To Bewitch a Devil

She looked at Jasmine’s tray, and her meat was already set and she had put out her fire.

Zelda finished a little while ago and covered her tray with a fine cloth so she could not see the contents.

Lyra looked down at her plate and she knew she was not winning, but at least she wasn’t going to come last.

As Lady Beatrice walked from table to table, she looked up at the king, and an evil smile stretched her lips.

Even if she wasn’t going to win, she was satisfied, at least she had gotten rid of that girl. The assassins had told her that the girl was dead and the king would soon find her body, so she was just waiting for the news to be announced.

Oh poor thing! She thought. If she hadn’t come to the castle, maybe she would be alive. Just maybe.

As Lady Beatrice approached her table, Lyra saw a guard walk up to the King and whisper something into his ear. Zavian jumped to his feet almost immediately and walked away, not even waiting for the meat to be brought to him for tasting.

A wave of murmur rippled through the crowd as they watched the king leave like something dire just happened.

.....

Lyra caught Kitana’s eyes, and she smiled and nodded. It must be that her body had been found. She thought as she gave Kitana a nod, as though telling her not to worry.

...

Neera didn’t sleep a second through the night. Her eyes refused to close as she listened to the creaking crickets and coachroaches running around in the cell.

She had prayed for a miracle, and when nothing happened, she prayed for death. It was better she died that be used by these hideous criminals. The thought of them touching her nauseated her soul.

She had dreamt about Zavian coming to save her, but when morning came, she was woken up from her delusion.

There was no way Zavian was coming for her. Her could not leave his kingdom to save a mere maid. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t do so in front of everyone. That would seal the rumors that he was in love with her, and he couldn’t risk that. She didn’t want him to risk himself like that.

When she heard the cock crow in the wee hours of the morning, Neera finally accepted her fate.

She would die here, in a miserable way. What better ending to such an ill fated life?

When the sun rose in the sky, Neera didn’t pray anymore. She just lay still as she waited for the men to come and kill her.

Even though she had prepared herself to die, she was still scared. Her heart banged against her chest as she peeked at the door severally as she anticipated it to open anytime soon.

Finally, there was a creaking on the door and two of the men walked in.

They didn’t cover their faces, so Neera could see them clearly now.

“Tsk, Tsk, I can’t believe that the king would let you die like this. Seems you weren’t important to him after all?”

The first one commented and the second one laughed.

“Should we kill her now or wait till the sun is down?” The second one asked and the first smiled and walked to her.

“Mm, the evenings would be better, so we can dispose of her corpse easily.”

Tears clouded Neera’s eyes as she watched the men make jokes of her before they walked out the door and shut it.

She slumped to the ground, as she wept silently, biting her lower lip.

So this was how she was going to die?

Neera didn’t know how long she lay there crying, and coupled with fatigue and hunger, her eyes became dizzy and she slept off.

She didn’t know how long she slept when suddenly she heard a loud bang which was followed by heavy thuds and then screams.

Neera sat up in a flash as her heart Belanger against her chest, all sleep vanishing from her eyes.

She could hear the commotion and people fighting from where she sat.

Fear pumped through her veins. The screams and shouts kept rising, and soon, there were footsteps thundering down towards the door of the room she was in.

No. No, please, no.

Whatever that sounded like, she didn’t want it anywhere near her.

The door swung open with a loud bang, shaking her to her core. When Neera saw the person in front of her, she dare not believe he was actually in front of her. The imaginations that had been keeping her afloat for days in that horrid cell must have crossed the line separating what was real and what wasn’t, for before her in what seemed to be reality, stood no one but Zavian.

“Neera.” She heard him call as he rushed towards her. His hands cupped her face and ran down both her arms until he reached her bound wrists. She heard the loud curse; the King was truly there with her. His hands, his voice, his entire presence, it was real. She was not dreaming it.

The tears that had seemed to dry up found their way in torrents down her cheeks. She choked on them as Zavian cradled her face, and pulled her to himself. His scent felt like home.

“It’s okay”, he consoled. “It’s okay, I am here now. I am here, Neera.”

He began giving orders to someone behind him. The next thing she knew, her body lifted from the ground. Her limbs hung loosely in his arms, and she could barely feel them.

Zavian mounted her carefully onto his carriage and Neera fell weakly on it, he got on after her and held her close to him. For a moment, she thought she was still dreaming, but when she felt his heartbeat close to her head, and the soothing words of Zavian as he cradled her, assuring her everything will be alright, Neera knew this was not a dream.

Zavian, he had really come for her. He had come to save her.

As she drifted away in sleep, she saw something. She must be dreaming, or maybe not, for right there in her line of vision, she saw a black vulture birthed from her imagination. It was death in the flesh, and it was looking straight at her. It looked like it was smiling at her, and as the carriage sped on, the vulture flew away, and Neera watched it until it disappeared into the sky.

After that, her entire world became black.