Chapter 39
2276 Words
Chantelle walked into the castle, and strangely she was greeted by Maya. She noticed that Maya had a worried look on her face and Chantelle looked at the queen in question.
“Maya, what is wrong?” she asked, and Maya gave her an uneasy look.
“It’s Roman,” she whispered, as she got closer to the woman, and immediately, Chantelle’s hand flew to her mouth.
“What’s wrong with my boy?”
“Well, he is out of control. His father was the one to keep him in check, but now that Rocco is gone, he has let his new-found freedom go to his head. I cannot control him,” whispered Maya, and Chantelle gave her a reassuring look.
“Okay, calm down. I will go talk to him,” she said, and Maya looked at her seriously.
“I hope that you can talk some sense into him,” Maya breathed.
Chantelle patted the queen’s shoulder gently and then she gave her a knowing look.
“Yes, Rocco may no longer be with us, but I am still here.”
Maya only nodded and Chantelle turned away from her to go find her son.
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“Ms. Chantelle, how are you?” greeted Ray, as Chantelle made her way down the hallway.
She smiled at Ray politely, and she touched his arm as she reached him.
“Hello, Ray. Is my son in his room?”
Ray nodded and then he opened the door.
“Yo, your mom is here, cous,” he called, and Roman looked at the door and smiled at his mother.
“Mom!” he greeted her, as he hugged her.
“Hello, dear,” she said, cheerfully, as she hugged him back.
“Now, tell me what is wrong,” she said, as the embrace ended.
Roman looked at his mother in question, and then he glanced up at Ray. Seemingly, Ray shrugged his shoulders, and Roman looked back at his mother.
“Nothing, why?” he asked, as he eyed her suspiciously, and Chantelle looked her son over.
“Maya stopped me on my way up here. She had made it seem like you had gone mad,” she said, as she looked at her son with concern.
Suddenly, Roman laughed and Chantelle looked at him oddly.
“She did what?” he asked, as his smile faded, and then he glanced at Ray.
“Did she really go to my mother?” he asked his cousin, and Ray shrugged his shoulders.
At that moment, Chantelle saw a change in her son’s demeanor, and then she saw his face twitch. Maybe Maya wasn’t wrong about Roman, because she had never seen him twitch in anger before. Gently, she put her hands on her son’s chest.
“Don’t worry about it. She is just concerned, that is all,” she said in a reassuring voice, and he looked at her with a smile.
Quickly, he decided to deal with Maya later. Evidently, he knew that his mother worried about him a lot, and now, thanks to Maya, his mother had more to worry about. He didn’t like that at all.
“It’s fine, mom. So. How long are you staying?” he asked, and Chantelle gave him an apologetic look.
“I just stopped by to see you. I have a meeting with the council tonight.”
Roman nodded and then he looked at her thoughtfully.
“Can you do me a favor?”
Chantelle looked up at him and she nodded.
“Could you give the king an invitation to the fight show? One of his generals challenged me.”
Chantelle scoffed at her son, and he gave her a pleading look.
“Please?”
“Fine. Just this once, but do not ever ask me again,” she scolded, and Roman hung his head in defeat.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said in a low voice.
“Now, watch your temper around the queen, and both of you behave yourselves,” Chantelle said, as she looked at Roman, and then she looked at Ray.
Respectfully, Ray folded his hands and he hung his head.
“Yes, ma’am,” he stated.
Chantelle nodded and then she looked back at her son.
“I love you, now stop terrorizing the queen,” she said, and then she quickly left the room.
Ray looked at Roman as his face twitched in anger.
“That b***h is now trying to get in between me and my mother, now?” Roman sneered, as Ray clapped his hands together and shook his head.
“She will be dealt with in time,” growled Roman, as he glared angrily at the door.
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Seemingly, Ashta, Riah, and Damian had worked out all day. They spent some of the afternoon jogging the trail to the cliff and back and they had just made it back to the Garden of Eternity.
“That was a hike,” said Riah breathlessly.
“Yeah,” breathed Ashta, as she walked over to the fountain and took a drink.
“I never knew how beautiful the land could be. Thank you,” said Damian, as he sat down on one of the park benches.
Ashta turned from the fountain and she looked at him thoughtfully.
“You’re welcome. Roman showed me that place,” she said, and Riah gave her a questioning look.
“Whoa, sorry.” said Ashta, as she raised her hands.
At that moment, she realized how many memories she had of that man and her out on the cliff, and even in the garden. For a moment, she missed his handsome smiling face, and then she quickly shook her thoughts from her head.
“Are you okay?” Riah asked, as she pulled her head back from the fountain.
Ashta only nodded. She didn’t want them to know she still missed him, and how much she wished things were different. Damian stood up from the bench that he was sitting on and then he walked over to Ashta with a soft look on his face.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” he said softly, and she nodded.
“The event is tomorrow night, and I want to make sure that I am well rested,” he stated, and Ashta rolled her eyes.
“Ashta?” called a voice, and Ashta turned her head toward the garden’s entrance.
Surprisingly, Chantelle was standing there, and Ashta smiled brightly at her.
“Chantelle!” she exclaimed, as she ran over to the woman.
“Hello, dear,” she said, warmly, as Ashta hugged her.
“It is good to see you,” Ashta said, happily, as the embrace ended.
