To Bewitch a Devil

When he nestled in her chest, she had felt her nipples harden, and her body leaned towards him. She wanted to push him away but at the same time, she wanted to hug him close.

She knew he was bad luck, and yet she was yearning for him.

Neera shut her eyes and took a deep breath, she had to control herself no matter what. If she made the mistake of letting herself fall for Zavian, she would be doomed for ever.

...

Kitana and three other Princesses, Emma, Daphne, and Lyra, sat under a maple tree outside the castle as they ate some fruits, taking the cool breeze of the afternoon.

A servant massaged Kitana’s legs while the other Princesses giggled as they shared some jokes.

“I wonder what the next test would be, goodness, this time, let it be something we can do,” Daphne exclaimed, she did not do well in the first test, and she didn’t want to flop in the second.

“I heard it’s a painting test, I’m not sure,” Emma said and the others turned to her;

.....

“A painting test? Who compiled these competitions for goodness sake? Do we know how to paint?”

Kitana asked, and Emma blinked;

“I do. We were all taught basics, weren’t you?”

Kitana breathed out; well Princesses were taught basic painting and drawings, but she didn’t practice them hard enough. She never thought it would be of importance.

She rolled her eyes; if only Zavian had just selected her queen, she won’t be going through all of these useless competitions.

She was the best choice to be queen, why was he not seeing it?

Now she thought about it, she had not had time to be alone with him. He was always busy and whenever she went to see him, he was in meetings.

A frustrated sigh left her lips and she pulled her legs from the servant’s hand and waved him to leave.

The frown was still etched on her brows when she saw a familiar figure walking afar off. In an instant, her brows eased;

“Is that not the girl?” She asked, drawing the other Princesses’ attention and they looked in the direction she was staring at;

“Oh my, it’s her. Go and bring her here! Immediately!” Lyra ordered a guard and he ran to bring Neera to them.

A smirk stretched Kitana’s chin as she laughed;

Finally, she had caught her. Let’s see how she would run away right before her very eyes this time.

Neera was walking briskly when she felt someone tap her shoulders. She stopped abruptly and turned to the person.

“Miss, the Princesses demand your presence.”

The servant boy spoke, pointing behind him. Neera’s heart flew out of her chest as she looked in the direction the boy was pointing and saw four Princesses sitting under the maple tree.

All color drained from her face as beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

She had come out to fetch some water for a bath. She usually fetched water early in the mornings, or very late at night, when no one would see her, but because of what happened the previous day, she had to walk around at noon.

She had prayed to the gods that she wouldn’t see any Princess, but she didn’t just see one but four!

What would she do?

As Neera stared at them, she felt their eyes looking straight at her and she knew she could not escape. If she tried running and they caught her, she would be in huge trouble.

Looking at the servant, she swallowed saliva down her dry throat and followed him quietly.

As she approached the shade where they were, Neera nearly missed a step when she noticed Princess Kitana. She was the last person she wished to see, she had run away from her, so she was sure waiting to deal with her.

Instantly, she pulled her gaze from her and stared at the ground in panic.

Kitana eyed the girl from head to toe, taking in the clothes on her body and the shoes on her feet.

Zavian indeed treated her specially. She couldn’t blame him though, she was a spitting image of Delilah; anyone in his shoes would do the same.

As Kitana stared at the girl, jealousy riddled her. Even when she was poor and lowly, she radiated so beautifully. She wished she could use a knife and slash her face into pieces, then she would know if Zavian would still find her attractive.

“Look what we have here,” Lyra spoke, laughing lightly when she saw Neera. She had seen her in the hall that night Fredrick brought her in, but this was the first time she was seeing her this close, and indeed, if her eye color wasn’t different, she would have betted on her life that she was Lilah.

When Lilah was alive, she was the prettiest of them all. She was soft-spoken, alluring, and made men crazy.

It was hard not to be enchanted by her, even her laughter was like a drug.

They envied her, she wasn’t a Princess, and her mother was a low demon, but she still married the heir to the throne, and even when she married Zavian, men still chased after her.

Looking at the girl in front of them, she felt a tinge of happiness course through her. Even though it was not Delilah, she felt happy seeing someone that looked exactly like her, weak and helpless and beneath her.

“What is your name?” Emma asked. The girl had not raised her eyes to look at them since she came. She had been staring at the ground, too scared to look up.

Emma did not like her. Whatever she was, she was a threat to them, and she heard that the king had her stay in his chambers; she did not want to believe it, but looking at how the girl was dressed, she figured it must be true.

“Neera...” Neera replied nervously. She wished the ground would just open and swallow her whole. The others were talking but she was most afraid of Kitana, who had been staring at her quietly without saying a word.