"Princess Izrina?" Neron repeated this time with interest.
Izrina shifted nervously that she almost knocked over another woman. She quickly apologised, keeping her head down. "So-rry."
"What is wrong with you?" The woman hissed with disdain.
The official who had spoken nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. That is the heir of Ziadne and Queen Karissa's only weakness," the man hummed. "To think that the great queen would have a weakness, and it's her daughter."
Izrina rubbed her palms together. That was her mother. The only woman Izrina saw as a god. They didn't share the perfect mother and child bond where they gossiped and giggled about little things. They rarely ever spoke to each other because Karissa didn't want anyone to see her daughter's face.
Until the end, she stayed protecting her only child. And now that she was mentioned, Izrina missed her mother. It was worse because she couldn't remember her face clearly. They only time they met was when Izrina caught her peeking or walking past through her hallway. They never had a long conversation together.
"And this said Princess is key to conquering Ziadne?" Neron asked, his eyes on someone.
The official nodded. "We can even use marriage. If I'm correct, the girl should be ripe for marriage. Take the princess as our hostage, and that will hasten our plan. I'm sure Karissa will lay her life down if she finds her daughter's life in danger."
Izrina dropped her shoulder. If it weren't for her, maybe her mother would have tried to survive. She hadn't given it a proper thought, but what if she was the reason both her parents had given up their lives? They wanted her to live.
Neron observed keenly, his hand holding up his jaw. "Hmm...so this great plan of yours. Is for me to abduct a young girl....enslave her as my wife and threaten her parents to give up their throne?"
"No, Your Majesty...we- I meant we can-"
Rubbing his forehead like the weight of the kingdom was on him, which apparently is. Neron yawned. "Can you all be any less pathetic?" he asked tiredly.
Izrina raised her face when her eyes met the King's face and he was looking at her. She shifted her attention, pretending to look at something else.
Neron sucked his teeth. "If I want Ziadne, I will get Ziadne. And it won't be in the most hopeless way ever. That is an insult to other kingdoms I've conquered.
"Marry some naive princess who was locked in the tower her whole life?" Neron shook his head.
Izrina raised a brow. He didn't get annoyed that someone suggested a war. He was only angry because his ego had been bruised. And that means conquering Ziadne was still on his list.
The official who had been speaking bowed deeply, showing the sincerity of his apology. "I must have lost my mind for a minute. Forgive me, Your Majesty."
"I agree." Neron replied nonchalantly.
Izrina noticed the officials give each other a look. From the look of things the men were far more older than the King, but he still spoke to them as he deemed fit. This man wasn't afraid of anybody. This, Izrina was sure of.
"It has not been two days since I returned from my last war and here you all are, suggesting...no." Neron waved his hand dismissively, "Conniving to send me out again, maybe this time hoping I die."
"Your Majesty!" Everyone in the room chorused with their heads bowed.
Neron ignored their charade. "Is that how much my presence repulses you? Does having to bow to me make you want to gouge your eyes and slit your throat?" he scoffed, a dry sound that could pass as laugh. "A rabid, filthy, bast-"
The entire room became silent. Izrina didn't understand why the king had suddenly stopped talking. The air in the room became tensed as though everyone was holding their breath.
Neron stared at someone, then he sucked his teeth. "I told you...this is why I hate meeting with these fools." He pushed his body and stood up. He was about to leave when Lady Feyrne walked in.
"Your Majesty," the woman curtsied, "we have wronged you in ways we cannot make amends. Allow my doves to take care of you this night as a peace-offering."
Izrina's eyes moved from Neron to Lady Feyrne and back to Neron. She knew the woman was strong and maybe indomitable, but she should learn to read the room. The King was clearly very angry, and the trace of grin Izrina had noticed earlier was long gone. A murderous glare remained.
"That won't be necessary." Neron muttered.
Lady Feyrne didn't move, but her eyes remained on the ground. "Please....Your Majesty."
Now, Izrina was really worried about the woman. She wanted her to leave Pride and get away from the King. He was clearly not in the mood. Well, mostly because of her selfish interests. If the king refuses to pick any dove, then she would be escaping him again. Twice in a roll.
The thing is...how very often have the odds been in her favor.
Neron glared at Lady Feyrne. The woman remained as she was. Unmoving and unshaken. He dropped his shoulder and turned, walking towards the women.
"If I should pick from your doves, then someone has to be punished for ruining my night, don't you think so too, Lady Feyrne?"
Izrina frowned. It was a simple answer. The woman can save someone by letting the king leave. It was that simp-
"Pick four doves, Your Majesty."
What?! Izrina's face showed what she screamed. It was absurd! How greedy was this woman to choose inhumanity?
"Hounds of Nero!" Neron snapped his fingers.
Four guards stepped forward, each standing before the four officials that had spoken earlier.
Izrina's worry seeped away when she noticed Cora was among the four guards. Her smile died a quick death when swords moved up and in the blink of an eye, four officials fell to their deaths headless.
"Oh, gods." Izrina fell to her knees. Terror and fear overtook her face.
Everyone in the room stood unfazed, except Izrina, who still sat on the floor processing what had just happened.
"Now for the doves...." he said with a smirk.
One of the women helped Izrina on her shaky feet. "Quick, stand."
Izrina hadn't recovered. Her face paled, and her hands froze, but she heard the sharp clicks of the king's footsteps walking towards her.
This is the end...he was going to pick her. And he was going to kill her. Izrina imagined the worst scenario in her head. She was the only one who reacted...he was going to kill her.
"You...and you..."
The first two ladies Neron touched, made a subtle dance of excitement.
"And you...."
Neron touched the third person.
"And for the last dove. Let's see...." his voice dripped with something between malice and predator.
Izrina closed her eyes. It was her. He would pick her. She saw it in his eyes earlier. He had plans to ruin her.
"And you."
Izrina opened her eyes, she saw the King's hand not on her shoulder but the lady next to her yet his eyes were on her.
"The four doves, go to the King's chamber, the rest back to your quarters," Lady Feyrne ordered.
He didn't pick her! Izrina's soul leaped for joy. It was a half-baked joy because the king had been staring at her even while he picked another. Still, Izrina heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe her luck was starting to turn.