Ezra didn't even say goodbye to Cleo after he dropped her off at the pier, he dropped her off so quickly that the entire thing happened in about ten seconds with ease.

But she was rather glad that the trip back was quiet. She could see Ezra was one of the tranquil ones who constantly thinks about his every next move. After he drops her off, what's he doing now? kind of person.

Cleo made sure he dropped her at an area with the least activity, and when he got her to the side of the pier, she jumped on the ladder which was against it and she slowly climbed her way up, making sure her feet didn't get into the water below her of the ladder that extended right down into the water.

She peeked up keeping her stance on the ladder before lifting up and directly onto the pier;  after seeing majority of the villagers at the front of the pier, she climbs onto it and hides behind a box of ship shit.

When she turned around, Ezra was already gone and she grits her teeth. The High Mage. Hell did they have one of those?

A few moments later of her hiding, searching and finding her way closer towards the farms, judging by the fresh scent of grass and the windmills in the distance she finally finds herself standing in the middle of the pathway between the farms.

And still... No Jezio.

He said he would be here and he is not.

Yes her heart did an excited jump at not finding him at the pier because that would be too much talking from her to him. It's usually the other way around and she prefers it that way.

She didn't see the old man's barge in sight either, and Cleo is desperately hoping that Jez hasn't seen him return without her. What if Jezio was with the old man now? Looking for her at sea?

She didn't see anything on her trip back. She steers her thoughts away from that.

She sighs and straightens her back harshly as another wave of pain tackles her. She has to get back to Court. Now.

But where the hell was Jezio?

Cleo keeps walking forward down the pathway, drooping her head down low as she briskly walks away further from the sea towards the Village. If Jezio wasn't here, she would just leave him and come another time, and she'll come prepared for the fight he would start at leaving him. Again.

He wouldn't be an idiot to go all looking for her, or maybe he would but at some point he'd give up. There isn't exactly anything he could do regarding her whereabouts to others; they wouldn't even know how she looked. And he'd just end up driving himself deeper into a hole with no way out. So he will have no choice but to let it go. Let her go.

But it wasn't sundown yet, and the old man's barge wasn't there last she checked, so when Jez comes back to the pier from wherever he is he'll know she isn't back yet.

It is about midday. The activities in the farms, and even the Beggar Area where she is soon reaching has gone up a notch. More people, more work, more of everything. It's making her think when her crowning ritual is. How long has it been anyway?

She hears the cries of chickens, or maybe it was the children screaming she didn't know, because to her they all sounded the same. It made her think of Thane. Sweet little Thane.

The walk from the farms back to the Village is a long one. Surpassing many hills, trees, and even more crops before actually reaching the edge of the entire Market — which is the Beggar Area, made her body feel more dead than it was back at sea.

She glances toward the dead crops; she wouldn't even be surprised if it were the beggars themselves taking their foods from the farms like she saw earlier. Or maybe she should get guards to make sure there aren't any crossings of the beggars gliding to the farms to manage the purloin of crops and food.

But. This was too much work to do. For her. It wasn't her problem.

She stops short, the entire Beggar Area stank horribly. The makeshift homes and slums homes were decorated with shells, and flowers, mostly pink-orange colours— colours to match her powers and crowning,  were all over the show. It did nothing to make the scent of the place any better.

It actually made Cleo smile, who knew that the poor would care enough about her ritual. Because whenever she looked at them, they didn't even care where the next meal came from, only where the next drink came from.

She shakes her head and glances over at Grasels home and sees it quiet and the doors bolted shut. This really didn't seem like the best place to reside in for someone as wise as Grasel, then again Cleo couldn't blame her— not when most of the buyers are the beggars themselves. She's probably the richest in the area, and needed these metal pieces as walls to protect from theft.

Definitely something common in the area. Actually she remembers seeing these exact benches, from where she crouched behind this small home, at a different slum when she came to Grasel about a few weeks ago. This is how it goes. Stealing something. Stealing it back. Absolutely stupid.

Everyone wanted a taste of the new thing in the area. And she definitely didn't know that a broken-down  bench was classified as class.

Cleo was about to get out her of spot and head back to Court, but the sight before her made her stop short.

Ahead of her against a wall stood Jezio, kissing another girl.

His hands were all over her face cupping her cheeks as he kissed her fervently, and the girl stood on her tiptoes to match his demands.

