The Apathetic Knight

Chapter 12 - Kynareth

Chapter 12 – Kynareth

A week later, it was time for the prince's birthday celebration. It was a mildly-sized event, as he really wasn't fond of large banquets and parties, but this year, my family was actually invited, which was an extraordinary honor. He hadn't invited me, even as his fiancé, the year before.

I waited patiently as the maids dressed me. Though it wasn't an extremely large affair, it was to be extremely formal this year.

They dressed me in a light, sky-blue gown with navy blue embroidery and lacy accents all over the gown, the shoulders barely puffed out but the sleeves skin-tight.

There was a large open area on my back, but it was covered by sheer, see-through fabric. I wore diamond earrings and a necklace made of sapphires and diamonds.

My hair was pulled into a sweeping bun, all of my bangs swept to one side of my face.

A light powder was put on my face, and my eyes shadowed with a beautiful smoky-gray, my eyes lined and my eyelashes thickened.

I looked into the mirror, and I smiled. I was...actually happy to look good for him.

He wasn't affectionate or particularly sweet, but he had been good to me, better than I had ever anticipated.

I glanced at the pelts from the hunts he'd offered me, and tonight, I decided to wear one of my white-fox pelts as a shoulder wrap.

When I was finished, I looked like some beautiful queen.

I stepped out, letting Seryn escort me to the ballroom, because for his birthday, the crowned prince wouldn't be escorting me himself-he was the guest of honor, so he was already there, greeting the guests.

Actually, I was the one who was running a little late. I had taken quite a bit of care bathing that evening, because for his birthday, and since it we had spent many a night sleeping in a single bed together, I wanted to...at least...try.

I had been contemplating, lately, how would our relationship have any progression if we only sat in silence?

We may not like one another, but at this rate, we would never be anything more than silent eating and sleeping partners, would we?

I had been here for three and a half months, and he hadn't even touched me intimately.

How long could he go without it?

How long until we no longer could avoid it, and it turned out to be extremely awkward because we hadn't had any intimacy outside of consummating the marriage?

I didn't want for things to be awkward and uncomfortable between us. I want for us to at least be on good terms, even if we weren't happy together. We deserved that much, didn't we?

As hard as he worked in his role to the country, and as much as I had wished for a good, loving life, we both deserve to have at least a decent relationship. Not the farce that we had now.

We wouldn't be able to just sit in silence for the duration of our entire marriage, right? We were royalty...our marriage would last for life. We were supposed to have heirs.

Things had to make some kind of progress between us.

If that were the case, it stood to reason that we would eventually need more than simple silence...so, I began to ask the maids.

I'd heard regularly, as a reply, that a wife was supposed to give herself to her husband eagerly, ready and willing to leave her body in his control, and that a wife wasn't even a wife in anything but name if she wasn't having relations with her husband.

I felt very pressured, and guilty, because he hadn't once even mentioned it to me.

I had felt him spoon me a few times, feeling his body react to my own, struggled to contain my shivers as I felt him press into my bottom unintentionally...felt him get up and flee the bed as soon as the sun was up, cheeks pink.

I didn't know if it was just because he was embarrassed, or if he hadn't meant to act that way in the first place...

I knew, from what the maids told me of the meaning behind this reaction, that he strongly wanted me...or, at least, I hoped I could trust that they were being honest.

Perhaps it was simply a physiological reaction, but I wanted...needed, in that moment, to believe that he actually wanted me.

I remembered the first time that I had felt him spoon me during the night; I'd startled as his body had curled around my own, but when I had whispered his name in the darkness of the room...I had not gotten a response other than the evenness of his breathing against my hair.

Since then, he had spooned me almost every time we'd had to spend a night sleeping with one another.

I took a deep breath as I reached the ballroom, ready to get this going.

I was nervous, because for his gift, I had made him a handmade tassel for his sword and a handkerchief of very high quality, if I did say so myself, as well as a wonderfully made knitted scarf to keep him warm this winter.

I hoped that he would be pleased with these gifts.

I had been tutored and had spent a great deal of time practicing in order to make these gifts nicely, and I hoped that he liked them as much as I was proud of them.

All I prayed for, however, was that he wouldn't sneer at them and be disgraced by my efforts.

"Announcing her highness, the crowned princess, Kynareth Renna Severing Ashland," I heard my name called, and the doors were pulled open as I held my head high, striding into the room as everyone gasped, staring at me in wonder.

It was show time.

I saw the awe-struck expression on my husband's face, the rising-pink in his cheeks, and I felt my own cheeks heat in response.

This was good. This was already going better than I had imagined it in my mind.

He was responding to me...!

I glanced around the room, and I saw my father and mother, my youngest sibling—a sister—that the duchess had given birth to only a couple of years ago, and I saw my brother and his wife.

She had been very done-up as well, though—much like the comparison between how we had each looked on our wedding days—she hardly measured up to me.

The glare on her face let me know that she knew it, too.

If my brother's expression was any indication, I would have thought that my stunning beauty had made his heart stop.

