A million thoughts raced through Lucius’ mind as he pondered the situation. Was this lady trying to catch his attention? He could see her blushing cheeks and green eyes that were cautiously guarding against him. She certainly had a good appearance, with her long hair flowing down against her shoulders. He felt a strange sensation in his stomach, a kind of nervous energy like a child waiting to perform an important task for an audience.
The white chemise of his that she wore, which didn’t even reach his knees, completely covered her ankles and left just some of her pale, slender feet exposed. The top front shoulder was loosened, revealing some of her bare, milky white skin. He found himself staring intently at her collarbone, almost transfixed by its contours. The spell was broken however when he heard Freya say, “Perhaps these clothes were given to me by Herro. He destroyed my other garments because he said they were unclean.”
Upon hearing this, Lucius’ face suddenly contorted with rage. Herro again. Was there no end to this upstart’s annoyances? Freya’s eyes widened in fear at the sudden change in Lucius’ demeanour. In an instant, he had gone from being a kind, royal dignitary to the very Grim Reaper himself.
Lucius’ voice thundered as he shouted out, “Am I not more popular than Herro?”
Freya regained her composure and replied, “Today was the first time that I met him. We talked a little, as I learned that we both do the same kind of thing for work.”
Lucius stared back at her, and echoed, “The same thing?” Suspicion began to build in his mind, and he wondered what that same thing could possibly be that the Grand Wizard Herro and this delivery girl had in common.
His mind cast itself back to his last encounter with the wizard. Did he like this girl? Lucius considered that it was highly unusual for Herro to like anybody, as he seemed to prefer staying in his tent all day and avoiding people. Yet he had helped this girl get cleaned up and dressed. These kinds of thoughts were quite unpleasant to him, and his facial expression became darker as she kept talking about Herro.
“He was kind… nice to me…” Lucius grimaced and a look of aggression flashed across his face. Freya noticed this and perhaps this is why she asked, “If there’s nothing more to discuss, may I leave now? I’m sure that Archer will be waiting for me to return.”
Lucius quickly realized that she wanted to exit, and with that thought came a feeling of desperation. He didn’t want her to leave; in fact, he found himself wanting to reach out and hold her again. Quickly searching in his mind for something, anything to say to prevent her from leaving, he blurted out, “Umm what is your name?”
Freya shuddered at this question and asked herself why he suddenly desired to know her name. Her lips dry, she wet them with her tongue and softly replied, “It’s Freya, Your Majesty.”
“Freya,” repeated Lucius. “I can imagine that you’re quite popular among the men here.”
Freya was startled by this, as she had never considered herself to be popular with men. She looked up and met eyes with Lucius, trying to distinguish whether it was affection or contempt for her that she saw in those dark eyes of his. Surely a big misunderstanding was currently taking place?
“Your Majesty,” she began, “Archer is someone that I serve…”
Lucius didn’t allow her to finish her sentence and cut in fiercely, “Stop! Do you imagine that I am curious about that?”
Lucius was aware of Archer, and although he didn’t know much about the man’s background, he knew that he was indeed a courageous soldier. In his mind, he put the pieces together and understood that this lady was living in Archer’s tent. That in itself was not unusual; in this era of chaos, it was quite common for knights and mercenaries to make bedfellows of delivery boys and ladies. However, he felt a strange contempt and anger at the thought of this thin, black-haired lady in front of him sharing a bed with a bearded man like this Archer fellow.
“So you were there then, in Archer’s tent?” asked Lucius.
Freya sighed as she considered what was unfolding before her. Lucius was acting very strangely; becoming angry, interrupting her when she spoke and now saying different things. She told herself that she had saved Lucius, and surely she was deserving of some reward for her heroic act. Her mind raced as she tried to find a way to put what she was thinking into clear words that Lucius would accept.
Lucius maintained his cruel expression, but Freya kept telling herself that she should be rewarded for what she did. She had saved a collapsed royal, and now that same royal was treating her in a very unusual way that she could not understand. She admitted to herself that royals such as Lucius were not her kind of people, but she still felt deserving of something after what she had done for him. She imagined how pleased Archer would be if she came back with a grand reward; after all, weren’t royals likely to make a big gesture in situations such as these to show their appreciation?
Her train of thought was again interrupted by Lucius. She caught sight of his blonde hair as he spoke to her by name. “Freya, what is going through your mind right now?”
Freya felt her nerves rise again. He had called her by name, and the tone of his voice suggested that he knew exactly what was going through her mind. Was it possible that this royal had the power to know what people were thinking?
Lucius continued, “I am going to give you something special, as a token of my appreciation for saving me.”
Freya’s eyes lit up, and she excitedly stammered, “S-s-something special?”
It seemed to Lucius that Freya looked like a hungry predator who had finally tracked down some prey. This girl was interested only in his wealth and cared not about him at all. A dawning realization came over him that perhaps this was the thing that had been bothering him about her since they first spoke. She had no interest in knowing anything about him, in fact, he was probably viewed as a necessary burden for her to overcome to get what she wanted.
This was a feeling that Lucius had never had before. Naturally, there were plenty of women around him, due to his position. He had had many chances to marry and father children, but his reluctance about women had always held him back.
He now viewed the girl in front of him as somewhat suspicious. Turning his gaze away from the chest that was filled with riches, he felt his instincts begin to form a question in his mind: “What is the best way to get rid of someone suspicious?”