The Devil's Cursed Witch

Ember had a relaxing time with her teacher after her first lesson. They had tea and snacks together in the garden as they discussed various things about the fire element and it added to whatever little knowledge Ember had about her power. She even got to hear the woman promise that she would show Ember her true form once she performed well enough, making the human girl eager to show satisfying results in their next lessons.

Once the Fire Fae left, Ember continued to sit in the gazebo of the garden. Her thoughts gradually shifted from her lesson towards the King. She wondered why he had left in such a hurry.

'Is he avoiding me? Is it because I have not been a good mate to him? It's true though--he found an amazing teacher for me, and yet I have been unable to fulfill any of my duties of being his family.'

Aside from saying 'thank you', Ember had not even shown him her gratitude for the things she had received so far. She's really been a terrible mate.

'Shall I go and talk to him now? If I'm not mistaken, Reya mentioned before that inside the palace, the King spends most of his time in his study. Maybe I should pay him a visit and tell him that I am ready.'

Ember felt convinced and stood up to go to the King's study, determined to have a proper discussion with him this time.

On her way to the King's study, she came across Erlos outside in the hallway. The silver-haired servant was carrying a wooden tray in his hand.

He greeted Ember with a respectful nod. "Miss Ember, are you looking for someone?"

She let out a small smile. "Yes, I am here to visit His Majesty...Umm...can I?"

"Of course, you can," he said. "He's not granting an audience to anyone at the moment. Please follow me."

Ember let out a sigh of relief before peeking at the porcelain teapot and cup on the tray. "Is it fine if I...I mean, can I carry that tray? It seems like tea for His Majesty," she asked.

As she said those words with a hopeful look, Erlos didn't have the heart to say 'no' to her and passed it to her. Just then, another servant came, "Erlos, Dame Yula has asked for you in the second storage room."

Erlos thanked the servant and then looked at Ember.

"Please go ahead," she happily urged him. "I don't think His Majesty will mind if I take this to him by myself."

"Thank you, Miss," Erlos said and left while Ember looked at that long hallway that she had to walk on.

'This is harder than I thought?'

Though the wooden tray itself wasn't heavy, it still took skill to keep it steady in her hands. She could feel the hot liquid inside the teapot sloshing around with each step. She remembered seeing Erlos and even her own servants do it so effortlessly; now that she's taken up the task, she realized that she had taken their work for granted.

Ember took a while with her strides, choosing that it was more important for none of the tea inside the pot to spill. As she walked, she had a passing thought-- other than the beautiful silver-haired young elf, she seemed to have never seen any other servant in this area and wondered why.

'As the master of the palace, shouldn't he have many servants left and right? I remember in the books I've read that kings should have an entourage of chambermaids and manservants and--'

Little did she know that the King of Agartha was infamous for his bad temper and didn't like to have anyone around his study whenever he occupied it. Erlos was the sole exception. Since the servants were also afraid of interacting with Draven, it had become a silent agreement for the ordinary servants to never stray in this part of the palace during daytime.

'No wonder he's lonely...well, maybe seeing me being a thoughtful mate will make him smile, right?'

Ember carried the freshly-brewed tea for the King, not knowing seeing her at this moment was the last thing he would want to happen.

----

Within the King's study, a certain black-haired man  was sitting in his armchair like a stiff statue, his eyes closed and muscles rigid despite leaning back to ease himself. His hands were gripping the armrest of the chair in his attempts to calm the Dragon inside him.

Draven's mind was convincing him to return to the rear of the palace, wanting to stay close to his mate for reasons other than watching her train her fire power. It was hard because no distraction could pull his mind off her. However he knew that the moment he gave in, his Dragon would probably slip beyond control and he might behave in ways he shouldn't be in front of others.

Just as he struggled to distract himself, the door of Draven's study opened and the most delectable scent reached his senses. His red eyes flew open and  all his resolve to calm the Dragon melted away with the presence of his mate in front of his eyes.

'Why--'

Ember herself was standing at the doorway, her beautiful eyes looking at him hesitantly while carrying a wooden tray in her hand. His mouth opened but no words escaped his lips. He could only gaze at her lovely form, unable to deny how much he liked to see her in front of him.

At this moment, he wanted to go to her, to close the distance between their bodies and hold her in his embrace. He wanted to do the sinful but...

'No! I must resist!'

The grip of his hands tightened even more on the armrest, but thanks to the sound of crunching wood, he was able to stop himself from pouncing on her. It was as if he would completely crush those armrests with a little more pressure.

'...she shouldn't be here...'