He was in a complete daze.

I finally reached Prince Cinder, and gave him a deep curtsy. "Congratulations on your birthday, your highness, my crowned prince," I smiled up at him.

He looked a bit surprised, but he smiled softly.

"Thank you, my crowned princess," he responded.

"If it isn't too presumptuous, I have something for you," I said, softly.

I motioned to Alice, who stepped forward, handing me the gifts, and I held them out to him.

"These are but meager gifts that I made myself, but I truly hope that you will like them."

His eyes widened for a moment, before he took them.

He unwrapped them with a small, minute smile, before he gasped, holding up each item and gazing at them, surprise on his face.

"Thank you," he said, his tone genuine and thick. He met my eyes. "These are wonderful, thank you," he said, giving me a deep bow at the waist. "I shall treasure them."

He tied the tassel to his sword; the tassel a sign of deep favor in court etiquette.

He folded the handkerchief and placed it in his breast-pocket; the handkerchief a sign of compassion in court etiquette.

Then, he wrapped the scarf around his neck and shoulders; a hand-knitted scarf a sign of deep comfort and passionate affection in court etiquette.

His eyes bore into mine, burning me with understanding, as he seemed to understand the meaning behind my three gifts.

Even though there was surprise in his eyes, there was a burning smolder there, too, and I felt my entire body heat with the force of it.

There was no other reason to pair the three of them together, all at once, but for one symbol;

"I was seeking his favoring of me."

All throughout the dinner, Cinder could hardly look away from me, and I caught him stroking the scarf several times.

I could feel my heart racing from the reaction, which was far better than I had hoped for. I could see it in his face.

He hadn't anticipated such a gift.

He had never thought to receive something like this from me...and I could see his thoughts turning in his mind.

I could feel a heavy gaze of another kind from further down the table, but I tried my best to ignore it.

There was nothing else that we could do. Astaroth did not belong to me, but to his wife. No matter how we wished that wasn't true.

After close to four months of silence and avoidance, I wanted more than to be trapped in a marriage where those were my only two choices.

I wanted more for my life. Didn't both of us deserve that?

So, I needed to make the best that I could of my situation.

Astaroth didn't belong to me. The same could be said of me; that I belonged to my husband, now.

If I couldn't have the life that I wanted, then I at least wanted to live a life where I wasn't miserable. I could make that happen, surely.

I would prove that this very night.

As the music began, Cinder surprised me when he stood, coming and bowing at the waist, holding out his hand.

"Would you give me the honor of your first dance, crowned princess?" He asked.

I hesitantly took his hand, my eyes locked with his, as he led me to the dance floor.

I warmed up when his hand took my waist, his other hand locking with mine, as we began to turn and step.

We danced to one song, and just before we finished, I tugged him down to lean so that I could whisper into his ear so that only he could hear me.

"I have a special gift that I wish to present you...alone," I said.

He stopped dancing mid-step, halting, his entire body heating. I could feel his extremity growing, coming alive in his pants against my hips. He gave the tinies thrust, seemingly subconsciously, his member hard and long against me.

I felt embarrassed about the extremity, in general.

What did I call I?

What was I supposed to call it?

I'd once heard a knight refer to it, saying he needed to "put his d**k away" after urination in the woods...but was that what it was supposed to be called?

I didn't know the correct term. I felt like an i***t.

I wanted to be desirable and seductive to this man that I had married, but I didn't know how to behave like that.

Maybe I needed some romance novels...

From the feel of it, I wondered how he had fit inside me at all. I knew he had ripped me, but I started wondering if maybe I shouldn't have initiated this after all.

I hoped he wouldn't hurt me again.

He suddenly turned from me, doing his best to hide himself with my body, before giving a deep bow.

"My honored guests, thank you for having joined our celebration of my birthday. I appreciate each of your gifts and your presence. However, I am ready to retire for the evening. Farewell," he said, giving another bow, before he grasped my hand in his and he led me—quickly—out of the room.

We strode quickly through the halls so fast that I could hardly keep up. He moved almost as if he could hardly even contain himself, before we turned to go to his personal bedchambers rather than the bridal chamber or my own chambers.

"Your highness?" I asked, surprised.

He pulled me inside and shut the door quickly, latching the lock.

"Do you...understand, princess, the etiquette-ruled meaning of each of these gifts?"

I hesitated, watching his eyes dart around the room, nervous.

He was actually nervous, afraid that he'd misunderstood my intent.

"Why do you think that I prepared those items, together, specifically?" I asked, hugging my fox pelt to my chest.

He startled, gaping at me in shock.

"And your...'special gift'—?"

I then did something else with deep, deep-rooted meaning in the etiquette rules; I turned, back facing him, and let my hair down, before pulling it over my shoulder, leaving my back clear.

He gasped, and as I glanced over my shoulder, I could see that I had completely stunned him.

He watched me with wide eyes.

"Your highness..." I said, soft. "Come to me."

He took a tentative step toward me, and I felt his hands pause at the top of my gown's ties.

