8 Chapter 7

"Kaya, you are here."

Eric sounded like he was announcing it, covering up Sorine behind the shield of his body. 'Kaya' walked up to them in slow, languid steps, with a high air around her as she observed the surroundings around them. Sorine knew immediately that Kaya was a royal, she had a regal air about her. Kaya was breathtakingly stunning, looks wise. She had ivory skin that looked supple and full of breath, clad in a striking blood red dress of silk that fell right beside her curves. Her chest full and lifted, creating an illusion of a gradual curve and woven around her high shoulders was a fur shawl, adding a softness to her attributes. When she moved around, her hair— round golden ringlets bounced and swayed in the air with the smoothness of butter. She warily rolled her eyes all over the kitchen and slowly, she turned her eyes until it landed on Eric who was standing only a foot apart from her.

Airily, she raised her hand in the air, prompting Eric to grab onto it. She watched him slowly place a kiss onto the flat of her palm and a click of her tongue echoed in the room. Eric looked up at her in question and she waved her hand to the side, signalling Eric to move to the side. Eric took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and he relented, taking a step aside. With that, Sorine came into view and she instinctively ducked her head downwards. Kaya glowered, her ruby red lips pursing in quiet appraisal.

"and what is this?" Kaya turned to Eric accusingly and there was no reaction brought up to Eric's features.

"Kaya, This is Princess Kaya of the Ochre Kingdom. My wife-to-be."

Sorine's eyes twitched.

"Hm." Kaya hummed, casting a sharp look towards Eric. This man was getting on her nerves. He dare not do anything that might upset the princess of a treatised kingdom but would you look at that? He dared to introduce her over a lowly maid first, when instead the maid should be at her feet, giving introductions of herself. But Eric, this man dared to let the maid keep standing with her head held high when in front of the Ochrean Princess. He was guarding the girl and Kaya was not pleased.

Ochre was a lush tropical empire a few small nations away from Newar and it flourished with greenery, white gold and the sun. It was a relatively large empire that Newar intended to strike a treaty alliance with, for the sake for the volume of its large and famous impenetrable army along with its powerful hold over the trade lines of the kingdoms near its territory, hoisting them high in the power list. It seems that Newar is finally succeeding its attempt to strike an alliance with the kingdom of Ochre as the famed, the eldest Kaya Ik Ochre had now set foot voluntarily on the main castle of Newarfa, the gilded yellow Newarfa.

"This is my childhood companion.'' Eric told Kaya and she tipped her chin up in scrutiny of the maid who was meekly standing in front of her.

"Childhood companion." She scoffed with a ridiculing laugh, "Is this how they glorify whores now."

Sorine went stiff, muscle hardening at what Kaya had just called her. Why can't she say anything back? Of course, this woman in front of her was of a different stature. She was a princess of a whole empire.What was she in front of her? She was just a lowly maid picked up by the street. She would be beheaded if she dared to talk back to this Ochrean Princess.

"Move." Kaya glared at Eric and he stepped one more step aside. She takes a step closer in turn, the tip of her crystalline shoe peeking out from under the hem of her dress and Sorine jumped on her shoulders when a hand came up under her chin, tipping it upwards. She came directly in front of Kaya who was staring right at her in front of her eyes, eyes roving all over her face with a prod.

"I must praise your eyes, Eric." She laughed, a short cutting laugh. "What a pretty little hare you have got here. Shame.'

She ran a finger down Sorine's dusk colored cheek and then wiped her finger away at the sleeve of the gold satin dress which looks incredibly cheap in front of Kaya's wine red dress of expensive mulberry silk.

"SHame, if only she could even compete with me, what do you say?"

Kaya turned to look at Eric who was silent, looking away from her. He grit his teeth, jaw ticking. He couldn't say anything against her. Heck, he couldn't even go against her. This was something that was wholly in Kaya's power. The kingdom of Newar was under Ochre in the fact that they were the ones to request for a treaty. It was up to Newar to guard its conditions laid out in the agreement. If anything was amiss and if Ochre willed it to, they could reject the treaty alliance at the drop of a hat. And the only thing securing this treaty— his marriage with Kaya would be broken. This meant that the ties could not be fixed again and the kingdom of Ochre could wage war against Newar if they had anything against the kingdom. A treaty alliance meant that they could instead embark for a negotiation meeting.

