I am the Queen

Onshore, Evangeline and Lilybella found Eric sleeping under the comfort of a large canopy while Satele and Asher were nowhere to be seen.

Both approached Eric, one with a passionate face, while the other had a curious look. Eric's face had a softness when it came to rest as if lacking the stress the others had. His hair was swept to the side, and his lashes and thin lips pulled Lilybella to look closer. To discover the beauty hidden within his disguise.

An inch was enough, and Lilybella would kiss Eric's lips when Evangeline smacked her palms against her face.

"What are you doing?" Evangeline hissed, fingers tightened around Lilybella's squishy cheeks.

"Ehehehe. T-teacher. Lilybella just wanted to get close to Eric––urk!"

Lilybella groaned in pain when Evangeline's fingers squeeze her skin, causing her eyes to water.

"T-teacher! Lilybella is wrong! S-she just wanted to check on Eric if he's okay."

Evangeline retrieved her hands, but her voice was thick with threat. "Try that shit again, and I'll pull all that shining hairs on your head. Now scram!"

Lilybella quickly stood on her feet and dashed away to find comfort in Daniel's presence.

After searching for minutes, Lilybella found Daniel in the heart of the forest, sitting under the enormous roots of a tree.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Let's go play in the lake!"

Daniel was fiddling with his phone, thinking hard whether to contact Sisley or not until he heard that overly excited voice. He sighed, stood to his feet, and pocketed his phone.

He went into the direction of the cabin when Lilybella blocked his way.

"Your Highness! Let's go and explore the lake. Didn't you say that you wanted to take a swim?"

"I'm not in the mood anymore," Daniel said with a wry sigh and circled Lilybella.

"But your highness! We're in the forest with a lake, and it's summer! We should enjoy it!" Lilybella kept saying, following behind Daniel.

Daniel faced Lilybella when he realized that she wouldn't let him off. "Listen, if you want to go swimming, then go. Can you please just let me be for once? Just for this day?"

"But your Highness, this is such a rare opportunity for us to get to know each other," she said. Then she tapped her fingers together, eyes shifting to the ground.

"And his Highness already saw Lilybella's breasts so . . ."

"Stop. Just stop," Daniel snapped. "ME seeing your breasts didn't mean anything. I saw tons of breasts, and yours are ordinary as they can get. So don't flatter yourself and leave me alone."

Daniel took a side step and walked towards the cabin in long strides.

. . .

. . .

Lilybella eyes reflected Daniel's retreating figure as her lips clamped between her teeth, repressing the quivering of her chin.

She shook her head, and her smile was on her face once more.

"His Highness is just in a bad mood. Don't worry, once he tried Lilybella's special grilled steak, he'll be asking for more," she murmured to herself and skipped back to the grilling station.

But then she skidded to a stop when her line of sight caught someone.

Before, while Evangeline, Lilybella, and Daniel were out in the lake and Eric was busy in the grilling stand, Asher was peeking at Satele.

She was sitting on a chair, reading her notes. Her expression was so far away, and this made his mood at ease. Her hair was straight and black, some strands falling on her face while she kept most of it at bay with a hand as she read.

Asher chuckled and rolled his eyes. Just tie it up already.

Then her violet eyes shifted and finally acknowledged his presence, and a surge of warmth enveloped him, feeling uncomfortable at the same time. And before he knew it, he was standing in front of her.

"Reading? Really? You even brought your notes all the way here?"

Satele wrinkled her nose like she smelt rotten fish. "It's my life. I get to decide how I live it," she said, eyes on her notes.

"Hey!" Satele snarled when Asher snatched them from her hands.

She stood and tiptoed to reach her book from him.

"Give it back to me!"

"I'll think about it if you join me for a swim," Asher grinned. He was enjoying Satele on her toes to reach him as he made his way towards the lake.

"I'm not in the mood to play games with you! Give it back!" Satele screamed and chased Asher around.

"You can have it if you can reach it."

Satele stomped her feet when Asher went into the lake while dangling her notes from his hands. She glared at him and turned, stomping her way back into the cabin.

"Hey! Where are you going? Don't want your notes anymore?" Asher asked, but Satele just ignored him.

As Satele's silhouettes disappeared into the forest, Asher released an irritating sigh. "Party pooper!"

He dragged his body out of the lake and chased after her.

"Hey! Hey! I said, wait!" Asher continued to call at the nonresponsive Satele, who just kept walking without looking back.

"I said wait," Asher said and snatched Satele's hand. But his following words were stuck in his throat at her glaring eyes and the anger from her down curved mouth.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked instead.

Satele's expression changed into a scowl under an increasingly arched brow. "Really? You're asking me that after what you did?"

"I'm just trying to get you into the lake. What so wrong with me wanting to enjoy this day with my woman?"

Satele dryly laughed and snatched her arms back from Asher's hold. "You know, you being clueless doesn't surprise me at all. You've always been self-centered, and it's always been about you. You. You!"

Satele crossed her arms, and her voice increased in volume the more she spoke.

"You brought me here against my will. Made me clean a house. Wanting me to tolerate all these people. And now you want me to entertain you! Have you ever asked what I want for once?"

". . . What do you want then?" Asher asked after a short silence.

"I want to get out of here and study for the final exams because I don't have the money nor the resources to retake another year. Unlike you guys, I have to juggle my work, studies, and family, and I don't have the time to be in here pretending to enjoy your company! Nor I have the time to babysit you nor tolerate your childish behavior!"

". . ."

Something flashed beneath the surface of Asher's stern expression, and Satele would be dammed if she wanted to find out what it was.

"I just brought you here because I wanted you to forget all your worries and enjoy yourself for one day. That's all. But I think it's a mistake since that's not how you see it."

He then walked away, back into the cabin as he said, "Pack your things. I'll send you back, then"

And he was gone.

Satele blinked. She should be happy and excited to go back home and be a good student and daughter. But all she felt was a ball of complicated emotions.

She sighed and followed Asher back when she caught Lilybella in her line of sight.