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"He said his father wouldn't be happy to know he was here." "Yes, my brothers don't like me," Lucian replied, devoid of emotion. "Why?" "Haven't you heard the rumors? That I'm the ‘devil's son.'" "But you're not…?" I trailed off, confused. He just looked at me for a while before finally replying; "I don't know."

All princes and their first wives were invited to have dinner with the King. When we arrived, the King welcomed us and we greeted him in turn, then we greeted one another amongst ourselves. While the princes chatted and laughed, except Lucian, the princesses just glared at each other. There was some kind of hostility between them. Lucian didn't go up to his brothers, he just stood beside me. None of them seemed to care about him, either. He had told me earlier that they didn't like him because he was the devil's son. I wondered if they really believed that kind of blasphemy. And why did he say that he didn't know if he actually was the devil's son? I was confused. Before my head imploded with questions, dinner was served and we sat down in our assigned places. Each prince sat beside his wife. The Crown Prince was sitting next to the King, they were talking about something animatedly, waving their hands around wildly. His wife Elsa looked at me now and then. I wondered if she had any problem with me. But I had to admit she was a beauty. Possibly the most beautiful of all the princesses, with her curly blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Lucian and I ate our dinner in silence; he seemed uncomfortable as though he was forced to be here. A guard came in and whispered something into the King's ear and shortly after the king stood up from his seat. "I have a few things to take care of, but enjoy your dinner."He said guardedly, and with that, he left. As soon as the King left the Crown Prince rose from his seat holding his wine glass delicately in one hand and a spoon on the other. He tapped the spoon on the glass to grab everyone's attention. "First, we shall welcome or little brother's bride," he began, "and then.." he continued, clearly not fit to form complete sentences in his intoxicated state. "And then," the prince next to him picked up where his brother had left off. "We shall tell embarrassing stories about our little brother to his bride." Lucians brothers laughed. They may have been speaking of this as a joke, but something was off. Their laughs weren't genuine and sounded evil to my ears. I could feel Lucian shifting uncomfortably beside me. The Crown Prince walked along with the table and stood behind the prince and his wife who were sitting in front of us. "You must have heard the rumor about our brother, about him being the son of the devil. What do you think about that?" He asked, cruel mirth clear in his tone. I could see Lucian clenching his fists under the table. "It's as you said Your highness, just a rumor" I replied. I didn't know why I defended Lucian, but I felt a strange protectiveness over him. The crown prince sent me a scrutinizing glare, but he wasn't willing to give up. He was probably thinking of other ways to insult his brother. He had no right! "So you don't believe them?" He looked at me skeptically. "Should I, Your Highness?" I said in a challenging tone, mock sweetness coloring my voice. Clearly, the crown prince was not succeding with his insults so he got some help from his brother sitting in front of us. "Even his mother didn't want him after she gave birth to him," he added. I couldn't believe my ears. How could he say something so cruel to his own brother? Beside me, Lucian's entire body tensed up, ready to spring at the brother sending cruel taunts to the both of us. I quickly reached out under the table and gently laid my hand atop his, willing him to stop and consider his actions. Lucian stilled. He raised his incredulous gaze up to my eyes, clearly surprised by my contact. I gave him a reassuring smile, and by intuition, I could tell he had calmed down significantly. Turning to his brothers, I was furious. I hadn't known Lucian for that long, and I hadn't chosen to be married to him, but now he was my husband and I couldn't change that. I had only one option: to make this marriage work. His brother looked at me, calculating. He must have guessed what I was thinking. "Well, I hope he treats you well," he said slowly, backing off. "Well is an understatement of how he treats me," I said stiffly and his brothers sent me a disappointed look. Lucian intertwined his fingers with mine under the table, as though he approved of me defending him. *********** *************** ************** For his entire life, no one has ever stood up for him like this beautiful woman had done today. This woman, his wife who barely knew him, had surprised him with her touch and melted his heart with her words and smile. She hadn't believed the rumors about him, that even he sometimes believed about himself. Once they arrived at their chamber Lucian noticed that Hazel had a frown on her face. "Is everything alright?" He asked. "Yes," She said her gaze slowly turning to the window. "Can I go outside to the garden?" Lucian noticed that she liked being outside, so he decided to take her not only outside the room but outside the castle. Her eyes twinkled when he told her about it. In the courtyard stood the stables, and he led her inside to show her his own horse, a beautiful chestnut with a white star on his flank. "Can you ride?" He asked her. "No" she replied, embarrassed. "Then you should ride with me." He suggested. Hazel nodded. Lucian helped her up and she sat behind him on the horse. "Hold on." She seemed to hesitate, but then ever so slowly she put her arms around his waist and held him lightly, almost not touching. But as soon as they started riding, her grip tightened, pressing her soft and warm body against his back. "Is it too fast?" "No," she replied but her tight hold around his waist said otherwise. Either way, he didn't slow down; he liked the feeling of her arms around him.

