45 — Coincidence?

Laura couldn't believe her eyes, all this while and he was here! She was uncannily out of character when she rushed towards him and hugged him so tightly, despite the thorns that stood between the two of them, she drew back from him after she realized that he had put just a hand on her back in a friendly pat that in doubt irked her, she got so furious that here she was feeling foolish and he had decided to run off with no note of what he was doing or where he was going, she drew back and slapped him. It shocked her that she was capable of it and it shocked Nicolas that she had done so.
"You left me! You left me to worry! You left me to do what?! What would your father say,huh! What would he say if he knew about your little escapade and attention seeking ceremony that you so constructed, what is wrong with you!" She shrieked after the sting from the slap had subsided. She hadn't even noticed that there was a third person there with them, she only saw him. He was the only thing that was important.
****
He didn't know if he should show his fangs or to recoil from her touch, he didn't know how he was supposed to react as she threw herself towards him and hugged the breathe out of him, all he could do as his mind raced was to pat her back as a friendly gesture but then...
The next thing he knew was the slap that grazed his face, despite him been a cold being, the slap brought the sting of a lifetime and her shrieking. He hardly understood anything she said because she kept screaming all through and through. What he cared about was what Lily thought at this moment, that's all he thought about.
He stepped out of the bushes, deliberately pushing Laura back a bit, Lily seemed to follow and after she had stopped spewing nonsense, it was his turn but he wasn't about to devour her, he suddenly remembered why he planned to overtake the werewolf kingdom, she was a spoiled good for nothing brat.
" I am so sorry" Nicolas said with a faked sympathy as he massaged his jaw. She didn't seem to believe what he was saying and to be fair, he wouldn't either but for the sake of Lily, he had to be nice.
"Believe me, I went on a journey but she helped me" he motioned to Lily who stood in shock.
****
Laura couldn't believe her eyes as her eyes set on the woman who had a grotseque mark across her face like a flag, seeable but that wasn't what wowed her. It was the uncanny resemblance she bore with her. She gasped in fright, how was it possible that there could be someone who looked so much like her in every way, height, face, eyes, skin... She was an only child, it made no sense and at the same time could it be a coincidence?
****
Her people have always told her that she was brought on by the moon goddess, she didn't know her whereabouts but how well did they know that and how much of it was even true? Did they know everything? What did they even know and was this all a mere Coincidence?
They peered into each other's eyes and it seemed like they were a mirror reflection only that in her case, she had a wicked scar on her face. Which reminded her that she was without the mask. This was the first time that she had let someone see her by accident. She wasn't feeling guilty by it but instead she felt freed. Relived. Infact.
"You look..." The lady began
"...just like me" she finished, she was so tempted to touch her face and somehow she wasn't because all she would feel was smooth skin and it's delicate nature. She could tell from the scratches on her skin that she was a smooth bodied person, someone who knew nothing of hardship. Someone who didn't know a thing about hardship.
Privilege smelled all over her, reeked from her clothes, her smell, her skin, herself. She was nearly repulsed by it but all her mind could think of was what it would feel like been born that way, how it must taste like been someone who was deep in wealth.
She concluded that there was no way that this stranger wasn't a wealthy person, either a merchant or royalty.
"My name is princess Laura, I'm the heiress to the werewolf kingdom and this here — she motioned to Nicolas — is my fiance" if she knew what that meant and was correct then she was also right about her breath hitching in her throat.
****
'shit!' never had he ever in his entire lifetime been this scared, it didn't take him two minutes to realize that everything he had felt, everything he had gone through with Lily was all turned to dust by this spoiled brat. He could have put his teeth in her neck and drained her worthless blood if he knew, that she was going to blow his cover in this way. He was shocked that he wasn't been sucked into the mother Earth right now.
He looked to Lily, for a sign. For any sign that what they had, was gone. He searched frantically for a clue but the only thing she did was hitch her voice and close up.
****
"Really? So you're the Laura?" Lily couldn't believe that she was doing this and worse she didn't understand why she was doing it, it wasn't as though she should, but she felt so stupid and if anything she wanted nothing more than to back away from this toxic crew and go back to her kingdom and look for a poor stone to throw into a pond.
