I am introducing a new character, which will be portrayed by Emma Stone. My character's hair color is reddish-brown. Don't be mistaken by the images that I will include.
Emma Stone has naturally blonde hair but she dyes them reddish-brown. I have pictures of her in both hair colors, so I don't want you all to get confused. Anyway, enjoy the chapter below.⬇⬇⬇

Previously...

"I promise she will be home soon. Safe and sound."

"Good luck, top man," the butler whispered as he closed the door of the once happy castle.

Zuber walked from Kyrah's castle towards his cottage. On his way, he halted in his tracks. He heard a sound. He waited for a minute, then resumed walking again. He heard the sound again.

Walking closer to a tree, he heard someone weeping softly. He made his way towards the person who was crying.

The person was a young woman, probably in her mid twenties. Her reddish-brown hair was tied in a bun, some wisps of it hanging loosely beside her cheeks. Her round face was dirty and teary.

Looking at her, Zuber was reminded of his mother's face. She had green eyes and reddish-brown hair too. He missed his parents who were so far away...

The girl sat clutching a big bag close to her chest. She didn't even notice that Zuber was standing near her.

"Excuse me?" Zuber asked slowly.

The girl screamed loudly, clearly taken aback.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

The girl just nodded back. Her beautiful green eyes brimmed with sadness.

"Why are you alone in this forest? It's about to be night. You should go back home," Zuber said concernedly.

"Home?" The girl shook her head and laughed bitterly. "I have no home. I am an orphan. I was living with my uncle till now. But, he threw me out today," her low husky voice was tinged with grimace.

"Oh!" that was all Zuber could utter.

Another evil uncle, he thought angrily. He sat down, keeping some distance from her.

"What's your name?"

"Jeanette, and yours?"

"Zuber."

He was thrown into a reverie, reminiscing the day he had kidnapped Kyrah.

"Who are you? Where are you taking me?" her sobbing echoed in his mind. He was sympathizing with the poor Princess at that time. He was angry at Hiram, who had ordered to kidnap such an innocent person, without her fault.

He remembered how harshly he had treated her in the beginning. But he couldn't carry on with his act. Kyrah didn't deserve to be treated like that, he had thought then.

Her beautiful blue eyes had always held him captive. You could see her whole soul within them. She always spoke from the heart, her eyes matching all the emotions she felt. He was shaken from the memory and found Jeanette staring at him blankly.

"You zoned out," she said.

"Uh, yeah."

"Where do you stay?" Jeanette asked.

"There is my cottage nearby," Zuber said, pointing ahead.

"Can I please stay in your house for some time? I have nowhere to go."

Zuber stayed silent for a minute. He didn't know what to say. He thought about Kyrah's reaction. She might already be angry with me.

Jeanette started crying again, fearing his answer to be no.

"Hey, please don't cry. You can stay," he said giving her a small smile. She can become friends with Kyrah.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Thank you so much!" Jeanette said wiping her tears.

"You are welcome. Let's go, it is getting late."

They walked a considerable distance side by side, looking here and there. The silence was comfortable. A light breeze was blowing, rustling the leaves of the huge oak trees present. The sky was darkening and there were a few stars out.

Jeanette looked up at the sky.

"How long do you plan to stay?" Zuber asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Once my job gets over," she blurted out.

"Job?" Zuber asked suspiciously. He felt he couldn't trust her.

"Haha! I mean till I get a job," she said with a giggle. "Do you stay alone?" she asked quickly.

"No," he said curtly. "My house is here."

Unlocking the door, he entered inside ushering Jeanette in.

Kyrah was found cooking her all time favorite dish: an omelette. She heard footsteps behind but didn't turn back. She was done cooking and was plating her dish.

A hand touched her shoulder lightly. She removed the hand from her shoulder and turned around saying, "Don't touch me, Zuber. I don't want to talk--"

Her eyes fell on Jeanette who was smiling at her. However, her smile didn't reach her eyes. Kyrah wasn't able to notice that as she was taken aback.

"Who are you?" she managed to ask.

"I am Jeanette. What is your name?" Jeanette said, holding out her hand.

"I am Kyrah," she said cautiously.

"Haha! You can shake my hand. I won't bite."

"Uh, I am so sorry," she said, shaking her hand and assessed her from top to bottom, adding a charming smile to her face.

"She will stay with us," Zuber said breezily. Kyrah scowled at him and then averted her gaze. She was angry at him, she wanted him to know that.

"For a while," he emphasized, directing the message to Jeanette. Silence hung in the small cottage. The three of them stared at each other.

