Hearing what I requested, Theo looks scalded. He stands up and retreats from me, almost stumbling at the thick carpet.
"You don't mean that," he says as if he is seeing me for the first time.
"Do you think I will joke about this?"
"You marked me… You said you love me…" he says. His voice is barely a whisper.
"My baby died, Theo. This mate bond with you is painful. I can't undergo that same experience again."
"Then how about love?!"
I look away. Right now, I just want to let go of this fake connection with him.
"From now on…" he starts. He moves towards me again and lifts my chin. "My attention will be all yours. I will cherish you, like what I have always promised."
He leans down and I evade his attempt to kiss me. Forcibly, he makes me look into his eyes. I stare, or rather, I glare at him.
"Sleep with me, Kaiya. I will focus on your pleasure. I will give everything to you."
"You want love, and yet, you offer the desire of flesh instead. Do you know how hypocritical you sound?"
"Because you leave me with no choice! You are the main reason why I am a King now, and yet, you are rejecting this mate bond with me. Do you know how happy it made me when I realize that you mated to me?! And I know, I have squandered it, but please, Kaiya, just give me one more chance."
"No," I repeat. "Break the mate bond with me."
"No!" he rejects. "You marked me, you can't easily break the bond!"
"You are a human, my King. Normally, it will take five years before the effect of the marking vanishes. But to a human, I am guessing that it will only be for two to three years."
I need Theo to agree. If not, then this mate bond will never end.
"You love me," he says.
"I don't think I do," I lie, even if I am pretty sure that I love him. "And even without your consent, it might not be official, but I will break the mate bond with you," I say like an ultimatum.
In a surprise, he falls to the ground and wraps his arms around my waist. He buries his face on my lap and starts to cry.
"I'm sorry, Kaiya. Don't do this to me. I can't bear your punishment, please…"
"My decision is final, my King. You will also need to let me go, or both of us will suffer. Especially with this mate bond."
"No…"
He looks up at me, pleading. My fists tighten into a ball. Seeing my mate like this, my instincts are pleading for me to take back my words, to take him back into my arms, and agree to his offer.
"I won't break the mate bond with you…" he whispers.
I turn my attention back to him. He looks more decisive now.
"You won't, but I will cease to be your lover, my King. If you don't want that, you can throw me away."
He flinches but then takes a deep breath. "You think this will discourage me?" He stands up and adds, "I've been in unrequited love for you for such a long time. I will not let this go."
And when he moves away from me, I watch his departing figure until the door closes in my room.
I sigh. Now, that I've said that, I need to leave this spacious and extravagant room. If I am not a King's lover, I will live in one of the guests' rooms, that is, if I am lucky. Being killed and thrown away is also a logical path for trying to deny a King.

****************************
For months now, I've been mulling over what Klevon had suggested. He may be gone for another mission, thanks to the goddess, but his suggestion continues to pester on my mind, that is, to become Theo's general. In that case, I can also travel the world.
It is a tempting offer since staying only at the castle for a long time does not improve my mood. Rather, I jerk every time there is a knock on the door, even if it's only Meeghan asking me if I want food or any kind of service. I always decline though, except for food.
Suddenly, I hear a rustling in the air, and even without checking it out, I know who it is.
"Hey, Kaiya. What are you reading by the windowsill again?" Klevon asks. "Or maybe are you waiting for me to come back from another mission?"
I close the book I am perusing and shift my attention to him. "Can you be a normal person and use the door when you visit?"
"Unorthodox is always the best way," he answers. "Now, move away from the window. I'd like to enter."
"You mean heretical?"
"You don't like different?"
I roll my eyes at him, and yet, I still obey. I jump from the windowsill and he enters my room. I watch him place his hoverboard by the window and saunter towards the table as if he owns my room.
"Come sit here, I brought some fruits," he says, laying down different weird-looking fruits.
"What is that?"
"Fruits you don't see being served here," he responds.
I sit beside him on the couch. There are small round fruits, elongated ones, and even those with spikes. I shift my attention to Klevon, realizing that there are fruits that I don't know the name of.
Seeing my reaction, he beams. "Ha! Just as I thought. Seems like I will receive a kiss from you again."
