"Your Highness, these are the books that you asked for." Maria uttered and put down the books on the table.
Without lifting her eyes from the book, Alaia mumbled her thanks and turned the book to the next page. She continued reading, engrossed in the content, until she saw from the corner of her eyes that Maria was still standing beside her. Alaia lifted her chin and looked back at her in confusion. Her brow arched up behind her mask, wondering why Maria was still not leaving.
"You can leave now, Maria." Alaia uttered and returned her eyes to her book, expecting Maria to leave after being told that, but Maria still didn't budge. Before Alaia could even finish reading the first line, she looked back again at Maria, slightly irritated.
"Do you need anything?" Alaia asked in a slightly irritated tone.
Maria nervously tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled shyly at Alaia. "I-It's just that the twins left to visit their hometown, I just wonder if-"
"Are you asking me to let you see your family too?" Alaia asked, tilting her head a little bit, impressed at Maria's willpower, but there was no way she would ever let that happen.
Maria immediately shook her head.
"N-No. It's not like that." Maria explained while waving her hands in the air. "I mean, yes, I want to see my family, but I also knew that you wouldn't let me do that. As of now, I'm content that my family is getting help from you, Your Highness."
Maria smiled kindly at Alaia. Alaia looked away from Maria because she couldn't take the sadness that she saw in the younger girl's eyes. She doesn't want her guilt to flood into her and make her weak against Maria.
"I told you I didn't do that to help you or your family. I just felt like doing that."
Maria nervously laughed while scratching her cheek, "Yeah, I know that, Your Highness, but I'm still grateful for your help."
Alaia didn't respond to that statement and just returned her eyes to her book, staring at the imprinted letters.
"So, what exactly do you want from me?" Alaia ran her index finger over the text in the book, acting like she wasn't interested in whatever Maria would say.
Maria's heart started beating fast again. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she started saying what she wanted from Alaia.
"L-Like what I said earlier, because the twins were not here, I-I have no one to talk to." Maria rubbed her nape, couldn't be any more nervous. She took another deep breath before she finished her statement.
"I'm just wondering if you want to chat about something. I-In that way, we can kill time together." Maria nervously laughed as her eyes never left Alaia.
Alaia looked back at Maria in surprise. Did she just invite me to chat? Who does she think she is for me to accept that invitation? And it's not like there's even something we can talk about.
"Why would I even want to talk to you about something? Can't you see? I'm busy reading books." Alaia responded, then lifted the book into her lap to show it to Maria.
That embarrassed Maria as she looked down and lowered her head. "I-Is that so, Your Highness? I apologize for disturbing you. I should go then."
Maria turned her back on Alaia after bowing for the last time. She couldn't help but be sad, even though she already expected that result. She just hoped that maybe this time it would be different, that Alaia would even try to think it through, but she guessed there was really no way that Alaia would ever be close to her.
Maria was about to take a step to get as far as she could from Alaia when she heard her name being called by none other than the beast. She looked back and found Alaia still sitting on the chair and even had her legs crossed. Alaia was reading a book again, but what she said surprised Maria.
"You can sit down on that chair."
"P-Pardon, Your Highness?" Maria asked, confused, stunned, bewildered.
Alaia rolled her eyes behind her mask, then tilted her head a little bit to look at the younger girl.
"I said you could sit down on that chair." Alaia uttered and pointed her index finger at the chair next to her.
"R-Really, Your Highness? Is that really, okay?" Alaia saw how quickly Maria's expression changed from gloomy to delighted. Maria's eyes were twinkling with excitement. For unknown reasons, it scared Alaia a little bit, so she took back what she said.
"Actually no. I changed my mind, so you can go now." Alaia said, then returned her gaze to the book on her lap.
Maria frowned and did the opposite.
"You can't just change your mind, Your Highness. I'll just pretend that I didn't hear your last statement." Maria stated in a cheerful tone, and sat down on the wooden chair next to Alaia. Maria smiled at herself. She couldn't believe that this day would ever come. Yes, it was just a simple talk, but something tells her that this will be the start of something new, of Alaia changing her treatment towards her. But what would they even talk about? Maria was sure that Alaia wouldn't answer any questions about her personal life or that Alaia would ever be interested in her life experiences.
Maria frowned, couldn't think of anything to talk about. She's the one who suggested that, but she felt so stupid for not having any plan. It's not like she's been planning to ask that and just waiting for an opportunity to come. She had just arrived at that plan when she brought the books that Alaia asked her for. She suggested that because she thought that there was no way they wouldn't have anything to talk about, and now it has backfired on her.
Alaia just let her take a seat and returned her attention to her book. She tried to focus on it, but Maria's presence didn't let her. So, she just ended up biting her lower lip to stop herself from starting a conversation. She lasted 3 seconds before she finally gave up and let the words that were dying to be asked to slip between her lips.
"Why do you want to see my face behind this mask?" Alaia finally asked, eyes still glued to the book, but her ears were all on Maria. Alaia is no longer reading and just pretending that she is because she doesn't want Maria to know that, for the first time, she was interested in whatever Maria would ever say.
The question took aback Maria but only for a few seconds, because she blushed after that, realizing that Alaia really heard her conversation with the twins two weeks ago. She scratched her cheek in shyness and bit her lower lip as she tried to think of an answer to the question.
"Before, I was just curious because I never saw you take off your mask. You refused to wear your white mask and kept using your beast mask. But ever since I learned the reason from the twins, I finally understand why you can't show your face to me. But it doesn't mean that I'm no longer interested in seeing your face, Your Highness." Maria looked back at Alaia and smiled.
Alaia felt Maria's eyes on her, so she also looked back and looked straight at Maria's eyes behind her mask.
"Especially your eyes, Your Highness. I learned from them that you have deep forest green eyes. They said that they were pretty and mesmerizing. I wanted to see them, myself. I wanted to see how beautiful they are." Maria continued, staring at Alaia, wishing that she was staring at Alaia's deep forest green eyes and not her beast mask. The smile on Maria's lips never left her lips, not even after she finished her statement.
Alaia felt all her blood run up to her face as her cheeks got hot. She looked away from Maria and then forcefully closed the book on her lap, startling Maria a little bit. Alaia subtly stood up from the chair and put the book on top of the other books. Keeping her head straight, she uttered in a nervous voice, "I-I'm tired already. I'll get back to my room now."
"W-Wait Your Highness." Maria said, and stood up from her chair as well. She tried to stop Alaia from leaving, but Alaia ignored her and just walked in hurried steps. Maria no longer managed to stop her and ended up just looking at Alaia's back. When Alaia was finally out of sight, Maria frowned and sat back in the chair.
"What happened to her?" Maria whispered, pouting her lips while thinking if she had done or said something wrong again.
Alaia went straight to her room and locked it. She fixed the curtains in her room and made sure that no one would see her from the outside. Once she was sure that she was safe, Alaia walked toward her mirror and removed her beast mask. Not only is she sweating a lot, but her cheeks are red as a tomato. Her deep forest green eyes, which are usually cold, have a different glint. Something she had never seen before. Something she had never felt before. She has an idea of what it is, but she's hoping that she was wrong.