Chapter Four: The Wicked King of Arlon

--Elianna

News about the death of the King shook the already troubled Kingdom down to the ground. The anxiety was seen on the faces of every single person that walked the street, as realization dawned on everyone.

The Wicked Prince of Arlon would become the Wicked King of Arlon.

It had only been a week since the day Ajax saved my life, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

For ten years I’d lived without him; why did he have to come back now?

I walked through my garden, breathing in the smell of my freshly planted roses. My thoughts were troubled. The Kings was by no chance youthful, I could agree, but something about his death was…unsettling. I shook my head to rid it of the awful thoughts. I refused to be bothered by the same things that my mother did.

The same things that killed her.

The doorbell chimed, and I rushed to answer it, picking up my bat on the way. When I opened the door, it was like being flashed back ten years. Two Palace guard stood in front of me, one with a blue paper clasped in his hands.

‘We regret to inform you that-‘

The clearing of someone’s throat snapped me out of my reverie, and I looked up to see the men.

“The Palace requests for your appearance by noon.” The deep voice came. He had a scar on his left eyebrow, and

dark brown eyes that shimmered even though he was facing the door, and away from the sun. I’m sure they were a bit confused that their Prince, well, soon to be King, was summoning a five-foot seven brown-haired girl a week after his father died.

Well, so was I.

I set down the bat. “Noon?” I echoed. “It’s eleven in the morning! How do you expect me to get ready?” I dramatically sighed. “I’m going to need at least an hour to pluck out all my nose hairs, and another five waxing my-"

“That’s enough El.” Benji cracked a small smile. Benjamin, my former best friend, a brown eyed wonder. He was fifteen years older than me, but, hey, that never stopped us from having as much fun as we possibly could.

“How’s Ellie?” I asked about his five-year-old daughter.

“She’s good.” He nodded. The other guard cleared his throat with a stoic expression, and a grin made its way to my face.

“Hey, Advil.” I used his old nickname.

“El.” He nodded his head. “Back to business, he wants you there as soon as possible.”

“Why?” I asked. Ajax and I hadn’t spoken in about a decade, so why would he need me?

Benji and Advil shared an uncomfortable look. “Just come see for yourself.”

I looked down at my clothes. I had taken a bath, but I was only in sweatpants and a tank top. With a sigh, I opened the door for them. “Come in, let me go change.”

“That’s not necessary.” Advil said. “We’ve been given strict orders.”

In other words, Ajax wanted to make sure I didn’t run away. Again.

“Sure, whatever.” I closed the door and raked my fingers through my hair. Trudging up the stairs, I pulled out my phone and shot Darrell a quick text, telling him I wouldn’t make it for the night.

Of course, being Darrell, he would answer five hours later.

This was Ajax and I didn’t have to get dressed for him, so I picked out a pair of skinny jeans and a black turtleneck. Just to mess with him, I put on a pair of sneakers with the outfit.

Make up was next to non-existent on my life, so lip gloss did the trick. Next was my hair. Laziness ruled my life most of the time, so I simply braided it into two. About 10 minutes later, I trailed down the stairs with my headphones blasting music into my ears. I didn’t want to feel anything. I just wanted to pretend like I wasn’t going to get heartbroken all over again.

I would love to say I wasn’t nervous, and that as the boss bitch I am, I wasn’t scared- but the truth is, my hands were vibrating. I felt cold then warm and cold all over again. I was going to see Ajax.

Twenty-four-year-old Ajax.

The Wicked Prince of Arlon.

I walked out of the house, locking it behind me. “Let’s go.”

Benji’s and Advil’s eyes widened for a moment, before they cleared their throats and opened the door for me. I slid into the car and closed the door, then went on a private ride to hell.