And Eric could not risk the wedding to be called off.

"You talk too much, Kaya." He gruffly stated and tried to step away when Kaya's hand shot out, gripping his arm to a stop. He turned, glaring at Kaya, jaw ticking and she laughed, a low satisfied throaty rumble arising from beneath her throat when she saw the effect that she had on him. She moved closer to him, raising a hand up to cup her jaw and tried to turn his face towards her but he was unwilling to move, turned away in defiance. But she still smiled to herself, pleased.

"Don't be mad, my love."

She stood on her tiptoes and all the limbs along Sorine went rigid. She abruptly looked up in shock and to her dismay, right in time to catch Kaya placing a lingering kiss on the corner of Eric's lips. She went back down, glancing at Sorine by the sides as she ran a hand down his jaw, caressing him. Sorine trembled and looked towards Eric, pleading him silently to rip Kaya's hands away from himself but he did nothing. He didn't make a move to reject Kaya's advances at all nor did he look at Sorine at all. The bell dropped in Sorine's stomach, watching another woman's hands rubbing along his.body. How could he—!

"Do visit my chambers tonight, Crown Prince Erasmus." Kaya purred into his ear, that was right beside Sorine so that she could hear every bit , "I must say I am quite eager to revisit our adventures from prior time." She laughed before adding, "Look at what you are making me say, my love. I trust that you will not disappoint me."

Sorine swallowed, her throat bobbing up and down. Glass glossed over the surface of her eyes and tears threatened to fall heavily but she fought back. She couldn't bear to shear tears when this vile woman was still in the room. She just couldn't believe her ears. She must be hearing the lies of God! How could this be possible and what did it mean? It cannot be possible that Eric would bed another woman apart from herself. She knew that he would not dare to do that. She trusted in him and he loved her, that he would never do anything that could possibly sever their bond.

"Well, that's all I have for myself, I suppose." Kaya detached herself from the rigid Erix, softly patting his chest with her palm before she turned to walk away.

"Ah, yes pardon me but I almost forgot!" Kaya exclaimed, laughing when she turned back. Sorine straightened up again feeling the attention pinned to her again.

"By my mandate, I hope I will not see you anywhere near the Royal Family's quarters as long as I am in the castle... what's your name?"

"Sorine."

"Right. Sorine." The name rolled off her tongue with distaste, a certain heaviness to its weight and she gave her one last lingering stare before she turned, her heels clacking in the air as she walked off in the dead of the kitchen.

Silence and emptiness filled the air again and Sorine choked out a gasp, legs almost giving away as she gripped the counter right beside her. Eric's hands came to fall on her shoulders but she slapped him away. She hated herself, she was weak and that was why she hated herself. She couldn't do anything in the presence of the princess and that princess was the one who would be Eric's fiancée. Sorine had as good as lost him to Kaya. It was not a competition but he was someone truly important to her. He had saved her, met her along the way and chose to remove her from misery with his power, even at the young age of sixteen. He did whatever he could manage. He was her saviour and he had made sure she didn't suffer. But now, there was a crack in the nice pleasing image in her head.

"Sorine." He gave a frustrated sigh, trying to grab her shoulders again. She shrugged him off again, this time with less patience. She took steps away from him and confronted him with a betrayal imminent in her eyes.

"Did you bed her?" She asked, but more of a demand with fear trembling significantly in her voice.

She closed her eyes, sighing. He was taking a while to answer and the fear in her increased. But he was important to her. Whatever he did, she would try to trust him over it. It would hurt but it was probably okay. It meant that he was trying to make the best situation for both of them. Eric didn't lie for vain reasons. She would trust in him despite everything. She asked him again.

"Did you bed her?"

He looked away, eyes flitting all over the place.

"Yes."