A foreign emotion

After the courtroom session had been dismissed, the Queen stopped Sarius to have a talk with him. Everyone else including Alec Preston left however Alec was the only one who wasn't looking forward to the celebration and bonus by any means neither he was worried about the threat given by the Queen. 

"My condolences, your Majesty. It is a huge loss for us and the Kingdom." Sarius said as soon as they were alone in the courtroom. 

"Indeed Sarius, indeed," She gestured for him to sit on one of the chairs ahead of the throne's setting. 

He sat down on the edge of the seat reluctantly, his body stiff. Just like his first meeting with the Queen, he was clueless about why the Queen stopped him out of all the important members of the Royal community, especially Alec Preston. 

"You know our Princess Flerona is already combating the loss of her beloved father and the sudden responsibility of a Kingdom is not what she looked forward to." She paused and looked at the boy who was listening to her attentively. "She needs a strong partner to strengthen her position and to accompany her through the journey."

"You are right, your Highness." Sarius thought that he understood what the Queen meant. 

She must be talking about marrying off the Princess to a capable candidate who must be a Prince or Duke. However what she said next wasn't something he ever had expected in his wildest dreams. 

"And I think for her partner, there is no better option than you." 

Her words were like a bomb that came out of nowhere and bursted upon him. For the very first time, he raised his head a little and dared looking at the Queen who looked drop dead serious. There was no hint of playfulness on her features and why would she joke about such a matter, he scolded himself. 

"Me?" He couldn't stop himself from questioning. 

"Yes, you. I need you to marry my daughter, the next Queen of Dernas."

~

"They haven't found the treasure yet, my lady." The Queen's loyal man, Deniz informed her as she was pacing back and forth in her room. 

"What do you mean by they haven't found it yet?!" She shouted at him. "It's been months since we have set the plan in motion but still it's fruitless." She seemed to be talking to herself while saying the last sentence. 

"They have decoded the ancient writings but that Sphinx is protected by something extraordinary, my lady. Something inhumane that is incapable of being beaten up." He said with a hint of some emotion glistening in his eyes. 

"I need my treasure, Deniz. I have given my word about a bonus and that is the only way to keep these greedy leeches stuck to us until we find our own trustworthy men." She slumped on a chair, rubbing her temple. 

"Maybe we can use the Kingdom funds until we get our hands on it?" Deniz suggested. 

"The funds are empty," She sighed, "That foolish King wasted every single penny for their welfare during the famine. He should have saved it for his family instead." She spat with pure hatred masking her features and reflecting her tone. 

"Don't worry, my Lady. I will take every measure to find the treasure before the day of our Princess's coronation." He bowed his head. 

"And wedding," She added, looking at him. 

"And wedding," He repeated with a lopsided smirk. 

~

The sun had reached the middle of the sky above the yellow desert beneath. The day was rather hot as compared to the cold nights of the desert. 

They have been walking for almost an hour now. The jeep ran out of fuel and there was no way they could have kept it with them hence they left it behind after Hellion picked up some important objects from it. 

"Ahhh," Claudia groaned, falling on the sand. "I can't walk anymore." 

Hellion, who was walking ahead of her, stopped and glanced back. She was lying on her side with her arms extended forward and legs backward in a limp manner. Since they started walking, she has been doing that after every ten to fifteen minutes. 

Dramatic, he thought but refrained from saying so. He knew it was hard for her but she somehow managed to make it look extra hard with her exaggerated tactics. Being a rough and tough person himself, although he didn't like whining people, however with her, he found it cute instead of annoying and that bothered him. 

Suppressing a chuckle, he walked back to her and sat beside her in such a way that hid her face from direct sunlight. He saw how her creasing forehead relaxed as soon as his shadow covered it. There were tiny sweat droplets glistening over her milky smooth skin. 

"Water?" He asked, opening the water can's cap. 

She just made a little approving noise but didn't open her eyes or get up. Unconsciously, he looked over to her foot that showed her bare ankle from above the shoe. It seemed slightly swollen and had turned a greenish-purple where the scorpio's bite was. 

He bit the inside of his lower lip as his forehead creased. There was a foreign emotion budding inside him, something known as care. Something that he never actually experienced before. His eyes darted back to her face that looked so calm as if a child was asleep. 

Why do I care for her? Why am I even doing all of this for her, leaving my own life and purposes behind? He thought silently. She wouldn't even trust me, he remembered his uncanny dream. 

Though he had always thought of it as a stupid dream and nothing else, at that moment deep within him, the emotions he always felt during the dream felt so real. He didn't like the idea of her not trusting him, he didn't like it at all. 

"Dia?" He touched her forearm gently but she didn't respond or move.