"Tell me, princess, before this even begins...are you positive that I do not misunderstand your meaning?"

I nodded. "I...I know it might sound silly, but I want more between us than the silence and avoiding one another...how can we possibly get through this marriage with any sanity, if we only sit together quietly when we are together? If we are to be married...shouldn't we be at least a bit closer?"

"Then...you care to grow closer to me...?" He asked, surprise in his tone.

I glanced at him again. "...Cinder," I whispered. "Do you...still hate me?"

He paused, hesitating. "No," he said, finally. "I don't hate you. I don't particularly like you. I still dislike you...but I don't necessarily hate you anymore."

"Then, I am sure about this...about you. Let's try to stop disliking each other, hm?"

He trembled, undoing the ties to the back of my gown, and he gently pushed the material down before he set to untying my corset.

"I do have...one request, your highness..."

"And that would be?"

"Please...please, prince Cinder, I beg you...please do things properly with me this time. Don't hurt me. Don't just—"

As my shoulders became bare to him, he slowly leaned forward, pressing his lips to the skin of the junction where my shoulders and neck met, and my words fell off into thin air as I moaned.

I gasped, leaning back into him and shutting my eyes.

He moaned softly in an approving manner, pushing my clothes the rest of the way down and leaving me in just my underwear. Tingles ran down my body with the heat of his touches.

His fingers left fire in their wake as he raked his fingertips across my skin.

He turned me gently to face him, lifting my chin with his finger and gently pressing his lips to mine.

While he took his time kissing me, he undid the fastenings of his uniform, and slowly became bare to just his underwear as well.

I could make out the hard bulge where his...extremity was.

"Do you like looking at my c*ck, Kynareth?" He asked me in a chuckle, and my cheeks flamed. The crude language was something I was unaccustomed to, but it heated me. He slid his underwear down, the thing springing to life and bobbing before settling heavy between his muscled thighs before my eyes.

I hadn't ever seen one this close, this intensely, and been able to really study it.

I looked up to see his eyes again, giving a timid nod and twiddling my thumbs. "I can...appreciate it for what it is," I whispered, glancing at it again.

He leaned back, taking a good look at me. "You are beautiful...Kynareth."

I felt my heart beat harder, and I blushed, taking in his physique.

He wasn't as muscular as Seryn, but he was a bit more built than my brother. He had a good physical body, and you could tell that he was active and strong.

I had known that, during the tournament, Seryn had thrown the match for him, but they had been fairly closely matched, really. Seryn was a year older and had been in combat much longer, so it made sense that he would actually be stronger.

The crowned prince had a beautiful body, with tan skin that was smooth.

I reached out, running my fingers along his abdominal muscles and he groaned, trembling. When I let my fingers graze the velvety steel of his... "c**k", as he named it, a rush of heat began tumbling in my body when he hissed out a sharp breath.

"Princess..."

I gazed up at him, my cheeks burning, before he took my hand, leading me to the bed.

He lay me down, pressing kisses to my lips, my neck, my collarbone, and then down to my shoulders and chest.

He gently undid the bindings around my chest, and I shivered when I became exposed to him.

He took me in with heated eyes, before he used his mouth on my flesh, massaging with his hand.

"If only you had been so gentle during the first night," I laughed softly, and he paused.

"I had thought that you wanted it to be over as quickly as possible...I should have prepared your body better, and hurting you hadn't actually been my intention, even if I hated you."

I smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

He chuckled, returning to his touches and kisses, and I gasped when he reached my naval.

Soon enough, he had come to my lower regions, and I flinched as I remembered how much it had hurt before.

He undid my clothing there, and removed it, stroking lightly with a finger and lifting his finger for me to see the slickness of my hidden place gleaming in the light of the room.

"You are already quite thoroughly prepared," he chuckled. "Just look how wet you already are for me," he said. "A little more, though," he said, thoughtful, and I cried out in surprise when his mouth and fingers were on me.

The lewd sounds that came from what he was doing, combined with the airy cries my body released all on its own...

"How is it?" He murmured against me, the vibrations oozing through to my belly. "You like my tongue working in your p***y? Working your c**t? Kissing your cunt?" He hmm'ed out against me, digging his face back in to feast, and I nearly came off the bed.

I felt my body heating rapidly, building toward something that I didn't understand.

"Am-am I alright?" I asked, panicked. "I-I feel tight, I feel like something is almost tickling me with a pang-"

"Shh," he whispered against me, putting himself back to work immediately, and finally, I gasped, thrashing as I fell over something.

All of that gathered tightness exploded, and I felt fluid gush around his fingers as he continued thrusting them in and out like a piston inside of me.

I cried out as he kept going, coaxing out more shots and streams of fluid and my cheeks flushed at my cries.

"Give me that come, f**k," he groaned against me.

I felt like I had just broken or something, but it felt so good. It was hot, it trembled and pulsed, gushing...

He slurped and sucked, making me want to crawl off of the bed almost, but he finally finished, lifting a hand and wiping his mouth and lower face.