Chapter 151: Nothing Like A Monster (Ch.151)
A short ti passed by and Neveah had acclimatized to the high altitude, the wind was chilling against her skin and Neveah’s eyes grew heavy.
Exhaustion tugged at her muscles, Neveah was not certain if it was ntal exhaustion or physical exhaustion,
Or perhaps it was due to relief that they would return safely and with their task completed, and her life no longer endangered.
Whatever it was, her eyelids drooped and her vision grew hazy.
It took a lot of effort to keep her eyes open, Neveah blinked away her sleepiness, shaking her head slightly.
"Do not fight it...go to sleep." narx’s voice sounded in Neveah’s head.
"And go tumbling down to the unknown depths? I think not." Neveah replied in a groggy voice.
"You won’t fall off Veah. With
here... never." narx assured Neveah in amusent.
"I would certainly like to take your word for it, but if I go to sleep now and awaken in the world beyond... how do I hold you responsible?" Neveah scoffed, shaking her head.
"Veah... would it be so hard if you just trust ?" narx thought to Neveah.
Neveah frowned slightly as she pondered over narx’s words.
Trust? It was a word Neveah had heard so many tis yet she could not claim to understand it’s aning.
The kind of life Neveah had been born to, she never had the luxury to trust anyone.
A life where she always had to look over her shoulder, in fear of one person or the next...as the only thing everyone had in common was the hate for Neveah.
Where could she begin to understand the aning of trust? And entrusting one’s life to the hands of another?
"If you are going to ask sothing from
Narx...you should begin with sothing I can actually give..." Neveah replied tiredly.
Neveah did not get to say more as she found herself drifting off to sleep against her own will, laying her head down to rest on narx’s scales.
"Veah?..." narx thought to Neveah but getting no response, his large red orbs glead, almost as brightly as his scales always did.
"Narx... it is my own na. Yet when you say it, it sounds... different..." narx thought to Neveah as he curved his wings slightly and stabilized his flight.
In this way, the beauty fast asleep on his back would not be jolted too awfully until he made his landing.
_______________
Xenon stood at the balcony of Imagor’s quarters, staring down to the courtyard below.
He could hear the sounds from within Imagor’s quarters as Everon tended to Lady Kaliana, along with other healers, preparing the rider for childbirth.
It had been a few hours since Xenon stood at the balcony, his hands were crossed behind his back and his eyes were narrowed slightly.
One hour...
Two hours...
And then three...
Xenon closely counted the hours Neveah was out of his sight, he never knew a day could be so long and it stretched even longer with each passing hour.
It would not be long now, Xenon could feel his patience running out, in a little while, he would go out in search of Neveah.
Xenon just could not entrust her safety to anyone, much less his brothers who knew nothing of how precious Neveah was.
All they could think about was placing her in danger, Xenon truly did not know how he had beco brothers with unreasonable brutes.
anwhile, up in the highest level, King Jian stood at his own balcony and watched Xenon.
Recently, King Jian found all he ever did was watch... watch the changes happening all around him which it seed only he could see.
"How long has he stood there?" King Jian asked.
Rodrick stood behind King Jian, his head bowed and his head only lifted at King Jian’s question.
"Since the girl left the keep." Rodrick replied to King Jian.
"Glaring out into nothingness will not make the day move any faster...does he not know it?" King Jian murmured to himself.
"Lord Xenon is sober, I believe he is fully aware of this." Rodrick replied hesitantly.
"Indeed, he is sober...yet he waits there and worries."
"It would do my heart good if he waited so anxiously for Narx." King Jian stated in his characteristic blank tone.
King Jian shook his head slightly, he just could not understand Xenon anymore.
"Lord Xenon cares for the brothers, that is why he has left his solitude in the first place... I believe My Liege should think only of that." Rodrick reasoned.
"Yes... I do know better, Xenon’s concerns lie elsewhere. It is already good enough that he has entered the keep." King Jian continued with a sigh.
