The next day. "I searched every name in this castle, including the maids but there isn't anyone with the name Anastasia" Charles said.
"You didn't check correctly, I heard them yesterday" Azriel said. "Why didn't you just confront them when you had the chance to?" Charles asked.
"Zain interrupted my thinking" Azriel said enraged. "Have Zain beaten without mercy tonight" Azriel coldly stated.
"Don't be so quick to jump into conclusion with that temper. Why are you so worked up about some random girl, It's unlike you" Charles said. Azriel groans in frustration.
"I don't know to be honest but when I heard her voice..... It was filled with pain and suffering. She wants someone who will protect her..... I want to be that someone" Azriel said.
Charles was genuinely puzzled. "You want to protect this girl? Why?" Charles asked. "It's not clear yet.... It feels like I'm.... Like I'm connected to her somehow.
When I heard the pain in her voice, it felt like my demons wanted to jump out and kill whosoever is making her scared" Azriel said.
"You share a bond with this person... Brother I think you've found your mate. Your match made directly from the heavens" Charles said. "Don't be absurd, there's no such thing as a destined lover"
"How can you say that? Even your demons knows the truth, yet you choose to deny it" Charles said. "It's just infatuation, it will blow over soon" Azriel remarks.
"You haven't felt this way for any woman, not even Luna and you're calling this a mare infatuation? You must have gone terribly mad"
Azriel clearly remembers her voice. It was sweet and tender but had sadness behind them. He could smell her perfume, something sweet, delicious and far more dangerous than he had ever wanted.
He felt this magnetic pull from her scent, he wanted to know who she was so badly but reality had other plans.
"It doesn't matter, I can't find her. She's just another dream" Azriel said. "I have check the records of everything and everyone who came in and went out of the castle yesterday and this morning" Charles said.
"It sickens me.. is this what it is feel like to lose someone?" Azriel asked trembling. Charles hasn't seen this side of Azriel before, it's making him worried.
He steps close to him, siting beside him. "Nobody is losing anybody. I promise you, I'll find her if it's the last thing I do" Charles said.
Azriel clasped both his hands trying to stop them from shaking uncontrollably. "I can't stand you like this, it's disturbing" Charles laughs trying to lighten up the already tense moment. "I think I need to invite Rose to help with this matter" Charles said.
"No... No... Anything, anyone but Rose" Azriel said. "I'm sorry, I sent a letter to her this morning already requesting her presence tomorrow" Charles said. Azriel groans in displeasure.
Rose is his little stepsister. She's a woman who doesn't take no for an answer. "Why would you take such decisions with consulting me?" Azriel asked.
"Since when do I need to consult you to invite your sister over? It's been ages since we saw her and your niece. Also she's the one that can handle this" Charles said pointing Azriel up to down.
"How long would she be staying?" Azriel asked. "Beats me" Charles said with a shrug. "I'll have her castle ready before tomorrow" Azriel said in defeat. "You're such a great big brother" Charles gave Azriel a thumbs up.
Anastasia just finished her class, she needed to attend class just so she could gain extra points. Despite the fact that Mrs Harper assured her that she is safe for two more elimination.
Gabriella always thank Anastasia for saving her life. She had sent letters to her father, a king in another country concerning the event.
When she went to pick up some apple from near by with Hannah, they were both cornered by a bunch of knights. They wore a royal crest she couldn't recognized.
Anastasia instinctively stood Infront of Hannah shielding her. "You will not touch her, if you do I'll kill all of you" Anastasia said menacingly.
A light chuckle was heard from behind them. The knights made way for a man in his fifties, wearing a crown coming towards them. Anastasia felt the need to greet him.
{He's royalty after all.} "Good afternoon your Majesty, to what do I owe this surprise?"
Gabriella stood beside this man. "Father this is the girl I've been telling you about. Guinevere, the one who saved me" Gabriella said.