He took her to his secret place, a beautiful lake located in the woods. Hazel looked happy walking on the grass with her bare feet, then dipping her foot in the water flicking the cool liquid with her toes. The water must've been cold but she didn't seem to care. Lucian just stood there staring at her from afar. She was beautiful with her long reddish-brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Her dress clung to her body in all the right places, showing off her beautiful figure. He still couldn't believe that he was married. When his father suggested the marriage he had said yes, hoping that it would bring them closer, but unfortunately, his father still treated him like a stranger. Suddenly, he heard a shrill yell of pain as he was lost in his thoughts. "Hazel!!" She wasn't in the water anymore; she was sitting on the ground beside it holding her knee. He rushed to her side. "What happened?" "Nothing much, I just fell," she said. Her dress was torn and her knee bleeding. "Come on, let's take you home," he said, helping her up. Lucian aided me in getting off the horse, but as soon as I shifted my weight onto my leg, my knee started to ache. Not wanting to draw attention, I didn't say anything, but Lucian must have known, because he put his strong arms behind my knees and my back, and lifted me with ease. "What are you doing?" I asked embarrassed. "Carrying you," He stated simply. "I know that, please put me down I can walk," I said, my face and neck flushing red. "Wife, if I was to let you walk, we wouldn't reach the room even after sunrise and I would like to get some sleep." Did he just call me wife? I liked the sound of it. As we moved through the halls, the maids and servants looked down quickly as soon as they caught sight of us and I was thankful for that. He stopped for a while and told a maid to bring something to clean the wound before walking again. Upon arrival at our chambers, he put me down on the bed gently as a maid came in with things to clean the wound. He took the kit from her and dismissed her shortly. Taking a seat beside me on the bed, he lifted my dress up above my knee. "Uh…it's fine I can clean it myself." I stuttered nervously. "Just sit still," He ordered. He put one hand on the back of my leg, his hand cold yet his touch hot. I wondered how such a strong and tall man could touch so gently. Strangely, his touch made me yearn for more and I found myself imagining how it would feel like if he ran his hand down my leg or if he… A burning pain interrupted my thoughts and I hissed. "It will burn a little," he said then continued cleaning my wound. I bit my lower lip because the burning was too much and I didn't want to complain. As if sensing my pain he paused and then blew on my wound. When his hot breath touching my skin made me shiver and curl my toes. Good Lord, he was doing things to my body without doing almost nothing. "Feel better?" He asked. "Yes," I whispered, "thank you." When he was done he pulled my dress back down over my leg. "You should change," he said standing up "Do you want me to call a maid for you?" "No, I can manage," I said. Walking with an aching knee I went into the dressing room and slipped into my nightgown and a robe and then walked back into the chamber. Only a few candles were lit now. Lucian was laying down on the bed looking up the ceiling. His shiny black hair was spread across the pillow and his golden eyes glowed in the dim light. When I walked up to the bed he turned his head. "You should take your robe off. It's very hot in here at night." His observation was completely innocent, but it made my heart beat faster, and suddenly it felt really hot in the room. I opened my robe and let it slide down my arms. His eyes followed my every movement. I then laid down on the bed, facing the other way. Even though he told me he could wait to consummate the wedding, I still felt nervous. I felt him shift on the bed and stiffened. "Hazel," he whispered his voice a soft brush on my back. "Yes?" I struggled to keep my voice neutral. "Turn around!" he said with a