Ophelia and The Dragons

Chapter 8

"I've been homesick for countries I've never been and long to be where I couldn't be."

-John Cheever-

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Ophelia's P.O.V

"Welcome, Miss Von Wickhelm." I was greeted by the emperor himself when I walked into the dining room. All members of the royal family was already there.

It was also my first time to see the empress. She was a beautiful woman, tall and graceful with ocean blue eyes, just like the emperor.

Another woman with olive green hair and golden eyes sat across the empress. That woman must be the concubine mentioned, Adelia Marion, Clyde's mother.

"Thank you for having me, your majesties." I greeted them politely before taking my seat beside Serena. She's always friendly and welcoming as always.

"Now, we can begin the dinner." The emperor said and the staff carefully placed the meal on the table and we started eating.

I have never tasted food outside of the mountain in five hundred years. I had to admit, the food tasted really good! I wondered what kind of spices they used to make these.

It tasted different from the spices I was using but I could add this in my life.

"Is the food to your preference?" The emperor asked me. He didn't seem as intimidating as I thought and he had been the conscious about my well-being since I arrived here.

"It's delicious, your majesty." I replied back. He seemed relieved. While we were eating, I couldn't help but stare at the crown prince.

I still couldn't believe how similar they looked. Even though they were completely different individuals. The crown prince seemed to notice me staring at him.

"Is there anything you would like to say to me?" He asked. It caught the attention of everyone else on the table. Ah, I didn't expect him to be so straight forward.

"Nothing, your majesty, I just thought you looked like a great person." I replied back. I could have sworn I saw his cheeks reddened just then, he probably didn't expect me to be equally as blunt and honest.

I noticed from the corner of my eyes that the empress shot me a suspicious glare. She probably didn't like me, who was a witch to interact too much with her son.

It was strange since she didn't seem to mind me interacting with Serena. I also noticed that the second prince and the concubine didn't seem too pleased with my presence as well.

After dinner was over, I headed back to my room. It had been an exhausting day, I should get some sleep so I could wake up early the next day.

I cleaned myself up and changed into my pajamas. The bedroom's mattress was so comfortable it didn't take long until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I was invited for breakfast as well. The circumstance was more or less the same with dinner, only this time, I found that everyone was a lot more quiet than usual.

I assumed it was because the time was too early in the morning so everyone had lower energy, including Serena who didn't seem as chirpy.

"Miss Von Wickhelm, I would request your attendance in the throne room after breakfast." The emperor told me in the middle of breakfast.

I wondered what else did he want to have with me? That day would be my last day in the palace and I would return to the mountain the next morning so I just had to bear with it for the time being.

As mentioned, I was summoned to the throne room. I greeted the emperor and asked the purpose of my attendance.

"Miss Von Wickhelm, I was thinking about it the day before and I would like to make you an offer. Stay in the palace as the royal family's personal healer. If you take up this position, I would surely compensate you greatly." He offered.

It did not take me long to make my decision and politely rejected the offer.

"Thank you for the kind offer your majesty, however, I have to turn it down. My home is in the mountain and I have my responsibility there." I paused.

"If you ever need my assistance in the future, you can just send a letter like before and I would surely come here again." I reasoned.

"I see. I understand. Then, your carriage has been prepared. You could leave the palace tomorrow morning and I have also placed your reward within the carriage. I would be looking forward to your assistance in the future, Miss Von Wickhelm." The emperor said.

I nodded before greeting him again and excused myself from his presence.

Serena had to attend some business matter that day since she was the princess with lots of duties as well.

So I spent my day strolling around the palace with the knight following me around to watch over me. While I was walking, some of the maids were staring at me with fearful gaze.  I just ignored them and continued to walk.

Once I reached the outdoor area, I somehow ended up at the training ground where the crown prince was practicing.

I took a seat and watched as he struck his opponent. His movement was fast and precise, I understood why the crown prince was named one of the most desirable bachelor in the palace.

His handsome look, quiet magnetism, intelligence and physical strength was enough to make women's heart jumped out of their chest.

After a while, his opponent got tired and lost focus, he casually swung his sword and made his opponent fall to the ground. It was over, the crown prince won.

"You should never lose focus while handling your sword, otherwise you will lose your life in the battlefield." He gave a piece of advice to the knight, his opponent and reached out his hand to help the man up.

"I understand, your majesty." He replied as he took Nicholas' hand and bowed to him before leaving. Nicholas turned around and saw me in the audience seat.

"Ophelia? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was just taking a walk when I saw you training. I decided to watch for a while." I replied. My eyes suddenly went to his body.

He was half naked at the moment and I couldn't help but stare at his abs. He definitely had some well-sculpted muscles.

I didn't want to seem like a pervert so I quickly averted my gaze back into his face.

"What do you think of my training just now?"

"I think you did great, your majesty. The way you held your sword was firm. You had a steady positioning of the feet, your stance was perfect. The strike was precise and you used just the right amount of strength to defeat your opponent." I replied.

"You really observed me, didn't you?"

"I just took some notes."

"You are something, Ophelia." He smiled at me for the first time. I have never seen the crown prince smiled at anyone since my arrival. I guess the training must have put him in a good mood.

"Thank you, your majesty." I didn't want to disturb him any further so I excused myself and left the training ground.

I was tired from exploring so I headed back to my room to take a nap. There weren't much to do in the palace, I thought it would be best to rest since I would be going on a long journey again the next day.

As I closed my eyes, I pictured Helios. I wondered what he was doing at the moment.

I couldn't wait to get back to him again.