Chapter 397: Elaine X Esmeray (Part One)
Elaine climbed the familiar stairs of the North Tower, her destination being the private quarters of the King of Darkness. She knew that he had stayed within his quarters on purpose to avoid seeing her, yet, he forgot that she didn’t care about the social norms. If she wanted to see him, then she could go find him even within the safe walls of his private quarters.
Her heels clicked against the marble floor, making enough sound to announce throughout the tower that she was on her way.
A couple of moments later, she finally arrived outside the huge wooden double doors. Her first instinct was to use a spell and enter through the ward, but she caught herself at the very last moment. She shouldn’t do things that Esmeray frowned upon and her habit of just bursting inside his study used to be very top on that list. She was sure that he would be equally annoyed, if not more, if she just rushed inside his quarters uninvited.
Taking in a deep breath, she knocked on the door and waited. There seemed to be no movement going on at the other side of the door, but she knew better than to believe that no one was inside. If her mother said that the King of Darkness was in his private quarters, then he was surely in there.
She knocked again. "Don’t keep me waiting out here. These heels are killing me. Let me come inside and rest." She pressed her ear against the door as she finished speaking. Much to her dismay, she still didn’t hear any sound. But a moment or two later, the man inside finally replied - "Return to your quarters and rest. I’m busy right now."
There it was - a calm and collected tone that schooled his emotions perfectly. This was the tone he had always used to talk to her, never showing any warmth despite their special relationship.
Elaine almost felt triggered to just give up on being nice. However, she decided to give the man one last chance. "Your Grace, open the doors and invite me inside while I’m giving you the chance. You know better than to test my patience." She didn’t exactly expect her warning to work. The King of Darkness wasn’t one to get scared.
"Your Highness, please pay attention to your image. You should not be here at this time of the night. Please return." - Came the response from inside.
"Esmeray! Open the doors right now. It’s an order from the Crown Princess of this Realm." Elaine used the last card she had in store to force the man. And this time, her trick did work and the double doors finally flew open. He stood right there in front of her, tall, handsome, and powerful.