commanding voice. I found myself turning around to face him. "I promised to treat you well; you don't have to be afraid." "I am not," I whispered. He didn't say anything for a while. He probably knew I was lying. "Goodnight," he finally said. "Goodnight," I whispered back feeling more relaxed until I eventually fell asleep. I woke up and tried to shift in the bed, but then realized that a strong arm around my waist was restricting my movement. Lucian! My back was pressed against his hard chest and I could feel his hot breath on my neck and some strands of his soft hair on my shoulder. He smelled good. He had a spicy scent, and somehow I found myself melting in his embrace. I liked it, liked the warm and secure feeling it gave. Suddenly, he slid his arm away and sat upon the bed startling me. "What is it?" I asked, sitting as well. He seemed to be listening to something. I looked around and strained my ears, but couldn't hear anything. Climbing down he put his robe on. "We have a problem," he said walking to the door. I quickly put my robe on and went after him. Some maids and guards were gathered in the hall arguing about something. They fell silent as soon as they saw us. "Your Highness," they said and bowed. "What is the problem?" Lucian asked. They had a look of fear in their eyes. One maid, in particular, was trembling with her hands behind her back. "What do you have there?" Lucian asked. She was shaking now. Lucian went up to her and took the hidden thing from behind her back. It was a golden hairpin, my hairpin. One of the guards quickly came to the front and fell to his knees in front of Lucian. "I am sorry, Your Highness, it will never happen again; you can punish me instead" he begged. "Please spare her, she is just a child." She did look quite young. The white-faced maid fell to her knees too, shaking as much as before. "No, please, it was my fault! Don't punish my brother. He didn't know" she cried. I had no idea what Lucian would do to them. For that, I both pitied and feared for them. They might get executed, or if they had luck they would get their hands cut off. I didn't know which one sounded worse. Stealing was of course not okay, but I didn't think anyone should die for it. I hoped Lucian would have mercy on them. "Since you stole from my wife, I should let her decide the punishment for you," he said, walking behind me and placing his hands on my shoulders. I froze for a moment unsure of what to do. "How do you want me to punish them for you?" he asked. I looked at the young maid sitting on her knees crying and shaking violently. I went up to her. "Why did you do it?" I asked in a gentle voice. "I am sorry, Your Highness. I didn't want to, but my mother is sick and her treatment costs a lot," she said, crying hysterically. "Get up!" I ordered them both. They got up to their feet. "What's your name?" I asked her. "Lisa, Your Highness," she said meekly. "Lisa, you can have the hairpin but you need to promise me that you will never steal again. There are more honest ways to find money, besides putting your life at risk wouldn't help your mother in any way." Everyone looked at me wide-eyed. They clearly didn't expect to be left alive. Lisa was in shock, she just stared at me. "Do you promise me?" I repeated. "I…I promise you…I promise Your Highness" she said. "Thank you so much…thank you" she began to cry again, but this time tears of relief. "Thank you, Your Highness" her brother repeated. His eyes were also glistening with unshed tears of gratitude. "Now everyone can go back to work," I said relieved that the situation ended well. They walked away. Lisa was hugging her brother crying and he was scolding her. " Never do that again!" I found myself smiling. I wish I had a brother like that. My brothers were spoiled brats. Turning around to go back I found Lucian standing there, his arms crossed behind his back. He looked at me with what seemed like admiration but I wasn't sure. Crossing the distance between us he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his embrace. "Let's get back to bed."

