Pressure

 Dawn approached quickly in the city of the sun as the first rays of sunlight poured through the windows of Zeya's chamber, painting it a bright orange. Zeya frowned as the rays hit her eyes, blinding her temporarily. To no one's surprise, she didn't sleep a wink last night, making this the third night in a row.

Things were definitely not going her way as she recalled the recent events that occurred. Not only was her hard work going in vain, but the new medication Margaret had prescribed her had been practically useless against her insomnia. And to top it all off, she now had to deal with Varen's recklessness.

Maybe this was why Arius so desperately tried to stop her from leaving until the day of her departure.

 'Perhaps... he was right after all.' Her mind began to question until she barely managed to pull herself together; the lack of sleep was definitely starting to get the best of her. 

 'No, all of this will soon be worth it.' She reassured herself, her eyes fluttering closed. 'I just need to be more patient.'

 The pulsing migraine decided to cut off her thought as it worsened, causing her to tense up. A soft groan escaped from her lips as she lied back down on her bed, attempting to ease the low, thumping discomfort.

 The emperor was going to be a bigger problem than she had predicted, having forgotten how bipolar he could be. One second, he was ready to scoop her guts out in pure hatred, then all of a sudden, he had Zeya cornered in her own room trying to get in bed with her. She had forgotten how sex crazed he was after being away for so long.

 Zeya had heard of rumors regarding Varen's sudden change in behavior after his father had passed. The once stoic and perfect heir suddenly going rampant as soon as his controller of a father dies; it was the perfect story to feed the interests of the nosy noblemen.

 As time went on, he slowly started to isolate himself from other Kaxarenes and even going as far as to ban any sort of events to take place in his home. This turned the once bustling palace to appear almost abandoned, with only servants present to do their own respective duties, just like her own palace back in Stygia. Of course, his council did not stand idle to his sudden decision to disrupt their fun and voiced out their displeasure. Unbeknownst to them however, that was the perfect cue for Varen to strike, quite literally.

 The head of the council barely escaped his wrath alive, sending a clear-cut message to the others to never to go against his orders again. This however, only painted him to be a tyrant amongst the nobles but because of the citizens unwavering love for Varen, they could not do anything to overthrow him.

 "I suppose even his council has some rotten eggs." She muttered under her breathe, having heard rumors of how they took advantage of his idleness.

 "My Lady." A familiar monotonous voice echoed from across the room, catching her full attention. "It is time for your meeting with the counselor Ezra."

 "I am aware of that; I was just waiting for you to show up, Nox." She replied as she swiftly got up from her lying position. "Though I'm sure it will be the same pathetic news as always."

 The corridors were practically deserted as the Roseabelle made her way to the library, with Nox following closely behind her. 

 Zeya's insomnia had gotten worse since the encounter she had with the monster back at the village. The dark circles under her eyes grew more prominent along with her ever-increasing mood swings that came along with it.

 Somehow, she knew that this was no coincidence, that her worsening condition was no other than the monster's doing. The nightmares had grown to last longer, with the sense of terror lurking within her hours after she had woken up from the dreams.

 'This has to be a curse.' She thought, feeling as though there was no other possible answer. 'It's doing this to stop me from searching for the book.'

 So far, she had a few possible locations that held the ancient book Lex had told her about. It was scattered all across the map and Zeya was determined to begin searching as soon as possible. This was the closest Zeya has gotten to finding an answer to what this creature could be, and it could also potentially reveal its weaknesses.

 "Took you long enough to arrive, dear." The voice of someone she had least expected to greet her evidently caught her by surprise, her golden eyes widened as a result. "I almost died of boredom sitting here all by myself in the dark."

 Before her stood Varen, seemingly satisfied with her reaction. 

 "I... just expected to have the counselor greet me instead of you, that's all." She replied after a moment's hesitation, finally stepping into the library. 

 "Ezra had some other things to attend to." Varen replied as vaguely as he possibly could, leaving Zeya even more curious. He stood up with one fluid motion before heading closer to Zeya, his hands crossed in front of his chest. He was dashing as always, with his posh, creaseless suit and well-kept hair.

 'No one would've imagined how sick his mind is while looking like that.' Zeya thought, slightly flustered as he got closer without a warning. 

 "Just what are you thinking about when I'm right in front of you, Zeya?" Varen questioned her with his head tilted, his strong figure looming over her frame due to his height. "Am I not entertaining enough for you? Hm?"

 He tried to caress her cheeks, but she instinctively backed away instantly, making the atmosphere turn incredibly uncomfortable.

 "I'd appreciated if you would stop acting like a child, Your Majesty." Zeya commented as she walked away without a care in the world, leaving Varen behind with his hand still stretched out. 

 "... You're hurting my feelings, dear." Varen sighed dramatically, turning around to face Zeya once again. "You do know I only act this way around you, right?"

 "Are you going to just stand there like an idiot the entire time?" She called out from where she had sat, ignoring Varen's flirtatious remark. 

 'Patience, Varen.' He thought to himself as he maintained his smile despite his hands clenched tightly into fists. 'She clearly still trying to get used to me, after all, we had been apart for quite some time. Everything will go my way in due time, it always does.'

==========

 "All four of these places have a deep connection with Mother, whether it's with the people or the place specifically." Zeya began her explanation, pointing to each one of the 'X's that was marked. "I have no doubt that one of these places have what we're looking for."

 "The good news is that there weren't as much spots as I expected it to be. She moved around often but always liked staying at a specific region whenever she did. The bad news, however, is how scattered the marked spots are from one another so it'll definitely take time to go through all of them, even with our abilities."

 "Hmm..." Varen pondered, carefully examining the map before he spoke. "They all do seem rather promising in their own ways."

 "If we are to start our search... then I'll suggest going to the nearest spot then." He nodded as he placed his finger on the only X placed in Stygia. "Have you already alerted those in Stygia about your find?" 

 "I did send out Nox before coming here." She stated as she pondered on her own thoughts. "However, it will take some time if it gets summoned to the other world whilst on its way there."

 "Your brother is in the Shadow Realms?" He asked, looking slightly surprised. 

 "He believes the monster could be one of his own, a shadow." She explained, grazing her fingers across one of the marked areas on the map. "Except, it learned how to go against its natural instincts and disobey him."

"He fears of it corrupting his followers. That's why he's trying so hard to find what exactly caused it to appear out of seemingly nowhere." She trailed off her sentence, her expression grim as she looked up at Varen. 

 "Which is also why he's been implementing all these rules as an attempt to try and gain back control of what goes in and out of the realm, even though it won't make much difference." She crossed her arms against her chest, seemingly deep in thought. "I still have my doubts, but he already seems convinced that his theory is correct."

 "If that's the current situation then, might I suggest we at least attempt to search here while we wait for an answer from your side?" Varen spoke, placing his sight on the only X placed in Exousia, right outside the capital in the middle what was known to be the outskirts of the nation of the sun. "Let's not waste any more time and get started, you and I. Just until your lovely little knights are ready to get back to you to search the other three areas."

 "... You seem hesitant. Why, is it because you require Arius' permission before accepting my offers?" Varen provoked, flashing his usual flirtatious smile as he stared at her in a devilish intent. "I did notice how tame you've gotten over the centuries, but I must say letting a man control you is a shock, even for me."

 "Are you finished running your mouth, Your Majesty?" She concluded their conversation as calmly and politely as she could despite Varen succeeding in vexing her. "If so, I'll be taking my leave now then."

 "I'm looking forward to our little outing tomorrow, dear." He said sweetly as he watched Zeya turn for the door, leaving him alone in the library once more.