The sun rays seeped into the dim room and woke Melinda up.
For the first time in a long time, she woke up with a smile plastered on her face. She turned to Awin, unsure whether this was all a dream but after touching his long, silky but ruffled hair and his bare chest, she confirmed that this was indeed real. She had indeed spent the night with the king.
The events of the night before ran through her mind and she bashfully giggled.
For a long while she studied Awin's peaceful sleeping face. But as she saw his eyelids flutter open, she hurriedly feigned sleep and closed her eyes.
Awin whispered into her ears " I was certain you were awake"
Her eyes shot open and she instinctively hugged him. "Forgive me, my deceit is unforgivable but show mercy"
He snickered and pulled from her embrace "there's no need to be fearful after all I should be grateful to you for that favour. You may have drugged me but for the most part I was in my right senses"
This last sentence made Melinda ecstatic "I am happy to hear that...I mean that you have forgiven me. But what do you mean favour"
Awin turned to her a bit confused "you said so yourself last night, you knew I was starved and decided to help as an act of loyalty, why do you need clarification when you said so yourself. Did you also drink?"
Melinda shook her head and held his hands "well, it's just that from your tone, I sense that you want this to be a one time thing"
Awin cocked his head, a mischievous smile on his face "that's naturally going to be my hope. Because soon Qaya will be the one to tend to my carnal needs"
Melinda struggled for words. This man called Awin, gave her so much joy only to devaste her with even greater sorrow.
Awin caught her speechlessness "were you hoping for the position of a mistress?"
Melinda flinched. How could she tell this man that she didn't want to be the other woman, she didn't even want to be his wife. All she wanted from him, is for him to not see as some random person but obsess over her.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door, it was Awin's assistant.
Awin got up "we'll talk later, Melinda"
Awin's assistant was waiting in the corridor, he looked pensive.
"the lady's arrest did not go through, she proved herself innocent, right in front of the police station"
"and tell me Bernard, why this information was so great, it had to wait till the next day"
"it was just unfortunate, that our man was injured"
"excuse me?" Awin stared at his assistant wide-eyed
"it confuses me as well, that our men could be injured in the first place, but on the way the messenger had an accident with his horse, it wasn't fatal or ghastly for the horse and the man but the messenger was incapacitated, we didn't know of this till we got news of his accident this morning"
"and this accident, what exactly happened?" Awin asked, in his mind he was irritated and wanted to punish the stupid messenger he wasn't ghastly injured but would still not do his job. He made a mental note to lay him off.
"the road linking the market to the main castle had a pothole, that was covered by loose mud, the horse got stuck, was spooked and the whole raucous somehow led to him having a concussion"
Awin shook his head, he felt uneasy about the whole incident but right now, there were more pressing issues. "Yes tell me. How did she prove her innocence"
Bernard heaved a sigh of resignation and handed Awin a piece of paper, that contained the report of the men sent to spy on Qaya
"she disproved the evidence against her and presented a culprit"
Awin read the report in whole, his first shaking in fury. His gaze darkened "so what the status with Elrich"
"The Baron was investigated and found to be guilty and since he's a man of the cloth he will be tried by the Galilean court. It's speculated that he will be stripped of everything he owns and banished to The Grails for at least 15 years for penance and when he does return to civilization, he will be demoted to a messengerial task in the sanctuary"
"So when you say stripped of everything in his possession?"
"yes, your highness, everything that is legally Baron Elrich's will be confiscated by the Galilean community and used to atone for his sins"
"But that's the thing Bernard, those are not Elrich's, they are mine, all mine"
Bernard looked down "well not anymore"
Awin barged back into the room startling Melinda who had just taken her bath
"your highness, I know you have seen all of me but I'll still appreciate if you still treat me..."
"I told you that if things go awry, I'll make you regret, didn't I?" He yelled
Melinda looked in confusion "what's the matter—" she started coughing as Awin strangled her, she was fighting for her life
If not for Bernard rushing in to stop him, Melinda would have met her ancestors.
She fell to the ground, trying to catch her breath while Bernard quickly averted his gaze from her because she was not yet properly dressed.
"I've lost how much because of you. If you had just listened to me and took out the Ceria family like I asked"
Melinda kept quiet. The atmosphere around her was cold. She stood up and gazed defiantly at him.
"you could have avoided this all together if you didn't use YOUR own business to frame someone and you even got a chance, you could have helped Qaya out and avoided her unveiling the truth but you're so obsessed with making her your slave, it's almost like you're trying to makd her like Wright" Melinda smirked as she saw Awin flinch at her words, she must have struck a nerve.
