Chapter 14: Self-reflection

Raphael

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The raven stared at the closed door for a while, and then dispersed in the air with black dust particles, revealing its owner in the flesh.

-How thoughtful, Princess. - I thought about her. – Or stupid. Knowing about the existence of magic, he leaves strangers in his room. - I shook his head disapprovingly.

What surprised me even more was how she started change clothes in front of me. Of course, I would love to stay and watch, but I would do it in my appearance. Openly. Therefore, Skars flew away from the naked girl. Now is not the time to reveal our disguise to her.

Her room was small, but after her roommate moved out, it became a little more spacious. Skars is a freedom-loving bird and does not like to sit in cramped quarters, and now is just right for a minimally comfortable existence.

Throwing aside all the rules of decency, I collapsed on Thea's little bed, throwing my hands behind my head. The bed on the spring base creaked softly and sank under the weight of my weight. I looked up at the gray ceiling. It's boring and too plain, it's depressing.

And with a slight movement of his hand, I created an imitation of the sky on the ceiling, which would adapt to the mood of the owner of the room. Outside the window, clouds hung like a dark marshmallow mass, the wind was rustling and a fine rain was drizzling, and here the ceiling was illuminated by the morning dawn sun and small birds were flying, breaking the silence with their chirping. A great illusion came out.

I made sure that the new picture completely suits me and decided to look around. It's a little sparse here, there are practically no things, only a replaceable work dress is hanging in the closet, there is not even a spare shoe. It must not be easy for her to put up with the restrictions that have arisen sharply, there is not even a separate bathroom here. Curling my lips in displeasure, I pondered how to fix it.

I still could not realize my attraction to the princess, I tried in every way to get everything connected with her out of my head, but every time I returned to what I was running from. I tried not to cross paths with her, avoided her, but I can't resist it. I'm here again and I don't like her influence on me. Even at meetings with the council, I hardly listened to the reports, but recalled the image of Thea. Such a gentle, sincerely smiling at Oliver, not at all what she appeared to me. Like a taut string, ready to burst at any moment, she kept to herself with me.

The feeling blossoming in my chest tried to explode and squeeze the groom to the last drop of blood, to the last gentle sigh. I covered my eyes with my palm, trying to calm the impending storm. The sky under the ceiling was bursting with lightning bolts. I'm going crazy. She's driving me crazy, witch. She's just my hostage and nothing more, why am I acting like this?

After I return the artifact, I…

And what will happen after that?

There was some commotion coming from the street. I listened with my sharp hearing and disappeared from the girl's room in a second.

…

A huge crowd of servants and guards gathered in the courtyard, who came running at the noise. In the middle of all this bacchanalia, I noticed the back of Count Milos, and behind him, Thea was sitting on the ground, curled up in a ball. She was covered in mud, soaked and with lacerations on her hands and face. My first thought was to rush to her, but Milos turned around and stopped me from taking this step with a look, not giving the ground for the servants to talk.

- Your Majesty. – he began, making a bow. – She was attacked by a wolf. I appeared here before it was too late, but she needs help as soon as possible.

- Where did the wolf come from here? - I hissed through my teeth.

Anger crept into my heart. What would have happened if we had lost her? Mortal human bodies are so weak.

- Milos, deal with this and execute all those responsible. – I gave the order and approached the princess. Carefully picked her up in his arms and disappeared, ignoring the surprised looks of others.

Appearing in my room, I sat the girl down on the bed.

- What happened? Don't you know how to live without adventures? - I lashed out at her with lamentations, pacing back and forth in front of the bed.

She moaned in pain and wiped away the tears flowing like a river with her hands. So weak. Well, why, why do you awaken these hitherto unknown emotions in me?

A painful moan escaped from her plump lips. There was a jagged claw wound on her cheek, and blood was smeared all over half of her face as she casually wiped away tears. And her hands were bleeding, she must have been trying to push the wolf away from her. She was lucky that the Count was nearby.

I cooled down a bit and squatted down next to her.

