The skies had gone dark and Rama was preparing to tuck herself into bed when she saw the door been swung open with her Mother occupying the room.
"Mother." She called, her tone almost in a surprised one.
Ever since the death of her Father, her Mother had refused to leave her chambers and Rama had been too busy fighting for her throne, her Mother had become the least of her worries after all, she wasn't the only one who lost the king.
She should have been strong for the both of them but she was too weak, so Rama had to take it upon herself to be strong as she couldn't afford to be distracted by anyone.
"Rama, why are you doing this to me? Your Father is dead and now you..." Her mother's voice broke as she neared her and she realised her Mother must have gained information of her journey to venture into the dragon's lair.
She hadn't blown out the candle on her bedside table yet and when the light illuminated on her mother's figure, she realised how tattered she looked, her brown hair looked uncombed and unwashed as it clung to her scalp, the dark circles around her eyes were evidence she hadn't got any sleep and the crumpled dress she wore was the same one she had been wearing since the death of her Father.
"The mere sight of you is pathetic, you're the King's wife yet you act so weak, get a hold of yourself mother, this is why I choose to never be like you, I won't submit to being a weak queen and if you're here to talk me out of going into the black dragon's lair...I won't heed your words." Rama spouted out fiercely, her tone sharp and clear.
She hated the sight of weakness and seeing her mother being the embodiment of weakness made her filled with displeasure, it was the main reason she had never been closely attached to her mother.
"I lost your Father, yet you call me pathetic...Rama he's your father how could you not shed a single tear for him? Why darken your heart and empty your soul just to rule, you'll lose your humanity if you continue this way, please I beg you, leave the throne for Jafar, I can't watch you die in the hands of a beast..."
Her mother sobbed and Rama felt more annoyed at her words and action, the sight of her mother's weakness made her jaws clench.
"My heart's not darkened neither am I losing my humanity, I only possess the strength of a ruler, I don't expect you to understand since you've always been repulsively weak and fragile, that is why you can't take what life throws at you, don't forget life doesn't always throw good things your way, with darkness comes the light and luckily I know just how to handle both."
Rama burst out, she didn't want to explode on her mother but the building fury and uneasiness made her take it out on whoever laid in her presence and it didn't help that her mother was repulsively weak, it made her stomach churn as she felt alien to it.
Her mother opened her mouth to speak but only tears accompanied.
"Please exit my chambers, I'd like to rest." Rama's tone was calmer now, it seemed like exploding made her a bit relaxed.
She saw her mother turn to leave without any more remark or reluctance.
"Mother, I'll be fine I promise." She said with a soft tone and she saw her mother nod meekly as she sobbed before exiting her chambers. She sighed deeply and locked the door before going to bed.
Rama found it difficult to sleep, throughout the night the thought of venturing into the dragon's lair kept her awake knowing she would face a deadly fate when the sun rose.
She knew she was more than capable to take the throne but she couldn't stop thinking about the what ifs that came with it, what if the dragon chose her cousin, as in all the years of ruling, there had never been a female ruler, she knew the chances were low but what ifs rang in her head.
She climbed off the bed and moved towards the window as she couldn't sleep, she opened it and climbed unto the balcony. She moved closer to the rails, feeling the cold wind brush her skin and she felt oddly calm.
She stared out at the dark mist of grey clouds that soon occupied the skies and she admired the full round moon as it shown it's dim light on the land.
After a long while of staring into the dark skies, she turned to relocate to her bed as she felt sleep weighing slightly upon her eyelids.
She shut the windows and tucked herself in, already half asleep when she heard a soft knock on her door.
Her eyes shut open and with grunts of frustration, reluctantly moved to the door, wondering who was interrupting her sleep in the middle of the night.
She opened the door with a grim look on her face but when her jade blue eyes darted to the figure standing outside her room, she froze as her heart pound hard against her ribcage, not in fear but in nervousness.
"Roshan?" She called out with a startled look on her face, her tone was slightly cracked but she immediately cleared her throat and composed herself.
"Sorry to disturb you, I was just worried about the journey tomorrow and.." He trailed off, a hint of sadness and worry in his hazel eyes even though his expression was almost blank.
"You can come in." She found herself saying which perplexed her, it was unladylike and unethical to let a man into her chambers as she was still young and unmarried, but she didn't care about the etiquettes of a lady, she would willingly give herself to him, it was much better than giving herself to anyone else other than him.
Roshan stared at her for a second with slightly raised brows but he didn't refuse. She stepped aside as his towering figure entered the room and she shut the door closed.
This might be the only chance she could get to be with him, she thought inwardly as he sat on the couch and she sat on an empty space beside him.
She realized she wasn't putting on her robe and was only in her flimsy nightwear as she caught him averting his gaze as soon as his eyes dropped on her body.
She hadn't meant to act lewd or seduce him, in her defence she had moved to the door in a state of drowsiness, she was half sleepwalking and she didn't realise she was only in her flimsy nightwear in the moment.
It wasn't all bad, besides she had made up her mind to give herself to him, yes she wanted to bed him and he would be the first and the last as no man could meet her standards but him, but she would make sure he hadn't found his mate yet as she wasn't that shameless to bed someone else's mate.
"You know I care about you, I don't want you to get hurt, anyways are you sure you want to go with this idea?" She heard Roshan's deep husky voice whisk it's way into her ears and she felt a tingling sensation between her legs, oh shit! she was already aroused.
She gulped softly before replying, making sure she sounded as composed as possible.
"Yes of course, don't you have faith in me? Do you have second thoughts about me being the right ruler?" She queried, seeing how worried he was but it wasn't unexpected as she was venturing into a beast's lair, the black dragon, anyone would be scared whether or not they were the right heir.
"Of course not, I trust you." He said and she nodded as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, good thing her black lush hair was down, everything was set perfectly, the nightwear even exposed a bit of cleavages and it was enticing as she had full round boobs and a body to die for.
She didn't say anymore and the place fell silent for a minute or two, it was a bit awkward as she was a bit confused what to do or say, she had never seduced a man in her life, so her first try would either be an epic failure or a short lived success .
"You can leave tomorrow if you want, I'm sure your loved ones are worried." She said, trying to pave way to know if he had found a mate or not.
"My parents are both dead remember?" He said with a short chuckle as he locked his gaze with her.
"I know, haven't you found a mate or something?" She blurted out nonchalantly, trying to dive into the topic as naturally as possible and her heart pounding heavily in her ears as she awaited his reply, hoping it could only be a positive one.
"Not yet, some find their mates later than some, the lucky ones, sooner." He said and she bit down on her lower lips as she stifled a smile that threatened to break out.
This was no time to speak, she had to get to it, she thought inwardly before garnering the courage to do what she did.
She threw herself shamelessly at him as she immediately slammed her lips on his, she felt her skin tingle in excitement as she did but he tore his lips from hers as quick as it came.
Her face flushed up in embarrassment as he gave her a perplexed look mixed with confusion.
"Rama, we shouldn't... you'll only end up in pain if you continue like this, you have to let go of whatever feelings you have for me, there's not even the slightest hope for us, I'm sorry."
Rama heard him say with an apologetic look on his face before exiting her chambers, leaving her speechless.
He was right but at the same time, she didn't care, she wanted him and no one else but now he rejected her because of a bitter truth she didn't want to face, she knew he was only trying to protect her from getting hurt but she only got more allured and her heart stung painfully knowing he could never be hers.