6

Everyone was gathered with their horses which only meant they were leaving. Lucian was leaving without me. Angry I walked toward him. When he saw me he looked surprised but when he realized I was angry he frowned. I walked closer and slapped him across the face. I heard some gasps coming from the guards and some of them stared in shock. Lucian ran his fingers through his hair as he looked back at me. A smile crept it's way to his face and I was shocked at his reaction. He should be angry for slapping him especially in front of everyone, so why was he smiling? "What is the reason for slapping me wife?" he asked rubbing his cheek as if it hurt even though I was sure it didn't hurt him, not physically anyway. "Don't call me wife. If I was your wife you wouldn't have decided to leave me." He looked at me confused. "I thought you are the one that wanted to stay" he said. "And what makes you think that way?" I asked. His gaze shifted to something behind me and he clenched his jaw. I looked behind me, father was standing at the entry looking amused. It was father. He told Lucian I wanted to stay.

We were riding fast through the woods after leaving father disappointed for failing in his mission to make me stay. "Are you sure you want to come with me?" Lucian had asked. "Your life will be in danger." I had decided that I would rather live in danger than live like a dead person, but that wasn't the main reason I didn't want to stay. I didn't want to stay because I wanted to be with Lucian. "Feeling alright?" Lucian asked after slowing down. "Yes, I am fine. I think I am getting used to it" I said, slightly exhilarated. "Where are we going?" "To Gatrish" he replied. Gatrish, a kingdom known for its wars, slavery and prostitution. Their king was a cruel king with a thirst for blood and appetite for women. It is said that he takes a new wife and a new concubine everyday and that liquor, parties and s.e.x are a part of his daily life and everyone else's living in the kingdom. "Are you sure it's a good idea to go there?" I asked. "I know their king. He is the only one who might agree to help," he explained. I could still not get over the fact that he would kill his brothers, even though it was a common thing for princes. I know if he doesn't kill them they would probably kill him: I just wished there would be another way to solve this problem. I imagine that asking the King of Gatrish for help would just make things worse, even though I didn't know him personally. We rode the whole day, just taking a few breaks to eat and rest, then we continued riding for the rest of the night. I wondered how Lucian could stay awake. I would fall asleep and wake up now and then, holding onto him tight, scared not to fall from the horse because I was too tired to stay awake. This time when I woke up, it was morning. The sun shone brightly, the breeze warmer than last night blew Lucians soft hair into my face. I pulled my hand away from Lucian's waist and to remove his hair from my face, but had the sudden impulse to smell it. I grabbed it and inhaled. How could he always smell so good? "Good morning wife" he greeted and I quickly dropped his hair embarrassed. "Good morning," I whispered back. Looking at my surroundings I noticed that everyone rode slowly. The soldiers chatted and laughed as they rode, not a hint of tiredness showing on their faces, even though they didn't sleep the whole night. "We have arrived. You will be able to rest soon," he said while we rode over a bridge that led to a big metal gate with a guard on each side. Lincoln jumped down from his horse and went up to one of the guards. They spoke a few words and then the two guards opened the gate for us to enter. As we entered, I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was not looking forward to meeting this king, and I became even more worried when Lucian and his men were told to leave their weapons in a storeroom before entering the castle. Lucian did so without hesitation, and his men followed. I just stared at them, wide-eyed. Were they on a death mission? I put my hand on Lucian's arm before entering, giving him a worried and questioning look. He returned with a reassuring smile before following the guard that would show us the way to the bloodthirsty king. "Prince Lucian has arrived, Your Majesty," the guard informed before opening the door to a room that seemed to be a room for meetings. "Draco!" my eyes darted to where the sound came from. A tall man dressed casually stood in the middle of the room, a smile plastered on his face as he walked closer to us. "Your Majesty," Lucian replied, bowing. Wait? Majesty? I had imagined the king to be a short, ugly bald man over his thirties with dirty teeth. Why? I don't know. Maybe because of his reputation, but this man was tall and seemed to be in his mid-twenties. His dirty blonde shoulder-length hair perfectly matched his sun-kissed skin. If it wasn't for the scar on his face that stretched from his left eyebrow to his right eye, people would drown in his ocean blue eyes. He was good looking. "Oh, please," the King said, waving with his hand. "I thought we had dropped the formalities." He tipped his head to one side as he noticed me standing next to Lucian and studied me with his piercing blue eyes. "This is my wife, Hazel" Lucian introduced. I tried to smile as he walked closer. He took my hand in his and placed a soft kiss on my knuckles. