𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻.

王国

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    After the gala had ended and the nobility had left in a few days' time, the castle settled down and was no longer in a frenzied state of mind, (Y/N) now able to complete her chores with more time to work with. Unfortunately, there were days where she was given almost impossible tasks handpicked by Duran himself.

    She cursed him those times.

    But sometimes, the only thing she had to do was bathe Ronan, and then she'd be free to do whatever she liked the rest of the day.

    That day was one of them.

    Petting Ronan gently behind the ears after his bath, his fur a little damp but still soft, (Y/N) smiled when seeing that he had grown used to her presence and was no longer whimpering from her touch. He seemed to respect her more than anything, and only ever groveled it seemed when she snapped at him for something, surely recalling the time where she had easily cut off his oxygen supply.

    Ronan didn't want such a thing to ever happen again, so he behaved.

    After clipping his leash back on and handing him over to his new handler—having forced Ronan to not snap nor growl like he used to do to his old handler—she stretched and cracked her neck before walking down the halls toward the library, snagging a book, and then moving towards the garden. Whenever she had free time, she would naturally gravitate towards the beautifully maintained plots of land, usually sitting near the fountain with water that glistened in the afternoon sun. It was a source of comfort for her, because as she allowed herself to travel within the realm of the book she was reading, it gave her time away from the reality of her situation.

    A reality she would never be able to escape.

    And that day, as she stared at the fountain which continued to stream jets of water towards the sky, her mind seemed to want to constantly remind her of what she wanted to forget.

    It was unpleasant.

    But with the sound of heavy footsteps drawing near, she immediate snapped her neck in the direction of whoever it was that was approaching, her gaze sharp and her muscles tense, as if ready to fight for something which even she herself did not know of. However, all that greeted her was a lone guard with a familiar mask of iron that gave off nothing but a blank slate.

    They merely stared at her.

    Working her jaw, allowing herself to relax ever so slightly, (Y/N) stared back at the guard.

    And then she found them familiar.

    It's... that guard.

    That man.

    The one from that night.

    "It seems we've run into each other again, sir," she greeted him with respect and a brief nod of her head, standing so she would no longer feel so vulnerable in his presence.

    "...It seems we have," he stated after a moment, his voice low and deep—even deeper than Duran's.

    "I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?" (Y/N) hummed as she placed a hand to her chest. "I apologize. I am (Y/N)(L/N), a war prisoner from the fallen nation of Ushien, and current maid to His Majesty. Might I inquire your name?"

    "...Zenon. Zenon Elioud," he answered simply.

    "It is nice to make your acquaintance, Sir Elioud," she gave him a brief smile.

    He nodded.

    They continued to stare at each other.

    But Zenon then looked to the book that was forgotten on the cream-colored cement bench, his armor creaking with the action and making (Y/N) too shift her gaze to where he was obviously looking. He seemed interested in the book, as if he hadn't ever seen one before.

    "Do you like to read?" She asked, gesturing to the leather bound volume behind her.

    "I've... never had the chance," he stated truthfully, a statement that thoroughly surprised her. "I was only read to once by my mother. My earliest memory. And then... all I did was train to serve my King. Reading... and writing..."

    He didn't continue.

    (Y/N) didn't force him to.

    "If you like, would you want me to teach you a few words?" She instead asked, knowing that enjoying a book alone was nice, but to share it with someone else was even better.

    "You would... do that?" Zenon was taken aback by her offer, however nodded.

    "Of course."

    "Then, I would like that."

    As the two sat down, Zenon reassuring her that he was off duty and would not get in trouble, (Y/N) opened the book and started to instruct him on which words were which, the alphabet, and how sentence structures worked. He seemed to be overwhelmed at first, but steadily got the hang off it soon enough, able to read a few sentences in a bit of broken way. Unfortunately, all too soon was Zenon called back to his post.

    "Will I be able to see you again?" He asked with a tilt of his head, no longer as intimidating as he was before.

    "I often come here around this time when I am given breaks," she smiled—a genuine smile.

    "Then I will wait here everyday for you," he answered back, his tone serious and not one that showed he was merely joking. "I would like to learn more from you, Miss (L/N)."

    "Just (Y/N) is fine."

    "Until next time... Miss (Y/N)."

    And with that, Zenon vanished, as if he hadn't even been there in the first place.

    (Y/N) smiled, amused by this rather soft-hearted and kind guard who at first looked so threatening, his aura alone having alerted her senses to danger. However, her eyes widened when she turned only to be met with the wide eyes of Mari, her skin having turned a rather pale shade that made even her concern for the girl grow.

    "Mari? What's wrong?"

    "'What's wrong?'" She quoted, letting out a disbelieving scoff as she ran her hand through her long blonde hair. "Don't you know who that was!?"

    "No, who?"

    "That's Zenon Elioud! Captain of His Majesty's personal guard! You can tell by the golden sash that he wears compared to the others who wear red! He's the most ruthless man only second to His Majesty in Ophnelia!" She gripped (Y/N)'s shoulders in a tight constraint, the girl now understanding why she seemed so scared for her. "It was said he murdered ten men in cold blood just for so much as daring to speak ill of the King! You shouldn't affiliate yourself with a person like that!"

    "Maybe..." (Y/N) glanced to where he had gone. "But he didn't seem so bad..."

    No...

    Not bad at all...

⎡ 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 ⎦