Marissa
"Come with me."
Quietly and languidly, I walked behind Madam Yolanda, who seemed anxious and curious too.
"What did you do, Marissa? You were just brought in a few weeks ago and the king is summoning you? What the hell did you do?" She asked quietly, without turning to look at me.
I just kept quiet with my head hung down.
She led me to the palace and a guard escorted us to the King's chamber. I felt nervous when I saw what his door looked like. It was made of pure sparkling gold and the diamond knob glittered tremendously.
The guard placed a gentle knock on the door and I heard the voice of King Ilyas say majestically. "Who is that?"
"It is I, Madam Yolanda. I have come," Her voice sounded quick and gentle.
I gulped hard nervously and continuously blinked my brown eyes. We waited patiently for his response, but he gave us none. At once, Yolanda knew that she had to speak.
"I have brought the servant you requested," She said, quite nervous.
"Bring her in," He answered, and the guard pushed the door open gently before stepping backwards, allowing us to move towards the gigantic door. This time, I walked beside Yolanda. My palms were cold and sweaty already. My body was shivering but hot at the same time.
I looked around the chamber and I couldn't help but feel astonished by the affluence his room holds. The curtains, furniture and everything in his room were looking extremely expensive and nice.
"You can leave us," I heard him say and my heart skipped.
My eyes went to Yolanda, who just bowed her head and left without sparing a glance at me.
I slowly took my gaze to the sofa where he sat. His face looked serious, and his gaze was quite cold. It almost made me think I did something wrong or bad, even though I could not exactly point at what I did negatively.
On the table before him was a pack of cigarettes. He took out a stick which was quite brown and huge. Then, I inserted it between his hearty pink lips. I swallowed hard as I watched him bring out a lighter from his pocket.
Does he smoke too?
Soon, the whole room was filled with heavy white smoke and I almost choked. I tried bottling my emotions, but I ended up coughing.
"What is wrong?" He suddenly asked, and my entire body trembled in fear. I stood at ease and clenched my fists hard.
"Nothing…" I answered softly.
"What is your name?" He asked.
"Marissa, your majesty," I replied coolly.
"I'm sure you saw everything today," He said as he released more smoke from his mouth.
"Huh?" I mouthed, obliviously.
"You and your friend watched the whole scenario back at the auditorium today!" His voice came out loud.
"Yes..... Of course... Yes, Your Majesty...." I answered quickly in a shaky voice and my head nodded vigorously.
He smirked. "You know I got eyes everywhere. Even without looking back, I was able to see you and your friend watching the whole show."
My heart was racing so fast and my teary eyes were twitching. I was furious and sad at the same time.
I was badly hoping that he wouldn't mention our encounter.
"Did you enjoy the show?" He asked.
I was dumbfounded by his question. What did he expect me to say?
He had asked me the same question before.
I thought disagreeing with him could cause a stir, and I might get punished but I also do not see myself agreeing with him.
"Did you and your friend enjoy the show?" He repeated, his voice louder than before.
He roared like the king of the jungle and my body shook violently.
I almost fell to the ground but managed to grab onto a closet just behind me.
"We did...I did...." I replied hurriedly, trying as much as I could to take Maria out of the picture.
"Oh really," he chuckled. "I thought you didn't because you were roaming around instead of enjoying the show like everyone else." He said with a smirk on his face and I shook my head.
"No, your Majesty." I began with my scheme of lies. "Truthfully, I enjoyed everything. My friend enjoyed the show as well," I lied.
I tried to settle my thoughts because I knew for sure he could read minds. Maria was right about him.
Our minds were indeed open books to him.
Furthermore, I couldn't believe I agreed with him. I wondered what I was doing exactly. My spirit felt disgusted by my statement, and I could swear I almost puked myself. Honestly, it was probably because I was scared. Perhaps, If I disagreed with him, I could be in danger and Maria wouldn't be exceptional.
"You said you liked and enjoyed the show?" He said and I slowly nodded my head.
"Why don't you be my guests then?" He whispered in an icy tone.
"What…" My vibrating voice trailed off.
"Tomorrow at seven, I'm having an auction. It will be really fun and better than the former. You are invited."
What? My eyes widened.
What does he mean by that?
Is he really inviting me to his deadly auction? What does he play to put on display this time? Human parts or what?
"Uh ... Your Majesty, what… What is this auction about?" I asked inquisitively.
Ilyas stood up abruptly and walked towards me with the lit, burning cigarette still in his lip. He stood just a few feet away from me and brought his cold-looking but Greek god-like face closer to mine. I could only gasp because I was quite startled.
"Wait till tomorrow to find out," He replied before bringing out the new short stick from his mouth.
Before I could blink my eyes, he released another round of smoke to my face. I quickly closed my eyes and felt the smoke all around my face. I inhaled a large portion. Then suddenly, I felt like I was choking.
It was the smoke!
I opened my eyes quickly and started panting. I was trying to gasp for air. My legs wobbled, and I fell to the ground without control.
I couldn't breathe anymore, and I thought I was going to die. My eyes let out tears and from the floor I laid, I saw Ilyas staring at me like he was something usual.
"Help me, please" I muttered.
I watched him go down on his knees, bringing his face closer to mine and then slam his lips on mine. My eyes only grew big, and my frail body shook.
"What are you?"