Zils busied herself with her daily training with Juwan. He is a good spar partner. He got the skills and his swordman style is nimble and efficient.
She is afraid of what she is feeling these few days after Vrag's departure. Sleeping alone make her feel lonely.
Zils is grateful that Juwan is here as her sparring partner to distract her. But after few days, the thought of what she is feeling is kind of occupied her. She refuse to think of the worst possibility, that she has feelings for Vrag.
Juwan made a step forward and attack, Zils was late to read his movement. She tried to counter it but Juwan hit her wooden sword away from her grip. Her wooden sword dropped to the floor.
"Should we rest, Lady Zils?"
"Ah...maybe yes..."
Both of them sit on the wooden table and the chambermaid serve them water and went out after Juwan gesture them to leave them for a while.
"It seems that there is something on my Lady's mind these few days."
Juwan is perceptive as always, he realized that Zils concentration is getting worse day by day. He is indeed the closest aide of Vrag.
"It will be a problem if you are hurt during the sparring. I will lose my head."
"You are his most trusted aide, I don't think he will cut off your head just because of a war prisoner." Zils laughed it off.
"My Lady, Prince Vrag will do so if you are hurt. You are precious to the Prince."
Zils become silent for a while. Juwan's word elevated her mood. It's dangerous, she thought. Vrag will not consider her that important eventhough she admitted that Vrag is so gentle to her nowadays. She shake the hopeful feelings, scared to get disappointed by her expectations.
"What kind of person is he?"
"He rarely get angry, usually calm but when he get his temper he listen to noone. But he is kind and loved by his subordinates. He take care of us."
Kind is something that Zils will not believe until she saw him cried not so long ago. The guy that they called white demon cried from the guilt of killing the children in Judecca.
"Were you at Judecca together with him?"
"Lady Zils...how...?" Juwan is surprised with the question.
She has been staying with Prince Vrag for months and she might know that he is seeing dead people. Juwan expected that Prince Vrag will take separate chambers after he mentioned that he need to see Marley. It means he has started to see dead people again, but the Prince continue to share the chamber with her.
"Did Prince Vrag tell you about the dreams?" Juwan thread carefully.
"Except on what actually Marley did to him to eradicate the dreams."
"So you know he is seeing dead people..."Juwan's voice turn softer almost like whisper.
"We didn't have time to continue the talk after the Queen summoned him. But if you knew about what Marley has done I would appreciated it." She is curious. If Marley can make an army of kids turned to beast, she can't imagine what he has been doing to eradicate the dead people vision from someone.
"Actually..." Juwan seems hesitate in the beginning but he continued anyway. He was shocked after knowing who the underground mystery wizard is. He is loyal to his master and very happy when he recovered but he can't trust the foreign man. He is an Arethean so he might be able to find more information about him from this Arethean Princess. He will take a chance on this and share the information. His Master is his priority above everything.
"Only Prime Minister and Marley were present in the chamber during the treatment. I was only tasked to buy the Dream Grass."
"Dream Grass? That's..."
"Yes."
Everybody know what is Dream Grass. It give calming properties, usually used for those people that is very sick or dying but certain people abuse it for running away from reality. They said it gives you pretty dreams but you will get addicted to it.
"Dream Grass has bad effects so the Prime Minister is not always present in the chamber...It took three months for him to recover."
"Three months?" Zils dreaded to think it will take three months before Vrag come back.
"After three months...he return to his usual activities but a bit different."
"Different?"
"My Lady of course aware of what happened to General Grut the first time you are here..." Juwan didn't want to remind her of the bad memory but he need to.
"Ah..." Zils remembered the disgusting giant that got castrated.
"Please forgive me... It's an unpleasant memory for you."
"It's fine."
"The punishment is quite an extreme. He never punish someone until that extend. He show his temper more often and he become distant...He informed us that he wanted to capture you alive..."
"..."
"After we manage to capture you, Prince Vrag told me about your origin. I can guess it's Marley who informed him. I thought it's untrue..."
"I wish it's not true...I won't be stuck here then."
"Do you hate the Prince?" Juwan showed her a sad face.
"I..." Zils hated Vrag in the beginning. The story of what has happened in Judecca and he also raped her. But now she is not sure, she is afraid with herself. She is afraid of what she is feeling.
"I feel...Prince Vrag started to return back to his usual self when he is with you."
"Juwan, can we stop the conversation? Let's go back to Marley... " Zils doesn't feel like continuing this.
"Lady Zils, is Prince Vrag the one occupied your concentration now?"
"My God... Juwan..." Zils cover her face with both of her hands. Her elbows are on the table supporting her head. Zils felt so embarrassed.
"I'm correct then..." Juwan gave her a smile. Zils can't see that since she is still covering her face. Juwan waited till she compose herself and she put her hand down.
"Prince Vrag is popular with the ladies, it's not weird if Lady Zils like him."
"And I know how many women he can have..." Zils give Juwan a hardened face. "I'm waiting until he grew tired of me and let me go...how long do you think it takes?"
"Lady Zils..." Juwan give his most sympathetic face. Juwan know actually that there is no way out for her. She will have to be the Queen to stop the war and Prince Vrag have to take the throne.
Zils' eyes started to get watery.
"I'm sorry..." Zils wiped her tears. Juwan is so kind that it is easy to let her guard down but she has nobody to talk to.
"I'm the one to apologize, Lady Zils. It's insensitive of me. You are in an enemy territory, being kept inside the Prince's chamber. You must have been frustrated."
"It's alright."
Juwan has fill in her glass of water. Zils drink it to calm herself down.
"Should I take you to the Royal library tomorrow then?"
"Library?"
"If it is not up to your liking I can suggest other places but it might be difficult to get permission..."
"I don't mind." Zils answered quickly. She is dreaded to go out from Vrag's chamber. She will take any place to go beside the chamber and the garden.
Juwan smiled.
"I will excuse myself now, Lady Zils. I will arrange the necessary thing to be able to bring you to the library tomorrow."
"Thank you, Juwan." Zils give Juwan a grateful smile. Juwan then bowed before he gone behind the door.