To Bewitch a Devil

Chapter 11: Alone in the dark

Neera sat alone in a corner, while the other maids ate together. It wasn’t as though they would stand up and leave if she joined them, but she was already used to eating alone, and Penelope, the only person she related with well, was not there, so she just stayed by herself. After dinner, Neera went around to collect the dishes so she could wash them, but when she approached the King’s tent, Adeline ran in front of her;

”I’ll get them; ” Neera did not object, she just turned around and left. She had washed a few plates when she saw Adeline bringing the king’s tray to where she was, but she did not look happy.

She dropped the plates and stared at Neera, as though thinking about something.

Neera looked at her; ”Is there anything wrong, Adeline?”

Adeline smiled; ”Yes, the king said you should go fetch some firewood, as you can see, it is getting dark and we need to see. ”

Neera looked at her in shock; she highly doubted that the king had asked her to do that. The woods were unsafe, and there were soldiers here who could easily do the task. Why would he want to send a maid? A human with no powers?

When Adeline noticed Neera doubted her, she straightened her dress; ”well, he did not send you specifically, but he asked me to send someone, and too bad, you are the one I hate the most.”

.....

Neera did not reply, she just continued washing the dishes; she did not want to show Adeline how scared she was.

Adeline smiled evilly as she crossed her arms; ”You should wash those plates quickly because it is getting really dark and I assure you, you do not want to be in the woods in the dark.”

Laughing, she turned around to leave;

”Am I going alone?” Neera asked, her hands gripping the plate in her hand;

”Of course you are!” Adeline laughed as she walked away. Her smile was replaced with green envy as she entered the maids’ tent. She had not told the truth to Neera.

When she entered the king’s tent, the king had asked her about Neera, Adeline was surprised that he had asked for her, but more surprised when he told her to tell her to come see him. She had appeared before him for almost a year and yet he did not even see her, but he could remember her name, Neera, who had not even stayed in the castle for up to a month.

She had bowed and left quietly, but as she approached where Neera knelt as she washed the plates, anger filled her. Adeline did not want to accept it, but now she looked at Neera, she could not help but agree that she was indeed beautiful to behold.

Even when she worked all day, did not adorn her hair, or applied any oils, her beauty still radiated. She was even prettier than most demons, and only Freya, the king’s sister, could compare.

Adeline could not bring herself to tell her that the king had asked for her. It was too shameful, knowing that Neera had watched her run to go carry his plates. At that moment, a thought came to her. She remembered a few of the demons mentioning that the soul eaters hid in the woods and fed mostly at night, only to come out when the sun was down, so they could easily mix with the humans without being recognized.

Now, what better way to get rid of her?

She would send her to fetch wood, and before anyone noticed she was missing, the soul eaters would have drunk her poor soul. Adeline smiled as she imagined what that her beautiful face would look like after her soul had been drained, but the smile disappeared from her lips when she realized she had disobeyed the king. She prayed everything worked out as she had imagined because her head would not remain on her neck if Neera came back alive.

Neera hurriedly washed the plates. The sun was already down and she was scared to death. She did not want to go, but there was nothing she could do. She did not speak to the soldiers, neither was she close to the other maids, and she could not dare go plead with the king.

Neera did not think Adeline hated her this much until now. Now she knew she actually wanted her dead. After washing the plates, Neera took a knife and hurried off into the woods. She ran as fast as her legs could carry. She could barely see now. Once the sun was down, everything got dark pretty fast. Neera’s heart banged against her chest. She has not been this scared in her entire life. She literally shook as she cut small branches of trees and heaped them up.

She needed enough wood to light a fire, but she had barely gotten up to a heap. Time flew quickly and before Neera knew it, it was night. She could hear the spooky sounds of the forest. The screeching owls, which sounded like they were right above her head, the cricket which would not let her think straight, and not to forget the tiny whispering of leaves which felt like the summoning of ghosts. Neera felt her soul almost leaving her body. She looked around her and that was when she realized she did not know where she had come from.

As if she was not already scared enough, Neera suddenly heard some footsteps behind her. Neera froze at a place as the loud pounding of her heart drummed in her ears. The steps were as though what was approaching was scanning her carefully_ it took a step and paused, and then took another step.

Neera’s hands shook as she gripped the knife with her might. Was it a soul eater?

She did not want to believe that this was how she was going to die. She felt her soul almost leave her body as the footsteps grew closer, and at that moment, Neera had to choose what was more important, her life or some piece of wood?

With a flash, she ran.