Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Eren laid on his back while staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t remember the last time he slept in that house, probably never, he sighed as he caressed the arm of the naked girl laying next to him, also awake and thinking…

Eren knew Geraldine was upset, he knew she couldn’t understand why was he treating the silver haired girl the way he was, truth is, he didn’t understand why either, he convinced himself it is all a part of his plan, that she was only the final pawn in his chess board, but a small part in the back of his mind scoffed at him mockingly, telling him he wasn’t fooling anyone…

“Why did you hug her?”  he heard her ask in a quite voice, unlike Sara’s, Geraldine’s voice was always confident even when low, it was a reflection for the kind of woman she was, strong and reliable and he loved that about her for he was never a fan of weaklings.

“You already know, Gera…”, he sighed tiredly, he knew that hug was indeed over the board but he couldn’t stop himself from hugging the girl in that moment, it was almost involuntarily how his arms moved to pull her into his embrace, however, he couldn’t let Geraldine know that as he knew she would snap the girl’s neck without a second thought, it wasn’t her first time doing it after all, her jealousy was annoying and right now, he needed both girl’s alive and couldn’t afford to lose any.

“I want to hear you say it.”

“I need her to trust me, wholeheartedly…”, Eren said, slightly getting irritated, he didn’t like being questioned by anyone, not even Geraldine herself, and definitely not for a stupid reason such as her jealousy.

“I don’t understand why won’t you just kill her already”, she sat up, obviously angry, looking at her for few seconds he sat up as well, placing a hand in her black curls, grabbing a fistful of her hair  in a non-painful grip, he tilted it to the side to expose her long neck.

“You know better that I don’t like being interrupted, nor questioned” he said while brushing his lips over her neck, not stopping to kiss her and not needing to as he felt her body react to his touch…”she is of no use to us if she died, we need her alive for now…”

“Then why won’t you lock her up in a cell?” she said while moving her body to straddle his, she loved that position a lot, it was so intimate, his face was close to hers and she could kiss him and look him in the eye while he was inside her, she loved to see the satisfaction and pleasure she provided written all over his face, she loved him, since they were young, even though she knew he didn’t feel the same…

“I don’t want to take any risks before the right time comes, for all we know, anything can happen, let us just play our cards safely for now …” he said while taking her lips, partially because he didn’t have any patient left to hear another word, thinking about it for a while, he came to the conclusion that this was indeed the right thing to do, that weird sympathy he was having toward the girl wasn’t the reason why he was keeping her safe and unharmed so far, it was just his passive intuition, his good judgment telling him to play safe with Sara, and play naughty with his beautiful lustful Geraldine, who was already having her inner walls stretched by him while she moaned his name out loud…

Opening her eyes, Sara welcomed the sunrays with a wild smile, she was still feeling overwhelmed by yesterday’s events, waking up in Eren’s house, the new friend she made, the delicious dinner, the night sky, and that warm embrace, Sara hugged herself, remembering the feeling of being in her friend’s arms, not only she felt safe but also weirdly excited, in the same way she would be when reading about those steamy love scenes in her novels, Sara knew it was a mistake to be touched by a man, after all, she grew up among the priests and was always lectured about the importance of pureness and chastity, however, the feeling was too delicious to contain, like a sin, and sins were always described in the religious books as tempting and irresistible.

Standing up, Sara stretched like a kitten, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and walked towards it, the nightgown she was wearing was a beautiful piece that complemented her body, and unlike the discreet ones her father provided her with, this one was rather bold, with no sleeves and a wide neckline, the smoothness of the fabric as well as it sandy color made her appearance look more fluid and polished, Sara liked this bold appearance, it somehow filled her with feminine pride about her body, she no longer felt like a lass but a woman with charm, and didn’t feel that insecure compared to Geraldine, not as bad at least.

Smiling with satisfaction, Sara headed toward the bathroom but was stopped on her track by the melodious chirping outside her room, hesitating a little, she walked toward the balcony, the sun was already up and everything sounded so alive, looking up at the sky, she smiled as she remembered the sight of the night sky, of how beautiful the stars and the moon were, however, her smile faded as she remembered her conversation with Eren…

Sara prayed for her father to be okay as it was the only thing she could do, it was in those moment when she hated herself the most for being so powerless, her father was the only family she ever had and she loved him to death, to sit around with her hands tied while he was facing a possible deadly risk only fed her fears and concerns even further…

Shaking her head, Sara told herself to not think so negatively, remembering Eren’s words, she was reassured, her good friend was going to help her as he promised, he already gathered so many valuable information in a span of hours, even though she couldn’t do anything herself she was still able to rely on him and she believed in his ability to save her father.

Holding on to that thought, Sara walked back inside the room, choosing one of the beautiful dresses which where left in her room by Geraldine, Sara walked to the bathroom and quickly washed her body, putting on the dress, she walked back to the big mirror to see how it looked on her.

