To Bewitch a Devil

98 Cold as death

She did not notice anything strange in the way he stared at her, maybe the trader was just saying things to make them buy his goods. Neera thought.

But even then, she was uneasy as she stood beside Zavian. The trader packed the hairpin into its’ box and gave it to her and Zavian paid before they walked away.

The air was awkward as they were both buried in their own thoughts, none able to start a conversation.

“We are here;” Zavian said when they arrived at the famous diner. Neera’s eyes caught the dangling wooden signpost which looked really old, and she figured that that place must have existed for long, it probably belonged to a demon, she thought.

“There are always a lot of people, but thankfully, they are usually occupied with themselves, playing chess or gambling. ”

Zavian said to her as they walked inside. There were many people on the walkway and Neera could not keep up with Zavian as they pushed against her. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand hold her, and she looked up.

Zavian had held her hand as he walked forward, pushing through the men that were leaving the diner at the same time.

Neera had not thought about it before, but his hands were freezing cold. So cold that he could be mistaken to be dead. She wondered if that was how all the demons were, cold as death.

As soon as they stood in front of the bar, the woman’s eyes dilated;

.....

“Your Majesty!” She called in a hushed tone when she recognized him, seeing that he was wearing regular clothes, she did not scream;

Her eyes dilated when she saw Neera; “Oh my God!” She exclaimed but Zavian put his finger over his mouth signaling her to not shout. Thankfully, they were the only ones at the bar at that time, so no one noticed what happened.

The woman’s eyes could not leave Neera. She had heard of the girl who looked like the queen but had not seen her. This was the first time she was setting her eyes on her and indeed the rumors were true. If she didn’t know, she would have mistaken her for Neera.

“You still do not want to come to the royal kitchen?” Zavian asked the woman, drawing her attention from Neera. The woman smiled and shook her head;

“I think I like this place a little too much. I’m not ready for royal matters. But the girl... is she not her?”

The woman asked Zavian but he shook his head;

“No, she’s not.” She was quiet and she looked back at Neera and then at Zavian, and said nothing again. She didn’t want to ask uncomfortable questions.

“Take a table, your majesty. I’ll bring you your food.” She said, pointing at an empty table at the end of the diner.

Zavian turned around and walked to it, all the while still holding Neera’s hand.

It was only when they had seated that he let her go. Neera felt warmness replace his hand and she rubbed her palms together, she didn’t know why, but why did she feel a little empty when he let her hand go?

Neera looked around the diner, there were a few men gambling and some others eating. Nobody was paying attention to them thankfully.

“You seem to know the woman quite well,” Neera asked and Zavian nodded;

“Yes, she was one of those who tended to the injured during the war and helped out in the kitchens too. She was very helpful during the war.”

At his words, Neera frowned; “I thought demons healed quickly?”

Zavian nodded; “Yes they do, but that is if you are an ancient, normal demons healed far less than ancient demons.”

Oh...” Neera nodded, after a moment of silence, she asked;

“What does it feel like to live forever and not grow old?”

At her question, Zavian grew quiet, then after a few minutes of silence, he replied;

“Well, some people have it easier than others. For those who lost their loved ones during the war, they find it easier to cope, although sometimes you want to end it all and go into oblivion, other times you are happy to not have to worry about ailments that humans worry about.”

Neera nodded; she was about to ask something else when the woman walked to them and placed a tray on the table.

“This was your favorite, I hope it still is.” She said and Zavian smiled;

“You did well.” He said to her and she bowed and walked away, after taking a last glance at Neera.

The sweet smell of the soup and something that looked like pork wafted into Neera’s nostrils as her mouth watered. She watched Zavian take a bowl and dish the food, before giving her a bowl.

Quickly, she picked up a spoon and dug in .

“Mm!! This is good.” Neera expressed in delight and Zavian smiled;

“Is it?” He asked and she nodded, taking another bite of the finely cooked meat. The bones of the meat were like biscuits and they melted in her mouth.

The royal kitchen prepared good meals, but she hasn’t tasted something so tasty and spicy. Now she knew why Zavian wanted her in the royal kitchen.

Zavian watched her as she ate without raising her head, a smile tugging on his lips;

As she ate the meat, a particle stuck to the side of her lips;

“You have something on your mouth;” he said, pointing at it.

“Mmm...” Neera raised her head to him and wiped the corner of her mouth, but the wrong corner.

Zavian smiled at how cute she looked with the hanging peice of meat and then he stretched his fingers and wiped it off her lips, sliding his thumb down the full of her lips.

Neera’s face turned instant red as her eyes held his gaze, her heartbeat going through the roof almost immediately.

Her chest felt tight as she quickly turned back to the food, holding her spoon in her other hand, nervously.

She knew there was no ulterior motive for the gesture, but why was her heart beating so fast?!

And the fact that Zavian could hear her heartbeat made her want to sink into the ground.

Neera bit her lower lip as she turned to the food and stuffed her face with meat.