Intrigue (2)

startled her awake unusually early. She knew it was unusual because her body had been adapted to wake up at precisely 4:53AM every day. She grabbed it and looked at the screen to see Lilliban's picture smiling down at her. Thinking something was wrong, she sat up and picked up the call quickly.

"Lilliban. What's wrong?" she asked in a panic.

"It's Lili, stupid. And I just called to tell you I'll be coming to the first son's mansion in a few hours. And yes it's totally not to see him." she laughed. Valerya noted she sounded a bit tipsy.

"Are you drunk?" Valerya asked and Lilliban laughed again.

"Just a bit."

"Where are you?"

"Just got home. The neighbours upstairs are killing me with their pounding. I mean don't they sleep?" Lilliban asked irritably. Valerya made a mental note to send a few officers to their apartment. They had probably gotten relaxed since she hadn't been home in a while.

"Try to rest and freshen up. See you in a few hours. And use the password iceplum, it changes daily, so try to remember it for today. Okay, Lili?" Valerya emphasized the name Lili, so Lilliban wouldn't get upset.

"Sure," Lilliban said and hung up.

She sighed and checked her phone. The time was 4:05AM. She knew there would be no point going back to sleep, so she donned her new workout clothes. She walked out of her room fully intending to jog around the perimeter and do some HIIT workouts before the break of dawn. She noticed the mansion was eerily silent, except for some faint noises coming from the inbuilt gym. As usual, the workers weren't around as they hadn't resumed for the day yet. So, she was sure it was Davys.

As Valerya peeked, she saw Davys hitting some punching bags, his face stilled in concentration.

"What's up Valerya?" he asked without missing a beat. She hadn't known he knew she was standing there. She walked in and watched his techniques, and his movements while she performed some stretch exercises.

"Why so early today?" he asked directly behind her.

"I should be asking you the same thing."

"I usually finish up by 5AM, which is when you just get up to do yours. What happened?" he asked.

"My sister called. She's coming today to visit. You don't mind, do you?"

"Nah. She's free to come."

He regarded her uncertainly, "You're trained, right? How about we practice? I think I may have forgotten how to properly fight these last few weeks."

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Valerya got up and faced him squarely.

They took a fighting stance and Valerya lunged at him. He was fully prepared, so he deflected her hit with a flick of his wrist. On and on it went, as they went in tandem, like a dance. They seemed to predict each other's moves. Valerya would have preferred to cut off her tongue before admitting it, but she could tell he was much better than her. He was giving her a fighting chance and she could feel it. His moves were a bit slow, and his precision, a little off. She knew he kept it that way on purpose. But still, he was better than her.

She tried to land a backwards kick on his shoulder when he caught her waist and threw her to the ground. She tried to get up but he held both hands with one hand and pinned her down successfully.

"Now what?" he asked as he looked intensely into her eyes.

"If you knew you were so much better than me, then you clearly don't need me as your bodyguard."

"You're perfect for me," he said with a smile, as he let her go and stood up. "I'll leave you to train. You clearly need it," he teased.

She scoffed in annoyance as he walked out. She kept muttering to herself as she continued her training.

Valerya sat beside Davys as he finished his fifth meeting for the day. Unlike how he was at the meeting with his father, she noticed he was a confident and wise leader. His demands were reasonable, his orders clear. As the subordinates in the board meeting left his conference room, she noticed the respect held in their eyes.

He leaned back in his chair and glanced at her, "You should go rest. I'm sure you're exhausted."

"Not as much as you. Let's go together."

"I still have a lot of arrangements to make for the Meneer conference. It's in just four weeks?"

"Well yeah, but I think you'll be more active if you could have some rest." He looked at her for a while, considering. "Very well then, right after I ensure the glass windows are bulletproof."

He was about to continue speaking when the door was barged open and Lilliban walked in.

"Lili," Valerya called out as she walked towards her sister with her hands outstretched.

Acting like she didn't hear her, Lilliban walked past Valerya and moved to stand right in front of Davys. "Salem, first son Marjan," she greeted as she placed her left hand on her chest and made an exaggerated courtesy.

From his relaxed position on the chair, Davys assessed her emotionlessly. "I see your sister Valerya is the looker in the family," he stated and her smile froze on her face.

He noted her shock but continued undeterred. "Two things: one, you never ever enter my conference room. Only in the rare, and I mean rare case when I do invite you, you knock and wait for an answer before coming in. Understood?"

She nodded her head and he continued. "The second thing is your sister wants to talk to you."

Valerya took her cue and spoke up, "Lilliban, why did you lie to me? Marcus told me everything that actually happened. The least you could have done is trusted me."

Lilliban ignored the pronunciation of her name and replied haughtily with hands crossed, "And what would that achieve? He needed to be taught a lesson, no one ended up hurt and the car is at the mechanic. What more do you want? An apology?"

"Yes. To Marcus." And to me. But Valerya didn't mention that.

"Fine. Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. Till the car is fully repaired, seventy-five per cent of your allowance goes to fixing it," Davys said.

Lilliban turned to him, amused. "Then how do I pay for stuff? You want me to steal?"

"If you steal, the Volyrts would gladly cut off your hand, so go ahead. You'll also stay here from now on. I'll receive a weekly report from your teachers. Anything less than a B would attract you being grounded for a few days with your privileges slowly stripped away. Do I make myself clear?" he asked.

"Crystal," Lilliban replied, caught off-guard.

"Good," he said as he walked away. Lilliban stared after him with a genuine smile. She liked the first son, that one. And even more importantly, she liked a challenge.