His voice, his scent, the warmth of his body, all filled my senses and made me unable to think clearly. Before I knew he was carrying me to our chamber, and then laid me down on the bed. Bed? Wait, no! He lay down next to me and when I tried to get up, he put an arm around my shoulders and held me down. "Lay still and let me hold you," he said, taking his arm away from my shoulders and putting them around my waist instead. "Why?" "Because I like holding you and you like it when I do that" he replied. "And how would you know?" I said, a teasing lilt to my voice. "What? You don't like it?" I was afraid that if I said I liked it he would want to take it to the next level, but I didn't want to lie either. "It's… alright," I said cautiously, a shy smile making its way to my face. He grabbed my chin and made me turn around to face him. "Is my touch just alright?" He let go of my chin and traced with his fingers down my neck and up my shoulder, removing my robe from one side. My pulse quickened and my skin tingled where he had touched. He leaned closer. "I don't think so," he whispered. "You… you promised not to do anything," I said. "No, I didn't. I promised to treat you well." Oh god! That was true. He never promised to not consume the wedding and who knows what treating well means to him. I pulled myself away from his grasp and climbed down from the bed. Clearing my throat "I am hungry," I said, "Aren't you?" He smiled a devilish smile "Oh, I am very hungry" he said scanning me with eyes that showed hunger for something other than food. My heart skipped a beat, but I ignored it. "Then we should go and eat," I said, turning around and walking away before he could say anything. Lucian tried to ignore the burning need in his body and tried to focus on eating his breakfast. He glanced at his wife the same time she glanced at him. Their eyes met and she looked down quickly, her cheeks turning a light pink. He wanted to reach for her from across the table but stood up from his seat instead. "I have some work to do," he said and strode out of the room before he lost control. What was wrong with him? Why was his body burning and his heart beating in his ears? He had never felt like this before. He came a bit late to the meeting with his father and brothers. His father didn't bother to look at him, and his brothers shot him angry glances. He took a seat and listened to how his father planned to take over other kingdoms. His greed had no end. "That's all for today. I expect all of you to fulfill your duties," the king said, looking at each of his sons except Lucian, he then walked out of the room. His brothers turned to him most of them looking angry and irritated while Pierre had a smirk on his face. He was the cruelest. "Your wife seems very fond of you," Pierre said. Lucian knew his brother was trying to pick a fight with him, as usual, so he ignored him, walking away. Pierre grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him from going. "I am talking to you, Lucian! Don't you dare ignore me. I am the crown prince, and in the future, I will be your king so you should be careful to get on my bad side." Lucian chuckled darkly. "As if I am already not on your bad side," he said "and you know what? Even when you become a king, you will never become my king." His brother laughed "I will become your king and when I do," he leaned closer, "I will get rid of you and make your beautiful wife my concubine." That was what finally tipped Lucian over the edge. He punched and kicked Pierre before his other brothers got involved and tried to hold him, but to no avail. He was too angry and nothing could stop him now. He sat atop his brother and started punching him, the rest of his brothers unable to hold him away. He was too strong for them. He took some time to knock down some of them before he continued with his punching. Guards came into the room and grabbed his arms. "Hold him down for me," one of his brothers said. Even though they were many they had a hard time holding him down. "What are you doing?" Someone yelled from the door. Everyone froze. "Your Highness, we were just…" "Enough!" It was the king "You are not children anymore, and you dare to fight? Prepare for your punishment." "Your Highness." A maid came running to the garden. "His Highness is in trouble." "What trouble?" I asked, worried. "He is getting whipped." "What?" I shrieked in panic. What on earth could he have done? We ran through the hall to the main garden. Several men were handcuffed on their knees, leather wh.i.p.s repeatedly being brought down across their backs. I looked for Lucian, and my heart dropped at the sight of him. He was handcuffed too, although he still stood, unlike the other men. His shirt was torn to rags with blood steadily soaking through it. One whip landed on his back, and I almost screamed but he didn't make a sound. He didn't even grimace. He was staring at something. I looked to see his brothers standing on the other side and watching. "He is a prince. Why is he getting whipped?" "His highness didn't accept someone to get his punishment," the maid explained. "He had a fight with his brothers." I looked back at Lucian. While the other men were almost falling to their knees he was still standing steadily. It was as if the whipping didn't affect him at all, but I knew it did. He just didn't want to give his brothers the satisfaction of seeing him get hurt. Another whip landed on his back and I felt a hand grasp my wrist. "Your Highness, you shouldn't get involved. It was the king's order." I didn't realize that I was trying to get to him. Please God, make this stop. God must have heard my prayers because they started to uncuff his hands. As soon as they uncuffed him, he fell on his knees. I ran toward him, but some guards got to him before me and helped him up. Once we reached the chamber he pushed the guards away. "Leave!" "But Your Highness you need…" "I. said. Leave!" he shouted savagely, and the guards hurried away. He sat down on the bed. "You should leave too," he said lowering his voice. "Then who will clean your wounds? Now take off what remains of your shirt and lay on your stomach," I ordered, grabbing a bowl of water and a piece of the cloth that the maid had brought, but he didn't move. "Do you need help?" I said grabbing his shirt to help him get out of it. He grabbed my wrist to stop me. "I told you to go," he said with clenched teeth. "I don't want to. How can I leave when you're hurting?" "I'm not, so leave." "No, I won't" I insisted stubbornly, then everything happened in a second. He grabbed me by the neck and pinned me to the wall, his face only an inch from mine. His eyes not golden anymore, the flames in them burning with intensity. "Don't make me break my promise," he growled.

