To Bewitch a Devil

“Oh, our chatterboxes are finally going home; tsk tsk. ” Lyra commented, chuckling a little.

Everyone knew how much they spent gossiping and talking about others, it was a relief that they were finally gone.

“And you of all people know what happens to those who are quick to talk.”

Jasmine said and Lyra shot her a glare.

Kitana stood by the side as she watched them walk away. Seeing Alicia and Daphne off was the last thing on her mind, she had not slept a second, thinking about how to get rid of that girl.

Her eyes scanned the Princesses standing with her as she thought of who to confide in. Jasmine was all too righteous, she couldn’t ask her of something like that, she might even go to the king.

Kitana’s eyes fell on Lyra and then she smiled. She was the perfect person to ask, she was ambitious and also did not like the girl.

...

.....

Princess Lyra walked towards her chambers when she suddenly heard Kitana’s voice call from behind her.

Lyra turned in surprise, wondering why she was looking for her.

Kitana walked to where she was standing, a smile stretching her lips;

“Do you have a moment? I want to talk to you.” She said and Lyra stared at her weirdly;

What did a whole Kitana have to tell her, that she came to her chambers?

“Okay, let’s go in.” She said and pushed her door open, letting Kitana inside and locking it right after.

“What is so important that you came to look for me?” She joked as Kitana paced about the room, biting on her index finger.

When Lyra saw the look on her face, she got concerned, for Kitana to be this serious, it must be really important.

“What’s wrong? Did anything happen?”

“That girl... ”

“Which girl?” Lyra asked, looking at her in confusion.

“Neera... the girl who looks like Lilah, the king is falling for her. No. Zavian has fallen in love with her and I think we are just wasting our time.”

Lyra blinked when she heard her;

“How do you know that? It’s not possible...”

Kitana laughed lightly, as she shook her head;

“Did you know that the king did not return to the Castle yesterday? He had slept outside, and guess who he was with? Neera. The both of them slept outside the Castle and he had carried her back on his horse.

The king had carried a mere slave girl on his royal horse, I’m sure I shouldn’t tell you what that means.”

Lyra panicked as she bit her lower lip, her eyes looking about, as she thought quietly;

“But he cannot choose her as queen unless he’s calling for a war.”

“Oh really? Do you think Zavian would let someone who looks exactly like Lilah be a mere

concubine? Is that what you think?”

Kitana asked and Lyra kept quiet, realization dawning on her; she laughed as she walked to her vanity, and leaned on it;

“There would be a war if he does that, the dukes would not take it lightly...”

“Does Zavian seem like someone who would lose a war? The dukes can fight but they would lose. Their armies combined can’t face a third of Zavian’s forces and you know that. He was wise enough to make sure none of the kingdoms will pose a serious threat in times like this, and some of the armies are infiltrated by his men, so when the time comes, they’ll pledge allegiance to him.”

Lyra grew concerned now; “So you’re saying that we are just wasting our time?”

“Yes. We are. But there’s a way out.” At Kitana’s words, Lyra’s eyes lit up and she asked;

“What are we going to do?”

There was a long pause before Kitana spoke;

“We have to kill the girl.”

Lyra’s eyes widened at her words and she stared at her in surprise;

“What? The king would slice our necks... ”

“That’s if he finds out that we are the ones, and by the time he finds out she’s already dead and there’s nothing he can do about it. It’s just like crying over spilled milk, there’s nothing he can do.”

Lyra was skeptical about it, the last thing she wanted to do was get on Zavian’s bad side, but they couldn’t just sit put and do nothing.

“How are we going to do that without the king knowing? She lives in his chambers so it’s almost impossible, how do we get her out?”

Lyra asked, and Kitana breathed; “That’s the most important part, killing her is nothing, we just need to take her out of the castle and the rest is simple.”

Lyra folded her hands as she thought for a moment, “I’ll come to see you later, let me think about it for a while.” She said; this was not something they could decide immediately. She needed to think carefully, so they would not be caught.

“That is fine, you know where to find me,” Kitana said with a smile, and then she walked out of the room.

Kitana smiled as she walked back to her chambers, she knew Lyra would be easy to control. All she needed to do was make sure she took the fall if Zavian ever found out about it.

That way, she had killed two birds with one stone, the useless good-for-nothing slave and Lyra. An evil grin stretched her lips as she walked back to her chambers.

...

Axel walked to the door and pulled it open only to see his angry sister stomping inside.

“What’s the problem?” He asked as he watched her go inside and turn to him with an angry frown;

“The only thing I asked of you, you didn’t do, brother.” She spoke, folding her hands in front of her.

Axel was confused for a second; “What have I done?”

“Neera, didn’t I ask you to make her yours? Why is the king spending a day with her outside the castle, alone, and coming back with her riding on his horse?”

Axel pinched his brows as he walked to his couch and sat down; picking an apple from the plate in front of him, he took a bite. He had seen the both of them return to the Castle.

After what happened that day, Zavian had tightened his security and especially made sure that he wouldn’t be able to come into his chambers.

He couldn’t come close to her, and he just prayed she would leave the king’s chambers so he would see her.

But when he had seen them that morning, he knew that they were more than just king and subject. The way Zavian had held her and stared at her so fondly; he knew he was fighting a lost battle.

The only way he could be with her was if she wanted to be with him, but it did not feel like so.

When Lyra saw that he was keeping quiet, she frowned;

“You saw them? Hell, what have you been doing since?” She blared angrily;

“I cannot force her to be with me, if she chooses the king, then that’s it, I’ll give up.”

“Then what about me? What happens to me? What am I doing here then?”

“She’ll probably be his concubine, he won’t go to war because of a woman, so concentrate on this competition and be queen first.”

Lyra burst out laughing; “do you even know the gravity of what is happening? What makes you think Zavian will make Lilah a concubine?”

“But she’s not Lilah,”

“What makes you think that Zavian sees them as two different women? He’s been mourning her for centuries and this girl appears and he falls for her in months and you think it’s normal?”

“Lyra... you’re just overthinking things, just keep calm and concentrate on the competition, or can you do anything about it?”

“I’ll write to father.” Lyra fumed angrily.

“Really? Do you want to bring the dukes into this when nothing has happened yet? You know that’s an automatic disqualification right?”

Lyra fumed as she stared daggers at her brother, turning angrily, she stomped out of the room.

Axel was no use. The only choice was to do what Kitana suggested.

...

Pen peeked her eyes out of the room as she looked at the surrounding. She had been inside all day and she was tired of lying in a place. She had not seen what Azriel’s estate looked like, so she stepped out to look around.

She passed by a few maids as she walked past and they stared at her before walking by.

His estate was large and maids and servants walked about in their uniforms different from that of those that worked in the Castle. The air was calm and she could see some servants playing about. The place looked welcoming and she didn’t have the tightening feeling she felt whenever she was in the castle.

Pen had a smile on her face as she walked about, admiring the view. She walked a while when she decided to go back inside in case Azriel came looking for her.

But just as she decided, she saw an orchard a little far off and she decided to check it out.

The garden was big and she could hear the chirping of birds. The garden was in sections, and the flowers were lawned. Her eyes sighted a sitting area and she walked to it.

As she approached, she overheard people talking and she quickly turned around to leave but then she stopped walking; the voice sounded familiar so she waited for a second and then turned around.

.....