.
.
.
.
.
...17...
VURA👯
The air smelt totally nice when she aroused from her slumber. She sat up in bed and yawned, obviously feeling well rested. The fragrance in the bedroom had her thinking of roses. When she began to see roses, thousands of petals, she felt as if she were going insane. Like what the fuck?! She closed her eyes and opened them again and to the heaps of roses. She came out of the covers and reached for a petal. She touched it, felt it, smelt it. It was real.
She stood and scouted the room with her eyes. The roses were few in number compared to the heap at the door leading to the bathroom. She went to check it out and sure enough, there were myriads of rose petals there. Who placed all of those there? And where was she when it was being done? Was it after she had gone to bed or before? She stood, thinking. Wait, come to think of it, she had no recollection of the night before. She only remembered going into the bathroom and taking a warm bath without Hyeera's supervision. The healer had waited for her in the room then? She wasn't entirely sure of it. She tried hard once again to remember but she could not recall either coming out of the bath or going into bed. She shrugged, not wanting to over think and then she realized that she could not feel the weight of her hair. That was unusual.
She reached up slowly and touched her head only to discover that it had been put into a tight but comfortable knot. She knew that knot. It was the beast's. He had been with her. He must have been the one who put her to bed. But, what were the thousands of rose petals for? She could not stop thinking about that at all. She decided to go and ask about it.
She got out of the bathroom and made for the bedroom door intending to ask Xiera and then find Hyeera and ask her to confirm it all. Well, that may not be necessary because they never told her lies anyways. She opened the bedroom door and stepped out slowly. The first thing her eyes saw was Cora who was sitting on the floor by the door, hand at the hilt of her sword, looking up at her.
'Cora,' she said, wondering why the warrior was here instead of Xiera. It was quite unusual, wasn't it? Oh who was she asking that question? But truthfully, everything seemed quite unusual this morning.
'My Lady,' Cora said standing to her feet and paying obeisance to her. She removed her hands from her sword. 'I'm sorry My Lady. I heard you coming.'
'I wasn't startled. Where is Xiera?' she asked looking around for the red haired warrior.
'She is on an errand My Lady for the emperor. She shall soon return,' she said to her.
'Ah! Okay, I see,' she said to her as the disappointment shrouded her face very quickly. It was so because she needed urgent answers from Xiera. Her face lit up again after but a moment. There was still Hyeera to do that, wasn't there? She looked at Cora who looked like she was waiting for an order from her. 'Please get me Hyeera,' she simply told her. She nodded at her.
'Yes My Lady,' she said with a smile and left to do so. For some reason, the smile made her seem different to her. She watched her keenly as she left to get Hyeera. She also noticed that her aura and demeanor was also different. She wondered why the change had occurred. Mayhap it was because the warrior was not around the stolid emperor. She went into the bedroom to await Hyeera.
Hyeera arrived moments later -after she was through with cleaning her entire mouth- alongside her breakfast and two assisting maids. She noticed that Hyeera -but not the other two- was not surprised to see the heaps of roses. Hyeera dismissed them all the moment that the breakfast table was properly set. She sat down and helped herself to the food quickly because she was hungry.
'I don't remember going into bed last night Hyeera,' she began on a cool note as she chewed.
'You fell asleep in the bath my Lady,' she explained to her. 'My master carried you out and got you in bed.' Well, that explained a lot.
'Oh!' she said in understanding. 'Then where are all these thousands of rose petals from?' she asked her, gesturing towards the round bed which was packed full with rose petals in particular.
'You had troubles sleeping My Lady,' Hyeera explained to her. 'The emperor told that the scent of roses soothed you. Therefore, he had us fill the entire bedroom with it. The remedy is almost miraculous. You slept easily, like a baby.'
'Oh! That's true. I do have trouble sleeping sometimes and the scent of roses draws sleep to me, but not this much. It's a good remedy when I am tossing and turning about on the bed in my sleep, unable to rest properly,' she divulged to her in between bites of her meal.
'The Emperor can be extravagant when it comes to you.'
'Who tastes my food?' she asked.
'The royal taster My Lady.'She answered.
'And why is my food being tasted Hyeera?' she inquired looking straight into the woman's eyes.
'It is to make sure that you aren't poisoned my lady. That is the reason My Lady.'
'Interesting,' she mused. 'Do I have that much enemies who want me dead that they will resort to putting poison in my food?' she thought out loud. 'Or mayhap it is because I am associated with royalty?' Hyeera made to answer her question but was stopped from doing so because she spoke next. 'Where's your master?' She asked her after taking a sip out of the glass of fresh mango juice which had been served to her.
'He is currently having a private meeting with the Little Prince in his study room.'
'Quickly have a bath ready for me Hyeera. I'm planning to stick to him like glue.' She muttered the last sentence to herself.
'You say, My Lady?'
'Just the bath,' She said.
'Yes My Lady. I shall have it prepared instantly.' Hyeera left after a small bow to do as she had been ordered. She returned quickly with seven maids, three to clear the breakfast remains and four to actually make her the bath. She was ready in about an hour's time. She left the bathroom to seek the Emperor. She found only his butler, Peter in his study. The man was tending to the plants in the study room. He turned to her the moment she came in.
'My lady', he greeted her with a slight bow. Why was everyone so bent on bowing to her each time?