"This is the second time you've bled in my room. Tell me, Princess, is there too much blood in you to throw it left and right like that? – arching an eyebrow in anticipation of an answer, I tried to get her to talk so that she would be distracted from the pain.

- He appeared out of nowhere. - she sobbed, making me frown even harder. – I was helping the girls arrange flower pots when he attacked from behind and knocked me to the ground. I tried to push him away, but every time he bit into my hands with his teeth. Who keeps such dangerous animals at all?

- Nobody tried to help you?

- How could they? It's a wild wolf... - she stared at me as if I'd asked a stupid question. And for myself, I made a note to check all the servants. Most of them were vampires, a wolf couldn't hurt them, so why did everyone just stand and watch? Did someone want her dead? This brings me back to the question of where the wolf in the castle came from.

- Your Majesty, - after knocking on the door, Milos, the doctor and the servant entered the room.

- Here's your patient, get started. - I ordered, getting up and making way for the healer, and without hesitation he began to clean the wounds and sew them up.

"The wounds are too deep in some places, miss. There will be scars. – said the old man.

She waited patiently for him to finish, but her expression was very tragic. You don't have to be very smart to understand that beauty was an important factor for a girl. But she didn't say a word, as if she was resigned. But I didn't want to put up with it.

The maid removed the bloody sheets, brought her a change of clothes and helped her change. At that time I was in my office, which was adjacent to the bedroom, and I was talking with Milos.

- What did you find out?

- The housekeeper and the butler deny the presence of unconfirmed animals in the castle. No one kept a wolf with them. According to the latest inventory, there were only cats, dogs and one pet rat on the territory. You know Mrs. Rose's meticulousness, she wouldn't have let the wolf out of her sight.

- Have you checked it for a magical component?

- Unfortunately, I got rid of it so quickly that there is nothing more to check. - The military general lowered his eyes guiltily.

- Have your men check on all the servants in the castle. There are suspicions that the rat in the castle is not the only one. This should be done without too much noise.

- Yes, Your Majesty.

Milos left, and I opened a drawer and took out a small bottle. I turned it over in my hands, wondering if I was doing everything right. The thought of the scars on her milky skin and cute face somehow disgusted me. The nails on my hands elongated, forming sharp thin blades, and then, one of nails slashed the palm of my left hand.

After collecting some of my blood in a vessel, I returned to the room. I took a glass of water from the bedside table that the maid had left and handed it to Thea.

- You'll have to take the medicine, Princess. This will help your skin recover sooner. - opened the bottle cap and poured the contents into a glass. The blood dissolved in the water in beautiful streaks and swirls.

- What is it? Thea narrowed her eyes in disbelief, studying the contents of the glass in her hand. - Does it look like... blood? - She looked at me questioningly.

"You have too much imagination, Princess. It's just an infusion of herbs with carminic acid. – why am I even trying to hide from her who I really am.

Am I afraid that she will get scared or hate me, whom many call a monster? Although, not to say that they were wrong, the darkness in my soul has grown roots deep into the very bowels. And yet I kept a tiny drop of humanity in me, as a memory of who I used to be.

- Drink, – I reminded the girl and pushed the glass to her lips. She curled her lips in disbelief, but in the next moment she drank everything to the bottom. I tilted my head to the side, watching this action. I liked the combination of wild audacity and submissiveness in her, such a golden mean that does not bother.

– Good girl. – I took the glass and put it back on the bedside table.

A slight embarrassment at such an insignificant compliment could not escape my gaze. I chuckled at this innocent action. So that's what kind of communication we need to choose. Girls are such girls.

I wasn't going to fall in love with her or get married, as I joked earlier. The plan was originally just to woo her. And what could be better than an imitation of falling in love. But this girl… She just tore down all my walls, forcing me to feel warm feelings for her, a desire to help and protect, although she herself did not put any effort into it. But after that came a reminder of her witchy being.

Damn witches and their charms of seduction. I want to stay away from her and at the same time I want to be closer to her than possible. It would be necessary to scan yourself for spells and love spells, and pull yourself together in the end. I break down so easily under her gaze – what kind of man am I? Although probably because I am a man in the first place, this is what happens. It won't end well.