Kyrah cleared her throat. "Jeanette, you must be hungry. Please sit down and join me for dinner."

"Us," Zuber butted in, earning another frown from Kyrah.

Jeanette looked between the two, a knowing smile on her face.

"Of course, thank you, Kyrah," she said, sitting down in between the two. Zuber was annoyed but cleverly masked with a stoic expression.

***

Kyrah started making an omelette again with her back turned to them. She could hear them conversing cheerfully. She felt a pang of jealousy as Zuber was ignoring her clearly.

She made the omelette for Zuber and herself furiously. Handing it to him, she sat down in her seat.

"This is scrumptious," Jeanette said, licking her lips. "I have never such good food--"

"In ages?" Kyrah asked.

"Exactly."

"Why did your uncle throw you out?" Zuber asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. He continued to munch on the omelette.

"After 22 years of keeping me with him, he feels that I am a burden now. I couldn't ask for more. He served as my parent. Mother and father, you could say both. He resorted to drinking after he lost his job. Things haven't been great since," she said with a sigh.

A stray tear made its way out of her eye. Zuber handed her his handkerchief. "I am happy that he has spared my life," she chuckled nervously.

Kyrah got up and hugged her tightly. Wiping her tears she gave her a sad smile. "I am happy my uncle Hiram isn't anything like yours. I have been so close to him since childhood."

Jeanette cleared her throat, earning their stares. She quickly changed it into a cough.

"Can I call you Jean if you don't mind?" Kyrah asked, smiling brightly at her, earning a small nod from Jeanette.

"You are the first one to give me a nickname."

"Everything will be okay, Jean," Zuber consoled. "I will help you prepare your bed."

"I will," Kyrah said, giving him her best frown. She didn't want him to spend more time with the new girl.

Ignoring her, Zuber started cleaning all the dishes. Kyrah carried a mattress and placed it beside her bed.
Jean placed her bag next to the mattress and sat on it. She unzipped her bag to remove her bright-blue pajamas and toothbrush.

Kyrah sighed, casting a look at her own mundane, pink pajamas.

"You can take the bed, I will sleep on this mattress," she said.

"No, it's fine. I am in the habit of sleeping on the ground," she said.

"It's time to change habits," Kyrah said with a smile, thinking of how her life changed after she had got kidnapped.

She had learned how to cook an omelette and also how to wash clothes. Her staff back at the palace would have their eyes bulged out seeing her working. She laughed at this thought.

Jean raised an eyebrow at her. Kyrah just shook her head.

"I insist," Kyrah added.

Jean nodded and got up. Asking where the bathroom was, she left Kyrah alone with her thoughts.

Kyrah got up to have a drink of water. Zuber stood next to her and looked at her sheepishly. She felt his presence but tried ignoring him by fingering the patterns of her clothes.

Zuber caught her small hand in his, looking at her intently.

"Good night, Princess," he said softly.

"Is that all?" she asked, removing her hand from his. Her temper was rising.

"Let me expl--"

"I don't want to hear anything. You leave the house, bring a new girl home and ignore me. What do you expect then?" she lashed out at him.

Zuber flinched at her words clearly miserable. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

"I thought we were friends. But I was wrong," she said sadly.

"Just listen to me at least," he pleaded.

"Please leave," she said roughly.

At that moment Jean entered the living room and stood near them, watching them curiously.

"Good night," Kyrah said, nodding at both of them, plastering a smile on her face. She stretched and faked a yawn, adding the covers on herself.

Zuber stood there awkwardly shifting on his feet. "Good night," he whispered. Turning on his heel, he left for his room, bolting it once inside.

Jean got up on Kyrah's bed and remained wide awake.

Kyrah tossed left and right as she couldn't sleep. She had taken a short nap and had woken up drenched in sweat.

"Not another one, please," she said softly.

She felt terrified. Casting a look at Jean, she found her fast asleep, her face contorted in a frown even then.

She had no other option. She knocked softly on Zuber's door. He opened the door swiftly as he had been awake too.

"What's wrong Kyrah?" he asked worriedly. "Another nightmare?"
He ushered her in and closed the door.

Meanwhile, Jeanette got up quietly and tiptoed towards Zuber's room.

"What are they up to?" she whispered and pressed her ear to the door.

Hey, guys! How are you all? I am so happy to tell you all that this book is at #664 in fantasy, as of today! SQUEALS! Also, I got my first 1K reads! Thank you so much, everyone, for all your support and encouragement. 😍💝

What do you think of Jeanette? Who do you think she is? Why is she listening to Zurah's conversation? Do you think Kyrah will forgive Zuber? Comment and let me know your thoughts!

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