Rejected, Then Reborn
Chapter 49

Anaya Adeline Winchester just couldn’t stop pacing.

Two weeks had passed since her ‘moment’ with the good doctor… and it pretty much seemed like it had never happened, because they seemed to be back right where they picked up from.

Anaya had been feeling a lot of things as day rose and night fell, passing into one week and then to the second, confusion certainly the most prominent of them all.

The poor girl desperately had a lot of questions.

Was there a chance that he was feeling it too and just ignoring her?

Had their special moment been nothing more than just a figment of her imagination?

Now that the Lyken princess was thinking about it, it was possible that that was exactly what had happened. That she had mistaken his kindness for something more when all he had wanted to do was just console her on the fact that her friend had returned back to her home.

But if he was just being kind, why had his hazel eyes been so dark with heat as he stared at her creamy thighs then?

Why had the atmosphere suddenly been charged with this unidentifiable emotion?

It was the first time that he had actually acknowledged her as a woman, and not Reed’s baby sister, and Anaya may have been completely inexperienced with these kinds of things, but she had read enough books to know that he had totally been checking her out.

Or had she been sorely mistaken?

She couldn’t even tell.

There was a knock at her door, and Anaya eagerly went to open it, her eagerness falling slightly when she noticed that it wasn’t the bald-headed sweet man she had been hoping to see.

“Good morning, Princess,” The beautiful she-lyken with a scar from the Theta Rank greeted, her eyes alight with a smile as she stared at the grumpy red head. Quickly, the smile vanished only to be replaced with a worried one. “You don’t look too good, ma’am, are you alright?”

Anaya forced a wane smile on her face at the kind question, “Oh, I’m alright, Chreisa… just slightly down in the dumps,” She admitted honestly, realizing in an instant that Lacy hadn’t lied, the Theta girl actually seemed like a nice person, and there was just this air around her that totally had one at ease.

“Sorry to hear that, Princess,” The maid curtsied softly, “Would you like for me to send for the Healer Supreme?”

“WHAT? NO!” Anaya said a little too quickly, her pale cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “Sorry, I—I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it,” She apologized sheepishly, and then she quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, why are you here?”

“Well, His Eminence sent me to tell you that he wants you to have lunch with him in the smaller dining room.” Came the answer.

“Tell him I won’t be able to make it, Chreisa” Anaya deadpanned almost instantly.

“He said to tell you that it wasn’t really a request in the happenstance that you said that, ma’am.” Chreisa looked as though it pained her greatly to rain on the princess’s parade, and had this been any other day, Anaya was pretty sure that she would have laughed at the hilarity of it all.

Thing was, she was till angry with him for letting the human go. Even she knew that she was one of those people who knew how to hold grudges very well, though her sunny disposition made it seem like there was no way she had inherited that Winchester temper, oh but she had, and left to her alone, she would have gone the rest of her life until he had gone to bring back the human if he hadn’t reached out first.

Damn him for knowing her so well.

“Alright fine.” She conceded begrudgingly and Chreisa smiled and nodded, turning to leave, but Anaya called her back. “Yes, Princess?”

“Take a walk with me, let’s have a chat.”

At first Chreisa was dumbfounded, it had never happened anywhere in the history of Lykens that someone from such a higher rank as Delta would want to deal with someone like her, it was… surreal. “What do you say?” She heard the Princess ask, the words snapping her from her thoughts. “It’ll be an honor, Princess.” She grinned.

****

Walking in the gardens with Chreisa made Anaya miss Lacy more than anything, and apparently, the low rank she-Lyken with a scar noticed. “You miss her, don’t you?” She asked softly, and Anaya sighed, reaching out to pull a petunia from its stalk. “I really do.” Anaya admitted with a sad smile, her red bone straight hair flying breezily in a quick bust of wind that seemed to have come from nowhere. “Petunias were her favorite flower you know?” She bent her head to sniff it, “These gardens have practically been here my whole life, gone unnoticed by me and a whole bunch of people for many years… it’s really funny how one puny human can change your perspective in just a millisecond.” Her green eyes seemed far away as she said these words, and something about it touched the strings of Chreisa’s heart, causing her to reach for the Princess’s hand and squeeze lightly in solidarity.

Anaya was truly surprised.

She was really liking the girl with each passing minute, or perhaps, she had let go of her old friends and was desperately seeking another person to fill the huge void that had been left behind? —the princess didn’t know—all she knew for sure was that, she was really glad she had decided to go on this walk with the girl.

“Oh, goddess… I am being such a spoilt sport,” Anaya laughed at herself, trying to downplay her feelings, but the maid would have none of it, “No, no… Princess, don’t do that,” She unconsciously admonished, “Don’t try to belittle your feelings or write them off as irrelevant. Lacy is your friend, and knowing that she’s out there and cannot even remember a single moment with you… now, that’s got to hurt. It really is alright to be sad about it.”

Anaya chuckled, a stray tear falling from her eyes, “Where have you been all my life?”

“Right here,” The she-Lyken with the scar grinned as well, “Perhaps it is mother fate’s plan that we meet here, now, in this very moment.” She sighed, “But let’s talk about something more lively if that is okay with you, princess. What do you think she’s doing in her own world right now?” She asked.

The lyken Princess mulled over the question for a little bit, “Knowing Lacy, she’s probably out there disobeying rules and getting into all kinds of trouble for it,” She laughed, a beautiful grin on her face. This time happiness was predominant, every other emotion irrelevant. “I reckon she’s back to working by now, perhaps at her old hospital, perhaps at a new one… maybe she has already found someone— no, wait, that’s too soon.” She quickly amended, “Finding someone would mean that her time with us has truly come to an end wherever she is, and I’m really not sure I’m ready for that to happen.” She confessed truthfully shooting the Theta girl a look, “What about you, what do you think she’s doing by now?”

The maid opened her mouth to reply, but then her eyes hazed for a bit, and then when they finally focused, gone was the wonderful smile on her face. “I’ve been gone for far too long, Princess.” She informed her superior sadly, “They need me.”

“Very well,” Anaya nodded gracefully. She hated that their short time together had to come to an end, but it was still too soon to pull the poor girl away from her chores. It was only going to get people talking and Anaya reckoned that life would be even more difficult for her if that were to happen.

“Please do me a favour though,” She called out lastly before the maid turned to leave, “Anything you want, Princess,” The girl replied.

“First, call me Anaya, and second, promise me that you’d pass by to see me every time you’re free, it’d be an honor to have you.”

Chreisa curtseyed gratefully, her heart warm with affection for the princess.

She always knew that the beautiful redhead was a kind girl at heart, but today she had experienced that kindness firsthand and she was glad that even she, an unfortunate maid, had been able to bring a ray of sunshine into her otherwise stormy day.

“The real honor was in spending time with you Prin—Anaya,” She quickly corrected herself when Anaya shot her a mock glare.

“Much better.” Anaya quipped.

“And please, Anaya… don’t forget to join your brother, His Eminence for lunch. I wish to keep my job.”

“Very well, Chreisa… for your sake, I’ll honor my promise,” She promised, watching with a faint smile as the girl curtsied one last time and scurried away.

She had made a new friend.