He reaches towards the table, where the pack of different fruits is laid down, and takes the small light brown object. "This is lanzones," he informs. "Delicious but only seasonal."
It looks like a smaller orange but in a different color. Kleavon cracks it in the middle and white flesh comes out.
"Get the flesh."
I gingerly take one. It's also like orange, with divided sections, but it has a light, transparent flesh.
"Come on, taste it. It's smaller so it doesn't have the bitter seed," he urges.
I take it into my mouth and bite. My eyes widen at the taste. It is sweet and has a bit of sourness, but it was delicious. I look at his beaming face and then at the remaining lanzones in his hand.
He offers it to me and chuckles. "There you go," he says. "Thankfully, your appetite isn't gone."
I blush at that. "It's only because it is a new taste."
"In that case, I have an assortment of new," he grins.
He takes what looks like a banana, but it is wider in girth and a bit smaller. It also has a darkish yellow color. He peels it and moves it closer to my mouth.
"Banana?" I ask.
"A different variety."
I bite at the banana he's holding. It is sweet as well, but not so much. The texture is similar though. And there is the taste of tartness, but it only improves the taste.
"Bite more," he says. His voice is a little husky now. Still, I bite. My mouth is still on the banana when he touches the back of my neck. I frown and look at him. "Sexy," he breathes.
I pull back and slap his arm away. I even take the weird banana from his hand and eat it all.
"If you are thinking of some lewd things, then you better leave."
Klevon laughs. "I can't help it, you are exquisite in my eyes. I have been attracted to you since the first time I've seen you in the hunting park. Sometimes, I ask myself if this is how it feels to have a mate bond."
"Attracted? You were trying to kill me back then!" I say, ignoring his 'mate bond' comment. Mainly because it is a deeper type of attraction, and I don't know to want to know if he knows what it means, or if he just used the word nonchalantly. Being in friendship with him is already more than enough.
"I was just playing with you then. I just notice too late that you are so weak, I almost killed you."
I glare at him. "Now, you are just being condescending."
Klevon laughs again. To tell the truth, behind all that roughness, crudeness, and vulgarity, he is an imposing, attractive man. He is huge and bulky, but he has an open, handsome face despite the scars.
When he stops laughing, he says, "Here, there are a lot more I've brought. Taste each of them."
And I did until I am so full, I can't eat my lunch anymore. When Meeghan sees Klevon in my room, she raises an eyebrow but never said anything. She just withdraws from my room and tells me to call for her if I need anything.
Leaning over the armrest of the couch, I massage my stomach. My feet are on top of the couch, and my eyes are on the ceiling. Klevon mimics the way I sit and touches his feet on mine. I struggle at first, but he was so insistent, that I just cover my feet with my skirt, to lessen my contact with him.
"Kaiya," he starts. He pulls his feet away and I feel the couch shift. "Do you know where I get these fruits?"
"Outside," I answer while reflecting on how full I am. I should have kept the other fruits for dinner and maybe tomorrow. It will be nice to eat them while I am reading.
"It is from the town, but do you know why there are different kinds today?" I ask.
"New shipments? Import?" I guess and place my arm on either side of me.
Klevon appears on top of me, barring my view of the ceiling. "There is a festival."
"Festival?"
"It is a series of celebrations for a week."
"What are they celebrating?"
"The foundation of this country."
I raise myself on the couch using my arms and shift my attention to Klevon. He pulls away and kneels before me.
"It is an organized series of entertainment, of feasts, of saying our thanks. It is especially important for the people of this Kingdom because more than half of them are freed from slavery."
"Like me…" I whisper.
He nods. "Like you."
I mull it over. If only I did not lose my child, I am sure, I could have asked Theo to bring me there. I want to see the sights with him. These feasts and entertainment, I want to enjoy everything with him.
"In that regard, I would like to invite you to join me."
I blink at his invitation.
"The last day will be tomorrow night. You can invite someone else if you want."
I think of Theo, but I am not really in the mood to handle him. Rather, I still feel angry and disappointed with him.
I sit properly. If I go with Klevon, I need to escape my room. I don't think Theo will allow me to go with Klevon to a festival.
"Okay, I will sneak out with you."