The said Laura cocked her brows in anticipation of what she meant and by default she gave a nervous laugh and threw her hands in the air for some kind of support.
"He mentioned you all the time, he says I saved him but in actuality I nearly killed him and knocked him out cold" she said.
" Oh" she had confusion all over her face, Lily had to release the confusion that clouded her mind.
"Yeah, he was walking up and down trespassing as you are now, I was out here trying to clear my head when I saw him, I got frightened with it and came out of the bushes that I had so well hidden in and challenged him to a fight" Lily walked to the rock, grateful that Laura followed her towards the rock and sat on it, again grateful for the rock to rest her bottom and wondered how much more she could give to the rock to help her carry. The snake walked towards them and held tears that threatened to fall, she saw his eyes but she was focused on trying to save him for reasons that she didn't understand.
" So you knocked him out cold?" She asked Lily and she nodded .
" Yes I did. He was trespassing" she replied
" So what did you do with him after you knocked him out" she cocked her brows at him.
" I took him back to my kingdom, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lily, like the flower, commander and warrior of the kaayans land" Laura had never heard of such a people before in her life. It amazed her to no ends how much she was ignorant of.
"So you took him in? Did you know that he has been missing for two weeks and counting? I have been worried sick and I have a wedding to plan, why didn't you return him back to where you found him?" Her voice was raised.
She found it nearly hard to answer but quick thinking was a thing.
"I have never seen such a creature before in my entire life since i breathed my first breath, I needed to take him back to my people, to my priestess — except they never saw her — to tell me what he was. I gathered information on him and while I did, I nursed his wounds to help him recover and get more information from the horse's mouth and when I was sure that he was not a threat to us, I released his chains and let him go. In apology, I decided to escort him back to the border where we had met and duelled — she hated the word now— I just wanted to make sure that he got back safely and without harm, it was the least I could do to help him" she concluded.
Laura sighed, somewhat as Nicolas sighed too, he was probably grateful that she had saved his assfrom her.
"Thank you for taking care of my love. We were so worried, we're heading back to the werewolf kingdom, my kingdom and as princess, I would like you to accompany us on our way back and plus you know every corner yes?" Lily nodded but she wasn't about to go with some strangers, two strangers now that she realized that everything she ever knew about Nicolas was a lie.
"I would love that but I have my people and if I may ask, how did you find us?" She asked because that seemed to pop into her head and sound as urgent as her need to get the hell out of here too.
"We asked everyone who he ever spoke to — she motioned to Nicolas — and we got our answers after which we got a map and followed my heart and my heart led me here" she said proudly.
" While we were on our way here, we heard someone crying, was that you?" Concern washed over Lily like the morning sun.
Laura grew red on the cheeks and on the neck, was this embarrassment or what was this reddish hue that had covered her and turned into another skin.
"Well no. Not really. It's been a long day" she nervously put. She wasn't about to challenge her because it was none of her business.
"Did you come alone?" It startled everyone that Nicolas was still here, alive and breathing. It both shocked and irritated Lily but he was right.
"No I didn't,my men are around, combing the bushes and paths for you. That's how worried you got all of us" she said. He wanted to be emphatic but it just didn't happen, so in order not to look like an asshole, he kept shit and out his eyes down. A trick he had learned for his father whilst he was growing up. It was a power move and yet it worked wonders than and even worked wonders now.
Lily sighed and stood up abruptly, she wanted to get the hell out of here as quickly as she could.
"I best be on my way, he's in good hands and so are you apparently. You don't need my help and whenever you pass through these forests, you can remember that just a bit farther might be a new territory. If you ever come to visit, just tell whoever you find that you seek Lily." She smiled, earning a nod from Laura which disgusted Nicolas.
He made to hug her but she refused with a flick of her hand " see you soon" he calmly said but just behind his eyes, a chaos of anger, disappointment and resentment walked hand in hand with him. He saw a familar feeling but just like it had came, it left. She nodded her head at him, nodded her head at Laura and disappeared into the bushes with his heart.