His Cursed and Forgotten Mate

Chapter 9

(Zephyr POV)

"You really look familiar."

"Your majesty?" I called him as he snapped out of his trace. He turned around, quickly clearing his throat.

"I mean, you should dry your hair first, I can wait" I had heard what he had said to me and I wanted to ask him what he meant but it was clear he didn't want to talk about it.

"It's ok. It will dry naturally. But that was not what you said to me earlier. You said I looked familiar with someone."

I wanted to know more. Not from my team mates. Not from those rumours. I wanted to hear his thoughts. The chances of him opening up to me are very low, but still, what if he tells me?

He stared at me for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"I think you misunderstood, Lady Zephyr."

"No. I know what I heard. You said I looked familiar. Naturally, I will become curious to know who I look like, your majesty"

"Lady Zephyr told you it was a misunderstanding on your part. I do not want to pressure it more to you. I hope you understand what I mean."

Of course, I knew what it meant. It means to shut up. It means that even if what he said is a lie, he is right, since he is the king and his words are final.

I ground my teeth looking away.

The situation between us has become awkward and uncomfortable.

"How is your mother, your majesty?" I asked, wanting to change the topic.

"She is much better now. I suggest you avoid being around her for the time being. She had a heart ache a few days earlier when she realized my carriage had been missing. I don't know why, but she is sensitive when it comes to me finding my mate as well. Maybe she is afraid my love for her will lessen. Maybe she fears my mate will not treat me ill."

Or maybe it's because she had driven your mate out into the dark forest when she was barely 10. I wanted to say that but I bit my tongue. It was the sad reality that was hidden from this man in front of me.

"Anyways, what I am trying to say is to clear away from her. Avoid her at all cost. Avoid both of my parents. It's alright since you don't have to convince my parents, just focus on examining the people I mentioned. 2 days from now there will be a gathering organised by the council members and they have invited you as well. It's the perfect opportunity to study them"

My hand formed into a fist as I gave him a tight smile.

"That's perfect"

"Then, if that's all, I will go back to my room. Good night, lady Zephyr"

"Good night, your majesty."

Once he left, I closed the door and pulled up the blinds. I didn't even wait for him to climb down the veranda.

It's only been two days and reality kept hitting me like a bucket of ice. It was like this man was reminding me again and again that I am nothing more than a protector, so I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

Each moment I wish I hadn't taken this mission.

From the heartbreaks I got from my mate to the disgusting, unwelcomed looks to seeing the people I never wished to see, everything about this mission was filled with regret of accepting it.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I was not surprised at all. On the contrary, I would have been shocked if I had fallen asleep. I knew my mind would be filled with all these tragic thoughts.

The next morning, I was waken up by a maid. Unlike yesterday where there were many maids, today only one came. I watched silently as she ran around trying to do everything by herself.

After she served me coffee, she rushed to the bathroom to prepare my bath. Then she ran to my dressing room, taking out a few outfits and showing them to me.

After she helped me choose, she once again went to the bathroom and came out a few seconds later to lay down my clothes properly.

"What's your name?" I asked as she finally looked at me in the eyes.

"Sa-Sandra, my lady. I am sorry for making this delay longer. Everything will be prepared soon. Until then, please enjoy the tea."

I got out of my bed as I went to the maid who went back to put my dress on a hanger.

"Sandra, calm down. I am not in any rush. You can relax and do your work"

"But the tailor will come this morning and you are still not ready."

"It's alright, I will help you then."

"No!" her shout made me jump in shock. "My lady, you are the future queen! You can't do that."

I stared at the young girl for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"Well, this is certainly not a job a single person can do, right? At least not in this short amount of time."

"My lady"

My eyes widened as I saw tears fill her eyes. "I am so sorry. But everyone was busy taking care of the sick queen. I was the only one who was available."

Something about the way she said made me believe what she said was not true. I had seen a fair share of people know she was lying. She avoided my eyes as she said those sentences. She was playing with her hair as well.

For some reason, I knew the reason no one came today. I was pretty sure the rumours made everyone hate me.

"I did something to the queen, making her fall ill again."

"Huh?" the girl asked as I looked at her with a small smile.

"I did something to the queen that made her fall ill. Isn't that why everyone refused to serve me?"

The tears the girl had been holding burst out as she started to cry her heart out.

"I am sorry, your majesty! I lied to you because I knew it would hurt your feelings. Please don't be mad or sad. Everything will be alright after a few days."

I couldn’t help but smile at the innocence of the girl. She genuinely cared about how I felt, something even my mate failed to show.

