"Do you think I'll never get rid of this curse, Elder?" Fenrir asked, looking over his shoulder to Elder Bernard.
He gave a helpless sigh.
Elder Bernard could not answer this question too. But, he couldn't possibly tell the king that.
So he said instead, "You will get over it, Your Majesty. We'll surely find your mate and everything will take a better turn."
Fenrir was quiet for a moment and didn't reply. But, he seemed to have regained hope too, and nodded.
"I hope so."
Elder Bernard's thoughts reeled back to Fenrir's words. He had said he held a woman and nothing happened to him. It was very unusual.
And he couldn't help but think that maybe...
"Your Majesty," Elder Bernard called out. "Could it be that that maiden is your mate?"
Fenrir was quiet. He seemed to have just realized that too.
When he turned to Elder Bernard, his eyes were glistening and the other man could see the hope and expectations in them.
But they didn't last longer than a minute because the man soon breathed heavily and shook his head at Elder Bernard negatively.
"No, it can't be," he said. "I didn't feel the mate bond with her."
Elder Bernard didn't know what to say anymore. With such proximity, if they were truly mates, he would feel the mate bond.
He sighed heavily and looked at the man again. He seemed even more downcast at this realization and Elder Bernard could tell that he hopes a lot to find his mate.
He must have been very eager to find her and end his immense suffering. If the king didn't usually confide in him in things, he wouldn't know that the emotionless man also had a side of him that was full of emotions.
And he felt guilty giving him such immense hope only for it to be wrong.
"It must have been because there were a lot of people in the banquet earlier," Fenrir muttered. "I must have been delirious. It could have been another woman."
Elder Bernard looked at him as he talked to himself, wondering if the king was in denial and brainwashing himself.
"I apologize, Your Majesty," Elder Bernard proclaimed. "I'll definitely look into this young woman. We still can not neglect the possibility that she might be your mate too."
Fenrir nodded indifferently, seeming to have already convinced himself of his own thoughts. He flagged the sleeves of his robes and strode to his seat.
Once he settled onto it, he picked up the single-frame glass again and said to Elder Bernard without even looking at him.
"I have other things to do," He asserted. "You may leave."
He was back to being distant.
Elder Bernard didn't dare to push his luck. He immediately got up from the chair he sat in and bowed at ninety degrees at the man.
He bowed. "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave now."
Then, Elder Bernard walked out of the chambers without further ado.
After he was gone, the man who was reading, placed the scroll in his hand on the stool. He leaned back on the recliner, not caring about how inelegant his position was.
He looked up to the ceiling quietly and his gaze was tense. He seemed to be lost in thought.
***
Lyca lay on the woven bed, the warmth of the blankets shielding her from the cold, hard floor. The lights were off (she couldn't see them anyway).
But she was aware due to how quiet the room was after Jeida had stood up to switch it off sometime back. Master Mary had put her in their room so they could look after her.
Although Lyca had not been willing as she didn't want to trouble anyone, the two girls had been excited and willingly took on the master's order. Even though, both of them had dozed off the moment they laid their heads on their pillows.
Lyca pulled the thick cotton blanket up to her neck and breathed out heavily. It had been a long time since she was so relaxed.
Back in the Sloan kingdom, she never had a space she could call hers. Except of course whenever Martha got too bored and framed her, sending her into the dungeons for a few days as punishment.
She couldn't tell if she spent more days in the dungeons or on the cold, hard floor of the servants' quarters without any blanket or bed. And an obvious prey for hungry mosquitoes.
Lyca's life was quite pitiful.
Other princesses got to put on beautiful silk dresses, lived in royal chambers, and slept on comfy beds. Including those who weren't even from the main bloodline of royalty.
But she was used to it. The ill-treatment and the looks of ridicule had grown on her already.
So, it was even harder for her to sleep in such a comfortable environment. She was tense and restless and even Isabel who was beside her noticed this and pointed it out.
"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice low and soft. It seemed she had stirred awake from sleep because Lyca was tossing around.
Lyca immediately tensed up, hearing her voice. She shook her head in the darkness and replied, "I'm fine. Just getting used to the environment. Go back to sleep."
Isabel didn't reply for a moment but Lyca could hear some rustling from her side. Soon, she could hear the crackles of flames. It seemed Isabel had lighted the lamp again.
Lyca felt her side of the bed collapse as Isabel returned to her side. She felt her tender and soft hand on her forehead and a moment later, she muttered, "Lyca, are you feeling ill? You're boiling up and you are sweaty too. Are you having a fever?"