ASHLEIGH.
Did I just sell myself to the King? I was walking towards the gate, and I saw the carriage that dropped me here. Atelier was there, with my cape on her arm, and she immediately rushed towards me. I was not lost, but I was not in sound mind, either. To be in this kind of decision is such a hard deal to begin with.
"You convinced the King, am I right?" Atelier was worried sick. It was showing in her eyes. I didn't say anything and just touched her shoulder. I nodded, a small agreement would do. I pursed my lips, and rode the carriage silently. Atelier just looked at me outside, confused.
"Let's go. I have convinced the King already," I mumbled. She mounted the carriage silently. I sighed, finally able to sell myself on something I tried not to engage in. For this space, how can I explain my will? How do I pretend that I'm fine being his mistress?
Atelier's face questioned my choice. I didn't answer her. I just swiped my fingers and let the footman carry us away in the clouds. I dazed outside, lost in the mist, wondering if it was a good decision to even make. The sparkles of the stars were my companion, the one who gave me a hint to carry on.
When I reached my bedroom, my strength and ferocity came down. My regal posture upon the King earlier had now become a weary slump. I felt weak upon the decision I made. It was not me, and I felt weak upon that. I let go of my hair from its ponytail, and let it fall around my face. The weight of exhaustion closed my eyes.
The sheets were changed, and I asked Atelier, "The sentinels changed the sheets all the time?"
I was lying on my back when I asked her that. She just draped the cape at the back of a chair, and nodded, saying, "Yes, My Goddess. They don't want the Goddess to be uncomfortable."
I exhaled. I didn't like how they address me as such. I just stated, "Make sure to close the door when you come out."
I turned my back towards her and looked out at the shadows by the window. But Atelier didn't leave. She stood there, as if hoping to get an explanation. Do I even owe her one? I think so. It was what she has been waiting for.
I pretended not to notice it, but her presence on the other side of the room has bothered me. I exhaled, sat down, and rubbed the scar on my palms. It was what I've got from the battlefield, trying to outgrow the people that I have beaten a thousand of times. The wrong choice is not Devi, but Ashleigh. My soul has joined the Goddess of War, the Goddess of Fights.
I massaged the center of my eyebrows. I spoke softly, "Atelier."
The usual commanding force of my voice is now a mere whisper. I turned my gaze to the figure standing at the doorway. The silhouette was framed by the fading light. I stated, "I've made my decision. I'm going to be the mistress of the King."
Atelier didn't even freeze. My voice was laced with honesty, but she didn't even flinch. Atelier smirked, as if she's feeling odd, and I was left dumbfounded. She should be surprised, right? Who would be the mistress of the King other than me? Or there's a lot of women in his life that I am just another choice?
"My Goddess, you had been his mistress all along. It was nothing new to me."
I thought it was my words that would freeze her, but it was the exact opposite. She smiled, came at me at the side of the bed, and draped her arm over my shoulder. Atelier sighed, stating, "I thought I have lost my Goddess, but you're here once again."
I don't have any idea what she's up to.
...
Waking up to a smell of a good breakfast by the dinner hall was something to excite about. I sat down and let the sentinels served me with a gold platter. The bowls have served me with good food, and I do think it was a good morning to have food like this every day.
Atelier ran towards the dining hall. I raised my eyebrows at her as she placed an invitation. It was thick and on ivory parchment, the wax seal bearing an insignia of the King. It has a roaring lion, and a mane, similar to crown of flames. I retrieved it, and scrutinized the outer covering.
The letter was elegantly scripted with gold ink, and it was delicate yet purposeful. I read the back note: "For our first night."
I was astonished. No one should have known this but me and the King. I immediately hid it under the table and placed it inside the pockets of my nightgown. Atelier had a playful smile on her lips as she joined me for breakfast. I rolled my eyes. I don't know if I should be happy, but I know I am not.
From what Atelier had told me, this is not our first night. It was not the first night our fates had intertwined, and not the first time our paths crossed beneath the heavy gaze of the court. This night was meant something else.
"The King is swaying you again. Aren't you happy with that?" As I've realized, Devi must have liked the attention she was getting from the King before. She was made out of that behavior, but it felt different now. It was something new. She felt thrilled about it.
The King, with his regal grace, had written a note that was both distant and intimate.
"This is not something I should be happy about. He was asking for a price, and it's not something I like about," I told Atelier. Her smile faded away in a second. When I have read the letter, there was no mention of the hierarchy, of the duty, of the politics in his handwriting. But the weight of my decision resonated in me. There was no turning back.
It was inviting me to his world... that was meant for us... like the Heaven we should create.
The evening wore on, and the promise was yet to unfold. The air grew thick with anticipation, but it was not even my excitement I looked forward into. It was the haze before the storm. I was walking the same hallway that was flickered by the candlelight, and it was casting a ghostly shadow around.
The place where a lot of people had come and gone, and it deals with the changed lives.
I was asked to go inside the same bedroom that I was awoken from the same day I was asked to complete a mission. When I opened the door, the bedchamber was waiting for me, and the sheets was draped with luxurious silks, a deep crimson in shade. Velvet curtains drawn to the large, canopied bed.
A golden thread embroidered along the edges of the bedding. It shimmered with light, but the bed felt cold and untouched, and waiting for the weight of the bodies. A certain element has the sole intention of marking this moment as something monumental.
The King's invitation was a subtle claim of power, and there was a step toward securing the position. It carried an air of personal intrigue.
I bet this was not even our first night. It was just that, he had to impose a dangerous streak, and that I should be threatened with it. A few minutes later, I heard the door creak. I was already in my nightgown, and Atelier was served a room downstairs, just in case I need my sentinels and servant. But she's the only one who can understand me right here.
The King came in with a strong stride, like he was ready to dominate me. It was the tension that existed between us that was very different from what it supposed to be. I finally felt the toll between us, and that I don't like how it was carried on.
Can I back down from the decision I made? Whenever I think of that, I felt weak. How about the children who can't feed themselves one day just because I was that selfish? No one should be deprived of it. No one should be allowed to be hungry.
He observed me from head to toe. He's wondering what to do with me?
"You really look so good, so beautiful all the time."
Then, he took a step forward, making me step back a bit, but he chuckled.
"You really behave oddly these days. I can't see the old Devi in your eyes. Did I do something for you to change the way you treat me?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows. Did somebody ever noticed it? Or was it everyone telling me that I really became odd after I transferred to this body?
"Are you... possessed by a weak God?"