CHAPTER SIX
1339 Words
“Oh look, His majesty’s here”. Nerissa said quietly.
Aria lowered her gaze at once; he had undoubtedly heard them coming, and she didn’t want him to look at them and find her so flustered. She subdued the urge to groan quietly, or to turn around and run off; that would only confirm his suspicions that she was still a child. Plus, what would be her excuse for running?
She cleared her throat quietly before once again running her hands down her dress to smoothen the nonexistent creases. She was suddenly glad Nerissa had taken off her muddy cloak; she could only imagine what he would think of her if he had seen her with it.
“Come, let’s greet him”. Nerissa said to her.
She let her lead her to the graceful fountain where an even more graceful man stood. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and her palms became sweaty, but she tried to appear calm. The fact that she had told Nerissa how she felt about him made the situation even more difficult; it was as though everyone knew about her foolish attractions.
“Your Majesty”. Nerissa greeted him first, she dipped into a graceful curtsey while Aria lowered her head in a bow.
Her shoes suddenly seemed so intriguing, and her gaze remained fixed on them. She was certain her face was all flushed, so looking up wasn’t an option. Nonetheless, she could feel his eyes on her; she could tell he was watching her, and it made her….breathless.
“Nerissa, Aria”. He responded.
“We didn’t know you were here, Your majesty, we would have been more quiet”. Nerissa said.
More quiet? Aria wouldn’t even have come here if she had known.
“It’s no bother at all”. He said simply. “I didn’t think you’d come here either, isn’t the Princess supposed to be resting?”.
The mention of her caused her gaze to flicker to his briefly, and her heart once again fell to the pit of her stomach as she confirmed that he was indeed watching her.
“Indeed, she should be, but a nightmare roused her from her slumber”. Nerissa supplied.
“We decided to come here since plucking berries always makes her feel better”.
The fact that Nerissa felt it was alright to tell him most things about her made her feel even more of a child; they both spoke of her as though she couldn’t care for herself.
“I see”. Alder said.
“I’ll just clean up her cloak quickly, and we’ll leave once it’s dry, so she can get some more rest”. Nerissa told him.
“But I don’t want to leave”. Aria grumbled quietly, just loud enough for Nerissa to hear.
He seemed to have heard though because he simply shook his head.
“I’ll walk with the Princess while you clean her cloak”. He said to Nerissa.
And though Aria’s eyes widened alarmingly, Nerissa smiled and nodded.
“As you wish, Your majesty”. She said.
“We’ll return soon”. He told her, then to Aria he said “Walk with me”.
She dragged in a shuddering breath before bringing herself to nod.
“Yes, Your majesty”. She replied quietly.
She turned around and began walking as he gestured onwards, and it wasn’t long before he was walking beside her; his presence beside her made her even more unsettled.
“You had a nightmare”. He spoke once Nerissa was out of earshot. “Do you wish to talk about it?”.
She shook her head immediately; there was no way she was telling him about her silly nightmare.
“I’d…I’d rather not”. She replied.
“Are you sure?”.
“Yes, Master”.
“You’re unsettled”. He pointed out, “And flustered”.
Her gaze darted around uneasily as she thought of what to say to him. What excuse could she possibly have to give?
“I…I’m alright”. She said quietly.
She obviously couldn’t tell him that she was this flustered and unsettled because of him; that would be unheard of. The breeze blew softly and the soothing fragrance of frankincense coming from him mixed with the softer one of roses coming from her, she breathed in deeply, hoping she’d be a bit calmer.
“But I find that hard to believe, Aria”. He said.
She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to reply, so she didn’t.
A moment of silence stretched between them, and when he realized she wasn’t going to say anything, he spoke again.
“Are you excited about your birthday?”. He asked her.
She should have been excited, but lately, nothing excited her anymore. Her eighteenth birthday was in exactly a week’s time, and it was going to be celebrated grandly; the whole kingdom as well as royals and dignitaries from other kingdoms would be in attendance.
Apparently, she was coming of age. She wasn't sure for what exactly.
"I am, Your majesty". She lied.
"Understandably so". He said. "Though you sound anything but excited".
Her eyes widened slightly. She truly couldn't hide anything from him, could she?
He saved her the pain of having to offer an excuse or explanation by speaking again.
"What would you want as a gift from me?". He asked her.
It was something he did every year, and though she always got excited in the previous years, she found she was rather ...numb this time around.
"I have nothing in mind". She replied.
Or perhaps she did.....
But what she wanted, he'd never give. She couldn't even dare ask that he considered her a woman and not the child he'd trained for years.
He nodded consideringly.
"You'd rather have me decide what to gift you?". He asked her.
She in turn nodded.
"Very well then". He said simply.
He stopped walking, and it was only then that Aria realized they were now standing underneath an apple tree; she hadn't been mindful of her surroundings throughout their walk. The apples were indeed ripe as Nerissa had said, and they were indeed high and out of reach.
However, he crouched down and picked up a gravel. She watched as his long fingers toyed with it as he straightened up once more, and before she could ask what he intended to do with it, he flicked it at a dangling apple.
Her eyes widened in awe as the fruit came falling down, and for some reason her heart stilled as he moved swiftly and caught it. Perhaps it was how graceful he was, or how effortless he made the entirety of what he did seem. Or perhaps it was because he walked back to her while watching her with those dark eyes which seemed to see her very soul.
“You wanted apples”. He said to her.
He had heard her asking Nerissa about the apples earlier…..
An intense heat once again flooded her cheeks and she lowered her head to hide her blush.
It was such things he did that made her this way; that made her unable to sort out her feelings, that made her helpless.
And for a moment they just stood there, she could feel his gaze on her; it made her want to melt so very slowly, it made breathing seem so difficult. Her fingers began fiddling with themselves uneasily and her heart began pounding quickly against her chest. She was sure if this went on she would end up swooning and making an utter fool out of herself.
“Come, let’s head back to the fountain, so we can wash the wax off it”. He said at last.
And she nodded immediately. She couldn't just stand there and do nothing any longer, it was almost torturous.
- Writer