"Sandra, I am alright" I smiled, putting my hand on her shoulder. "I am happy that you are here for me. I am grateful for your sincerity and that is better than having 100 fake maids serve me."

This made her cry even more. I laughed at how awful she looks now.

"You are such a crying baby", I chuckled as she wiped her tears and looked at me.

She is just like me when I was young. Whatever bad luck happens to me, I would cry. The only one who could calm me down was my father, but after he died I lost all hope. It was when I met my mate did I regain my strength back. He would comfort me in many ways and try to divert my attention, which would end up in laughter.

After I lost him as well, I sealed my emotions. I became cold and distant even though deep inside I was the same girl. But now seeing this girl in front of me, crying her balls out, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

It was like the roles had switched. Instead of my father or my mate comforting me, I was comforting someone else.

After the incident, she became closer to me. The more I got to know her, the more I realized that she was a sweet and innocent girl. She came from a village park not far from here. Her father had worked in the palace for a couple of years and when he died of an accident, she was able to get a job. She had 2 younger siblings whom she treasures and even keeps their pictures in her pocket. Her mother died when giving birth to her youngest sister and ever since then she had been taking care of them.

She looked proud as she talked about them.

Later in the afternoon, we made our way to the 2nd floor guest room where the tailor would come. I was surprised for a moment when I saw Andrew sitting on the couch,

"You are here as well" I said as his attention went from his vizier to me.

"We are going to wear matching outfits, so it's better we decide together."

The situation was awkward for me since I have never gone to the length of deciding on a dress. The only time I wore these fancy dresses was for disguises and most of them were something picked up by my team mates.

The tailor was pretty excited about stitching a dress for me. He started to talk about fabrics and designs and jewels along with the latest fashion. At the end of the meeting, I had gained nothing but a huge headache.

Selecting a dress was no joke. Hell, I felt it harder than going on a dangerous mission in the Saiber dessert! In the end, Andrew was the one who chose the dress. But along with that, he also ordered them to prepare a few more clothes for me to wear for different events.

"Are you OK?" Andrew asked as I groaned and leaned on the sofa feeling tired.

"It's not even afternoon and I feel tired as hell. Why is picking a dress this stressful? I thought my head would explode with the number of dresses and style he introduces!"

Andrew chuckled, making me look at him.

"I am not joking", I huffed, making him laugh more.

"Ok ok. Sorry. But it was fun seeing the smoke come out from the top of your head."

I rolled my eyes at his comment.

"Ha ha very funny"

I smiled on seeing him laugh out loud. He looks handsome when he looks at ease. And the fact that I was the reason for this smile made me even happier.

"In the evening I am going for horse riding. I don't know if you will be interested, but would you like to join me?" he asked suddenly, making me nod my head.

"Of course, I love horses."

"That's great. I will tell the maid to arrange a small snack as well."

After lunch, we split up to get dressed for riding the horse.

Sandra looked excited as he picked a dress for me. I was not happy. I didn't want to wear skirts and go horse riding. But I had no clothes besides dresses to wear. Pants were something very uncommon for ladies in high societies.

"Remind me to buy some pants next time" I said as I walked to the stables with Sandra.

One thing I liked about this girl was that she didn't give a judgemental look, no matter how different I thought. She only supported my choices, which made me happy and comfortable to be around her.

"Ready?" Andrew asked as he took his horse out of the stable.

"Yes"

"Your majesty" the maid bowed down in respect.

"Good evening lady", Andrew replied with a small smile. "Thank you for taking care of my mate."

Honestly, my mate should get the best actor award. The way he expressed his gratitude looked too real to be just an act.

"You can wait for her with General Vitai, Lady. I will take my mate for a short ride"

I smiled and waved my hand as Vitai walked out of the stable with a small smile.

"Good evening, Lady Zephyr. I will take care of her until you return" he said, as I smiled and nodded my head.

But before I could say anything, his hands grabbed my waist, making me jump. Sparks flew around me as he picked me up and put me on top of the saddle.

"Hold on tight," he said before climbing the horse. My whole body froze and I felt the air in my lungs escape.

His body was close and pressed against me and the sparks around us grew like crazy.

'Calm down, Zephyr' I tried to repeat to myself, but it was an utter failure.

Just then the horse stopped on his track. I felt Andrew's body stiffen all of a sudden.

"What happened?" I asked with a frown before looking at my mate. But that was when an arrow shot past us, missing us by less than an inch.

"s**t! Ambush!"