"Your highness, Queen Yvonne seeks your presence."
Noelle looked up from the book he was reading.
Had he not been scary enough or is she attempting suicide?
"You may leave." He replied.
"Your highness, should I say you will come to her?" The guard asked timidly.
"Is she here?" He asked, finally raising his gaze from the book.
Is she so desperate?
"Yes, your highness. She is in front of your chambers as we speak." The guard replied.
Noelle grimaced at the thought of having to speak to her again.
The woman was as stubborn as a bull and a lot more moronic than one but she still is a queen and should not be turned down.
"Let her in." He ordered.
Her footsteps alerted him and he looked once again from his book and when he saw her, closed the book and kept it on the bed then stood up and said.
"I am surprised you came all the way to see me, to what do I owe the honour, your majesty?"
She huffed before she allowed herself a seat.
"Did you grow manners overnight?"
He smiled at that. It is good she is catching on, he doubts he would be able to keep up the politeness long enough.
He allowed his eyes to scan her and he realized there was something amiss. Her eyes were red though she had tried to cover it up by rimming it with coal, she looked worn out behind the exotic hairstyle and expensive clothing.
"It is scandalous enough you are in my chambers, I can not have you stay longer."
She laughed dryly before she asked.
"What you are demanding from us, does it not require us to be in the same room?"
Noelle raised an eyebrow before he walked closer to her.
"Are you giving yourself to me?" He asked, disbelief evident on his face.
"It is not an uncommon occurrence. As a matter of fact most royal marriages are marriages of convenience, so why am I being chastised when I want to do it for the greatest reason they could be? " She asked, slightly furious.
"We are not getting married." He deadpanned.
"Not before I tame your monster, yes. But we are if I come out of your room alive next morning." She argued.
"Next morning?" He asked, confused.
"I am here now, so why postpone it?" She asked as she began to untie her robe.
Neil swallowed as he allowed his eyes to dart to the door. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and he asked.
"Does anyone know you are here? Kebarah, Lewis?"
"No, It was an impulsive decision, I want to get done with it." She replied a bit concerned if saying the truth had been wise at all
'This is it!' He thought.
The opportunity he had been looking for.
"As you wish then." He whispered, closing the distance between them.
He watched her with keen interest as she sensually undid her robe and threw it somewhere in the room.
She stood confidently and allowed him rake his eyes over her.
She could see his Adam's apple bulge and she smiled knowing she had him where she wanted him.
Instinctively, she rubbed her thighs against each other and felt the knife she had strapped around one in case things go awry.
The action was noticed by him and he smiled.
'They may actually get married.' He thought.
'And he will get to prove he is not a monster someone has to tame.'
He walked to her and loosened her hair, letting it fall gracefully to her back.
Slowly, he snaked one hand around her neck, while the other hand was around her waist bringing her closer.
He dipped his head while she angled hers to give him more access. Just when he had finally caught her lips with his, he heard footsteps and quickly withdrew.
"Cover up." He growled and she quickly did mostly because of the way his eyes shone red as he gave the order.
A moment later, king Lewis walked into the room calling his name.
"Noelle, Noelle."
"Your highness." He answered stiffly.
"I have....."
"Queen Yvonne, you are here?" He stated upon seeing her but it sounded more like a question.
He raked his eyes over the room and satisfied by the condition it was in, he turned to Yvonne and said .
"Your highness, I hate to interrupt but may I have some moment with my son?"
Noelle said nothing but took a seat while Yvonne bashfully nodded and walked out.
"What ! Is going on here?" Lewis asked barely containing himself.
Noelle was quiet for a while, making sure Yvonne had left before he replied.
"What you instructed us to do. We would have gone halfway if you had not interrupted."
"Noelle.." he called. His tone warning.
He simply shrugged in reply and picked up his book, Rulers and kings.
"Do you think she is some kind of whore that you can have at your whim?" Lewis asked, infuriated.
