The place where he had brought her had a beautiful scenery where a flower bed of white and red roses with visible lights radiating around them. The air was filled with the floral scent of the roses and a fountain with the statue of a dragon in the middle of the flower bed but none of the two paid attention to it as they both stared into each other's eyes.
"I will answer your first two questions, Hazel." King Arzaan said looking deep into her brown eyes and he caressed the cheek affectionately. Hazel tried not to get lost in his mesmerizing lilac eyes. "The reason only you can call my name and the reason why I care about you."
Hazel took a step backward and he closed it by taking one forward. "Don't fear me, Hazel." He said to her in a pleading tone. "I mean no harm to you."
"what do you mean...?" She took more backward steps. "That I am meant to be with you?" She asked. She already had a vague idea about what he meant but she didn't want to think about that right now especially believing it.
"You are my mate, Hazel, and I will never hurt mine," Arzaan said walking towards her. He stopped a few steps away from her not wanting her to feel forced and suffocated. He could see that she was in denial and he did not want to feel any worse than she already does.
He knew she was already stressed out and breaking such news to her was not the best thing to do at the moment but she had asked twice and he had promised her answers. "I am sorry if this is too much for you to take in." He apologized. Finally closing the distance that was less than three feet away from each other he took her hand in his and drew small circles at the back of her palm. "I want you to know that I will never hurt you, no matter what happens," he promised.
"No," Hazel said shaking her head. She pressed her back into the bushes behind her as if to hide in there away from him. "It can't be." She said again while still shaking her head.
"I won't do anything to you that you do not permit." He said to her, lightly pulling her out of the bushes. "You have nothing to worry about, My Hazel, I won't touch you without your permission."
"I want to go back." She said.
Arzan's hand that was about to touch her waist halted as a sharp pain shot through his heart. Hurt flashed across his eyes which he did not bother hiding from her.
Hazel saw the hurt in his eyes and almost felt bad. But she had never imagined herself ending up with someone at such an early age when she still had a lot to do. The man before her was an adult and she was sure he was older than he looked. "I want to go back." She repeated her words.
Arzan took two steps back creating some space between them. "It will take some time to have the portal work again especially since we will be sending someone out of here to another world." He said to her. He was hurt but if she wanted to go back, he would grant her wish, rather than condemn her to death.
Hazel almost could not believe her ears. Did he just agree to send her back? She was doubtful that she heard it right until he continued, "Until then, I will try to make you have a change of mind and stay here, with me."
"You will send me back?!" Hazel asked.
"Whatever it is that you want, I will give it to you, including sending you back to your world," Arzan said. He turned to look in the opposite direction and a guard appeared out of nowhere and whispered in his ear.
The tenderness he had before was long gone and a hard expression appeared on his face as he stared at the guard and gave him instructions on what to do. The guard bowed his head and left shortly. And he turned his attention back on Hazel, "We should head back now, My Hazel." he said offering his hand to her again to take.
Hazel started at the hand and she took it because she did not know the way out of the maze and she did not want to get lost not after seeing how big the maze was. "I would like to ask you to think over your decision and stay if not permanently, then a bit longer."
Hazel was silent. She was deep in thought. Though she did not want to be mated to anyone at such a young age, she knew she had spoken on the spur of the moment. What had she thought again if she returned to her world? Here, she was saved by a king and asked to stay with him which was good but he had also claimed her as his.
She was in a daze as they walked back out of the maze and into the cast. Her mind was rilling with many questions and what-ifs. What if she stays? But then she would have to leave with a stranger. Though he looked human she was sure he was not. She was no fool to not understand what the word mate meant to nonhumans. What if she goes back? Then she would have to deal with all of her troubles from there which she had tried to run away from.
The walk back to the castle was silent with Hazel in deep thought while Arzan stared at her side profile. He did want her to go but just like he said, he could not hurt and keeping her against her will would do nothing but hurt her emotionally. He had lived for so long without a mate by his side and now that he had finally had one, she did not want to stay he could not blame her because everything so suddenly came to her without warning and now she preferred going back to suffer in her world rather than stay with him.
From what she said before about it being better that she jumped into the portal than stay there and suffer, he could understand that her life was not the best and he was more than willing to make her life here one that she would never regret. But now all of that depended on whether he could get her to stay.
He had bought himself some time with her when he said the portal would take time to work again. There was nothing wrong with the portal and he could open it himself if need be but he wanted to show her that he cared for her and wanted her around and him around her.
"I will leave you in the care of the servants," He said to her when he reached the large golden doubled doors of the castle. A butler walked over to them and now waiting for instructions. "There is something urgent that needs my attention. I will be back as soon as I can."He said to Hazel who only nodded at him.
Turning to the butler he said, "Let nothing happen to her." Hazel watched as he walked away and her heart squeezed inside her knowing she was the reason he was hurting. Shaking her head, she followed the butler inside.