Chapitre 26: Stop avoiding me

I didn't eat, but all I did was play with the food on my plate. I pushed the roasted potatoes around with my fork, hoping to make it look like I had taken a bite. What else could I have done, Zephara and her two mums were glaring at each other without saying a word. It was the most awkward lunch I had ever attended, and I wished I could just disappear.

I turned to Zephara who was eating angrily and trying to make a noise with her plate to piss off her mums. She stabbed her chicken with such force that I thought she might break the porcelain. She looked at me with a mix of frustration and pity, knowing that I was caught in the middle of their family drama.

"That's enough, Zephara," said the black-haired one as she tapped on the table, causing it to shake and Zephara to get up from the table.

"This is exactly why I don't like seeing you," said Zephara, shouting loudly, and then Zephara turned to me.

"Leora, go for a walk around the castle, I'll join you later." she said and I complied, getting up from the chair before leaving the dining room and closing the door. I heard her mums arguing behind us, their voices muffled by the thick wood.

"I can finally breathe," I said, sighing heavily, relieved not to be with those three who looked like they wanted to kill each other.

"I have to deal with them, but you don't. Go explore the castle, have some fun, and I'll meet you in an hour. Okay?" said Zephara.

I nodded, not sure what else to say. I watched her walk back to the dining room, her white hair flowing behind her.

My first destination was the kitchen because I had to prepare something to eat and make sure it was good. I was starving, and the food on the table had looked delicious but tasted bad, and I couldn't bring myself to eat in front of Zephara's mums. They had made me feel so unwelcome and uncomfortable, as if I was an intruder in their home. I hoped the kitchen staff would be more friendly and helpful.

I was lucky because there were lots of guards and I'll probably be able to ask them questions about where the kitchen is. The castle was huge and maze-like, with corridors and staircases leading to different wings and floors. I had no idea where I was going.

I went up to one of the guards who was a few metres away from me and approached him before smiling to look more welcoming. He was a tall and muscular demon, with horns and scales and a tail. He wore a black uniform and a sword at his side. He looked intimidating, but I hoped he would be nice.

"Sorry to bother you," I said, trying to sound polite and friendly. "But could you please tell me where the kitchen...?" I didn't even have time to finish my sentence before the guard left his place to move on. He didn't say a word, he just turned around and walked away from me, as if I was invisible.

Did he just run away from me, what's going on, the other demons have never reacted this way to me, maybe it was just that guard who had other things to do. I shrugged, thinking that maybe he was busy or in a hurry. I decided to try another guard, hoping that he would be more helpful.

I moved towards another guard who wasn't too far away. He was a bit shorter and slimmer than the first one, but he had the same uniform and sword. He also had horns and scales and a tail, but his were blue instead of black. He looked bored, as if he had nothing to do.

"Hey," I said, smiling again. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for the kitchen. Do you know...?" Once again, I didn't even have time to start my sentence before the guard ran off. He didn't even look at me, he just sprinted away from me, as if I was a monster.

Am I cursed, why is he running away from me? I moved forward quickly into the corridor which was full of guards, but as soon as one of the guards saw me he fled so quickly that I couldn't catch up with them. Then I started to run after them, hoping that one of them would stop and talk to me.

"Please, where is the kitchen?" I said as I ran, but nobody seemed to want to listen to me. They all ran away from me, as if I was chasing them. I didn't understand what was happening, why were they so afraid of me?

I went on like that for 15 minutes, running from one corridor to another, until I found myself in a magnificent garden, with really beautiful flowers like roses of all colours.

Then, turning my head, I saw some demon maids. They were hanging out some laundry, chatting and laughing with each other. They looked more relaxed and friendly than the guards, and I hoped they would be more willing to help me.

I approached them slowly and once I reached their level I opened my mouth. "Excuse me, ladies," I said, trying to sound as nice as possible. "I'm looking for the kitchen, could you please tell me...?" I didn't even have time to finish my sentence when all the maids started to run away, except that there was a fairly young girl with them and she didn't seem to run very fast.

" Hey you stop there please." I said.

I ran quickly and then threw myself on the girl to stop her fleeing by holding her in my arms. She tried to fight and ended up elbowing me in the nose.

"Ouch," I said, but I didn't let go. I had to find out why she was running away. "Why are you avoiding me?" I said, shaking the girl in my arms.

"Stop shaking me and why do you want us to stay with you? You've got the scent of the demon queen all over you, no-one will dare touch you or even talk to you or else the demon queen will kill us." She said as I let go of her and she fell back. She looked at me with fear and anger, as if I was the enemy.

When I heard the girl speak, I couldn't help but blush and remember what had happened earlier. A simple kiss from Zephara on my back had been enough to leave her scent on me. But it seems like an excellent protection but no one wants to get near me any more.

"Could you tell me where the kitchen is please?" I said, hoping that the little girl would be more cooperative than the others. But she didn't answer my question and looked at me suspiciously.

She eyed me up and down, as if she was trying to figure out what I was doing here. She was a cute demon, with curly brown hair and green eyes. She wore a simple white dress and a blue apron. She looked like she was about ten years old, but I knew that demons aged differently than humans.

"Who are you?" She finally asked, breaking the silence. "And why do you smell like the demon queen?"

I was about to answer, when I heard a whizzing sound and saw something flying towards me. An arrow was thrown at me and I barely had time to dodge it. It grazed my shoulder, drawing blood and pain. I gasped and stumbled back, dropping the girl who was running towards the person who'd been aiming at me.

"A little more and I'd have had the arrow," I said, clutching my wound. I looked at the person who had attacked me, and felt a surge of anger.

She was a young demon, about the same age as Zephara, with blue hair and brown eyes. she wore an fighting uniform and had a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back. She looked like she was ready to shoot again, and she had a fierce expression on her face.

"Leave my little sister alone or I'll kill you," she said, pointing her bow at me.

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