Sebastian's guards rolled into the pavilion in rows, each securing a large vintage box in their hands. They placed them down and retreated, then the maids came forward as per Seb's order to start carrying out their work.
"I know you love jasmine tea so I've brought plenty along with me. The north is surely blessed with plenty of good stuff" He remarked while chewing on the steak in his mouth.
" That's very nice of you Seb, thanks" She appreciated once again.
Blair's eyes darted around her to find her maids standing in one corner, along with Zephyr, his gray eyes were skimming at her. When their eyes met, she didn't catch him breaking the gaze, his eyes remained fixed on hers for as long as she stared.
She was then jolted out of her daze by Sebastian, who was still not aware of the presence of the new bodyguard. "You're not eating?" He surveyed.
"I am. It's just that my stomach is full for now. " She conceded, " And I wouldn't like to waste your food, is it alright if I share them with my servants? "
Seb tilted on the chair, and grinned at her, " Of course, you always do that. Why ask for my permission? "
" It's just that... I don't know, I've been feeling strange recently"
" Yeah. I can tell" He commented. " Do you have anything in mind that's bothering you? "
" No, If there was any, you would be the first to know about it"
" Okay then" He decided not to push further and Blair was thankful for that. She loved Seb because he took good care of her and also because he always knew when to stop questioning her.
The princess turned to her maids and ushered them to come forward, she expected zephyr to linger behind but Helen had pushed him forward thereby leading them toward the princess.
Sebastian was munching gently on his steaks when he felt a presence. Since when did her maids make him feel so low and unwanted like this? he asked himself.
Raising his hazel eyes to gaze at a tall man in front of him, his build was stronger than his, and he... Seb didn't know how to classify him, was it out of this world or what? he pondered as he slowly eyed the man, up and down.
Seb felt insulted by his arrogant behavior and he didn't hesitate to question him. "Who is he?" He directed to Blair.
Blair could see some kind of weird reaction from Sebastian... jealousy?, she also saw that he had a sharp distaste for Zephyr as he glared at her bodyguard.
She wanted to clear off any suspicions that he might be assuming, "He is my new bodyguard, Seb meet Ten" She introduced zephyr with a smile.
"Ten?" Seb inquired with confusion laced in his tone, he was practically not expecting that name at all. He thought she was going to mention a fine name since he was a fine man.... ugh! Seb hated to admit it, he was jealous of the man.
Blair nodded, "Ten" she affirmed.
"Is that his real name?" Seb probed further, leaning towards the table to grab hold of his tea and he brought it to his mouth to have a sip.
"No, he said he doesn't know"
Now, Seb became wary. He wasn't even reluctant to let Blair know what he was thinking, "Are you sure he won't be a threat to you? I mean, you don't know anything about him and you appoint him as your bodyguard?"
" His Majesty knows about it"
" Still!" His voice became grave, startling Blair and her maids, only Zephyr remained unfazed. He wondered what the moron was blabbing about, if he wanted to hurt the princess, he would have done so the minute they saw each other in the hall.
" You could have talked to me about this, I could have selected a better choice for you... not some freak that came out from nowhere!" He yelled.
Zephyr yawned.
At this, Blair frowned at him. "I'll be fine if it's my safety you are worried about. I can handle this, it's no big deal" She said dismissively. Her tone was firm, proving to him that she was tired of the gibberish he was spouting.
Seb nodded in anger, leaned back on the chair, and downed his tea in one go. The hatred he was feeling was much hotter than the tea.
There was silence, a prolonged silence in the pavilion until Helen decided to break the silence.
" Lord Seb, it's good to see you again" Helen bowed her head in respect, likewise the other maids.
while Zephyr kept his head and expression straight like nothing was going on around him.
"Hmm" Seb acknowledge with a hum, his response proving that he was still angry.
Blair was unconcerned about it, she turned to her maids and started talking to them. Soon, Helen left with all of the maids, all of them were smiling because of the princess's kindness towards them and also because they got to taste foods from the north.
"Why don't you join them?" Blair asked zephyr, her eyes never leaving his place.
A subtle frown appeared on his forehead, he didn't want to be the only man with a bunch of ladies. He was fine without food for now. He turned around to leave the pavilion, taking the same route as the maids but was far behind them. Blair's eyes didn't leave him, and when Seb saw this, he was disturbed.
"You're having the tea right?" Seb asked, his eyes directed at the maid that was gently carrying the hot tea on the plate before he looked back at the princess.
"Sure"
Blair and Sebastian resumed their discussion as they awaited the tea. It took forever before the maid could reach them because she was walking carefully not to spill the hot tea, but she ended up spilling it anyway.
Her right foot had kicked a small rock in front of her and her leg had shifted course due to that. She accidentally threw the cup in the air as she fell to the ground.
The maid's eyes widened in horror as she watched the cup heading in the princess's direction, "Watch out!" She yelled while hitting the ground.
Time seemed to have slowed down as Blair turned around to see a flying cup in her way, it was directed at her face. She could tell by the steam that evaporated from the cup that the tea was very hot.
Seems like she would get a burn today, on her face. She closed her eyes, awaiting the pain that would descend on her face but it never came.
She heard the cup crashing to the ground. And the tea, where had the tea gone? she asked herself.
She didn't feel a burning pain on her face. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see a tall shadow looming over her, dressed in a burgundy color.
Zephyr? But he had already left the pavilion, how did he appear in time to save her? She asked herself these questions as she gazed up at his gray eyes.
She was about to ask him if he was fine when she suddenly turned him around to see the spilled tea on his shirt. It must have spilled on his back and burnt him.
'Ouch' the princess felt for him, the guy had too many scars on his body and she just added another one to the list of scars that he had.
Blair slowly stood up to face Zephyr, "How did you know that it was going to spill on me and you arrived in the nick of time to save me?"
"Instincts" He replied neutrally.
The princess was glad to hear a response from him, she could feel the heat bubbling up inside her whenever she heard his voice and she yearned to hear it again. " Are you alright?" She asked him, referring to his back.
Zephyr nodded. "I don't think so, I'll ask Helen to get you an ointment later," Blair said, looking at him worriedly, she was scared of adding another scar on his beautiful skin.
"Your highness" The maid who had spilled the tea earlier came forward, sniffling.
Blair's focus shifted to the maid, could see the tears gathering in her eyes as she knelt before her, "I'm sorry, your highness. I didn't mean to, it was an accident" She tried clarifying. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
Blair sighed, "It's alright Raina, I know it was an accident" She helped the maid get up and comforted her.
Momentarily, the crying maid was gone and Blair glanced at Sebastian. It was time that she left to help zephyr with the ointment' she thought.
However, Seb's hands were still outstretched in the air, and his deadly eyes darted to look at Zephyr.
Zephyr raised his eyebrow when he saw the guy's awkward position, he then caught a whiff of what was going on.
'Slow poke' Zephyr thought. The guy must have attempted to save the princess, regardless, he failed woefully.
Zephyr's lips suddenly curled up into a mocking smirk. The sight infuriated Sebastian. He could see the latter curl his fist in rage and his eyes suddenly emitted an amber glow.
'Petty'