Chapter 13
A za woke up a sweaty mess. Nightmares had haunted her every time she tried to rest. She tried to sleep through the night, but eventually she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to get up.
She made her way out of the bedroom and into the small entryway room.
On the small table sat a bundle of beautiful purple and white flowers.
Aza picked them up and sat on the small sofa. She inhaled the scent and smiled.
Aza heard a knock on the door, and she made her way over to open it. Jahar stood there. He must have risen early to be here already after taking the night off to rest as well.
“You found the flowers, good.”
“Were they from you?” Aza asked, surprise and a flicker of excitement entering her voice.
“What? Um… no. A young man brought them a little while ago, and said they were meant for the Princess.”
“Oh, so the King sent someone to bring me flowers then?” Aza asked.
“It would seem so.” Jahar pauses, “Maybe to make up for the rocky start to the visit.”
“Perhaps.” Aza dropped her arm holding the flowers in defeat, but then asked, “Did you need something?”
“Oh, right… a message also came for you.”
Jahar told her that King Abasi had invited her to lunch. One of his guards had stopped by her room and told Jahar that the King wanted the princess ready for lunch by the time the sun reached its peak in the sky. He added that she should dress her best.
The message struck Aza as demanding and controlling, telling her when to be ready and how to dress.
She was a princess and used to orders and expectations, but those belonged to her own kingdom, under her father’s rule.
Here, it felt wrong for a king she barely knew, in a kingdom she was only visiting, to be this bold and demanding.
He had shown hints of this behavior during her tour, but she had brushed them off, hoping she was overreacting.
Maybe she shouldn’t do that anymore. She made a mental note.
So here she was now, in her bathing room, drying herself off with a towel.
She moved from her body to her hair. Wrapping her hair in the towel, she reached into her bag for a hairbrush and her favorite skin cream.
She smoothed the cream over her face and collarbones before releasing her hair from the towel.
Though she was thankful for her naturally dark lashes and rosy, freckled cheeks, she took no further steps to enhance her face the way she might have on other occasions.
He would get the unvarnished version of her; she would not be told by a king she didn’t know that she needed to look her best. She took a few minutes to brush through her long curls before pinning a few stray pieces back from her face.
When she finished, she headed to the wardrobe, where the servants had placed the clothes they’d unpacked for her. She had insisted on doing it herself, but they would not take no for an answer.
She pulled out a simple purple dress. The sleeves stopped just below her elbows and were adorned with small lace flowers.
The square neckline sat higher on her chest, covering more than some of the other outfits she had packed.
She refused to show too much to this king before he’d had the chance to redeem himself.
Maybe it had been a miscommunication between him and his guard.
We’ll see.
The dress falls just above her ankles, so she chose closed sandals.
They are pearly white with little sparkles.
From her jewelry, she chose a simple pearl necklace, a bracelet, and matching earrings.
She reached for her floral perfume and sprayed it on herself.
Jahar had once told her she always smelled of sweet flowers and that seeing them reminded him of her.
She thought that he had probably let his thoughts slip too far in that moment because he quickly tried to change the subject with a cough.
Regardless, she chose her signature scent to appease him, even if he’d deny ever admitting he liked it.
Aza finished getting ready and headed to the front door, announcing that she was ready to leave.
One of Abasi’s guards was also waiting outside, ready to escort them to King Abasi’s private dining room.
He led them through corridor after corridor, turn after turn.
Aza thought that she didn’t want to be queen here just for the mere fact that she was certain that she would get lost every time she left her room. But, eventually, they made it.
Aza entered the dining room alongside Jahar and two of her other guards. King Abasi sat at the head of the table. He stood up as she entered the room and gestured for her to sit beside him. As she sat, Jahar pushed in her chair and then took his place behind her beside the other two guards.
“King Abasi, I would like to thank you for the flowers and for inviting me to lunch.” Aza tried to start the meeting off on a better note, hoping the uneasiness from yesterday would be smoothed out.
“Flowers?” King Abasi questioned.
Aza’s stomach flipped before she answered, "Someone brought me flowers today. I only assumed they were from you.”
