Sephora grimaced for the fifth time after looking at herself in the mirror, whilst reaching blindly across the table for a hair pin, to hold back another section of thick auburn hair. She had not slept well. Despite the warmth of the thick duvet and the plushness of the pillows and soft mattress, Sephora couldn't get to sleep. The duvet was so high that it reached her chin and began to make her sweat, despite the cold autumn air. The mattress was too soft, so much so that she felt as though she were sinking and couldn't settle her limbs enough to relax; the pillows were no better, her head felt like she were drowning as the feather down pillows smothered her. And the room being so light and airy, and the curtains consisting of nothing but some thin netting; the sun had indeed come pouring in through the windows - waking Sephora up at the crack of dawn. Now, even as the clocks tolled for 1 pm, Sephora still had dark rings under her hazel eyes, making her cheekbones
So this is what hell felt like. All around Sephora there was screaming and wailing, unsure of where it was coming from; it took Sephora a few seconds to realise that it was all coming from herself. Her heartbeat was pounding like a drum in her ears, going faster than she thought was humanly possible. It was so loud, it was as though someone had ripped it from her rib-cage and shoved it inside her head. She tried reaching out, to hold onto something - anything, but there was nothing. There was no ground below her, no sky above her, no life-line to cling onto, that could help her. She was free-falling through the earth, and she wouldn't stop until she reached the molten burning core. Sephora screamed again, only this time no sound came out, she'd gone hoarse minutes ago. She felt like she was burning up, whilst being slowly cleaved apart from the inside. She couldn't see anything but red, black and orange, and she wouldn't have been surprised i
The world was knocked from under Sephora's feet. The guards still holding her, grunted in protest at the sudden weight in their arms, as they tried to hold her upright. That familiar wave of numbness washed over Sephora, as she replayed the Lord's words in her head. Mate. As in soulmate? She panicked. But I can't be his mate, that would mean we're equal, that would mean living with him and being with him and getting to know him. I can't do that, I can't do it. Sephora didn't realise she had been shaking her head, until the Lord spoke again; "Denying it, doesn't change a thing. You are my mate, accept it and move on." Sephora's head snapped up to the Lord, and glared at him. He had a point, but he didn't realise how big of a deal this was. How could the Lord be her mate? And what would he do with her, would he force her to bear children, would she have to serve him. She didn't know the first thing about life as a Nuanam, and n
[Sephora] Her breathing had started to become ragged, by the time she'd sprinted out of the city and into the forest, heading for the veil. The rumbling in the earth had stopped and the cries in the city had been hushed, when Sephora realised that the Lord had probably decided to come after her. But he couldn't stop her now, she was already too far away for him to possibly catch up - she was almost at the veil. So much so that Sephora was sure that she could even smell its power radiating towards her, as she closed the distance between herself and home. Home. She could see her family again, she could show her father that she'd made it, she could see her brother's smiling face, she could cook side by side with her mother. Sephora hurtled through the trees. She could have sworn she heard the faint rumbling of hooves behind her, and quickly glancing behind her, confirmed that a troop of soldiers on horse-back were rapidly galloping to
Unfortunately for Sephora, after her little spat with the Lord, he'd later demand that she was to have dinner with him every evening, as punishment. Well, he didn't actually say that it was a punishment, but that's what it felt like to Sephora. She was still finding it hard to adjust to the fact that this was to be her life from now on, and that she would never see her family again. She knew this was selfish of her, seeing as she should be feeling lucky that she was still alive - but she wasn't happy. Although, she was getting better, and virtually knew her way around the entire palace, at this point. She still didn't feel like socializing with anyone, as she found it too taxing, and tried her best to avoid the Lord at all cost. He still didn't let her out of the palace, though she was allowed in more rooms now; his excuse was that he didn't trust her, which was understandable. But honestly, where was she going to go? She huffed a laugh, as she walked down to t
Sephora strode down to the Lord's office on a mission. She was tired of staying indoors, she wanted some fresh air. Even if it was only for a few minutes, she could not stand being indoors for another second. She had no idea how she would go about asking him though, if he claimed he didn't trust her, then how was she supposed to prove herself? Well not running to the veil as soon as she was let out, could work in her favor. She chuckled silently to herself. She'd even dressed for the outdoors. Knee-high brown leather boots were silent on the marble floors as she turned a corner and made her way up a flight of steps. Her thick auburn hair had been pulled into a french plait, as she didn't know how to do the fish-tail plait her mother wore so often. Her black skinny jeans might have been a bad idea in such warm weather, but they went so well with her tight khaki t-shirt, that she didn't mind.She reached the Lord's office door and taking his advice from the other night, she
Turns out dinner didn't turn out as bad as Sephora had thought it would. Ambrose had acted like nothing had happened and went back to his usual banter. Sephora was grateful, but couldn't help but feel as though he should share about his concerns about her suitability as his mate. After all, it did concern Sephora as well. But she decided to give him his space, she didn't want to ruin anything, and for him to return to being that stone-faced Lord that had greeted her a few weeks back. She would wait for him to tell her in his own time, what his findings were - if he did indeed find anything at all.Ambrose had at least yielded the rights to choosing dinner that night, and Sephora swore on her life, that she'd never tasted a better cottage pie than the one she devoured that evening. Ambrose had even allowed a little smile to come back, as he watched her demolish her plate of food. Sephora ate like she'd been starved for days, and didn't care one bit about the mess she'd made on the table
Sephora couldn't help grinning as she walked down the steps to the throne room. She was wearing her gift from Ambrose, the shimmering burgundy satin, flowed like liquid as she moved. The thousands of tiny crystals sparked and glittered under the candle light, like droplets of blood trickling down the front of the dress. The off-the-shoulder design of the straps showed off Sephora's long elegant neck and smooth collar bones. She'd opted to hold her fiery auburn hair in a loose bun, with tiny ringlets of red curls escaping to brush her neck. She wore ruby earrings that were shaped in a tear-drop, catching the light and accentuating the red of the dress and her hair. She looked like a living flame, a survivor of pain and bloodshed, the face of a conqueror. And Sephora admitted she'd never looked more intimidating in her entire life. Perhaps that was Ambrose's intention, he said he was going to declare her as his Lady, Joe had told her that Ambrose didn't think she was weak.