Cyrah woke to a sharp knock on a wooden door, eyes popping open wide. She leaped from the small cot at the back of the servant chamber no larger than her cell, though it smelled much nicer. Fixing her hair and wiping the drool from her chin, she hurried to open the door. Without even knowing who disturbed her sleep, she irritably asked, “What is it?”
One small window opposite the room allowed enough morning sun to illuminate the ruby red demon standing in the doorway, lankier than the others she met. “Cyrah,” he greeted. “It is my pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, the woman my master speaks of so fondly.”“If he felt so fondly about me then why am I being treated like a servant? One minute I’m talking with a king that’s treating me like a princess, and the next he’s a monster who treats me like property,” Cyrah complained.“You may not believe me now but King Nikolis has his reasons,” he explained, only to receive Cyrah crossing her arms in response. “Be thankful you were elevated from a prisoner to a servant,” he admonished. Her lips pulled to one side in thought. Meaning received, the butler moved on. “In case you are wondering, my name is George. I am the butler here, responsible for how efficiently the castle runs, whatever that means nowadays. Come with me,” he requested. George led her to his right, and up the stairs at the end of the corridor. There, Cyrah found the beast waiting for them to arrive. She felt his heavy gaze on her but avoided making eye contact.“After a bit of discussion, I’ve decided you will begin with a few basic cleaning tasks,” Nikolis explained, joining them as they continued further into the castle. “My current staff lacks the necessary attention to detail and dexterity needed to make these rooms tidy and presentable. As you pointed out, my castle shows signs of obvious neglect. I trust you are suited for this task.” A scowl remained for Cyrah’s reply, following him with her arms crossed. “Also, take time to visit your horse in the stable. She has been ornery the last two days. She is quite attached to you and obviously concerned for your safety,” Nikolis informed flatly. “What is her name?”“Maribel,” Cyrah responded with a demeanor gentler than before. “I would gladly go and see her this afternoon.”“For now, you will begin cleaning the library,” he instructed as the trio closed in on a set of oak, double doors. He reached them, twisting the knobs in unison to spread the doors wide, and led Cyrah inside.The library wore coats of dust. Nikolis crossed to the outer wall and pulled on ropes by the windows. Pale, early morning sun flooded the room with the curtains drawn back, changing drastically from dark to light. Cyrah squinted as he opened three more sets of curtains, until her sight adjusted. Her eyes gradually widened as far as they could as she rotated to view the dozens of stacked bookcases, shelves lined with books from edge to edge. “This is the most extravagant library I have ever seen, more than in any village I’ve ever lived,” she exclaimed, searching for the end of the books.“Several of these books are rare, meaning only a few copies of them exist in the world. All of them have been read. I recommend staying on task. Do not deviate to read,” Nikolis warned.Failing to hide her disappointment, Cyrah said, “I understand.”“Good. I will be in the study,” Nikolis advised, dismissing himself.“Cyrah, allow me to show you where the cleaning supplies are kept so you can start,” George advised kindly in his husky voice, and then escorted her out of the library.The newest castle servant tossed open the windows and turned to the shelves, armed with a dozen rags. She shook out each cleaning cloth a score out of times before they were too dusty to clean with anymore. Up and down the ladder she climbed to make sure every speck of dirt was removed from the shelves and spines of the books. After a few bookcases, George arrived with a tray of tea and snacks, which prompted Cyrah to sit for a well deserved break. During her chore, a few of the book titles caught her eye. Once George exited the library, she hurried to the top shelf in the back to take a book down and over to the table. In the middle of the day, enough sun illuminated the library to read unhindered.A large hand covered by fine silk hairs of olive green, with nails like claws, appeared in front of Cyrah’s eyes, blocking the words on the old pages. The fingers curled around the edge of the book’s cover and drew it closed. “Hey, now I’ve lost my place!”“You also lost track of time.”The beast’s superior tone infuriated her, until she realized his statement was no exaggeration. Evening quickly approached.