He paused longer than Aza liked before answering, “Ah, yes, flowers. They must have brought them earlier than I planned.” Aza could tell he was trying to play it off.
“Right. Shall we?” Aza asks, wanting this conversation to end.
“Yes. You are all dismissed.” King Abasi announces.
Aza was caught off guard by the immediate dismissal, but she replied, “There’s no need to dismiss my guards. They are highly trained, they guard me regularly, and will be there silently while we eat.”
“We are simply having lunch, Princess. There is no need to have three guards staring us down while we do that. There is no threat to you here. Plus, we have some matters we should discuss.” Unease tightened through Aza at once.
“I agree that three guards may be excessive for lunch. I will send away two of them, but my most trusted guard stays. That is nonnegotiable. Anything that we discuss here will remain unspoken unless either of us decides otherwise.” Aza states, trying to compromise reasonably.
“Princess, I think you’ve forgotten whose kingdom you are currently in. I say that there is no need for guards here. Mine will leave as well.” King Abasi says, his tone thick with superiority, “Guards, please show these men the way out.”
Aza looked at King Abasi in disbelief, then at his guards, who were already motioning for hers to leave.
Jahar spoke as the King’s guards approached him, “The Princess stated that if you want her to have lunch with you, I am to remain.”
“I don’t remember permitting you to speak. Leave as I asked.”
The King’s guards reached for Jahar, but he pulled back, and Aza shot to her feet, “Do not touch him,” she warned, fury rolling off her in waves at the audacity of this king ordering her and her guards around.
Aza could feel Jahar’s protective presence behind her without even having to turn around. She continues to stare the King down. She saw confusion crease his brow, questions surfacing beneath it.
“I can see you two are very protective of each other. I am no threat to you here. But I understand it. He is nearly double your age. I can see how you would view him as a father figure, especially while you’re away from your own." he says in a smug tone.
Aza saw the bait for what it was and refused to show embarrassment, though she couldn’t help herself shooting back, "Yes, he’s a very good daddy.”
“Alas.” He says, acting bored, but Aza feels deep down that this is just to hide an angry outburst.
“We will all be taking our leave now,” Aza announces.
“But we haven’t even had lunch yet.”
“I’ve lost my appetite.” Aza didn’t wait for a reply before walking out with her guards in tow.
When they made it back to her room, Jahar entered with her while the other guards remained outside.
“What the fuck was that?” Aza blurted out.
“Language, Princess. Such dirty words falling off that pretty tongue.” Jahar tsked.
“This isn’t funny, Jahar. I have major concerns about this king.”
“I know it’s not funny. I was just trying to lighten the mood for a moment. But you’re right. I don’t like him, and he was definitely insinuating that something is going on between us, but there isn’t. This could be bad if he starts spreading rumors. It could jeopardize future marriage alliances.”
“What do we do? What should I do? I’ve severely pissed him off, and we just got here! We’re supposed to be here for a total of seven days! I don’t trust him, and he seems to have it out for you personally.” Panic starts to creep into Aza’s voice.
“Hey. Don’t get yourself all worked up. Everything will be okay.
I’d never let anything happen to you. As for what we do, we let him make the next move.
You don’t need to apologize. So either he tries, in his probably twisted way, to make it right, or we leave early.
I assume he’s overconfident because he’s king and wanted to prove his authority, then got offended when you refused to let him be the only man in the room.
It might still be a misunderstanding.” Jahar does his best to try to reassure Aza.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Typical royal trying to prove how big he thinks his dick is without actually whipping it out.”
“Princess!” Jahar shouts.
“What? You know I’m right.”
“I have no further comments.” He tries to hide a chuckle and then suggests, “Why don’t you take it easy today? Read one of the books you brought, and we’ll see how this plays out, okay?”
“Okay. I’m assuming that means you’re leaving me here alone while you go stand outside?”
“I think that’s for the best.”
“Very well.” Aza sighs, “I’ll see you again soon.”
“I’ll be right outside the door, Princess,” Jahar assured her, but Aza just waves him off with her hand as she makes her way to her bed.