"You are not the only one who wants to treat someone well," I said, ignoring the pain his grip caused. He looked at me for a while. The flames in his eyes slowly dying and their color becoming golden again. He let go of my neck and looked down as if regretting what he had just done. "You should… take your shirt off," I said. Walking back to the bed, he ripped his shirt open, showing a perfectly toned stomach and chest. The muscles in his arm twitched as he lay down on the bed. "Are you just going to stare?" he asked. Embarrassed I hurried to the bed, sat down and started cleaning his wounds. This was horrible. The wounds seemed deep and they would probably leave scars on his back. It must have hurt a lot. Was his family always so cruel to him? And I had thought my family were too cruel. I wondered what his childhood was like. Was he always like this? Rejected by his family, bullied and punished? He must have been so lonely. "Why are you crying?" A tear fell down my cheek. Am I crying? Why? He sat up, facing me. "What is it?" he asked softly. "Why did you take the punishment?" "Because I can't let someone else get punished for what I did," he said, wiping a tear away from my cheek. "Why did you even fight in the first place? Look what happened to you now. It must hurt a lot and you will get a lot of scars. I don't like seeing you get hit and I don't like your brothers." I said more tears falling down my cheeks. I hated this, it wasn't right. "Are you crying for my sake now? You really confuse me, one time you are scared of me and the other one you cry because I am hurt, even though I hurt you just now." To be honest, I was confused myself, but I just didn't like to see him like this. "Hazel," he said, adopting a softer tone and wiping away more tears with his thumb "What are you doing to me?" "What?" I said, confused but he grabbed my waist and pulled me down on the bed with him on top of me. He laid so our bodies were perfectly aligned, but most of his weight was held by his arms as to not crush me. He leaned closer as if to kiss me, and I shut my eyes tightly and pressed my lips into a thin line. I don't know why I reacted that way, but instead of feeling his lips on mine I felt them on my neck. My body went rigid, surprised by the heat that blossomed inside of me at the feeling of his lips on my skin. When he kissed right under my ear, a m.o.a.n escaped my lips and I dig my fingers into his back. He hissed in pain but continued kissing me in the same place. I felt wetness on my fingers. Blood. His wounds. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away lightly. "Is something wrong?" he asked. "I..I never finished cleaning your wounds," I said. "You don't have to. It doesn't hurt anymore," he said, pressing his lips on my neck again making me all dizzy. "Just let me have you." "Lucian.." I tried to push him away again but he grabbed my wrists and pinned them down. I started panicking. He was losing control. What if he doesn't listen to me? As if sensing my fear he stopped and let go of my wrists. He sat up on the bed, looking hurt. "You can continue," he said softly. After I finished cleaning his wounds in silence, I walked out of the chamber to let him rest. The guards were waiting outside and looked terribly worried. "His Highness is fine," I told them and then walked away. I went to the garden and sat on the swing. Even though I was outside in the cold breeze, I still felt hot. I touched my neck where he had kissed me. I didn't know that a kiss could affect someone so much. Ylva and Lydia would sometimes tell me about their passionate night with their husband, how only a touch could make them weak and wild. I always loved hearing their crazy stories. If it weren't for them, I would have been so lonely. I don't know how long I was sitting, immersed in my own memories, but eventually, the sound of footsteps nearby broke my reverie. "Lucian? What are you doing here? You are supposed to rest," I scolded. "I'm fine," he said, sitting down next to me. "It felt uncomfortable to sleep in the bloody sheets so I told the maids to clean them. Why are you looking sad?" "I'm not." "Is it because I hurt you?" He inquired. I didn't know what to say. I was a bit hurt that he hurt me, but I didn't want him to feel guilty now that he was already hurting. "I am sorry," he said with a slight grimace. By the way, he said it, I could tell it was something he didn't often say. "It's alright. I wasn't sad because of you. It's just that sometimes when I am alone I miss my maids. Anyways, you should go back to bed. I am sure the maid is done." I stood up. "It's fine. I won't be sleeping here tonight, I have somewhere else to be," he said as he too rose from his chair. "Somewhere else to be at night? When you are hurt? You are not thinking of going to your brothers fighting again are you?" He chuckled "If I am, what will you do to stop me?" I knew he was playing around. "I think.." he said, walking around me and standing behind me "I should go and spend some time with my mistress," he whispered near my ear. A sudden rage filled me. This may be a joke to him, but not to me. I walked away from him, ignoring him as he called after me. I went to my personal room and shut the door, waiting for him to come after me and say something, but he never came. He didn't come the whole night. I knew it would be like this, but I had just hoped he would be different, I thought he would be different, but he wasn't. He was just like any other man. As I tried to sleep, I heard someone call my name. I sat up in the deathly silence, trying to hear the imperceptible noise again. It came again, but then I realized with a jolt that it was coming from inside my head.. It was Lucian.