The girl is definitely younger than him and she only wore a  rag as a dress. From the side view of them, her face was smudged with dirt.

For some reason Cleo felt hurt. But it wasn't because he kissed another girl, it's because he didn't wait for her like he said he would. Her chest felt heavy as did her throat, her tears were threatening to fall hard. She had to cup her mouth to not give in and cry.

Her chest hurt. Oh it hurt bad. Perhaps she was dying. Finally.

They pulled away at the sight of another girl coming into picture and from her finger pointing at them and her angry facial expression, it was clear she was scolding them.

With another pang, she realizes it was that Mirabella girl who couldn't keep her eyes to herself when Cleo came in to Grasel.

Mira shooed the girl away and faced Jez, with her arms crossed.

Were they...? Were they together?

She was too far from them to hear anything. She didn't even care anymore. Fuck them all.

                                                           °°°

She makes it bad to Court in one piece. But inside, she feels shattered and perplexed. She didn't even have the will to pick her own feet up anymore.

She feels numb. And so so empty. It's usually how she feels on a day to day basis, unless she spends her time smoking with Jezio, or just simply seeing Kalebs face. But now she had neither.

She missed Kaleb. She hasn't seen him since the library, he didn't even eat breakfast with her in the mornings either. But she might have to invite him again; just to have some sort of thing to help keep her sane, at least  make her feel important.

She sighs deeply as she makes her way to her chambers, seeing a huge bulk figure of Kaleb standing a few feet away from her door.

Lucky for her, she hasn't passed any guards or maids, but she could understand why. The entire palace is in mourning and Cleo had to do something about it. Soon. That's enabling more guards, watches etc, throughout the day for demons, as well as getting the appropriate gear to fight them off as well as fending themselves in case another one were to strike.

Which she is pretty sure will happen, not to be discouraging or anything.

Shit.

What do you do when everything falls apart?

Simple. You sleep.

She must have smelled like the docks, and definitely not look the best either, she has stains from all sorts of liquids settling in her weird places; and she couldn't take it. She needed a hot bath. A long one.

She made sure to keep her distance to keep the sea scent off and she brushes her braid down, to at least look like she came from the garden or the library or wherever.

She didn't spare Kaleb a single glance, but immediately opened her chamber door and walked through.

"Miss!" Kaleb is moving towards her. She could hear him scuttling.

She was about to bang her door closed behind her but Kaleb's foot got wedged in between and he searched her face, obviously noting the red puffy eyes and her dried salted bangs.

Cleo rolls her eyes and got her hands around her throat wanting to unfasten the cloak till she remembered that she already discarded of it at the barricade on the floor. If Jezio wanted to look for her, he'll find the cloak there and leave her alone.

She goes for unbuttoning her hood and pulls it over her head leaving her in her tight vest.

Kaleb is in her room following behind her slowly as she trots to her privy. She'll run her own bath. It's not the best option, she would of definitely asked the maid to run it, but at least she could drown her sorrows away alone if she did it.

She leans down and runs the bath, grabbing her oils and salts before tossing them into the water.

The fresh smells of the flowers in her bathroom awakens her senses with it bringing a sedated feeling in her body.

"Cleo?"

She turns around looking up at him from where he stood atop her stairs. This wasn't even allowed, he is supposed to not step foot into her room unless she asked. Yet here he stands looking at her like she ate a shoe.

"What?"

Kaleb went for a loose shirt today. With snug leather pants that hugged his powerful thighs so perfectly she could squirm.

She catches a hint of his shiny chest, looking at her like melted caramel.

His hair looks tousled, and he has bags under his eyes suggesting he hasn't been sleeping well for the past few days.

"Where were you? The whole Court is looking for you. We-"

"Has there been another demon attack?" Her heart races.

"No."

Her heart thumps easily again. "Then I don't care."

She bends down to take off her wet soggy boots and she lays it to dry on the steps. She wiggles her cold numb toes to bring some flow back into them, and arches her feet like those dancers do at festivals.

"Cleo-Miss, fuck, we have matters to talk about, Genevieve and the demons the foods-"

The loud tapping of her on the nearly empty bottle of rich salts disrupts the rest of Kalebs sentence.

The damn salts are all sticky sitting at the end of the glass container, she hits the hind of it more and more cursing in the process. It just didn't budge.