The king looks at Anastasia with a lot of emotions. "You protected my only joy, the treasure I can never regain if lost. for that...." The king stopped, he got on his knees. Causing his knights including Gabriella to kneel.
"I owe you my life, everything I have is yours. Whatever you need name it I'll give it to you" He said. "Your Majesty please stand, you are disgracing your title" Anastasia said trying to get him to stand up.
"This title means nothing if I no longer have my daughter. Name whatever you want, if it's half my castle or my kingdom you shall have it" He said.
"I didn't do this for reward your Majesty. I'd admit at first I wanted to save her and kill myself but something stopped me. I didn't save her just to be rewarded your Majesty, I did it because it was the right thing to do. So please stand, I don't want half of your kingdom" Anastasia said.
"For this act of kindness, I shall give you a home in my castle. You are welcome to stay anytime, not as a guest but as family" He said. He stands up and hugs her.
Anastasia walked up to her room. Thinking back at it, no one had ever given her such offer before. Back then her mother would call her a whore, saying she tried to seduce her husband. She also claimed that no man or woman in their right senses would sacrifice anything for her.
Coming to this competition, she thought she would hate it. She carried her mother's word to heart but so far she has unintentionally charmed her way to the hearts of Charles and Gabriella's father.
Each step she took to her room, she could only pinch her cheeks to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She's in a castle, each time she woke up she prays things never change.
However the only thing she noticed has changed is the fact that she's no longer scared or timid. Even the fact that she seems vision as Charles had claimed earlier.
She was brought to the reality when she bumps into Charles. "Jesus, Guinevere what are you thinking about?" Charles asked. "I was thinking about what I'll have for lunch today" Anastasia said.
"We have to talk" Charles said in a serious voice. Anastasia's stomach flipped. Why did his expression change suddenly. The way he looks at her, like he knows something is making her uncomfortable.
"Can't it wait?" She asked with a calm expression but deep down her brain is glitching. "No" He replied.
Anastasia could only follow him with protest. He takes her to a beautiful building used for picnic. Charles gestured for her to sit. She sat down and gulped the saliva stuck in her throat. Charles casually leans on the wall.
He clears his throat. "Look I'm going to keep this simple and short" Charles said. "It's not what you think, I can explain" Anastasia blurted out. She used her hands to stop any words from further coming out. Charles was stunned.
"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't said anything.... Why are you tensed?" Charles asked. "I thought... You.... Nevermind... Sorry for interrupting, please continue" She said trying to compose herself.
Luckily Charles didn't pay much attention. "Look my brother is looking for someone. I was wondering if you could use your powers to find them" Charles said.
"I don't have powers" Anastasia said. "Look you're the only one I could think of" Charles sincerely said. "If you're looking for someone why not hire someone..... Maybe a professional who specializes in this kind of things" Anastasia said.
"I haven't thought about it like that before" Charles said. "By the way who is this person your brother want to find so badly?" Anastasia asked. "Anastasia" Charles replied. Anastasia went pale, non of her organs seemed to work for a moment.
"He said he heard her talking to someone by my sister's castle but was too busy to see her face. I've checked everywhere, everyone.
But there's no one by that name" Charles said. Anastasia remember talking to Hannah about being careful. Hannah must have said her name but she was sure no one was there.
Now she has ruined her own life by encouraging him to find her. "She must be a fraction of an imagination, maybe a fraction of something he looks for in a woman to make him more protective" Anastasia said. "Are you saying it must have been a ghost?" He asked.
"Most likely" was all Anastasia said. "Azriel isn't one who believes in ghosts" Charles said. "Looking for this person is like chasing the clouds into the sea" Anastasia said.
Charles left her eventually. Anastasia sat there in horror, she doesn't know if Charles would still go after her. She rubbed her face in disbelief.
How can the emperor be looking for Anastasia? What could he possibly want. "I have got to be careful, any wrong move and I lose my life" Anastasia said.