Heart of Darkness

Roxana.

And Rox. Interesting.

Skender couldn't help but hold the laughter that rose to his throat. That woman had more surprises under her sleeve and to dare to come to the castle dressed as a man…He was speechless.

Even more so that she flirted with him while dressed as a man. Flirting usually never worked on him. Women tried very often and failed. But this woman did it differently. She had a way with words and her delivery was remarkable.

Lazarus suddenly appeared in his room. "I am going out for some fun. Are you coming tonight?"

"No," Skender said leaning back on the couch.

The demon stared at him curiously. "How do you do it? I mean if you won't get yourself a woman, then a man has needs. Rayven had some real issues holding him back but you could get anyone. Even dead Mazzon takes care of his."

Skender already knew that. They all did. Blayze found some demon female somewhere. Vitale who was a mystery was not anymore since he could hear his thoughts. He made sure to occasionally take care of his needs to stay focused and organized as he was. Or appeared to be so.

How long could a man go without releasing the tension? He was not one to give the correct answer since his man parts functioned differently it seemed. Unless the destroyer came to the surface he was really not feeling it and he didn't know why the destroyed suddenly decided they needed to take care of needs that didn't exist. Could they really have separate needs? Or was the destroyer just having fun? Maybe he was teasing him.

Skender had tried to reach him but it wasn't working. He had felt him creep to the surface while he was talking to Roxana but at that moment he was not ready to have him there so he had pushed him back. Or did he? All this was confusing.

"I have no needs," Skender said.

"Well, Beth told me something else. She is already asking about you. How is she supposed to ever go back to the normal?" He pretended to sympathize with her.

"Which one is it? Roxana or Beth? Or does it not matter as long as it is a woman?" Skender asked annoyed. He knew Lazarus was the one to let Roxana in, thinking that the woman would entice him. He was mistaken.

"Both perhaps? I mean, Roxana is Rox now. I brought her in mostly because I am curious. Don't tell me you are not."

"I am not."

"Then why did you let her stay? You could have exposed her disguise."

Skender remembered those large teal eyes, complimented by rosy cheeks and light golden hair like the morning sun. How could people mistake her for a man? She looked all woman to him. He cursed himself. He must have let her stay because he let himself get fooled by her charms. Clearly hearing her thoughts didn't make him any smarter.

"You don't have to answer that. I know she is alluring." he shrugged. "I am leaving without you then." He disappeared.

Alluring? Well, that she was but he was not going to be lured. He would make her leave before she caused trouble.

********

Roxana got dressed for her training and left her home with a new sharp focus on her mission. She would not let herself get distracted. She would get acquainted with the castle and find one highly valuable item that would less risky to steal. Once she found that item, she would make preparations to leave the kingdom before stealing it. Meanwhile, she would work harder to find her family.

When she arrived at the gate, she showed the guards her trainee batch and they let her inside. She then pulled out her schedule to see where she needed to be. There was a map among the things she got to find the way but she didn't know how to use one. As she stood there, turning the map side to side to see if she could figure it out a voice spoke from behind. "Do you need help?"

She turned around and came face to face with a very young man. A man with fiery hair and equally beautiful eyes. From the way he was dressed, he had to be of the wealthy. "Yes, My Lord. I am not familiar with maps."

"Where do you need to be?"

"The defense headquarters, My Lord." She replied.

"You are a trainee?"

"Yes."

She expected to receive the usual look but his expression remained the same. "I can show you the way." He offered.

"That would be of great help," she smiled and then followed him.

He was quiet the entire way until they arrived at the right place, she assumed. There was a large empty land surrounded by many barracks. A middle-aged man, tall and steady with a beard that reached chest came up to them.

"Lord Davis."

Lord Davis? It was him. The youngest to have become a courtier. She had heard many stories about him, about how his father was a traitor yet he got into court, and his sister after becoming a prostitute, married the Lord of the manor. Two siblings who achieved the impossible. Roxana had often admired them when hearing their stories. Now she got to see him, personally. She wanted to have a chance to see his sister as well before she left the kingdom.

"Sir Fulker. I have a trainee here with me."

Sir Fulker looked at her, probably wondering how on earth she passed all the tests. "What is your name?" He asked.

"Rox, Sir." She replied using a darker voice.