"you can play the blame game all you want but you know you were the one who started all this to begin with"
Awin chuckled "really is that what you think? I'm trying to make her like Qaya Wright, oh you ignorant soul"
"I know what you do Awin, you're Zajey 's biggest patron, you buy slaves using emancipation certificates. You did the same thing for Wright. But what still puzzles me is why you purposefully made her lose her memory"
"solve the puzzle yourself then. Just mark my words I'll make you regret what you've done"
***
Marie laughed heartily "Awin must be crying in the corner of his room, I mean he just lost more than a quarter of his 'estate'. Why did he even give it to Baron Elrich in the first place?"
Qaya closed the book she was reading "Awin probably thought it was a smart move to entrust one of his most obscene business ventures in the hands of a man that people can not conceive partaking in iniquity. And it was a smart move but he destroyed his own gameplay when he had Melinda frame Rivan with his very vile business, when Melinda has always been looking for a way to throw me out of the picture".
Jaslin stabbed her fork into a apple slice "I just want to put it out there that I never believed in Elrich's act. I mean no man of the cloth will readily accept a noble title, being a monk and a noble are two contradicting things"
Qaya shrugged and continued reading. As she heard Marie and Jaslin chatting, she smiled contently. Being back with her family gave her incredible peace of mind and joy.
The previous evening she had come home with gifts that Jaslin jokingly referred to as peace offerings.
At first it was awkward, but Marie rushed and embraced her daughter and they cried for so long, that when they stopped crying, their eyes were puffy and they had headaches. When things settled down, Qaya narrated the whole ordeal and apologized to her mother.
Marie was happy to have her daughter back in her arms and begged that Qaya stayed for as long as possible.
While this was the case with Marie, Dylan was still yet to come around and this confounded Qaya the more. In her mind, this whole time, she thought that her mother was in the most pain over the matter, and while that might have been the case, she now understood that her father must also have been hurt and felt incapacitated even though she didn't insult him. Marie also confirmed this when she confessed to having an argument with Dylan, apparently it was so bad that they've not spoken since then.
Marie tapped Qaya and fed her an apple slice
"how are the preparations for your mock exam?"
Qaya winced "I'm trying my best"
"don't worry you'll do well, I know you"
Qaya smiled and dropped her book and hugged her mother "I'm so sorry for being such a fool"
"are we really doing this again?" Jaslin and Marie chorused.
***
"Madame Rachel this isn't fair, all my answers were objectively correct" Qaya groaned as she saw her mock exam scores "this is mediocre"
"yes, it IS mediocre. I want you to be the best student in the exams because you are my student. So giving answers that anywho gives is not what I want for you. You must shine"
Qaya put her exam answers away and flipped through some case files " I like you I really do but only when you're not my teacher"
Rachel smiled "that's natural"
"so what must I do to give answers that, in your words, shine?"
"go the extra mile, after giving the objective answer look at it critically and subjectively. You can even rebuke the subject but only the best of the best can do such and get away with it"
Qaya nodded and quickly took notes.
"don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to improve next week when you have your second mock exam"
This time Qaya sighed "I'm not even going contest anything"
"you do know that Awin sent his men to get you" the mood became tense as Qaya's expression soured.
"Unless, they plan on knocking me unconscious and transporting me there, I won't be setting foot there anytime soon."
"and why is that?"
"is that even a question? Also I know Awin, he's a roach, a parasite. He just doesn't give up, he's probably brewing another scheme. As much as I know that I can no longer escape him, I also want to delay it. These past few days have been the best in a long time. I just want to enjoy the calm before the storm"
***
Rivan drily inspected the documents before him. After a long while, he sighed "why are you even here?"
Jaslin smiled sheepishly "nothing really, I just wanted to help, you have your own work and following this whole scandal, I imagine there's a huge backlog of work to clear but you're still helping my cousin, so this is me offering an helping hand"
"well, I don't need any help"
"I can see that, I'm beginning to think you're some extra terrestrial being because your work speed is not human"
"I assure you, there's nothing of the sort" he replied seriously and this greatly amused Jaslin, did he really think she was being serious with that comment?
"I'll believe you, if you rest. If not,then I'll run to the Galilean sanctuary to exorcise you"
Rivan laughed and got up, "let's go for a walk then"
"so your idea of rest is exercise"
Somehow, their walk led them to the town hub and they sat down, parched.