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess," he said, then turned his gaze to Lucian. "I never thought our Draco would marry anytime soon." This was the second time he had called Lucian ‘Draco'. I was confused. "But of course, with your looks anything is possible, isn't that right, Princess Hazel?" he asked, looking my way. I froze up, unable to reply. When I didn't respond, he laughed. He made me nervous in a bad way. "You guys must be hungry and tired; lets eat!" We were served fried potatoes, eggs, toast, croissants and ham. A basket filled with an assortment of fruit stood in the middle of the table and servants came in with different kinds of drinks. A servant whispered something into the king's ear and he smiled at us. "My sisters Astrid and Klara will join us for breakfast. Klara has been dying to meet you since you saved her life." The King said looking at Lucian. Lucian saved the King's sister? Is that why he thought that the king would help us? "Oh, here they are," he said as two beautiful ladies entered the dining room. They looked just like the king with their long blonde hair and blue eyes and seemed to be around my age. "This is my sister Astrid," the King said, gesturing to the one with short blonde hair wearing a yellow dress that matched her blonde locks. "and this is Klara." He finished, pointing to the one with longer hair that almost reached to her waist. She was wearing a blue dress that made her blue eyes stand out even more. So she was the one Lucian saved? She was stunningly beautiful. I couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason Lucian saved her. "You know Lucian, and this is his wife Hazel" he said, introducing us in return. Klara's eyes widened as she stared at us, confused, but quickly got over her puzzlement and smiled. "Welcome. We are happy to have you here" Astrid smiled.

Klara kept glancing Lucian's way as we ate our breakfast, while the King and Lucian spoke informally with each other, which surprised me. The King was willing to help Lucian as they were already speaking of how to win this war. I only feared he would ask for something in exchange. Something bad. "You should stay here until the King dies, then we will take action," the King said. As if waiting for someone's death was a daily occurrence. "Rasmus? Can you stop acting like a King at least until we eat our breakfast?" Klara asked. Rasmus, Klara, Astrid: their names sounded Scandinavian. "Of course" Rasmus smiled at his sister. "We have a party tonight. I hope you can attend after you have rested" he then said to me and Lucian. "Of course" Lucian replied. "Astrid, why don't you take them to a nice room. I am sure they would like to rest." I was so tired, but as I laid on the bed next to Lucian all I could do was ask questions. "You seem to know Rasmus pretty well," I began. "Yes," was all he said before closing his eyes. He lay on his back while I lay on my side, facing him. "Why does he call you Draco?" "It's just a nickname" he said shortly. This wasn't working. I couldn't reach through to him. Maybe he was too tired. "His sisters are beautiful." He shot his eyes open and looked my way. He looked at me calculatingly for a while before he replied, "Yes they are." "How did you save his sister" I asked curiously. I think I saw a little smile on his face before it disappeared quickly. "I didn't. I just spared her life. Our kingdoms were at war with each other few years ago and we won by killing most of their men." "Are you saying she went to fight in a war?" I asked, surprised. She was a woman, not only that, but a princess, and she went to fight a war? "Yes, she and her sister. They are warriors and know very well how to fight. After all, their ancestors were Vikings; they have it in their blood." I just listened, fascinated by how these beautiful women could be warriors. I wondered if he was fascinated by them as well. Maybe that's why he spared her life. Maybe he thought she was beautiful. She was at least more beautiful than I was; much more beautiful. Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but then I heard Lucian say, "Thank you for coming with me" in a sleepy voice. Opening my eyes I looked at him. He was asleep. I shifted in bed for a while, but I couldn't fall asleep. Sitting up, I swung my legs down off the bed and stood up on the neat sapphire blue carpet that covered the ground. The whole room was decorated in white and different shades of blue. The walls were a light blue while the doors and the window frames were white. The curtains were a beautiful turquoise adorned with blue crystals at the tips and framed the big glass windows that showed a clear blue summer sky. I looked back at Lucian, who was sleeping peacefully on the royal blue satin sheets. He looked more beautiful than ever while asleep. I slid into a simple dress, fixed my hair and put my shoes on before exiting the room. I walked through the halls, not knowing exactly where I was when I heard female voices I recognized coming from a room. I stopped to listen. "Klara, there are a thousand men out there who desire you. Just forget about him" "I know but no one is like him. I want him, sister." "He is married now. Why do you want to be a second wife when you can get any man you want?" Astrid asked, frustration clear in her tone. "I would rather be with someone I want and become a second wife than be with someone I don't want," Klara said stubbornly. "He is a man with no position right now. There is no guarantee that he will become the next king of Decresh." A tiny gasp escaped past my lips, yet it was loud enough for Astrid to hear in the echoing room. They were talking about Lucian. "Who is there?" Astrid asked as I heard her footsteps coming closer. I quickly hid behind one of the limestone columns in the hall. "What is it?" Klara asked. "Nothing. I just thought I heard someone" Astrid said and then I heard the door close. I peeked from behind the column to make sure they were gone and then quickly got away from there. I quickly walked through the halls trying to find my way back to the room. My life had become a mess in only a week. First I got married against my will, then before I got to know my mysterious husband a war knocked on the door, then I fought with my parents and now I was in a kingdom ruled by a bloodthirsty king and his sister who wanted my husband. While looking for a room I found an exit to a garden. I walked out and found some of Lucian's men chatting there. Some were sitting under the roof, away from the sun resting while some were talking about someone. Me. "Did you see how she slapped him" a guard with brown hair asked imitating me slapping Lucian. He lift his hand and drew it back before landing a fake slap on another guards cheek. "Behave yourself Ky," Lincoln said, sitting with his eyes closed, leaning his back on the wall. "No seriously. She is brave. I like her." He continued, ignoring Lincoln. "She shouldn't have slapped him in front of everyone. It was disrespectful toward his highness," another one retorted. Oliver laughed, turning around. He saw me standing there and I thought he would say something to make the men know I was there listening to everything, but he kept quiet and let the men continue talking about me. "She is a good person," someone defended me. It was brother of Lisa, the maid who stole my golden hairpin. "She genuinely cares for His Highness," he continued. "That's true," another one said. Oliver smiled a mischievous smile before saying "My Lady," finally making my presence known and surprising the guards. Everyone stood up quickly "My lady," they said, bowing deeply and then looking at me with fear. "I apologize for their behavior," Lincoln said, bowing deeply. "Apologize to Her Highness!" he reprimanded, sending the guards a hard glare. "It's alright." I smiled. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion." They all stared at me in surprise, except Lincoln. His face showed no expression.

I laid in the bathtub filled with hot water thinking about what the guards had said about me. I shouldn't have slapped Lucian in front of his men. It was disrespectful and still he hadn't got angry on me. He was asleep when I came back to the room so I asked a maid to prepare a hot bath for me. The hot water was soothing, relaxing my tense muscles it felt like a massage and in a moment it made fall into a deep sleep. I woke up shifting in the bed. The soft satin sheets rubbed against my skin and I realized I was not wearing much. I quickly sat up on the bed and lifted the sheet up. I was only wearing a towel, my shoulders legs and thighs were bare. It took me a moment to remember that I was taking a bath earlier and fell asleep and now I was here. How? A sound made me look to my left. Lucian was sitting in a chair, a glass of wine in his hands as he studied me with those extraordinary eyes. He was the only one who could have brought me here, which meant that he had seen me n.a.k.e.d. Heat crept it's way up to my cheeks and I grabbed the sheets around me closer as if they would protect me from his gaze or change the fact that he had seen me n.a.k.e.d.