~RUNE
My heart was racing, pounding like a war was ongoing within me.
My hands flew to my mouth and I stared at Uriel in horror.
The last thing I remembered was being forced into the cold water as punishment.
And now…
Now I was in a hot water bath with Uriel, the same person who had punished me.
He watched me with an unreadable expression.
He looked as angry and terrifying as ever.
I didn’t know whether to get out of the water or stay inside with him.
My entire body started trembling with fear once again.
How many times had I trembled today?
“Now that you are awake…” He finally spoke, breaking the long and heavy silence.
“Get out.”
I flinched at his tone.
I blinked hard before shakily rising to leave.
I was just about to raise my leg out of the bath basin when I slipped and fell back.
I barely got the chance to gasp before I landed in his arms.
My body instantly went stiff as my eyes flew up to the side where his face was.
He didn’t flinch.
He didn’t react.
He didn’t even look at me.
“I— I’m sorry,” I stuttered as I shakily lifted myself away from him.
The water splashed several times as I struggled to get out.
Eventually, I did.
I bowed to him once before running out of the room.
I gasped at how large his room was.
The bed in the center lay even darker than the rest of the room.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
This place even looked more dead and lonely than the rest of the castle.
I snapped myself out of my thoughts and continued my escape out of his room.
I just wanted to run back into the safety of my room and bury myself beneath the sheets.
Yet as I burst through his doors, I realised one sad thing.
I had no idea how to get back to my room.
I never memorized the way.
I had never even come to this wing before.
It was dark and deserted.
It seemed to stretch on for long and once again, another involuntary shiver ran down my spine.
I guess I just had to use my instincts to find my room.
Hopefully, I would meet someone who would show me the way.
But I looked down at myself.
I was drenched and dripping with water down the hall I had already walked.
What if they questioned it?
“My necklace!” I suddenly exclaimed as my hand found it around my neck.
I sighed in relief.
I remembered Uriel taking it off me.
I guess he put it back on himself.
I took another step when strange images flashed in my head.
The trees.
The black water.
The strange reflection of me.
My heart skipped and I stopped walking.
What were those things?
Had they been merely hallucinations my brain conjured up mostly because I was almost freezing to death?
But it made no sense.
Why didn’t I see things I was used to or had already set eyes on before?
The things I saw during the hallucination were all strange things I knew nothing of.
I sighed and continued walking.
Perhaps they really were nothing but fleeting hallucinations.
Soon, I heard voices of people talking.
My heart jumped with joy.
This meant that I was on the right track.
Who knew?
Maybe one of those people could be Anna!
I began to quicken my pace.
There was also light coming from the direction.
I followed it and it opened up to the dining hall.
I froze.
How did I end up here?
Most of the guests had left, safe for the Lords of Oraena and a few other chiefs from our table.
My entire body started trembling as I looked down at myself one more time.
How was I supposed to explain this without raising suspicions?
They all stopped and looked at me.
“Your majesty,” Sylve was the first to speak.
“Whatever happened to you?”
“Where is the King?” Morrigan demanded immediately in a hostile tone.
As if he was trying to insinuate that I had done something to him.
I almost laughed at that.
As if I could do anything to the great Orin King.
“Are you okay?” Lord Daine asked in concern.
I swallowed hard as I thought of running away.
Atleast, then I wouldn’t have to answer any of their questions.
“Did something happen between His Majesty and you?” Sylve asked.
This time, my heart sank because he was dangerously too close to the truth.
My chest started rising and falling visibly and I felt as if my entire body was being wrapped with cold panic.
Suddenly, a voice snaked in from behind me.
“There you are, my Moon,” Uriel said as he grabbed me from behind and turned me around to face me.
“So this is where you ran off to?” This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
For a moment— a split second…
I was dumbfounded as his fingers ran over my cheeks before my body suddenly started acting on its own.
I hugged him tight immediately.
“You found me.”
I noticed that he was still wet.
I guess it was better for our lie to remain intact.
Uriel chuckled.
“Of course I’ll always find you.”
I pulled away and smiled at him.
“I got lost trying to find your room.”
“I told you not to run off on your own, didn’t I?” he said as he pinched my cheeks.
“I am having a hard time getting used to this castle. There are so many corridors.”
I could not believe I was the one playing along like this.
It almost felt as if it was something within me, pushing me— fueling my strength and helping me play along.
“I don’t understand,” Morrigan finally cut it.
“What is going on here? Why are you both dripping wet?”
He pointed at us as he spoke like it was the hardest thing for him to understand.
Uriel chuckled before pulling me even closer and I hugged him again.
“We were out playing in the water. Then my Queen got lost,” he explained.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Morrigan’s expression hardened visibly.
Then he looked at me with that same hatred as always.
It looked to me like he wanted to say a lot but he was holding himself back because of his king.
“Does anyone else have a problem?” Uriel demanded.
“We wouldn’t dare,” Sylve said as a small smile formed on his lips.
“You should take your Queen back with you and enjoy the night.”
He paused a little as he turned his gaze to me.
“Tomorrow is going to be a long day for the Queen after all.”
My eyes went wide.
What was he trying to say?
What will be happening tomorrow?
“I appreciate your concern,” Uriel answered.
“But it is my job to worry about my Queen.”
Then he lifted me in his arms.
I couldn’t only gasp as I held on to him tight.
The men bowed to us as he carried me away, this time, toward the grand stairs which the ladies had brought me in through.
I knew that the moment we would be alone, he was going to go back to being the terrifying Uriel once again.
I sighed heavily as I began to prepare myself for it.
We barely even disappeared completely into the corridor away from the grand hall when Uriel suddenly dropped me.
I fell to the ground with a loud thud.
I groaned in pain.
“You have legs. Use it.”