Chapter Four

Emily's POV

My life in the palace wasn't as quiet as I'd expected, ever since I started cleaning in the palace, I had the king's eye on me ever since I started my job. At first, it started out as a curious glance and I shook it off as he was just being cautious around her due to me being new.  

But after a while, he assigned me to clean his own room and since then his quiet stares had incessantly increased and I felt more uncomfortable around him. I didn't make any friends in the palace and definitely didn't want to become buddies with the king. I tried to avoid him as much as possible but he was actually very persistent and frankly, there was nothing I could do to avoid a king.

Soon enough, he started to talk to me with lust in his eyes. I knew that look when I saw it and I was tired of such looks, I really didn't want to be mated to anyone or even want to talk to any man. I wanted to be on my own terms for now. It was already hard enough to live with the hollow in my heart, I don't want to widen the hole in my heart. 

However soon enough he began to warm his way into my heart, but I started to try and pull back. I didn't want him, at least not currently, I was weary of him. Very weary. On a fateful day, I was cleaning his room and was planning to get out of his room as fast as I could. I was a few seconds late so I decided to run out of his room, as I had calculated the time he comes from his evening walk.

But I tripped mid-run and would have hit my head on the tiled floor, if someone hadn't caught me in the nick of time. I turned in the person’s arms to see a black-haired man with deep gray eyes and a chiseled jaw, looking at me in worry as he lifted me.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, his voice was like it came from within the bowels of hell. It sounded old; ancient even but it had a firmness to him. It was as if he was an ancient god of sorts.

“My liege,” I said, reversing immediately into a bow. 

“Come on, call me Alan when we are alone,” he replied.

I nodded. I wasn't going to call him Alan at all. “Affirmative my liege,” I replied. 

He chuckled, and stretched his hand out. “Take my hand, and walk with me,” he said. 

“My liege?” I asked but the glare and sharpness of his gaze left me no choice but to accept his hand. I walked with him and we walked silently for a while just letting our shoes click against the solid ground of the lonely corridors filled with echoes and a deathly quietness. 

“So, Emily, how old are you?” He asked.

“I am twenty-six,” I replied succinctly.

“Would you like to guess my age?” He asked. 

“I don't think it is polite to do that,* I glanced away afraid of meeting his usually red eyes. His facial disposition wasn't a simple one. He had very red eyes and his hair was black like the night. He was taller than most men with a slim body and his fangs were always in position and never shrunk back.

“Oh I insist, please try and guess,” he gestured with his hand.

“Forty-Nine?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Wrong,” he replied with a smile. “I am four hundred and eighteen years old,” he said with a smile.

I stopped in my motion and turned to him, normally, I'd take it as a joke but the countenance on his face was unmistakably serious. “I… I have never heard of such… how did…” I paused, trying to control my mouth from blurting out phrases. “How are you that old?” I asked.

“It is a secret, you'd only be privy to it if you agree to my next proposal,” he said with a chuckle.

“And what proposal is that?” I asked with a curious glance.

“Be my queen Emily,” he said. 

“Uh?” I shrank backward. “Uhm… I… I really don't…” I started to skip and make phrases again. I felt my heart slamming against my chest. I… I couldn't hold back the trauma that I'd been through with men and wedlocks. I needed to breathe.

“You can think about the proposition,” he said and I calmed down a bit. “But in the meantime, I had the servants prepare this room for you, I know you are a huge fan of portraits.” He said, opening the door to a room that was neatly arranged and decorated to my taste. 

That was when I realized that this man had been watching me all this while just to know me. He didn't make a move at first, so he took his time to know what I liked and made a room to my perfection. My heart fluttered at that moment, though at first glance it felt creepy but I still couldn't help but feel like he was actually attentive enough to care about what I wanted.

Kings normally do not have that luxury, they just take what they want but this man had allowed me to decide what I wanted. I exhaled and nodded at the king, giving him a low bow before walking into the room. 

He was about to follow me when someone tapped him on the shoulders and even I flung around and my eyes met someone I had never seen in the palace, ever. He was like the king, tall with peach-black hair but he was a little muscular and where the king exuded a cold and obscure aura he felt warm and simple. 

“Aiden?” The king reacted to the man and gave him a hug. “You sly cub, I didn't think I'd see you this soon,” he said. 

Aiden chuckled. “The servants said you were having a meeting,” he said, glancing sideways and winking at me. “You look very busy indeed,” he chuckled.

“Oh, no,” he said. “This is Emily,” he said. “And this is Aiden,” he introduced me to the man. “He is my twin brother,” he said. 

“Oh,” I opened my mouth again and Aiden walked forward giving me a handshake. He smiled at me and then gave me a meaningful glare before releasing me and backing away.  

The king and his brother left me to my thoughts at last and I bade them goodnight.