"Hazel! Hazel!" Lucian called, his voice filled with pain and agony. Was he in pain? No, he couldn't be. I couldn't be hearing this, but I heard my name again "Hazel". Maybe all this wasn't in my head, maybe he was calling for me. I climbed down from the bed, put my robe on and stalked out of the room. "Where is His Highness?" I asked two guards walking through the hall. "I am sorry Your Highness, but we can't tell you. He doesn't want to be disturbed." Disturbed? So I would disturb him? Of course, he was having fun with his mistress, and here I am worried about him for nothing. I decided not to worry or care anymore and went back to bed. Opening my eyes with a yawn I scanned my surroundings. Lucian was sitting in front of the mirror and a maid was combing his hair. Her fingers caressed his cheek and neck when she tried to gather some strands of his hair. I could see that she didn't touch him accidentally, she was doing it on purpose. Disturbed by her action I climbed down from the bed. When she saw my reflection in the mirror she turned around. "Good morning, Your Highness," she said, bowing deeply. "Good morning," I said although I had the urge to ignore her but being rude was just not my thing. "I will help His Highness; you may leave." She glanced at Lucian, waiting for him to give her a sign that she could leave, but he didn't move a muscle. Hesitating, she walked out of the room. I went up to Lucian and stood behind him, staring at his reflection. He didn't look back at me or greet me like he does every morning. He just stared down at the book he held in his hand. Why was he behaving like this? "Won't you comb my hair since you dismissed the maid?" He asked, still looking at the book. I got the urge to pull his hair and mess it up. Maybe I should. He deserves it for the way he was treating me right now. "Of course," I said with the softest voice I could muster. I knew how to fix hair and many other things that princesses usually don't have to know, because I was often bored, and I would tell Lydia and Ylva to teach me. The thing is I wasn't planning on fixing his hair but playing with it. I took the brush and started brushing his hair. It was softer and thicker than my own. How could a man have such beautiful hair? It was not the time for admiring, it was time for messing around I reminded myself. I made a few braids here and there, not caring how they looked. "I am done," I said eagerly waiting to see his reaction. He closed the book and looked at his reflection. He frowned as I fought the urge to laugh. There was one braid in the middle, three on one side and two on the other side. The braid in the middle is what made him look funniest. I couldn't hold it in anymore and let loose a loud peal of laughter. Lucian got up from his seat, a serious look on his face as he turned around. He grabbed my arm and yanked me close. "Are you playing with me now wife? You shouldn't play with fire; you will get burned," he said with a low voice. He was intimidating but he chuckled when he saw the terrified look on my face. "No need to be scared, wife. I am just joking. Do you think you are the only one who can play around?" I pushed him away. "That wasn't funny." "Then is this funny?" he asked, pointing at his head and I couldn't help but laugh again. "You shouldn't be laughing at me when your hair looks like that," he said pointing at my head. I looked myself in the mirror and gasped. I was so angry and occupied with him I didn't even look at myself. My hair looked like a birds nest. I tried to straighten it with my hands before Lucian wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and hugged me to him.