Adnan was lost.
The confusion was evident on his face. His mouth ran dry while his eyes blinked over and again struggling to come up with a solution to get out of the situation he found himself in.
The King went silent after his commentary. His silence worried Adnan more. He had crossed all known limits that a slave in the kingdom ever dared to cross. The King watched his every movement, which made him conscious. Adnan was reluctant to get out of the pool and get himself dressed.
Adnan feared the wrath of the king. The water cooled down magically, and Adnan had a hunch that the elegant-looking gent was responsible for the change in the temperature.
Slaves were at the lowest rank in society. They were deprived of accessing their magical powers. Their cores were locked forcing them into life without a trace of magic. Adnan had no clue what he would be capable of had he been fortunate enough to be born into anything else other than a slave.
"Are you done?"
Adnan blinked. He cast his gaze at the king, the man flashed him a friendly smile. "If you are done then I'd like to give you a tour of the palace."
At his words, the king sat up and walked out of the water. Adnan took courage and followed out at a safe distance. He quickly picked up the clothes he received from Amoela and put them on as fast as he could. All the while the king changed to a set of cleaner clothes.
"Shall we?"
Adnan accepted the offer. It surprised him to see how the king treated him. The man didn't get angry at him for entering the pool without permission. He didn't shout at him while speaking and seemed quite friendly except for the moment when he felt ignored. Adnan wished that it would be nightfall soon so that he could thank the moon for the gift of such a good master.
The King walked into the sleeping chamber. Adnan once more could make out voices talking in the room. A while back, he was of the impression that the people talking were in the washroom but that was not so.
Even though he could hear the voices, there was no one in the room. "I have so much to show you. The palace is massive with so much to see," the king hooked his arm around the crook of Adnan's hand. Like a child grabbing onto their favorite candy too scared, it might disappear if they let go.
Adnan tensed.
Other than the old man, no one has ever held him so closely before. His former master never dared fo to breathe the same air as him. The shop owner treated him like a virus keeping him close enough to serve him and far away enough not to make contact with him.
His wide-opened eyes stared at the king. Wondering if it was a dream or a reality. What were the odds that the king of Arendar was holding his hand and cuddling his arm like they were old friends who had reunited?
"It is rude to stare, Adnan."
Adnan heard his name. His eyes moistened. It was the first time that he was referred to him by his name and not any of the tags that come with being a slave.
At that moment, he wasn't just a slave but a person. One with an identity, an identity the king of all people found important to remember.
"I never told you my name," Adnan spoke.
The king smiled. Pulling Adnan out of the room. Adnan kept his eyes on the king, afraid that the nice king might vanish from existence if he takes his eyes off the man.
The moment they stepped out of the room, a purple mask formed around the king's face. Covering half of his face, leaving his cheeks to his jaw for view. His deep red eyes changed color almost immediately, becoming grassy green. A color that Adnan was more familiar with as he had stared into those very eyes all through his journey to the Silver City.
"Y..you," Adnan couldn't conceal his surprise.
"Yes, me?"
Adnan gulped.
Amoela straightened her back. She glanced at them, slightly, and she bowed her head to show her respects to the king. "Greetings to the king of kings," she saluted the king.
"Where is he?" the king asked firmly.
"Talking a bath your highness," Amoela answered.
"Come, Adnan, I want you to meet the most important person in Arendar," the king ushered.
'More important than you?' Adnan wondered. The man was the ruler of the kingdom. There was no one in the whole of Arendar that could compare to his power and strength. No one whose presence could make the king disappear into existence or from view.
Yet, Adnan kept his mind open. The king mentioned that the person was the most important in the kingdom. And he was going to contradict the male should he seize to be so nice to him.
Amoela rushed ahead to the wall in the hallway a few feet from the king's feet. She retrieved a card from her pocket and tapped the wall with it. A blue door formed out of nowhere on the wall. Adnan blinked, caught off guard by the secret door he didn't know existed when he first came past that place.
Knock! Knock!
Amoela knocked on the door. However, the king walked up to the door and pushed it open without caring about the formalities of waiting to be invited in. "You are going to love him," the king said excitedly. The happiness oozing from his body lightened Adnan's mood and he became less tense.
"He is bathing, your highness," Amoela rushed before then trailing her eyes to Adnan insinuating that Adnan shouldn't be there.
The king leaned his head to the side. Amoela swallowed hard. She stepped out of the way quietly and kept her eyes on the ground.
"Do not despair, I have no intentions of disturbing him. I simply wish to introduce him to Adnan," the long said while dragging Adnan along with him through the room to the indoor pool in the chamber.
Amoela shook her head.
For someone who didn't want to cause any disturbance, the king was wearing his signature mischievous smile. Amoela pitied Adnan and befriending the king was an open invitation to making enemies in the palace.
'Here I thought you might last,' she thought.
The king entered the pool. Adnan was amazed. The room was massive, stretching far and wide, bigger than the king's pool.
The water was tempting. Almost as though it was calling out to him to take a step in and feel its warmth brace his skin. Adnan stared greedily at the fresh water at the pool.
Captivated by the sight of the massive pool before him. Adnan stretched his feet and touched the water with his toe.
"Are you out of your mind?" Amoela asked pulling him away from the water. Her actions forced the king who was holding on to Adnan to stumble back.
The king lost his balance. Amoela dropped Adnan's hand and raced to catch the king. The king closed his eyes and fell back freely. He made no effort to save himself or to struggle.
Before Amoela could touch him a hand wrapped around the king's back. "What is the slave doing in my room?"
The temperature in the room became frosty.