Bewitching The Alpha King

Chapter 22

"I didn't know you liked to paint," Nadine remarked as she watched Elise grabbing some painting tools. Eliza never expressed anything about art. She was too busy trying to improve herself on using her powers and her pet, Deja. Nadine sometimes felt like Eliza was not giving her the attention she has given Eliza but Nadine knew that Eliza was only making sure that the kingdom was a safe place for everyone.

Elise looked up from the acrylic paints, "You only know me for two weeks" She reminded Nadine with a soft chuckle, "We only talked a few times so of course, you wouldn't have known" Elise shook her head and looked down at the paints again, not noticing how Nadine suddenly looked uncomfortable as she had said something she shouldn't.

Nadine chuckled softly as well, "Ah it feels like I have known you forever," She said smoothly, brushing her hair away from her face, "What do you have on your mind? I mean, what are you going to paint?" Nadine asked curiously.

Elise smiled without looking up at Nadine, "Have you seen the Phoenix, yet?" She asked, taking a tube of orange paint and tossing it into the cart she was holding.

Nadine rolled her eyes, "Yeah, Deja" She said. Of course, she would be interested in that bird in this life as well, "What about Deja?" Nadine pressed.

Elise looked up at Nadine pointedly, "Well, I am going to paint Deja" She raised her shoulders and shrugged before choosing the next color. Deja had inspired her to start painting again. Her fingers must feel a little rusty when starts painting again but she was sure with enough practice she would be able to smooth out the strokes just like she did before.

Nadine frowned, "Why not me?" She blurted out making Elise's eyes widen in surprise, "I mean am I not pretty enough to be painted?" She grumbled under her breath.

Elise threw her head back and laughed heartily, "You should have seen your face" Elise stifled her peals of laughter behind her free hand, "I promise I will paint you too, okay?" She grinned at Nadine, finding it easy to connect with her.

A sense of Deja Vu suddenly overwhelmed her, making her turn still in less than a second. It felt like she has laughed like this with Nadine before and the smile on her face gradually faltered making Nadine look at her in concern, "Is something wrong, Eliz- Elise?" Nadine asked, biting her tongue when she almost slipped up, "You don't have to paint me, I was only joking" She added in hopes of changing the subject.

"No, that's not the problem at all," Elise said, shaking her head, "I was wondering if we ever met before this. Have you by any chance came to the Red Pride? We're located at Kinvara, it is a beautiful village-" Elise stopped talking when she saw Nadine shaking her head at her before she could even finish talking.

"I haven't been to Kinvara or the Red Pride before" Nadine answered her, a tight smile on her face.

Arthur had warned Nadine to not bring up anything from Elise's past. He wanted her to remember it naturally without anyone forcing her to remember it. But Nadine doesn't feel that way, all she wanted to do was, to cross the distance between them in a flash and shake Elise to her senses and tell her everything that happened to her when she was Eliza.

Elise stared at Nadine blankly for a few more seconds and chuckled, "Right, how could I have met you then? I must be feeling that way because I could connect with you with ease" She rambled, not wanting Nadine to find her awkward. The last thing she wanted was to someone think of her as a weirdo. 

Isn't it enough that she doesn't feel like she fit in just nicely here? The other warriors in the training would always ask her silly questions all the time. She knew that they are only curious but she couldn't help but get annoyed once in a while.

"Can you shift into a fox whenever you want?"

"Is it true foxes are hairier than the werewolves?"

"Can your eyes change color just like ours?"

Those are the famous questions she answered countless times. She felt like pulling out her hair and scream at them. Werewolves and Foxes are similar in many ways and the more they ask her about the similarities, the more she feels like an outcast. Really.

Nadine grinned at Elise, "I assure you, I feel the same way" Nadine said.

Elise smiled up at her, snapping back to reality, "So how long have you known the King and Beta Murray?" She asked, moving a step to the right to look down at the paints again. Now that she actually has a friend in the Royal pack, she might as well learn a thing or two about the King and his Beta.

"Pretty much for a thousand years now" Nadine answered without missing a beat.

Elise whipped her head up to look at Nadine again so fast that she felt the muscles behind her neck protest at her action, "Woah, you're kidding right?" She asked Nadine in disbelief, massaging the back of her neck to relieve the tension there.

"Nope," Nadine shook her head at Elise."The King, Beta Murray, and I have been great friends since the day we met and we were always together after that" She revealed to Elise, not finding anything wrong is saying that.

"That's impressive" Elise gasped, still trying to wrap around her head the new information she had received. She wondered how it must have been for her to be with the King for a thousand years and cringed a little when she remembered how he always made her uncomfortable by saying things that would make her feel flustered, "Is the king has always been like that?" She pressed, knowing it would have been an interesting millennium.

"Like what?" Nadine tilted her head to the side, waiting patiently for Elise to elaborate on her question.

Elise blinked and tried to find the best word to describe what she thought of the king, "Blatant?" She asked, "He seems like a person who would say-"

"Well, yeah" Nadine interrupted Elise, knowing exactly what Elise meant, "He usually speaks what's on his mind without editing it" Nadine shrugged carelessly, "Although he wasn't like that in the beginning. He went through some really hard phase and that changed him completely" Nadine continued, remembering how the King became a stranger in his own castle.

He forgot how to smile! Who forgets to smile? Nadine couldn't remember the last time she saw her king smile before he met with Elise. Maybe the last time she saw him smiling was when he was with Eliza.