The salts came free and Cleo smiles in satisfaction. "You were saying?"

Kaleb shakes his head and places his hand on the scabbard of his sword at his side. The other rests at his side. He looks utterly drained. He also for sure is done with her shit.

"I'll wait till after you bathe. Landon has been requesting a meeting with you and the council. I will let him know we found you."

She throws her back and groans. Her damn back is back into picture.

"I don't want a meeting Kaleb. I want to sleep till I can't no more."

He rubs his scruff. Why hadn't she noticed it sooner? His looks got enhanced by an ample amount.

"What happened Cleo? You look like shit."

Those words were so new to Cleo coming from his mouth. She has to slowly walk up the stairs to stand in front him.

Instantly she feels the heat coming off from him. The inviting delicious heat.

Kaleb looks more intimidating than she does, eliminating their height differences. And she liked it a lot.

"That doesn't matter. You haven't been sleeping."

He flicks his gaze to her chest and flits it back again. "That doesn't matter. I shall leave you in peace for your bath."

He bows and Cleo descends the steps again.

She immediately tugs down her pants and underwear, she looks over her shoulder and sees Kaleb standing with his back to her not leaving.

That surprisingly brought a sliver of apt into her belly.

"Whats new with the Court?"

She loosens her braid first, to cower her back marks before pulling off her vest and brassiere. In a few seconds she is sitting back in her bath after closing the tap and laying back with a pleasurable sigh.

She could see Kaleb stiffen, and she already knew he would be trying to come up with excuses to leave the room.

She smirks to herself, pondering whether he felt as hot and flustered like she did. And it's not because of the steam from the hot bath and the heavenly scents wafting up into the air between them either.

"Well, the entire Court is in mourning, Gwen especially is struggling to cope. We are all waiting for you and your next move concerning what has happened."

She grips her thighs underneath the water. Dammit.

"I will speak to Landon about this and protect everyone else. Has there been more security in the Court?"

"Yes."

She nods even though he couldn't see. How strange it is to be having a meeting about the Court in her privy. She laughs to herself internally.

"Kaleb?" She pipes up after she sees him wanting to leave.

He halts but doesn't turn around, she sees his muscles clenching beneath his pants and shirt. "Yes Miss?"

Cleo draws her knees to her chest and rests her face sideways on it, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs. Her hair falls to the side and right into the bath, her bangs is to the back of her head.

She realized that when Kaleb is serious about something he says Cleo, but other times, with him being normal or at least not worried it's Miss.

"Turn around." She is playing with fire. She knows it. Oh the irony.

He takes his time to turn around and she immediately runs her gaze over his body again, she is particularly intrigued by how alluring his sword looked resting against his thigh. It made him look manly and even more attractive.

Kaleb meets her eyes in her bath. He already smothered her in his looks, by running it all over her lithe figure in the bath— from her wet hair to where the rest of her body disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

"I want to apologize for being mean to you that time. I really am sorry."

She wasn't.

He nods his head thoughtfully and brushes his brown locks out of his moss eyes before answering her. "No. I should be apologizing. Apologies for failing to do my duties Miss." He bows.

Cleo wanted to throw water in his face for being so damn handsome. She is sure as hell that he could even rock a curtsy for her. Why was everything he did so sensual?

"Would you like to take a bath?" She runs her hands in the water making little waves that hurled over the floor. She motions to the water with her head, inviting him to join.

He clears his throat and colour starts rising in his face. "Uhm, no thank you Miss."

His demeanor is suddenly jerky— he shakes a little too much in his legs. He just refused to meet her eyes too, he resulted to looking at her salts and oils on the steps before and behind her.

Cleo lifts her head with a sigh. Perhaps she should touch herself beneath the water to gain his attention and he'd come in with her, but she thought against it; it's a bit too extreme.

The water is cold. Screw these maids and their abilities to make a hot bath last so long. This was what?  A ten second bath? She didn't even bath she only soaked.

She gets out and immediately Kaleb is out of the room.

She was glad anyway. Her marks were for her eyes only.

The floor is cold beneath her feet, cold and wet. Even though the whole room deemed erotic and steamy — smelling so good, the floor had to go and destroy the mood.

She dries off and makes a big messy bun atop her head and dresses herself in a floor length silk black night robe.

