CHAPTER 21

He had suspected that something was definitely wrong with him the second Valery’s face changed that day. She wouldn’t let anyone close to that lotus unless it was crucial. He was afraid of asking the real reason why she did it but it seems as if she read his mind.
“You were dying and I had to stop it,” she told him.
“What does that mean?” Xavier asked as he stopped massaging her.
“That night when I took you out of the inn, you were affected by the lotus’s magic. I only realized it after you came back. I had to stabilize you and let you get used to the magic or else I was going to lose you. I can’t stand that fact,” she confessed to him and he was touched.
She really cared for him even though she doesn’t say it first. She wasn’t good with words but at least he was good at figuring her out in his own way. He hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her head.
“I promised you that I will never leave you and I meant it. Thank you for saving my life every time,” he said.
“You are welcome. Did you take your medicine?” she asked him and he laughed.
“I did take it all, don’t worry. Nora didn’t leave until I finished the whole bowl,” he told her.
“Good because if you don’t take it then I’m afraid that you may blow up into fireworks without any notice,” she told him and he choked. Was she just playing around with him?
“That can’t be possibly be true!”
“How about you stop taking it and see? If you blow into fireworks, I’m afraid I won’t be able to retrieve you anymore. I will find your soul and trap it into the darkest place ever,” she threatened him and he smiled.
Now he knew that she was being playful. It was her way of making him to take his medicine and be serious with his life. He respected her for that.
“I will take the medicine on time and listen to you. Whatever you say I will do it,” he promised her that.
“How about you start by scrubbing my back since you sent all my maids away?”
“Are you sure you want me to do that? I am a man after all.”
“Then go and call back my maids. You go and rest, that is an order,” she said and he smiled.
“I will be waiting for you when you are done,” he said standing up.
He looked at her once more and smiled. Xavier left the bathroom and ordered the maids to get back inside and finish what they were doing.
It’s not that he minded scrubbing her but he wanted her to maintain her purity and not bring shame to her. He wasn’t going to be a shrewd man but he was going to propose to her first, marry her and then make her his. She deserved better and he was going to make sure she was treated like that.
He returned to his room and instructed his maids to draw water for his bath. He took his time scrubbing himself. He hasn’t taken a bath in a couple of days. When he finished, he changed into new robes and got ready to visit Valery. He was about to leave when he decided to write a letter to his mother and father.
He sat down, took a piece of paper, an ink stone and a brush. His personal maid was grinding the ink while he carefully wrote the letter to his parents. He was telling them that he had decided to propose to Valery and that he wanted to marry her. They might oppose but he wasn’t going to live his life without her. He was asking for their blessing and for them to let him go.
He sealed the letter sand put his seal on it. He called for a messenger and personally handed the letter to him.
“Make sure you give it directly to the Emperor or his attendant yourself. Don’t let anyone else get it,” he told him.
“I will obey your order,” the messenger said and left his hall.
He had a lot of things to prepare and one person in particular would be of great help to him. He left his hall to go and look for her.
Valery couldn’t stop smiling when the maids were helping her to change. To know that he respected her well enough to not take advantage of her was something she really admired.
She wanted to have that kind of love her parents had before she knew them and even after that. Would it be so bad for someone like her to pursue her own happiness?
She put on her nail armors, the necklace that Xavier bought for her back in the capital city and a few hairpins on her head.
“You look lovely Mistress,” Nora said as she entered the room.
“Thank you. Where have you been?” she asked her.
“I was in the kitchen. Since you are done here, how about we go to the pavilion by the garden?” she asked her and Valery looked at her. What was Nora plotting again?
“The weather is nice; I can watch the sunset. Let’s go,” she agreed wanting to know exactly what was happening. There was something Nora wasn’t telling her.
She got into the palanquin and the men carried her to the pavilion which Nora had suggested. She got off the palanquin and entered the pavilion and sat on the comfortable chair with a cushion on it. The table was set and the pot of tea was steaming on the coal stove.
There were some nice snacks there. She wondered what occasion it was. She picked up a biscuit and bites it. It was soft and very chewy. She could still taste the fresh ingredients used in the baking.
Nora poured the tea made with morning dew from the flowers in to the cup and passed it to her. She took in the fresh scent before she took a sip. Something was amiss she could sense it.
As she was seated enjoying the sunset, she heard the sound of a zither, it was near. She looked around and saw the player. She smiled and realized what these people had been up to. They had set all this up so that she could have a nice and romantic evening.
Xavier was seated playing the green jade seven string zither she gifted him a year ago. He was playing her favorite tune. It was a tune her mother used to play and she taught it to her.