"I think you are overlooking an important detail here, this is my room, not hers. If anyone's wish is being fulfilled, it is hers not mine."
"Do you think you can be this arrogant if something had gone wrong?" Lewis asked rubbing his temple. An motion he did when he was getting infuriated.
"You may not control it so we make the necessary arrangements and sign the necessary documents. If she had died without all those preparations, do you think Kebarah would leave us be?"
"Then you should not have made the offer." He screamed angrily flinging the book.
"I am doing this for you, for our kingdom. You are the reason I can not have a child of my own, the least you can do is allow me die in peace. Let me be able to face father and if asked how I left the kingdom, I will say I left it to you, Noelle my brother not some killer Monster." He yelled back, his temple rubbing becoming more violent with every word.
Maybe because he had dropped the mask of the charismatic king he always had on, the years of fatigue were now evident in his eyes and the drooping skin on his face. Wrinkles were now evident around his eyes and mouth and he looked like he could give up any moment.
"I have told you. That, was a mistake." He started, stressing every word .
"Then they must all be mistakes. All the lives that were lost because you could not control it." Lewis hissed.
"I can. I always have. If I did not you would not be standing here.
"I, I, I am always trying, I am always in control. I do not ingest alcohol, I refuse to be aggravated, I keep to myself but you send those innocent girls to me again and again all in the name of securing the kingdom. I am immortal so why do I have to bear a child?" He was no longer restraining himself.
He allowed the anger take over him, letting Lewis get a glimpse of what it would be like if he was not in control.
"A king does not keep to himself. A king most definitely does not avoid the situation, would you trust a king that can not do the simple task of bedding a woman because he fears he might lose control?"
"And you say you do not need an heir, do you think they will let you rule forever? They will die if they have to but they will make sure to overthrow you and if you are adamant on not facing your problems, then that will happen soon, probably before you are able to sit in the throne."
"Then I do not want the throne." He screamed, throwing a vase.
"I do not want the throne if I have to murder innocent girls to get it. I have never even wanted the throne for heaven's sake." He was crumbling now, the memories of every single body, every single girl he had mutilated.
He knew not their names but he could tell clearly which part he had cut off first.
"I want you to remember this, you did not murder those girls. The monster did but if you do nothing, if you avoid the situation like you wish to, then you are no better than it." Lewis stated, his index finger pointing at him.
Noelle let out a laugh. A humorless mockery filled laughter.
"What do you mean by the monster did? We are one and the same. Anything I do it does and anything it does, I did."
Lewis was not just disgusting him but he was also beginning to scare him. Is this a brother caring for his brother or a king desperate to keep power in his family?
He had told him, always told him that he does not black out or have no memory of the attack. He admits his opinion is subdued and he had little control over himself but he recalls everything. Their terrified and helpless screams, his merciless punches and one thing he could not figure out was what he always felt.
Instead of enjoying the process like everyone assumes the monster does, he could feel his panic, his fear. It was like a hunter hysterically shooting at a leopard that was coming at him.
He had shared this detail with his brother but he had turned a deaf ear and Instead made up a story.
"The monster murders them after repeated carnal penetration." He made it seem as if he did it to satisfy his sexual appetite which was far away from truth, no penetration had occured with all the fifteen girls. He always went hysterical before that.
He had suggested the girls to be thoroughly checked before they were brought to him but there still was no change.
What if they brought something that made the monster feel the need to be on the defense?
Truth to be told, it was suspicious how their parents sacrificed them without hesitation but they never came in with anything but a knife, and he was no stranger to knives. The sight of it only humoured him so what was it they brought in?
What was it that made an immortal taste fear?
And who gave it to them?
He had tried to prove it by visiting a brothel but he always backed out before he ever made it there. What if it truly was just what he wanted to believe like Lewis had said?
What if another life is lost because of his experiment?
How different would he be from the brother he had began to find disgusting and inhumane?
"Does that mean you admit to seducing then killing even Margret, your first victim?"