She makes her way into her room and is shocked to see Kaleb standing at one of the posts of her bed.

"You're still here, didn't my nudiy bother you?" She tilts her head to the side her wet bangs are longer and fell into her eyes. She's been complaining about Kaleb's locks, when she herself should trim her bangs too.

He leaned against the post with crossed arms."I was worried about you."

She pouts, raises her arms to loosen her bun and gets her comb. "Me?"

"Yes you."

Ugh. Her hair is so tangled, the comb refused to go through her long strands, the rest of her hair brushed her butt and the tips of it made her dress wet.

"Why?" She watches him through the dresser of her mirror; just to find him already watching her.

There was something else lurking behind those green eyes of his. Something grave and staid.

"Where were you? Everyone is concerned. Especially Landon, in case you haven't noticed."

She didn't. All her courtesans treated her the same, no sense of concern, no turning grey of worry, not an ounce of chafe.

Unless she wasn't here for so long, that she didn't even notice the 'supposed' concerned courtesans about her doings.

"Why does it matter? I'm back now. So everything is fine." She could feel her exasperation rising.

Kaleb eyes her messy bed, his jaw ticking eminently.

"You looked like hell when you came back."

She found it as a compliment, he said looked meaning she looked attractive enough to kiss after her bath.

She rolls her eyes and cries out as she combed her hair out too hard; that, and it's too tangled. And she hadn't even washed it.

"And?"

Kaleb pushes off the post and comes towards her in slow sexy strides. "And. You're still not telling me what happened. Comb from the bottom up."

She grinds her teeth and follows his instructions. Already finding ease using his method.

"I was in the gardens."

"Right. Because after we searched this Court till it was upside  down, we found you lounging about in the garden we searched about ten times already."

She faces him. Half her hair pin straight waiting to dry, the other half messy and tangled —like her heart. She is quite the sight she must say.

She points her comb at him,"Why does this bother you so much?"

He lowers his gaze to her  cleavage of the too revealing gown before bringing his unnecessarily death look to her eyes.

"I was worried."

She turns around again and combs her other half. "Oh that's nice."

"Something may have happened to you and no one would know. Because you don't say anything-"

She points her comb at him again more threateningly this time and initiated fire in her orbs. "What I do is my damn business Kaleb."

He looks at the comb and back to her, with a heated angry look.

She knows the comb can't do damage to his bulky frame but oh she needed a fixed weapon to point him out.

Kaleb raises both his hands for a second before releasing them down again and once again turns around.

Seems like he decided to leave. He's had enough of Cleo now.

"Wait Kaleb!"

She grabs his wrist and hurls him to her. Quickly and efficiently she is on her tip toes and she starts combing his birds nest hair.

In their current position — her chest was forced into his line of vision and she breathes rather raggedly into his face. He was breathing just as hard, warm and minty against her cheek.

It made her skin tingle all over and she shivers slightly.

It was near sundown, so the light in her room had dimmed, it made Kaleb's pupils dilate giving off a sultry look.

His hair is so soft it slipped right through her fingers like sand grains at sea, she tugs on the strands softly to enable him to lower his head down to her; he is just too tall even on her tip toes to comb it.

She gently holds a piece and combs through it, she did his entire head in silence. The damp comb made his hair slightly damp too, so it made his strands neater. Instantly after she combed it, it curled around his neck and ears, plopping back softly onto his forehead in a gentle caress.

She was too focused on his hair to notice his reaction or to at least read his face to skim what he was thinking, not that she was too interested in knowing either. She just bloody had to rid of these knots in his hair.

"You know Kaleb, I like you a lot. You're a very good guard to me and this Court, without a doubt. We all have our secrets and did our faults. I know. " She takes a moment to breathe, now standing behind him scrutinizing him through the mirror.

Her green eyes meets his there. He looked as if he were struggling to breathe.

She continues,"But it only becomes a problem when I am betrayed. When people make promises to me and breaks it the instant I'm gone."

He breathes through his mouth, never wavering his gaze from hers. Never breaking their lock.

He still didn't say anything. Cleo refrains from rolling her eyes and screaming at him to reply to her.

She rises onto her toes again and whispers softly into his ear, "Don't trust anyone Kaleb, that way you're  keeping your heart protected against more heart break."

She kisses his cheek so sweetly after; she forgot that Kaleb was her guard.