Him Again

Chapter Ten

~Ariee~

Servants were not allowed to participate in the group task so I had to step aside for another candidate. It didn’t really bother me since I wasn’t even here for the competition in the first place but I was worried about Fiona’s teammates.

Yes, not them not her. Fiona was not a team player, she either did things her way, on her own or didn’t bother at all.

“Can I tag along?” I asked Fiona. Her eyes narrowed at me.

“Of course, you shrimp. Who else would serve me if not you?” She huffed, walking away with the rest of the team.

A small smile tugged on my lips. She wasn’t the best, sure, but when I was around her, I didn’t even have the time to think about my own problems. I could live through my pathetic life without any worries.

At the end of it all, there were about twenty to thirty groups if not more. I didn't even realise the number was that much.

The man took the stage again after confirming that everyone was properly grouped.

“For today's task, you will be expected to present a uniformed performance before the judges,” he started and small murmurs followed.

A group performance without giving them the chance to know each other first? This was going to be quite tricky.

“You have four hours to prepare. The floor is open for creativity so feel free to explore as much as you want to. Your performance will be judged and graded accordingly. Only the top ten will proceed to the next stage so do your best.”

The murmurs grew even louder this time. Top ten? I glanced around.

We had more than two hundred women here and only seventy would proceed? Damn.

I turned to Fiona's group. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't the panicked expression on their faces. They were just as indecisive and nervous like earlier.

My shoulders sagged. This was going to be even harder.

“Oh, that's quite easy,” Fiona boasted and I blinked. I had completely forgotten she was still here. Her eyes twinkled with excitement, the air of pride around her was almost stiffling.

“You background characters can just stay out of this and watch me sway them with my hypnotic dance,” she said smugly.

Typical.

“But… it is a group work,” one of the ladies timidly said. “We… we have to do something together… or we might lose…”

“Speak for yourself,” Fiona hissed. “I don't intend to lose to anyone. Since you're so eager to do something, you lot can just worship my feet.”

My jaw dropped. Oh goddess!

Another stepped forward angrily. “Are you looking down on us?”

Fiona’s eyes narrowed at the curly haired woman. “Yes. What are you going to do about it?”

I immediately stepped between them with a nervous laugh, gently pushing back Fiona.

“Hahaha… as usual my lady knows how to tell jokes with a straight face…” I laughed awkwardly. The women frowned deeply at me. Fiona shoved me aside.

“Don't speak for me, shrimp!”

I let out a defeated sigh. “My lady, can I say something?”

She wanted to say no. I could sense it at the tip of her tongue, but for some reason, she huffed and looked away. I took it as an invitation to proceed.

“You see, while dancing is a great choice, it is nothing special. I can better there are about ten groups thinking of doing the same thing,” I started and she shot me a glare, ready to argue how she was the best dancer here and how no one could come close to her feet.

I didn't give her the chance and continued. “I think you are ah exceptional dancer, my lady, but when they are so many people performing the same thing, it gets flat out boring. The host said the groubd is open for creativity so how about we go outside the box?”

Fiona crossed her arms. “Why go through that stress? Who cares if they copy me?”

I wanted to pull my hair in frustration. Sometimes, talking to her was like screaming at a brick wall. Nothing could pierce through.

“It's a group work. Dancing alone will not help us win. You should know that much miss perfect!” The curly-haired woman hissed.

Fiona didn't even take offense in the sarcasm. “Of course I'm perfect! It's you backup dancers that should be working on how to keep up with me!”

And she did it again!

I facepalmed. This was going to be a lot more difficult than I imagined.

“What about a drama?” A blond spoke. I really need to learn their names. “That way everyone can have a role. I can write a script and…”

“I like that,” Fiona cut in, stunning the rest of us. “I could be queen and the rest of you could be my servants.”

Spoke too soon.

“Okay enough!” The curly haired woman fired again. “What exactly is your problem? If you think you're better than us, why enter the competition at all? You should have gone to the king himself!”

Silence immediately followed the statement. It was the first time I've seen Fiona speechless.