Jaslin panted "it's confirmed, you're a monster. Is this your idea of a walk? I don't think I can walk back, we'll have to charter a carriage"
Rivan absent mindedly nodded at her suggestion. Something caught his eye, rather someone caught his eye.
Melinda's small figure was distinguishable to him, she was walking into an alley and she had a cigar in hand. He didn't know why but he followed her. He was worried for his friend, she didn't normally smoke and she'd said that she was repulsed by men who did. What happened to this girl that would make her do something she hated or was everything all a lie?
He didn't know when he had followed her right to the alley. She turned back and looked at him expressionlessly.
"you don't know when to stop, do you?" She looked angry
"I'm sorry—" he tried his best to not let his embarrassment get the best of him.
"Rivan you need to stop with this obsession with me and the idea that I'm some angel, I am human"
Rivan understood what she meant but the transformation that she went through made him out of sorts. The girl he had fallen in love with, now seemed like a figment of his imagination, like she never existed in the first place and while he knew that, that wasn't the case and that Melinda was indeed a kind person. He still couldn't refute that the hateful and messed up person before him was Melinda's new reality and that hurt.
"I really apologize for inconveniencing you, I followed you out of habit. I noticed you weren't happy like you needed comfort..." He hesitated "is anything the matter?"
"are you going to act like you don't know. Ugh Nobles" she spat
Rivan had a rough idea on why she was in a foul mood. Awin had scrapped the Harbinger, it no longer existed and Melinda was removed from the position of information minister.
Normally, he would have reminded her that she was someone who didn't let circumstances define her but he now understood her and he decided to let her live as she deemed fit.
"You must be happy seeing me in this state. You must feel good about yourself knowing I'll never be like you. I've always been a commoner and you'll always be a noble regardless of if we're stripped of our possessions" Melinda continued her rant
"what's going on here?" This was Jaslin
"Qaya's lapdog is here too"
"I don't blame you. You speak this way because you haven't been taught familial bonds and you'll never understand the bond between family members" Jaslin snapped back. She then turned to Rivan and tugged at his palm, holding him. "Hey monster, I found us a carriage and even bought some roast pork, we'll enjoy it on the ride home"
Rivan nodded and took the bag from Jaslin and followed her back but not without stealing a glance at Melinda.
***
The palace guards and soldiers were sweating bullets as they watched the sparring match before them. The past week, the king had been in a awful mood and just straight up became a terrorist. Every morning he will challenge them to a one on one sparring match and thrash them and he would not stop until there was no one to beat. And today was no different.
The painful thing was the fact that a great number of them could easily overpower him but because of his station and the fact that he previously ordered that a soldier be executed under the charge of treason for beating him in a sparring match meant that they couldn't win and just had to endure the thrashing.
"next!" He called out as his opponent fell to the ground tired. No one answered.
"cowards" he spat.
Bernard walked in and whispered into the King's ear. Awin grinned widely "took him long enough, let him in"
Bernard nodded and signalled to the guard at the gate, who led Zachary in?
"you're finally here?"
"forgive me, I had to visit my father, he demanded it"
"and what did you get up to back at home?"
"nothing really, he offered to give me back the title of crown prince but I refused"
"I had no idea your loyalty to me was that strong"
"it isn't" Zachary replied flatly "I just didn't want the title"
Awin stared at Zachary for a while, covertly inspecting his expression and body language. He sighed. "I'm done here anyway, let's go to my office. You have a lot of work to do, while Bernard is highly efficient, I couldn't let him do the work of two people"
"I see" Zachary replied uninterestedly "your highness, I noticed that the lady is not here, when do you think she'll arrive"
"Qaya? That one? She's not been home for over a week. Anytime, I send for her to return, she says something along the lines of 'over my dead body' or suggesting we kidnap her. I don't think she'll come of her own volition"
Zachary nodded in understanding, he tried his best to hide his disappointment. He already had so much work on his arrival, Awin wouldn't just let him go and visit her without raising an eyebrow. So he wouldn't even get to see her, when she was all he yearned for.
"Zachary!!" A voice called and the utterer ran in, it was Qaya, she looked glad and not only that but she gave him a tight hug.
"I heard from a maid that she saw entering town, so I came to see you"
Zachary was fighting to keep a straight face and not hug her back "I am glad you accorded me this honour" was all he could manage to say.
Qaya released him from her embrace, only to be met by Awin's gaze. The man looked shocked, angry, betrayed and flabbergasted all at the same time.