Sir Fulker gave Lord Davis a nod and then turned to her. "Follow me Rox,"

"Yes Sir." She said then turned to Lord Davis. "Thank you for taking you time to help me, My Lord."

He gave her a slight bow and then left.

Roxana hurried to follow Sir Fulker who took her to the other trainees. He motioned for her to stand in one of the queues.

Lord! She was surrounded by men of all shapes and sizes. Some of them were her length and size but they could barely be mistaken for a woman with their hairy arms or beards.

She looked at Sir Fulker again and she could tell that he was a stern man. He held a stick in his hand and walked between the queues scanning all of them. He used his stick to correct their mistakes.

"Straight shoulders!" He used the stick to see if a man's shoulders were straight. "Straight back." He pushed in a man's back with the end of the stick. He commented almost on everything. Too long hair could be a distraction. Cut or braid it. No accessories. He tapped on a man's stomach. "Lose weight," he said and then came to her. He watched her with critical eyes then tapped on her arm with the stick. "Gain weight."

"Yes, Sir!" She said.

He went to stand in the front again and began to line up all the rules. "When on duty, you will keep your eyes and ears open at all times. If you are his Majesty's personal guard then you will keep your eyes and ears open all the time but when you leave his presence, you leave as if you have been deaf and blind. Or you will end up dead. Do you understand?"

"We understand, Sir!" They replied.

"While on training, you either train and be a man or you can quit and go home like a maiden and wait for a man to wed. I don't train girls."

Roxana scoffed. Don't worry, Sir. I will prove my manhood. But why are you yelling? She thought to herself.

After a while of yelling and a few more insults, he showed them around. "This is where you will live once your training ends. That is if you make it until the end." He said now tapping the stick on his hand as if promising them many hardships under his watch.

He knew some came here only for food and shelter. He didn't know that she came to steal.

"Let's start the training then," he said, eyes shining with excitement.

Roxana had been on the run almost her whole life, so most of the training was easy for her. Running, jumping, crawling, climbing while Sir Fulker shouted insults to those whole failed.

His way of insulting them was to call them girls. She was having enough of the word already. Who would have thought that she would be called a girl later when she couldn't lift the heavyweights. "No wonder. You look like a girl. Shall I bring you a dress?" He shouted.

I already own one that you could not handle wearing for a day you old fart!

Once he drained them of energy, it was time for swordsmanship. Most of them almost crawled forward.

"Are you already tired? This is only the first day? Maybe you shouldn't have come here." He told them.

After their sword training, it was time for a lunch break. Roxana was starving so she filled her plate but it was suddenly snatched out of her hand. A big man towered over her. "I don't think you need that much food, boy!"

Roxana was exhausted and had no energy to flirt her way out of this even though she didn't want a fight. "I do need that much. I am supposed to gain weight. You should probably lose some."

He grabbed her by the collar almost lifting her up from the ground. "I am not hungry anymore." She said and he pushed her back causing her to fall on her bottom.

The other trainees looked at her with pity. Some laughed at her. "He looks like a girl." Someone said.

Roxana got up on her feet and as she dusted herself off, someone pushed her from behind again. She fell on her hands and knees this time. Remaining in that position she felt anger build up but there was no use to cause trouble. She got up and decided to have a break somewhere else.

"He is running away," they laughed as she left the place.

Roxana shrugged it off. She was used to being bullied, mistreated, abused, even… tortured. This was nothing new. In time, she would either teach them a lesson or they would all love her. She preferred the latter. Experience has taught her that getting people on her side was the best victory. It also made her feel less of a bad person.

Roxana walked through the halls of the castle watching her surroundings. According to her schedule, after the break, she would be following the king's personal guards to learn. She sighed. Not when she looked like this after the training.

The quarters were divided by small open spaces with fountains. Roxana thought of using some water to clean up a bit. She looked around to make sure no one was there and then hurried to the small fountain. She washed her arms and face and put her hair back in place by wetting it. She was quick yet when she turned around, she found the King standing there.

Roxana almost stumbled and fell back in the fountain but managed to hold herself. "Your Majesty," She hurried to bow.

He watched her but it was hard to tell what he was thinking. He had that expression that revealed nothing which made her even more curious. "I was…" She wanted to explain herself but he just turned around and left.

Al-right?

She got away from the fountain and followed him. He walked rather fast and she had to jog a little. Suddenly he stopped and turned around but she was a little late to react and came too close to him. Her breath stilled when she found her face an inch away from his chest. Again, his minty scent reached her nostrils. What did he bathe with?

