10 I Am a Warrior, Not a Servant
The King walked straight to the balcony, Xenia walked behind him as they arrived in the open space.
Looking ahead, she was surprised to see a mouthwatering spread on the balcony. Did all of this food appear while she was asleep? There were numerous servants preparing their meals for some reason.
Xenia unconsciously licked her lips when she saw the feast on the table, her stomach rumbled inside her as her hunger made itself known. It had been a while since she last indulged herself with proper food.
Seeing that everything was in proper order, Darius signaled the servants to leave.
“Sit,” he commanded, which was soon followed by a groan under his breath when he glanced at her licking and wetting her lips. Xenia’s brow knitted as she stared at him, wondering what was with the reaction of being displeased?
“Eat,” Darius instructed with a dark expression on his face.
Xenia started eating but she felt like she would get indigestion with the way the king was staring at her. She couldn’t concentrate on the food at all even though it was actually good. It honestly made her wonder why she was drooling looking at it earlier in the first place.
Trying to be cautious, she tried to eat slowly so as to not earn his ire. Xenia had noticed how Darius seemed to act strangely around her. He would stare at her, but whenever she would catch him looking, his face would dim as if he was annoyed at something.
‘What is wrong with this King?’ she wondered with a knot on her forehead. She couldn’t eat properly at all with his eyes keenly watching her like that.
“Don’t you like the food?” Darius suddenly asked.
“I like it, Your Majesty. The food is great and delicious. It’s just that I’m feeling uncomfortable being watched while eating,” Xenia answered, her face reddening out of embarrassment.
She hastily picked up the glass of water placed next to her plate.
“From now on, you will become my personal servant. You will stay close to me and assist me with everything that I might need.”
The declaration was so sudden that Xenia spat out the water she had just sipped. “What?!” she cried.
Seeing the dimmed expression of the king before her, she could only gulp and politely address her outburst.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I don’t want to be rude in raising my voice, but I am rather shocked to hear your words,” she explained herself. “Please… I don’t understand. I am a warrior, not a servant. I am more useful in battles than servitude.”
“Then from now on you are my warrior servant,” Darius replied with a smirk. “I am sure that you can learn more as you remain here by my side. Naturally, you can’t make any complaints as someone who belongs to me.”
Xenia could not believe what she had just heard from the king! Was he playing with her? A servant? Was there even such a thing as a warrior servant? And what’s with that hint of amusement she saw in his eyes while saying those words?
However, she couldn’t think of a response to give this King, who for some reason seemed so avid with her.
All she could think of right now was escaping. She calculated the risks and ways in which she could escape the hold of this demanding King. It was inevitable for her to try and leave, to return to her kingdom and save her sister from a destiny that wasn’t hers to bear.
‘I am sorry, Mineah. I promise I will make things right,’ she swore to herself. But how could she do it? Would she have enough time to exchange positions with Mineah before the wedding?
It would take her at least five days to travel from Cordon to Ebodia by horse. The wedding will be taking place in six days so she should still have enough time. All she needed to do was somehow leave the palace tonight!
Xenia bit the inside of her cheeks. She ran away from home because she didn’t want to marry the Vampire King. But if she returned, she would have to marry the Vampire King anyway. It would be invalidating everything and every step she has taken so far.
All her running away would’ve done is that it only made things complicated for the people she loved and cared about.
“Don’t think too much about it and continue eating. As I’ve said, you only have two choices. It’s either you obey me or choose to fight in the pit. Among the two, obeying me is clearly the better choice if you want to continue living.” Darius firmly said, casting a strict gaze on her, when he noticed that she was blatantly ignoring him.
Xenia shivered under his scrutinous stare, which seemed to penetrate straight into her soul.
“But Your Majesty, you can have better personal servants. I am afraid I won’t meet your expectations,” she reasoned, trying to sound as calm as she possibly could, restraining herself from showing her annoyance.
“No more words. Or else, I will take it as you turning down the privilege of serving your King and choosing the pit over me,” Darius said with a frown.
Xenia stopped responding, knowing that it would be futile in the end. She could only sigh as she continued eating.
She needed to regain her strength if she were to even think of escaping tonight, so she ate heartily without bothering to look at her captor, who surprisingly kept the silence going as well.
In her head, she started drawing up plans for tonight as she continued eating. Whereas Darius on the other hand kept sighing silently. By the time both of them had finished eating, the servants had already come in to get the dishes and clean up.
“You can return to your chamber and rest,” The king instructed.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Xenia said with a slight bow, quickly leaving the room in fear that he might change his mind or ask her to do something even more absurd.
As Xenia reached her room, she meditated for some time while waiting for the right opportunity to escape. She would often do this to clear her mind of all her worries so that she could think peacefully. After a while, she went to bed to recuperate her strength.
After what seemed like an eternity full of concerns, she sat up from her bed. She stealthily headed towards the balcony and gazed outside.
It was beautiful and calm. And in the dead of the night, she couldn’t think of a better night to escape. As she looked down, she noticed a few guards and took note of the duration of their rounds.
She then moved to grab her double-edged sword as she got ready for her escape.