SEVEN
Verēna blinked her eyes again and again, and again, yet she couldn't still seem brought herself to digest the words from the imposing, six-foot-four tall man standing outside her quaint, red-bricked cottage filled with cozy furniture made out of well-polished woods, and few stuffs she hand-picked three days ago from the East Town market with Miran and Lord Rayo.
The Minister's lackeys certainly outdone themselves when they picked the most ideal spot for her demand.
Located amidst the private estate property of Romulus just half a mile south of the Plateau, the vast orange orchard provided the right amount of necessary solitude her duty required. Verēna exceptionally adored the tranquil ambience of the place, especially the twitters of birds in the morning and the singing of crickets at night─mainly because the island of Zathras didn't have any of those given its mystical nature that prohibited non-enchanted creature to roam about. To be able to hear those again after years was like a luxurious treat; vendetta from the land owner aside.
"I said," the other golden-eyed man beside the young Minister gritted out, "Magnus requested your pres─"
"I refuse," Verēna cut him short to which made the crease in his forehead more pronounced than previously. She took his evident frustration impassively, then continued, "My apologies, Lord Kaizo, but I have a prior engagement for the day. Perhaps I'll meet him up tomorrow?"
The lord sharply exhaled, fanning out some air to her face. Verēna forbid herself from frowning when a mixture of spice and mint grazed her nose in a rather pleasant assault. The scent kind of tinkered a distant memory in her, but tossed the thought away seeing its insignificance to the current situation. Oblivious to her dilemma, Lord Kaizo resumed glaring down at her five feet four self in which she resolutely held without blinking.
"And perhaps I didn't make myself clear as well. He's demanding your audience, Priestess."
Priestess . . . Ah, she almost forgot that she'd agreed.
Verēna allowed herself a moment of slip and clucked her tongue.
Damn that pompous kid!
Straightening herself, she craned her head up to look straight at the lord's molten irises which proved to be increasingly difficult for her straining neck. The lord tilted his head as if sensing her discomfort. Verēna ignored the slight twitching of his lips.
"I really can't delay my prior commitment," she pressed. "Couldn't it be done tomorrow? This late afternoon, perchance?"
And why, pray tell, didn't they call for me yesterday or the day before that when I wasn't doing anything?
"No."
"No?" Verēna almost incredulously spat. Her composure breaking off and now scowling at the lord. "And may I inquire the reason why?"
Her mood turned sourer when Lord Kaizo wasn't frowning anymore. If anything, he was schooling a sunny vibe unlike seconds ago where he seemed to be at the verge of breaking her slender neck. Well, not before burning himself at least.
"Haven't I make myself clear already? The Minister called for your presence, pronto." He defiantly crossed his arms to his chest. "That or you're incredibly deaf. A shame, if you'd ask me," he said, nonchalantly shrugging his broad shoulders.
"And aren't you too cocky for your own good, my lord?" Verēna snapped back evenly. "And here I thought, nobles are brought up to be an exceptional gentlemen. A shame if you'd ask me," she mocked, chin held high.
Scalding glare returned to the lord's golden eyes and Verēna almost thanked the gods that they didn't gift their bloodline the power to kill someone by merely looking. She'd be a pile of ashes at the blazing intensity of his eyes if ever.
"Do not test me, Priestess."
"And I am not, my lord," she eased back softly, noting the growing annoyance of the man. "I am simply offering my honest opinion based on keen observation. If I had offended you, perhaps you must reconsidered that you did it first?" She tilted her head. "I am merely returning the favor. What comes around, goes around, aye? Surely, you won't fault me for something you'd started. You are brought up to be a gentleman, after all."
Verēna contained a laughter as Lord Kaizo's cheeks turned rosy-red. She was about to offer another not-so-harmless remark when the lord beat her to it.
"Quit spouting irrelevant banters and be at the estate before sun down. Do not test a gentleman's patience, Priestess. Not me. I can only take much before I snap," he told her firmly and spun around to leave before she could even muster an apt counter.
She silently watched the lord mounted his black stallion and galloped through the cobblestone path until he was out of sight. Only then did she closed the door of her house and got a fright of her life when Miran's Cheshire cat smiling face greeted her the instant she whirled around. Her hand shot up to her thudding chest in a second. She so not liking that look in Miran's face!
"Well, aren't that a heated interaction, Vevee?" Miran grinned wider and Verēna needed not to use her gift to see through the succeeding moments. A few years of getting acquainted with the petite Astreon was enough. "The chemistry between you guys is flying everywhere, I can barely take the tension!" she gushed, following her to the kitchen area.
Verēna had taken a seat on one of the four-seat table beside a window with the courtyard view, and resumed at digging in her filling breakfast.
But Miran won't spare her. She continued blathering on and on about Lord Kaizo, and found herself zoning out the rest.
Gulping down the remaining content of her fresh squeezed orange juice, she started giving the older woman a piece of her mind. "I know what you're doing, Miran, and that ain't gonna work."
Reclaiming the seat across hers, Miran grabbed her utensils, stabbed the half-eaten bacon strip, and pointed her using it. "But Kai is so . . ." she munched at it, "likeable! Had I didn't meet Rayo, I'll definitely woo him."
Verēna's nose crinkled at her friend's declaration. "I wonder what would be Lord Rayo's thought about that. And besides, pursuing is men's duty. A li'l self-preservation won't harm you, Miran."
Miran made a swift gestures with her fork. "Wrong! It's for brave hearts, honey. In our world, more modern women are taking the first step and the rest is history."
"That's an interesting fact. But whatever you're plotting won't work."
Clucking her tongue, Miran downed her beverage and huffed as she leaned back to her seat. "Yeah. Tragic frigidity, I know."
Verēna's twitched her brow at that.
"Well, at least someone seems to interest Kai now. He's come of marrying age four years ago, but he hasn't taken a betrothed yet. The kid isn't seeing anyone either," Miran mused as if it was something she couldn't fathom. "Like seriously! We're honestly starting to doubt his gender preference. Rayo said I'm just being paranoid, but I don't think so. Pretty gents with the same gender preference is not an uncommon case in our world though, so it doesn't bother me."
"This is a democratic country. That shouldn't be a problem unless he's the Minister himself."
"Point taken there," she conceded. "We still love him dicky or peachy preference aside."
"A what?"
Miran wiggled her perfectly flicked eyebrows. "I made it up. Sounds cute, right?"
Verēna couldn't resist scrunching her face. "You're getting weirder at each passing year. D'you know that?"
To which Miran dismiss with, "Nope! Back to Kai though─"
Verēna tossed her head back and groaned. "Won't you give it up already?"
"But Vevee! I don't wanna see you wrinkle alone and die virgin, nonetheless!"
Her cheeks flared up and scowled. "And why, pray tell, on gods and goddesses' sake, does my chastity have to be dragged into this nonsense questioning?"
"Oh, for Feirun's sake, you'd never lived when you'd never discarded it!"
"That," Verēna enunciated firmly, "is the most foolish notion you've ever told me as a sane thinking woman, Miran. That's it! I'm out here." A loud screech bounced off the walls as she stood up and placed her empty plates in the sink. She made a break to her room, but was Miran still at it.
"But I'd heard Kai has an eight-pack abs, Vee! Not six, but eight! That's rare!"
"You can have it for all I care!"
"The estate maids said he's big though! And I mean, biiiiiig! Don't you want that? Because I definitely do!"
"Oh gods," she muttered in annoyance, hands massaging her temple. "Consider yourself a stranger in my life!"
Miran's laughter reverberated 'round the house as she slammed the door of her bedroom behind.