She swallowed and took a step back.

"Why are you following me?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "I will be by your side, Your Majesty. I am on my way to your quarters so I thought I would follow you. I don't know the way."

His eyes narrowed with what seemed to be annoyance. Without a word he swiveled and walked away. Roxana remained standing for a while to create some distance between them before she followed him.

Her gaze was glued on the man before her. He was not only blessed with a beautiful face, but he had a body to match. He was tall with strong legs encased in black pants that went further into a pair of black leather boots. Straight broad shoulders and strong arms made the jacket he wore look even better on him. He walked fast but effortlessly as if his body weighed nothing.

Thinking of it now, the other two lords had almost a similar aura and beautiful faces but it wasn't as prominent as with the king. Almost as if their social ranks were based on who was the most beautiful and elegant.

Roxana continued to follow him wondering how long they would have to walk. The King took her to the courtyard where a few soldiers waited for him. They had a few prisoners with them.

A chair was ready for the King and he went to sit down. Roxana didn't know what to do when suddenly a hand came around her arm and pulled her closer.

"You must be Rox."

Roxana looked at the man with the armor beside her. "Yes."

He released her. "I am Gary, that is Peter." He nodded toward another man with armor standing on the other side. "We are his Majesty's guards. You will be following me on your training period." He told her speaking in hushed tones as to not disturb the rest.

"Alright, Sir."

Soon the young Lord Davis and another strange-looking Lord, with hair almost the color of snow, joined them. They sat on each side of the King who then gave the soldiers a nod.

"Your Majesty." A soldier came forward with a prisoner that he pushed down on his knees. "We have found them."

"His Majesty has many enemies. Every time he makes changes in the kingdom that benefits the common people the powerful ones become upset. He has no heir as of yet, so his enemies have the best chance to discard him now to overtake the throne." Gary explained next to her.

Roxana nodded.

"His enemies could be high Generals, courtiers, people who work with him so you need to keep your eyes open even in the castle."

"Yes, Sir."

The King watched the prisoner on his knees for a while before waving his hand for him to be taken away. "Lock him up and keep him alive." He said. The soldier bowed and took the prisoner with him.

The next prisoner was an old fragile man. The soldier manhandled him as he pushed him forward. "This one was openly slandering you, Your Grace."

"What was he saying?"

The soldier swallowed. "I dare not say it, Your Majesty."

The soldier looked uneasy and Roxana wondered what the old man could have said to be so serious. That the king was ugly? Fat? Old? A liar? It was typical things she heard people say when they were jealous.

"What did he say?" The King repeated.

The soldier looked down. "He… he said that you and Lord Davis…that Lord Davis is… your whore?" He grimaced and tensed when he finished his sentence.

Roxana's eyes widened. What? The air thickened and everyone became silent. Roxana watched Alexander with dread. There would be some blood spilled. This old man's life would soon come to an end.

The King was silent for a moment, his gaze so sharp and piercing it could cut through the air. Lord Davis had a look of disgust and the other Lord didn't seem to care.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the King burst into laughter. "Oh, old man." He laughed for a while before he stopped and leaned forward. "You have quite the imagination."

"You should fear God and get married, Your Majesty. Such behavior is sinful." The old man advised him.

The King nodded. "You should take your own advice except for the marriage part, perhaps."

"Life is short. We will all die one day. You should repent and correct your ways."

The King chuckled looking like he had enough. "Escort him out and release him." He told the soldier.

The soldier seemed confused. "But Your Majesty…"

One look from the King and the soldier became silent. He bowed and then took the old man with him.

"That is one rumor that had been going around for a while," Gary whispered.

"Why?" Roxana asked.

"You will find out in time." He told her.

Roxana was used to gossip. She could care less what people said. It was always exaggerated and since he was the King, she guessed his case was even worse.

But this man, Alexander, why did he let the old man leave? This she couldn't understand. Wealthy people caused trouble and punished for less. She remembered stealing bread once when she was thirteen and they whipped her feet in public so she couldn't walk for days. Remembering that day suddenly made her feel a certain way. Her cheeks grew hot and her eyes burned. She looked at the King and their eyes locked. He held her gaze for a moment, his sapphire eyes searching hers.. Her heart skipped a beat and she looked away, feeling like he could see through her.

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