The morning began as usual, with dark, gloomy clouds filling the sky. It had rained from the early hours until just a few minutes ago. Elysia did not get up to freshen up until eight.
Her governess arrived quite early which had surprised her because of the sour weather. Helena brought her breakfast in her bed because she was too tired to go to the dining room. They had a little discussion before she fixed her hair and was ready to begin her day.
She walked into the writing room and greeted her governess who was in a good mood, a broad smile stretched across her thin lips. "You are quite early this morning, I hope you were not disturbed by the rain," she questioned taking her seat close to the woman.
"Yes I am, I was not disturbed. I also brought an umbrella with me in case it begins to rain again," the governess replied.
"Very well then, I do have a question Miss Rebecca. Nothing personal though." Elysia stated.
"You can ask me anything? I would not mind." Rebecca said replied, smiling.
"I wanted to know if you attended a festival recently,"
Rebecca's brow furrowed, her eyes narrowing at Elysia. "No I have not, I have not traveled for quite a while, is there a reason you ask?"
"It is nothing serious, I do wish I could attend the festival. I wondered if you got to see it—I was hoping you would tell me all about it, every detail," Elysia replied, choosing her words carefully to avoid raising any suspicion.
She smiled, "Oh, I see. I would have loved to give you the details if I went, but unfortunately I did not."
"Yes, perhaps another time." Elysia replied.
The lesson continued as usual, with Rebecca teaching Elysia about new vocabularies, how to pronounce and spell them. It was a long and stressful hours of learning, and Elysia could not be happier when it ended.
On their way out, Elysia was cursed with the presence of the Duke. Dargan walked past her without giving her even a glance and Elysia was grateful, she did not have the strength to quarrel or argue with the man.
"Who is that man?" Rebecca asked, her voice low as she moved closer to Elysia
A sigh escaped her lips, "That is the Duke Dargan, he is an acquaintance of the King," she replied, clearly not interested in speaking about Dargan.
"Ah, I see. You did not even glance at each other or pass a greeting, do you not like him?" She questioned.
"It is not that I do not like him..well, I do not like him. He is a proud man and for some reasons, he likes to make my life miserable with constant insults and disrespect which I can not stand," Elysia explained, pushing a few strands of hair away from her face.
"Hmm, do you have any idea why he is that way to you?"
"I wish I do, but I have no idea. I just feel his hatred and distaste towards me even when he looks at me, and I am not the only one who noticed his bad attitude. The King is also not fond of him, I think he barely tolerates him." Elysia pressed her lips into a thin line waiting for her governess to respond.
"It is sad that you had to go through all that. He is probably a self absorbed man who thinks he is better than others. I am sure he insults you because he is trying to feed into his fragile ego." Rebecca stated, placing a hand on her arm.
"Well, I guess so. Just try to avoid his path while he stays in the palace, I would not want you to be a subject to his raging temper." The lady advised, trying to save her governess from the man's wrath.
A light chuckle escaped Rebecca's lips, "I would not dare my Lady and if he does crosses my path unfortunately, I do know how to handle him." Elysia laughed at her words.
---
A guard announced to Azreal that Dargan required an audience with him. It took a few minutes for him to reply and ask the guard to let him in. The Duke walked into the room, his average built and height lingered at the door frame before he made his way towards where Azreal sat.
"Good afternoon Your Majesty, I will be returning to my home tomorrow morning. I think I am done with my affairs here," His voice calm and cold, his eyes fixed on Azreal who was busy writing something on a paper. The thickening silence filling the room.
Azreal finally lifted his head, staring at Dargan with dark eyes. His face held no warmth. "Very well, but before you leave you will have to escort my guards to the Lakewood. I want you to give this..." He pushed a parchment forward, "...to the bailiff."
Dargan's jaw clenched tight, he was going to be meeting with his master tomorrow night, he had no time for silly deliveries like this. "I believe there is another person who can handle this task Your Majesty, I am-"
"Are you defying my orders Dargan?" Azreal's eyes narrowed at him, the darkness on his face sending shivers through the room.
Dargan swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking, carefully choosing his next words, "I am not Your Majesty, I am only saying that someone else can handle that task. I have to be home before nightfall Your Majesty, it is very important."
"More important than my task? You really have grown bolder Dargan. How interesting," His voice was filled with venom and anger. Gold flickering in his black eyes.
"No... I would have-"
Azreal leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the chair. "Tell me what is so important Dargan? I would like to know."
Dargan swallowed for the second time, "I... I will be meeting up with somebody Your Majesty." He replied, trying to keep his voice firm.
"Somebody? Doesn't this 'somebody' have a name Dargan?"
"I... I-" Fuck! He was stuck in a deep hole with Azreal's eyes burning holes in his head. He had not expected this conversation to move in this direction. Dargan swallowed in defeat, he would not win against the King. "I will go Your Majesty," he stretched his hand to reach for the parchment, but his eyes nearly popped out of his socket when Azreal dug his claws into his hand.
With burning eyes, Azreal leaned closer to the man in groaning pain, "This is a simple reminder to never let this happen again, do we understand each other Duke?" The darkness and calmness of his voice made Dargan nod his head, his eyes shifting to his bleeding hand. "Good, now get out." He pulled out his claws and watched the man scramble out of his study nursing his bleeding hand.