As expected, the dress Geraldine chose was very classy, a beautiful combination between white and nude, running her fingers on her hair, Sara noticed that her face didn’t look as terrifying as yesterday, the black circles were completely gone and so were that sickening paleness, her face looked as healthy as ever and she was grateful for that..

Hesitating a little before opening one of the drawers of her dressing table, Sara took out the little box and applies some of it content on her lips, it wasn’t the same bright red like the one Geraldine was wearing last night but a beautiful shade of pink, finishing her preparations with a touch of perfume, she smiled in satisfaction before leaving the room.

All Sara saw in that house was her room and the corridor that lead to Eren’s study, judging by the height of her balcony as well as Eren’s patio, she knew they were on the second floor, deciding to take stroll, she walked like a cat on the corridors before she was met with big stairs that lead her straight to the official lobby, admiring the luxurious design and choice of furniture, she walked to a double door on the side only to find out it lead to the kitchen…

Sara couldn’t help but notice that there was absolutely no one else in the house, she thought she would at least meet some maids or a butler, the residences her father took her to all had at least two male servants, remembering what Eren said about coming to this house to enjoy some calm isolation, she brushed off that thought and headed to the stool.

Finding some ingredients, Sara started cooking while humming a song that her father used to sing for her when she was too young, it was one about the great war that took place thousands of years ago between the humans, lead by Edard Yoren the first and the night creatures who revolted against the Gods, too lost in her thoughts, she didn’t pay attention to the person who walked behind her until she heard him clear his throat..

“Eren...”, she exclaimed happily, the sight of her friend’s smiling face was more than enough to brighten up her mood, walking closer to where she was, he took a glance at what she was preparing before looking back at her with raised brows

“You are up early, my faire lady, but you do know you don’t have to trouble yourself with anything here, you should rest more…”

“I am perfectly fine Eren, thank you, and I thought I might prepare us breakfast, there are no maids here anyway…”

“That is because they have their own residence not a mile away, they come here to cook and clean then leave directly as they know I prefer some solitude, If you waited a bit more you would have met them, my fair lady, you are my dear guest, please don’t trouble yourself with anything”, Smiling down at her while listening to her retort, he took the time to observe her, she was getting prettier each day, the summer dress looked perfect on her body, her lips had more color to them and looked like the ideal breakfast to start the day, her face radiated with life, it was indeed surprising, he expected she would take at least three days to regain her consciousness only after being exposed to the cold rain, however, her body healed almost miraculously, and her smell…

“Did you change your perfume?”, he asked while helping her place the plates on the kitchen table.

“I did.”

“Red roses?” seeing her nod with that adorable smile and blush, he nodded approvingly, however, he couldn’t help but think that he liked her usual scent as it suited her better, the one made of white jasmines.

“So, did you sleep well?”, seeing her hesitate a little before nodding, he frowned before asking her what was troubling her.

“I just kept on thinking about father, and those nightmares I keep having, and, I think I was imagining but I think I heard a woman’s pained voice during the night.”

“What nightmares?”, Eren already expected she would be thinking about her father, the voices she thought she imagined were actually Geraldine’s moans, however, it was indeed strange how she could hear it from such a distance, especially since his room was soundproof, the nightmares she mentioned though really caught his attention as she seemed really troubled by them.

“I keep seeing this woman, in my dreams, she looks like me but she isn’t me, not really, not always, each time I see her she…paralyses me and kind of takes control of my body, the closer I get to her the closer I feel to death, I always wake up out of breath from those nightmare, they are so painful, and she really scares me…” , Eren stared at her eyes, and indeed fear was evident in them, however, he couldn’t worry about that as he was concerned about another much more important matter…

The dull pain was no longer dull as it grew into an excruciating one, dragging the king out of his troubled sleep, he groaned, unable to hold it back within him, opening his eyes, he was met with darkness.

“Water…”, King Edard said the first word in his mind, his body needed water, he didn’t think he would be given any but a hand emerged from the darkness to give him a bottle, too tired to grab in on his own, the person sitting next to him sighed before helping him drink…

Once satisfied, the king started to observe his surroundings, the water tasted weird but it instantly reduced the unbearable pain in his leg, it was then when he noticed the motion, and realized he was inside a moving carriage.

Alarmed, the king sat up directly, causing a new wave of pain to hit him, ignoring it, he focused on the silhouette sitting opposite to him with a dagger in hand, and even while wrapped in black clothes and darkness, he was able to recognize the red curls of his wife.

“You…”, the king spat angrily, ready to jump on the woman’s throat, however,he was stopped by the thick chain and the excruciating pain, the Queen didn’t hesitate to raise her dagger as well, an obvious warning that she was going to fight back…

“I wouldn’t recommend making any sudden moves; you already lost enough blood…”

Not understanding what the wrench was talking about, the king followed her line of sight and looked down at himself only for his eyes to widen in horror, he blinked few times, refusing to believe what his eyes saw, or more accurately, didn’t see…

His right leg....