KING ELIJAH

Chapter 6

I wake up with the light shining on my face. I walk to the window and look out at the beautiful view outside my window. There is a knock on my door, and I walk to it and open it. There stands a maid with her head bowed.

"Good morning, Lady Celeste. The king has requested you to join him for breakfast in the dining room," the woman says. Before I can answer, she hurries away, and I shrug. I close the door and go into the bathroom, taking a quick shower. I take out a new toothbrush from its case and brush my teeth with it. I decide to put on the clothes I wore since there are no extras.

Walking through the beautiful walls of the palace, I ask a guard the way to the dining room, and he shows me the way, for which I thank him. The king, seated at the head of the table, looks up as I enter the room with a smile.

"Celeste," he says my name in a whisper. "Please sit and have breakfast with me."

I nod and sit next to him. I inhale the aroma of the delicious foods in front of me and rub my hands in glee.

"Hungry, I see?" The king chuckles at me.

"Yeah," I mumble, ducking my head in shyness.

"Well, dig in!" Elijah encourages.

A few minutes of eating in silence, Elijah clears his throat, and I turn to look at him. He takes a napkin and cleans his lips, then stares at me deeply, creepily, and says, "Did you enjoy your tour of the palace last night?"

I freeze at his question and almost choke on my saliva.

"Yeah," I reply.

"Hmmm," he hums, still staring at me as he takes a sip from his drink. His gaze on me darkens for a second, but I catch it. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my hands are shaking. Something is off; something is definitely off with the king.

"I-I think I should get back to New York," I stutter and curse myself for it.

"Why so early?" He asks, looking at the watch on his arm.

"I have a class soon," I say, wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans.

He nods and motions for me to follow him as he stands up. I do the same reluctantly and follow behind him silently. We get to the same study room, and he stands opposite a mirror and places his hand on it, chanting the same words as yesterday. After the portal opens, he turns to me, and I bow my head, looking at his shoe, unable to meet his eyes, and he sighs.

"You do not need to be afraid of me, Celeste. I would never hurt you," he says, placing a kiss on my head, then placing his car keys in my hand. I nod my head in thanks and face the mirror and jump in.

I land on the snowy ground and look around. I see that I am in the same woods that Elijah brought me to. I look at the giant tree behind me, and it looks normal, just like every other tree here.

I spot the blue Lamborghini that we drove last night. I quickly make my way towards it and get in. I park outside my hostel and make my way to my room. Immediately I get in, I am bombarded with questions about my whereabouts from Anna, and I tell her I was with a friend.

I skip class and decide to look up some part-time jobs. I will be graduating from university in four months and I don't want to stay in the dorm room forever or rely on my parents' money.

I surf the net for a while, looking for a job, and come across one. They are looking for a waitress. I click on it and see that it's one of the restaurants close by and is about ten minutes' walk from here. I schedule the interview for this evening because why not?

I watch a few YouTube videos on how to serve at a restaurant, just in case, and then get ready for the interview. I put on my blue jeans and a black t-shirt, paired with white sneakers. I go to the restaurant named Molly's Jollies and walk in. I tap a lady with red hair, and she turns to look at me.