"Commander Razial?" Lotus questioned in annoyance.
"Placing flowers in a female’s hair is an intimate act, only to be done by her husband, betrothed or lover. He is none. From what I have gathered he likes to flirt with any female he finds. This is disrespectful to you. He is being disrespectful to you."
Razial pointed an accusing finger towards Faris who in return narrowed his eyes at the commander.
"Somehow Faris has landed himself in the heart of a controversy," Cassandra murmured to Siroos.
"Oh! Believe me, he loves drama and this all is very deliberate," Siroos snickered, his lips twisting as both of them watched what Lotus’s move would be.
"I think I am capable of making my own choices. What gives you the right to interfere?" Lotus tapped her foot on the ground, seeking an answer.
"And I have been tasked to keep you safe, especially from trouble-making miscreants. That’s what he is," Razial raged back, throwing a hateful glance at Faris. His hands were already balling. That bet about the punch between Cassandra and Siroos seemed on the horizon.
"Miscreant? I am just being a generous host. While you seem like someone jealous as in lacking the charms, I possess." Faris haughtily pointed to himself.
"Huh! I don’t need sleazy charms nor do I run after every woman I lay my eyes on. I thought that was supposed to be a shifter trait, to preserve yourself for your mate and not go around tasting every pie," Razial seethed out, his eyes blazed blue with his magic, threatening to seep out and strangle Faris.
Lotus was slightly taken aback by the rage Razial had on display. A very prominent trait of Razial was his calm-headedness even in the most perilous situations. But today he seemed to be losing control because Faris wished to decorate her hair with a flower.
"That’s enough! Both of you." Siroos had to intervene, "Faris let Princess Lotus and Commander Razial have a moment. I am taking Cassandra for her training. I would need your help with trick questions. You are best with them." He gestured for his brother to follow him and not cause more trouble.
"Fine!" Faris defeatedly said and let his shoulders drop as he moved away.
Cassandra moved ahead, taking Lotus’s hand in hers, she asked.
"Will you be alright? Or I can stay with you?"
"I will be fine, there is nothing I can’t handle. Go for your training, I will join you there once I have spoken to Razial and understand why he is acting like a raging expectant woman."
Razial bristled at the insult but decided to stay quiet.
Cassandra squeezed her sister’s arm, knowing she would handle it, before leaving with Siroos and Faris.
Lotus turned away and squatted herself down along the bank of the oasis, carefully spreading her gown around her. The air was hot and scalded her cheeks and skin. But it shifted, becoming cooler. Tiny water droplets rose from the surface of the oasis, blending with blue wispy tendrils which turned them colder and hung all around Lotus, calming and cooling her down.
She turned her head and observed the silent man beside her.
"Why Razial? Why do you care?" She asked, tiredly. Her skin wasn’t burning hot anymore. Razial’s magic had ensured it.
His features had hardened and there was this longing reflected in his eyes.
"I think you know, you are just too cruel to accept it," he cryptically answered, swerving his head in her direction so she could see the hurt reflected in his eyes.
"You have some nerve to call me cruel after everything you have done, Razial. Have you seen my life? This image of perfection I have to keep in order to please my father, nobles, and society. It’s exhausting to the point of torture," she lamented, placing her chin on her bent knee and hugging her legs.
"I know, I have always known, so let me help you instead of pushing me away. Do you despise me this much?" He questioned with a bleeding heart. She was so beautiful like the fresh rose with dew drops on its petals but he couldn’t even touch her.
"I just wish you had made sensible choices, Razial. We have known each other since childhood. You used to protect me all the time whenever I was in trouble, and then you grew up and turned into this hard, silent man I can’t even recognise. The goodness inside of you either disappeared or you shoved it so under that you can’t even find it yourself. Doing my father’s dirty work, your hands got tainted but do you even regret it? Did you feel any remorse when Cassandra was almost killed in that arena?"
"There is grey in this world, Princess Lotus. You win some, you lose some. I am well aware of the choices I made so no one else had to. And my remorse would do nothing in front of your father, he gets what he wants. Am I really the villain you paint me to be?" Razial questioned with a sigh. Pain laced his words.
Lotus turned her attention back to staring at the water’s surface. She knew how cruel her father could become.
"I need time to process, Commander Razial. I don’t know what to think anymore."
"Understandable, but can you do it without trying to flirt with that kid?" He hopefully asked, his lighted-up eyes wavering to her slender neck and staying there.
"First father and now you, why do men feel the need to control my life decisions?"
Little did she know Razial had always chased away men who came to court Lotus. Scared them away, sometimes lying to them about how obnoxious she was and not marriage material. Exactly the reason Lotus didn’t have any potential suitors although she has been endowed with powerful magic.
"Then I won’t be responsible for what will happen to him if he tries to touch you again. He is going to lose limbs, this much I can assure you," he said in all sincerity, making Lotus sharply turn to watch him in a whole new light.
Razial had always been protective of her, when that turned into an obsession, Lotus had no clue. They had been close friends, but the moment her father betrothed him to Cassandra, she distanced herself from him.
It seemed like his affections ran deep.
"Let’s head over to the training arena and try not to blast Faris. We are not here to start a war," Lotus said, getting up and running her hands down her gown.
"Then hope for his sake that he behaves." Razial merely shrugged his shoulders.