“If you're only going to make things difficult for you, you should get out!” She fired.

Oh God! Things were blowing out of proportion.

“Please… please calm down. You need seven people for this group task please. Otherwise, you will fail,” I pleaded. Fiona huffed, looking away.

“Like I want to be here with you losers anyway!”

I wanted to snap at her to shut the hell up but I clicked my tongue. She was still my employer. If she didn't get through this, I had a guaranteed hell waiting for me.

“Maybe you should talk to your lady to get the hell off her high horse,” the curly-head hissed. “I'm out of here.”

The rest of the women trailed behind her and I groaned. Fiona rolled her eyes and walked in the opposite direction.

I wanted to scream her head off. Does she even realise she is wasting time?

For goodness sake, I am just a servant. None of this should concern me. My duty was simply to attend to her daily needs so why was I even bothered?

‘Cause she will break down and demand your head if things go wrong?’ my subconscious responded.

I gulped hard. Yes, that was very valid.

With a groan, I hurried after the other women. If I could reach a common ground with them, then I could figure out where to fix Fiona. Somewhere best suited for her pride.

By the time I exited the room, there was no sign of them. They probably went off to find somewhere private to discuss like the other groups.

The hallways were crowded so it made it even more difficult to spot them. I managed to push through the crowd, searching frantically for them.

I got to the stairs but I still couldn't spot them anywhere. I tried asking some of the maids but there were too many women so no one could give me any useful information.

I had to comb the entire palace myself, building by building, gardens, courtyards, everywhere.

Somehow, I ended up in the royal archives. My curiosity got the better of me as I walked in like someone in a trance, completely mesmerized by the floor to ceiling shelf of books.

“Beautiful,” I blurted, stepping further in. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. “It's so beautiful.”

It was different from anything I have ever seen. There were no desks or wooden chairs in sight. Instead, there were are arrangements for all kinds of settings.

Comfy window seats, l-shaped sofas, mats, even coffee table sitouts. It was like a dream. You could read books comfortably in whatever posture you liked.

“Excuse me, ma'am,” I heard behind me and immediately stiffened. I was lost staring that I had forgotten there was someone else in here.

I turned to the middle-aged women with glasses. Though her expression didn't give much of her thoughts, I felt she was going to chase me away so immediately bowed.

“I'm sorry for the intrusion. I was just leaving,” I said.

Her expression changed. “Leaving? You looked like you wanted to read.”

“Yeah but…” I bit my lip, lowering my gaze. “It's not allowed, is it?”

“What are you talking about?” She questioned, confusion spreading across her face. “The library is always open to everyone.”

“It is?” I felt like I was seeing stars at this point. Happiness bubbled in my chest and I was ready to explode in joy when I remembered my task at hand.

My mood turned sour almost immediately. The woman looked even more confused. My mood swings were clearly bothering her.

“I'll be back then, thank you,” I grinned, barely able to contain my excitement,. nonetheless. “I'll be back really soon.*

I ran towards the door, giggling. I was so happy that I didn't even pay attention to my surroundings.

All I know was that the second I opened the door, I crashed right into a wall. I fell back in panic and my butt hit the floor. Hard.

Pain shot through my ass and I winced.

“I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking…” the words died in my throat as I caught sight of the royal regalia.

My body froze in shock, not daring to move or even look up.

Lavender.

Faint. Soothing. Different from the strong intoxicating natural scent my body was used to.

But I knew it was him.

It didn't matter what scent he wore, the scorching heat inside me remained the same.

My eyes watered. Why do I always run into him everywhere? Is the universe trying to push me to my death?

“Forgive me, your highness,” I bowed my head to the floor, praying to the goddess he would seem me insignificant and just leave.

I didn't dare offer my life as atonement this time. People only said that when they were certain the possibilities of death were zero.

In his case, I couldn't gamble that.

My heart pounded as I waited for him to leave or dismiss me. A couple of seconds passed and his feet finally moved.

“Insect.”

My blood ran cold as my ears caught the word.