“Maybe the library is best suited as the last room for you to clean,” he advised. “I’m impressed by the work you did accomplish. You’re thorough,” he praised.“No,” Cyrah politely protested. “I’ll finish the library first, as long as you allow me to continue to read. Having that much to look forward to will give me motivation.”“For as long as none of the books become ruined, I agree to your terms,” he said, picking up the book from the table with careful hands. “Now, I admittedly became a tad distracted as well. We must visit Maribel, and then you can return to your quarters to have dinner.”Cyrah accepted the book when he offered it, a frown on her face.“It was foolish to believe that as a servant you would share the dinner table with me again, Cyrah,” Nikolis scolded, moving fluidly to leave the library.“I know. How idiotic of me to have hope,” she responded bitterly, following him toward the stables.“Hope is just as fleeting as love, and both are just as useless,” he said coldly.“And yet, you expect me to marry you? When I marry it will be for love, not out of necessity, and it will be to whom I choose,” Cyrah said stubbornly.Nikolis scoffed, opening the door to the yard behind the castle. She walked by him and through the doorway. “Love is a fallacy, a lie designed by scholars to deceive fools. Marriage is a parchment that brings nothing but suffering by combining property on an unstable foundation.” He closed the door behind her, and then continued leading the way to the stables.“Apparently, you’ve never experienced true love before.”“And you have?”“Well, no, but I have read–”“Yes, you’ve read books written by scholars to fill your head with false ideals.” he interjected arrogantly. “Therefore, you were successfully deceived to believe the fairy tale of love actually exists.”Cyrah fell silent as they traveled the stone path. At the intersection, they continued straight, and arrived at the large door to the stables. “Love does exist,” she timidly argued, as if to convince herself.Nikolis paused at the door to peer down at Cyrah and addressed her directly. “Considering your history with relationships, it is a surprise you believe love is possible. Love is a lie. Kindness, respect, compassion. These exist. These are real.”“Those are all traits that describe love!”He remained silent in the face of her outburst, declining to immediately respond, but opened the wooden door to the stables and allowed her to enter first. Each side was lined with dutch doors, some of them with the top open to stalls divided by half walls of stone. Livestock of all kinds lived in the stables with the horses, though there were far many more empty stalls than occupied. The cows and pigs expressed excitement in their unique voices as the demonic minions worked to feed them supper and bring buckets of water for overnight. Cyrah reached the opposite end when she finally heard Maribel snort and whinny with glee. She lifted the latch with a smile and hurried to enter the stall, leaving the door open behind her. Cyrah hugged her mare around the neck while smoothing out the long mane. Stepping back, she looked into Maribel’s honey brown eyes and asked, “No one hurt you, did they?” The horse responded with an aggressive nuzzle, and then pushed passed Cyrah by forcing her aside with a shoulder. Maribel stomped forward and positioned herself between Cyrah and the beast, snorting with her flared nostrils aimed at him.Laughing, Cyrah wrapped her hand around Maribel’s long snout and tugged to gently move her back into the stall. “There is no need to be upset. I can handle myself. This is Nikolis. He was the one who suggested I come see you. I’m glad you are safe,” she said.The beast stood stoic, unaffected or deterred by the horse’s protective gestures. He observed while Cyrah brushed and cared for Maribel, talking about the events leading up to that moment.“You certainly are considerate and compassionate toward Maribel,” he noted.“Yes, I am. I love her,” Cyrah responded.“Is that the same love you’ve read about? The love you seek to share with the one you would choose as your husband?”“No, not exactly,” she started.Nikolis scoffed, which interrupted Cyrah. “You are blind. The love you seek is a lie and can never be found. Better to marry when the situation benefits you or live out the rest of your life alone than chase after fantasies.”Confused, and hurt, Cyrah asked, “How do you benefit by marrying me?”The beast jerked his head to the side with a grunt. He declined to answer by walking away with his arms folded behind his back.Cyrah was left stunned in the absence of conversation. “Hmph,” she grunted in her throat, annoyed. “He simply is not very nice, Maribel. We will be gone from here soon, I promise.”
Kilena Shrelack 