Seducing my King Master

THREE

The doors to the dining hall were opened for her and she made her way in as confidently as she could. Her heart had begun pounding heavily and her palms were getting sweaty as she approached the dining table; as she approached him. She kept her gaze down as she walked but she could tell he was looking at her, she could feel his gaze on her.

And when she finally got to her seat she lowered her head in a bow, all the while her breath faltered and her body trembled ever so slightly.

“Master”. She greeted him quietly.

The relationship between them had always been too complicated for Aria to understand; he was king of Aethia, and he was her master, but somehow, she was Princess of Aethia and they weren’t related by blood. She was aware that her father, Thane, had been king before him, but that wouldn’t make her the current Princess, would it?

She had never truly thought much about it, there had never been a need to, all she knew was that he was everything to her; he was her king, her master, and in a way, her family.

“Aria”. He responded.

And it was only then that she raised her head and let her gaze meet his. Like always, he looked flawless, she couldn’t understand how he hadn’t changed at all, she couldn’t understand how timeless he was; he was the exact same way she remembered him when she was so much younger, still as tall and majestic, still as imposing and regal, still as….unreal.

He gestured for her to sit and she did so gracefully. She felt the exhaustion set in once more but she continued to hold herself together.

“How are you today?”. He asked her.

For some reason, a shuddering breath left her.

“I…I am fine, thank you”. She replied quietly.

“Are you?”. He asked her.

And her gaze flickered back to his.

His striking grey eyes, it was almost as though they saw through your very soul.

“I…I’m a little weary”. She told him honestly.

The water had hit her hard yesterday; it had knocked her out momentarily. And she had spent all night awake, so her weariness was excusable.

“Have your breakfast and get some rest then”. He said to her.

She nodded slowly.

Was he not going to talk about what she had done yesterday? Was he not going to scold her? Her fingers began fiddling with the silky fabric of her dress and the quiet jingles of her bracelets drew his attention to her hands, causing her breath to hitch. She couldn’t help but notice that his gaze lingered on the pale white scar on her wrist; a scar she was somewhat insecure about.

She had had it for as long as she could remember, she couldn’t actually remember how she had gotten it, but it bothered her nonetheless; she wasn’t quite sure princesses were supposed to have scars.

She wrapped her fingers around her wrist blocking the scar from his view and it was only then that his gaze flickered back to hers.

“What….about training?”. She asked him quietly.

His gaze flickered to the food in front of him and he reached out and picked up a fork.

“They’re cancelled till you’re back to normal”. He told her.

Her eyes widened and she began shaking her head at once.

“No, why?”. She blurted before she could stop herself.

His gaze flickered back to hers and he arched his brow at her outburst.

She cleared her throat quietly before lowering her gaze.

“Forgive me, Master, I did not mean to sound rude”. She said quietly. After all, they were within the walls of the palace and he wasn't just her master but her king as well. She obviously couldn't go around behaving like that.

Perhaps that was the reason he couldn't see her as anything other than a child and his student......

She wasn’t always like this around him, she’d wanted to think she had been free with him, very free indeed, but things changed since the day she saw her first blood. She vividly recalled how uncomfortable she had been when she had first bled. That had been three years ago; Nerissa had been glad; apparently she was supposed to have bled sooner. She had received lectures on how to care for herself during those times, she had been told she was no longer a child, that she was all grown up.

Of course she knew her body wasn’t the same anymore, and it suddenly felt like the whole world was aware of that; she had been self-conscious during training that day and Alder had noticed.

‘Are you feeling alright?’. He had asked her.

She had nodded quickly while reminding herself that he didn’t know….no one knew, not unless she told them.

But then he had walked up to her while watching her closely.

‘Let me see your palms’. He had said to her.

And she had stretched out her hand for him to inspect. She wasn’t sure what exactly he was inspecting them for, but when he asked if she had scraped her knees it became clear to her……he could tell she was bleeding. He could probably smell the blood....he was called The Wolf for a reason.

Her eyes widened slightly and she began stuttering incoherently, and it was at that moment he probably realized that she wasn’t hurt as he had suspected. He had let go of her hands and had told her to return to her chambers.

‘We will carry on with our lessons when you’re alright’. Had been his words.

And it wasn’t only she who had changed that day; she realized he limited as much physical contact with her as he could, and it was probably the start of her chaotic attractions towards him.

“Do you understand that you could have been seriously hurt yesterday?”. His deep voice snapped her out of her reverie.

She blinked a couple of times as she dragged her thoughts back to the conversation they had been having.

“I…I wouldn’t have….”. She stuttered quietly. Her gaze flickered back to his and she could see that his eyes had narrowed ever so slightly. “You were with me….there’s no way I could have gotten hurt”.

He stared at her for a moment, his gaze being so intense that she began to fiddle with the fabric of her dress once more.

“I am training you to be able to protect yourself, Aria, not to hurt yourself”. He said at last. “What happened yesterday tells me that you’re unable to focus on what you’re doing, I cannot risk you hurting yourself again”.

She began shaking her head once more but he spoke before she could protest.

“You’re not to argue about this”. He told her, “Have your breakfast, go back and get as much rest as you need”.

She lowered her gaze as she felt her heart clench ever so slightly. He had been treating her like a child till now! She was old enough to think for herself….but he was right; she was weary at the moment. It was best she ate and returned to her chambers to get some rest.

Satisfied with her compliance, he returned to gaze to his food and they ate in silence.