“How are you?”
“I am good,” said Ashta, as she noticed a worried look on the woman’s face.
“That is good. I am glad to hear that,” Chantelle said, as she patted Ashta’s shoulder.
Badly, she wanted to ask her about Roman, but she didn’t because Damian was with them.
“How are you?” Ashta asked instead.
“I’m doing alright. Things are a little rough right now, but by the god’s will, things will get better,” she stated, as she sighed a heavy sigh.
Seemingly, Ashta had a feeling that she was unhappy about her son. She decided that she would catch his mother at a different time, so that they could have privacy and talk.
“I am sorry that things are difficult. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Chantelle shook her head.
“No, dear. It’s a personal family issue,” she said, and immediately, Ashta knew she was right.
“Okay. Well, keep your head up. I am sure things will get better.” said Ashta reassuringly, and Chantelle only nodded.
“Oh, yes. Before I forget. The prince asked me to deliver the invitation for tomorrow’s fight. I will no longer be relaying these messages after this one time,” she said, as she pulled an envelope from her bag, and handed it to Ashta.
“I will make sure that my uncle gets this,” stated Ashta, and Chantelle looked over at Damian.
“Good luck. My son isn’t the same as he used to be,” she said, and then she quickly smiled at Ashta, as she left the garden.
Sadly, Ashta looked up at Damian. She knew that Roman was going to destroy him and this really hurt her heart. He was her best guy friend and she loved him. Riah and Damian walked up to her and then they made their way back to the castle.
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Patiently, Ashta waited until everyone was asleep, and then, she quietly snuck out of her room, down the stairs and out of the castle.
“Where are you going?”
Ashta jumped and then she turned around startled. Damian and another guard were leaning against the stonewall of the castle.
“Out for a walk,” she said, as she straightened.
Oddly, he looked at his friend and he smirked at him. They were both drinking something from a silver flash, and whatever it was smelled strong.
“All by yourself?” Asked the guard, as he chuckled.
Annoyed, Ashta crossed her arms over her chest, and she looked at them suspiciously.
“Yeah, why?” she asked, and Damian walked over to her.
She noticed that he took stumbling steps. He was drunk.
“Maybe we can go for a walk together. You know, since it is my last night before the big fight,” he said, as he touched her face softly.
At that moment, Ashta backed away from him. His breath reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were glazed over and bloodshot.
“You’re drunk. Maybe you should walk your drunk ass to your bed,” she scolded, as she glared angrily at him.
Suddenly, Damian looked over at his friend, and he grinned at him, as he turned back to Ashta.
“Now, that sounds like a better idea. We can take a walk to my room,” he said in a disturbing voice.
Ashta smirked at him uneasily, and then she raised her defenses.
“No, you can walk yourself to your room,” she said flatly.
“Come on, Ashta,” he slurred, as he stumbled toward her.
Before she could react, Damian grabbed her face hard and smashed his lips against hers. At that moment, Ashta squealed angrily and pushed him away from her. Evidently, Damian was so intoxicated that he fell onto the ground.
“Take your ass to bed!” she snarled, as she made a few quick fluent movements.
Before Damian could speak, Ashta flew up into the air and then she disappeared.
**********************
Roman was in his room and he had put his bourbon away for the night. Seemingly, his head hurt, and drinking more of that stuff made it worse. Heavily, he sighed as he looked out of the window. As the toxicity of the poison faded, he began to think about Ashta.
Suddenly, he thought he had seen her. He did see her. She was in a tree near the castle, and it looked
like she was sobbing. All of a sudden, he had an urge to go to her, and make her feel better. Without thinking, he flew out of the window and to the tree she was sitting in.
Sadly, Ashta looked up, and then she gasped, as she saw Roman floating toward her. Protectively, she hugged her knees tighter as he came closer.
What does he want? she thought to herself, as she looked up at him.
“Ashta?” he asked, as he grabbed onto a nearby branch, and she looked at him with a tear-stricken face.
“Why did you have to change?” she blurted out at him, and he hung his head in defeat.
Then, he looked up at her seriously.
“I am sorry, but it’s the way things have to be,” he said flatly.
“Well, I hope you get some sense knocked into you when you fight...” She trailed off as she hugged her knees tighter, and she looked away from him.
Roman looked at her confused.
“When I fight, Damian?” he asked, and she only nodded sadly.
At that moment, he could feel Ashta’s pain, and this concerned him.
“Did he do something to you?” he asked, and she looked up at him with fresh tears in her eyes.
What did he care? she wondered.
At that moment, he knew something went on between them and it wasn’t good. He decided to put his differences aside and he sat next to her on the thick branch.
“I am sorry,” he said in a soft voice.
Unexpectedly, Ashta jumped into his arms and she began to sob. Roman didn’t want to hold her, but he did anyway. Something inside him told him it was the right thing to do for her. Undoubtedly, they both still felt the connection that was between them, but this time Roman decided it was just for a moment.
Unknowingly, Maya was watching them from the throne room window and she was intrigued by how they were holding each other, instead of being at each other’s throats. Suddenly, she shook her head and sneered angrily. She decided that she would make Roman’s drink stronger. She could not have them reuniting and spoiling her plans. Maya vowed that she would turn her stepson into a cold-hearted monster and then he would destroy that girl.
- Writer