The first two years after Eliza's passing was the hardest, not only for Arthur but everyone who lived in the castle. Arthur was volatile most of that time and the royal maids and the butlers weren't brave enough to face his wrath.

Elise nodded her head, allowing her mind to digest everything Nadine was saying,"You said that you knew him for a thousand years then it meant that you knew who he loved in the past too right?" Elise asked, her eyes never leaving Nadine this time as she was really curious to know about the woman that once captured the King's heart.

Elise didn't fail to notice how Nadine's facial expressions completely changed when she brought that up, "Yeah..." Nadine said unsurely, worried where this conversation was going.

Arthur will personally butcher her alive if she accidentally reveals anything about Elise's past to her.

Elise perked up at Nadine's answer, "What was her name?" She demanded, wanting to know that woman's name so badly.

Nadine bit her lower lip in hesitation and shook her head, "I believe it is not my place to tell you about that" She said, "Sorry".Nadine muttered under her breath, avoiding Elise's eyes.

"Not even her name?" Elise asked.

"The King will butcher me alive for treason if I did," Nadine said.

Of course, Elise didn't want Nadine to get in trouble just because of her curiosity, "Okay, never mind then. He did tell me that he would reveal her name the next time we talked about his love life" Elise said, nodding her head to herself.

Nadine was actually surprised that the king had opened up to her this soon, "He talked to you about it?" Nadine gaped.

"Yeah" Elise nodded, "Alright, I am done picking colors. I am going to pay for it now" Elise made her way towards the cash counter.

"Actually, the king has specifically said that to use his card if you want anything," Nadine said, pulling out her purse from her jean pocket and producing a flashy card from it.

Elise stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to look at Nadine with incredulous eyes, "You're kidding me, right?" She asked through her teeth, starting to get annoyed now, "First, he buys me an entire shop of clothes and now he wants to pay for this too?" She grumbled, shaking her head, "Tell him I can't accept that" She scoffed.

"You can tell him that yourself"

Elise's eyes felt like they would pop out of their sockets when she heard the King's voice from behind her. Even Nadine looked startled that the King had shown up here.

"Turn around, Elise"

Elise squeezed her eyes shut and wondered how much the king had heard. How did she not notice him earlier, "I do not like to repeat myself, Elise," The King said from behind her making her let out a gasp and she opened her eyes to look at Nadine helplessly...

But Nadine watched her in amusement, "Turn around" She mouthed at Elise.

Elise took a deep breath and slowly spun around to look at the king, "Your highness, I wasn't expecting you to be here" She said, bowing her head in front of him, cleverly avoiding his enchanting eyes.

Arthur watched her in amusement. He knew she wouldn't like it if he offered to pay for her, "Is that why you were grunting behind my back?" His eyes were amused but since she isn't looking up at him, he made sure to keep his voice firm, pretending to be angry.

"Oh no, no your highness!" Elise looked up at him in frantic, "I just didn't want you to waste your money-"

Elise stopped herself when she noticed how light his eyes looked. He wasn't angry. He was actually enjoying this, "I am sorry, I shouldn't have said that but what I said isn't wrong. I didn't want you to spend your money on me" She continued in a clearer voice, "Why are you here your highness?" She asked him, daring herself to be bold.

It isn't a coincidence, right? She highly doubts that the king had chosen this specific shop if he really wanted to do some shopping. Did he follow them by any chance?

The truth is, Arthur wanted to go with them the minute Nadine had told him about their day out at the mall but he knew that Elise probably would be uncomfortable so he decided to follow them without them knowing about it.

"I came here to get some- painting materials as well" Arthur looked around the shop in interest, "Why can't I come here?" He asked her, narrowing his eyes on her again.

Elise looked at him suspiciously while Nadine watched the both of them without blinking, entertained by their bickering, "You paint?" Elise asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I am not a professional painter- Maybe you can teach me?" He asked her smoothly. In other words, he just wanted Elise to be with him for some time. He didn't mind getting his hands dirty a little for that.

Elise found herself fighting back a smile at that, "You mean to 'teach' you because you don't know how to paint" She smirked at him knowingly, "You have followed us here, isn't it, your highness?" She pressed him again, not backing down.

Arthur raised his perfect eyebrow at her, "So what if I did?" He shot back at her. Arthur knew she wouldn't let this matter slide just like that easily so he decided to be honest.

Elise released a sharp breath and gestured him to take the cart from her, "Okay, then" She sighed, crossing her arms against her chest, "I will teach you how to paint as you are paying for the materials. It's a give and take policy" She nodded her head at him, "What do you think, Nadine?" She glanced behind at her.

"I think it is perfect agreement" Nadine grinned in agreement, "You two are bickering like a married couple" She commented casually.

Arthur smiled at the both of them while Elise turned into a deep shade of red, "Agreed then" He said, grabbing the cart and walking towards the cash counter. Elise watched him mutely, still feeling somewhat guilty for having him spend his money on her. How will she repay him back if he continues to do this? Getting her everything that she wanted that is...

"A little heads up," Nadine said, walking towards Elise, "It is really hard to teach him anything" She whispered into Elise's ears, making her eyes widen again. Nadine smirked at the red-haired beauty, knowing the two of them will keep her entertained for some time.

"What does that mean?" Elise asked, stunned. Does that mean she will be in trouble with him?

"You'll know" Nadine grinned making Elise gulp. Elise turned her head to look at Arthur again and found him paying for all the items.

She smiled, it doesn't matter how hard it is going to be to teach him anything but she was sure that it was going to be entertaining. Go with the flow,  she repeated to herself.