Before anything else could be said, they caught sight of a silhouette in the far distance and King Jian’s brows furrowed.
"Narx returns..." King Jian began but trailed off when he noticed who was rested on the back of the red dragon.
From this distance, King Jian could clearly make out the golden tresses billowing in the wind.
"Xenon is not the only one that worries ..." King Jian murmured as he glanced back at where Xenon stood to realize Xenon was no longer there.
King Jian’s gaze moved to the landing platform on the second level where narx would make his descent and of course, Xenon now stood there.
narx soon landed and no words were exchanged between the two dragons, instead Xenon moved forward and made his way up narx’s back.
King Jian’s brows furrowed slightly as he watched Xenon lift Neveah into his arms and carry her down narx’s back, only then did narx revert back to his human form.
"She sleeps... while both my brothers have been shaken, the girl sleeps..." King Jian thought to himself, shaking his head in displeasure.
"Where would he take her? To mount Edar perhaps?" Rodrick asked as Xenon returned into the keep with Neveah in his arms.
King Jian did not respond, he also could not guess just what thoughts Xenon had in mind.
"Do you think the task was fulfilled?" Rodrick asked again.
"Would she have the reassurance to fall asleep, otherwise?" King Jian replied with a question of his own.
"That is true." Rodrick nodded in agreent.
And then, a sound ca from King Jian’s quarters, interrupting their conversation.
King Jian frowned, passing a glance to Rodrick.
"It wasn’t ... I didn’t send for anyone." Rodrick defended quickly.
King Jian then retreated from his balcony, heading back into his quarters only to find a sight that completely astonished him.
"What do you think you are doing?" King Jian demanded when Xenon stepped into his room, cradling a sleeping Neveah in his arms.
Xenon did not give a response, striding into King Jian’s room as though he owned the place, he headed to King Jian’s bed and then glanced back at a stunned King Jian.
"I think I will excuse myself." Rodrick who also could not understand what was happening quickly bowed and hurried away before he got caught in the middle.
King Jian still stood so distance from his door, uncertain of how to react to this till he took note of the demand in Xenon’s eyes.
"Pull back the covers? Why should I? You can’t just barge in here and place her on my bed! Take her to your own room!" King Jian hissed in annoyance.
"Noisy..." Xenon replied blankly.
"I won’t have her here!" King Jian clarified, ignoring Xenon’s jab.
Xenon scoffed beneath his breath, adjusting Neveah so she rested against his shoulder, he pulled back the covers of King Jian’s bed and lay Neveah down gently.
After which, Xenon pulled the covers over her and King Jian could only stare with mouth agape.
Xenon lifted a hand to brush Neveah’s hair away from her face and just as he was about to move away, Neveah held unto his robes and Xenon only noticed it when he felt a slight tug.
"Xenon..." Neveah’s sleepy voice called, her eyes fluttering open tiredly.
"Hmm?" Xenon responded as he turned to et Neveah’s gaze, watching as a small smile settled on her lips.
Xenon could see Neveah was barely awake, he doubted she could actually see properly since her eyes drooped.
"Today... I saw a monster, with sharp teeth, bulging eyes... it was horrifying and slled terribly too." Neveah murmured tiredly.
Xenon raised a brow, passing a glance to King Jian who just watched the scene play out before his eyes in absolute silence.
"Then... I thought of you, I wished you were there with
to see it too...to see how horrible and terrifying a true monster is,"
"So you understand clearly... that you are nothing like that...you are dazzling and warm and you sll like morning dew and earth... really pleasant..." Neveah’s hand fell away from Xenon’s robe as her eyes fluttered closed.
"So the next ti you say things like...you are evil... and a monster, I will stuff your mouth with a dirty rag." Neveah finished sleepily.
Neveah’s breathing grew steady again which told she had drifted back to sleep and Xenon gazed down at her, a tender look in his eyes and a rare smile on his lips.
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