'Where's the emperor?' She asked going for the painting on his table. It was lying face down on the highly polished wooden table. She took it and studied it. She indeed looked really pretty in it.
'He's in the dining room having breakfast with Princess Hera-Mera My Lady,' he divulged to her. He had quickly gone from having a private meeting with the Little Prince to having breakfast with the red haired bitch, the one who was as saucy to him just as she was. She detested their friendly smiles and rapport.
'I'll tell him that I took this,' she said to him, indicating the painting. Peter only nodded at her and went on to do just what he was doing before she had disturbed him. She went down the stairs with Cora following behind her since Xiera wasn't back yet from wherever the emperor had sent her to. She murmured to herself angrily. The emperor said that she was his. He was also hers. God help those wenches hanging around him. She would deal with them. She will give them each a hard time. She found them in the dining. Hera-Mera was laughing huskily at something she was sure that the Beast had said. Oh that bitch! She hurried to them.
'Beast,' she said going to them, stylishly announcing her presence to them. They both turned to her. 'How wicked of you to not invite me for breakfast', she told him, staring daggers at Hera-Mera, who was also doing same to her.
'I didn't know you'd awakened Mine,' He told her. ' I am just keeping Princess Hera-Mera company. She is my guest you know?'
'Then I can take a seat,' she said to them after already doing so. 'Good morrow Princess,' she said elegantly pouring herself some tea from the ceramic teapot.
'Good morning Miss-'
'-Rose', she told her. 'Lady Rose,' she corrected. Hera-Mera nodded as they stared each other down. She sipped her tea slowly, savouring.
'Lady Rose.'
'My Lord!' Cora said coming in. She looked up and shock claimed her. She was sure that she had arrived the dining room with Cora, who was still standing behind her. But now, another Cora had just come in to the dining room. Was this some sort of dream? Was it?
'Cora?' she asked. She looked between the two Coras and then turned to him, still puzzled by it all. 'Does Linamine tea or juices contains alcohol?' She asked him.
'Not the one that is served to you', he said. 'Neither does the one on this table,' was his response.
'Then I am definitely not tipsy neither am I drunk, or am I?' she voiced out her concerns. 'Why on earth do I see two Cora then? Beast do you see it too? If you do please explain this phenomenon to me instantly.' He chuckled, looking at the Cora behind her. The lady nodded at the Emperor after a small bow.
'Oh!' The Cora who just came in said. 'I am Cora. I see that my twin sister didn't introduce herself to you yet, My Lady,' she told her looking at her sister. The Cora behind her smiled at came to stand in her line of vision.
'My Lady, I am Vura, Cora's twin sister,' she introduced herself to her. 'I am sorry My Lady for the late introduction and any distress that it may have caused you,' she apologized then. Her lady smiled in awe. Ah! So they were twin? Cora had a sister, a twin sister! It was so nice to hear and see such a thing in her lifetime.
'Who is the older twin?' she asked them as delight and curiosity overtook her surprise.
'It is I My Lady,' Cora answered her. She had already suspected that it had to be Cora. She seemed much more mature and responsible.
'You both are so identical. It will be hard telling you apart won't it?' she voiced her thoughts out loud.
'I do not think so,' The Emperor said reaching for her cup of tea and taking a sip. Hera-Mera watched him. It was really unlike him to use cutlery that another woman had used. Lady Rose didn't even seem to think anything of it. How close were these two?
'Why do you think so?' she said staring straight at him.
'Mark my words,' he said to her and set her tea cup back to where he had taken it from. She reached for the tea cup and took a small sip out of it. The emperor smirked when she did that. Then, she suddenly realized that they had indirectly kissed. The sly sneaky pervert! Hera-Mera watched them silently, stunned.
'You're insane,' she told him, referring to his actions. Vura smiled. She knew that it was Vura because Cora would never do that. The lady was as stiff as her master. Well, perhaps the emperor was right. She would be quite able to distinguish them.
'I don't care,' he said to her with a teasing look. Still, she drank her tea, not minding him one bit -though the gesture pleased him. She set her cup down and remembered the painting that she had brought with her.
'I want this,' she demanded and not requested, raising it for the both of them to see -The emperor and princess Hera-Mera. The Emperor smirked again and relaxed properly in his seat, amused.
'Which is it that you want Mine? The painting or the spear in the painting?' he asked her. She had to applaud him for that. He knew her well enough.
'I want both.'
'You can not have both. You will have to make a choice Mine and I know that you will choose the spear. Yes or no?' She wanted to prove him wrong and choose the painting, but that wasn't what she wanted. Besides, the wonderful painting would do her no good to have.
'Whatever,' she succumbed. 'But who am I supposed to practice spear with?' she inquired.
'You will be a good opponent,' Hera-Mera quipped in, feeling rather left out, like an intruder in their discussion.
'No!' the Emperor opposed her suggestion instantly. 'Such a thing is not to happen. She will practice with Xiera or Xiera's ward, Buttercup or Vura, or even Hyeera. But, she will not practice with you, never with you Hera-Mera,' he ordered. Hera-Mera smiled softly at his words, very much pleased by them.
'Fear that I will break her bones My Lord?' she asked him. The emperor simply smiled lightly.
'There are things that I can not let you toy with Hera,' he said to the lady who nodded in unspoken agreement.
.
.
.
.
.
...OmaPhinaPhire🔥