he was actually so proud of her for opening up. He somehow understood her need. At least for the sake of her state, he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable on the very first try of her throw-over-evil-past.
After a few seconds of silence, Ava's eyes slightly grew wide when Lucas stretched his arms.
He gently pulled her hesitant hands to his and Ava felt her body hit with the King's like a soft pillow and how his arms softly engulfed her into a warm hug.
" You have been so strong for a long time... Let me make it clear, dear one. " Their eyes met when Lucas slightly tilted his head down, his eyes lovingly gazing back into hers. " Expectation hurts, yes. But it doesn't mean it fails and makes us weak, "
Ava slowly felt herself giving into the hug as she sighed closing her eyes, listening to his calming heartbeats.
" I don't think you were hysterical... It was fine. It is fine to crave love and support at the darkest times. "
Ava breathed through her mouth to get rid of the pressuring knot that was forming above her chest.
" Thanks for understanding. "
He smiled tightening his arms, softly inhaling the scent of her hair.
"You're welcome. "
While the loving night prevailed prolonging the mates unnamed moment, Lucas stayed awake all night staring at the sleeping Queen.
He couldn't help but lose himself to the unknown urge when he, finally, set his eradicating heart to the side to listen to hers. She was soundly asleep, unaware of every conquest Lucas had been fighting within himself. The urge to pull her even closer to his heart increased over time as their breathing slowly matched in perfect synchronisation.
Everything about her amazed him each time. The sleeping face of hers had no emotion but still it didn't fail her in bubbling his sturdy feelings for sneaking glances at her.
To be continued
DhiraDhi_Writes