The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

40~ SELF-PUNISHMENT

"What are you doing here, woman? Do you want to relapse and get stuck on the bed again?" asked the familiar voice coming from behind my back. 

Even without turning around, I could already tell who it belonged to. Although the words sounded rough, the intention was benign. This was only his signature talking style, and I'd grown used to it by now. "It's good to see you, too, Gerold." I turned on my heels and greeted the owner of the voice with a smile. 

"I don't recall saying I feel good to see you." He folded his arms across his broad chest, hiding the skin exposed from under the sweat-soaked white tunic. That was when my eyes caught sight of the cider vest in his hand. It was splattered with blood. 

"Is that blood?" I widened my eyes in shock. "Are you okay?" 

"Oh, this? It isn't mine." He followed my gaze and shrugged. When I was about to ask him whose it belonged to, he cut me off. "Don't worry. Even if we're injured, we'll heal in no time. We're werewolves. We're not as fragile as you, ordinary woman." 

"Ordinary woman?" My brows furrowed at his words. "Instead of calling me by my name, you come up with a new nickname instead. I can't believe this."

"Well, the name suits you, though. It took you a month to get out of bed with that wound. If it were us, one day was enough. Let's just state the facts here. We are supernatural beings, while you are ordinary. It's obvious, isn't it?" 

I suppressed the urge to groan. After all, this wasn't the first time. Gerold found his amusement in teasing me every time we met. This also happened when he and Mez visited me at the castle. He wouldn't stop until Mez glared at him. Or until Valdemir cleared his throat. I thought I grew accustomed to it. Still, I couldn't help it sometimes.  

"When are you going to call me by my name? It's been two months since we've known each other." I shook my head.  

"I told you, didn't I? I'll do that when I feel like I want to." He smirked. 

"I can't believe you." I sighed. 

"Um… I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of place. But can we go to lunch camp now? I'd like to get Miss to sit down. It's not good for her to stand too long when she's already walked this far," said Lumina. 

"Right. I almost forgot. Come. Mez would be glad to see you." Gerold led the way, to which Lumina and I followed suit. 

Inside the lunch camp, the three of us headed toward the table at the corner. It was a less crowded area than others. Mez had her back turned to us, so I thought I'd give her a tickle on the waist. But my plan was ruined when she turned around suddenly. 

"Lae?" Her eyes widened open in surprise when she spotted me from ten steps away. 

"Hi." I waved her hello. 

She dropped the spoon and headed to meet us halfway. "Why are you here? Are you sure you're well enough to walk this far? Come. Hurry and sit down." She took my other hand and guided me to the table. "Have you had lunch yet?" 

"Not yet. I just arrived. It took me longer than usual to reach here. I had to walk like a sloth to not upset someone." I joked as my eyes moved to Lumina, who was standing next to me. 

"I was worried about you, Miss," said Lumina. 

"If you're worried about this woman, you should've kept her locked in the room," said Gerold as he stood next to Mez with his arm circling her waist from behind. 

"I couldn't do that, Sir Gerold. I tried to reason with her, but Miss is so stubborn. She only gave me two options. Either I come here with her, or she will sneak out. I had no choice but to choose the former." 

"Women are not only stubborn but also annoying. That I know. But this woman is off the chart," Gerold shook his head. 

Mez shook his hand off her waist and turned to glare at her boyfriend. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that women are annoying?" 

Gerold's jaws dropped open under his girlfriend's fierce gaze. "You're not, my dear." 

"Are you saying I am not a woman? What am I then?" 

"You're a woman. B-but… you're not like them. You're special." 

I held laughter when I saw Gerold stutter. How could the invincible Beta who wasn't afraid of an Alpha or his king, yet succumb under his girlfriend's glower? This was a sight worth seeing. 

"How special? List them," said Mez. 

"W-well, you're strong, independent, reasonable, and unique. In short," he took her hand and brought it to his lips. "You're the only woman in my heart." He kissed Mez's hand while keeping his eyes locked on hers. 

Lumina giggled as she lowered her head to hide her reddened face. As for me, I almost forgot to breathe. Gerold's action left me google-eyed, for I was wondering if the last sentence was really coming out from his lips. I hoped a ghost of love didn't possess him. It'd never occur to me that he could come up with a cheesy line like this. Goosebumps crawled over every inch of my skin whenever I thought about that. 

"Again, with this line." Mez rolled her eyes. "I'll forgive you this time."

"Thank you, my love." Gerold smiled and let go of her hand. 

"Lumina, why don't you fetch Lae and yourself some lunch? It's right over there. Gerold will show you the way." Mez turned to Lumina. 

"Yes, Miss." She curtsied and followed Gerold to where the food was. 

Mez sat down next to me when the two walked away. "How are you doing?" She asked. 

"As you can see, I'm alive and kicking." I smiled. "You haven't visited me for ten days, so I decided to come here and see how you were doing." 

"I'm sorry, Lae. We were busy with the training and bringing back the order. The situation from last time brought chaos around here. These youngsters gave us headaches every day." She shook her head and massaged her temples. 

"I'm sorry. All of this was because of me." I lowered my eyes to the table. 

"Hey, don't blame yourself." Mez held my hand. "This has nothing to do with you. It was all those girls' fault. It should be me who should apologize. My race did such a disgraceful thing to you. I'm so ashamed that they were part of Ascian." 

"I'd be lying if I say that I don't hate them for trying to kill me. Still, they were just trying to protect Ascian as well. I mean, I'm the first outsider Ascian has taken it. It's typical for them to get rid of me. They don't feel secure having me in their territory. Come to think about it, it was my race who drove all of you to this corner." I thought back to what Valdemir had told me on the first night we met. Humans were the ones who forced these werewolves to flee into this forest and hide their existence from the world. 

"Yes, it was humans. Still, that wasn't you. Not all humans are evil, and not all werewolves are good. This time, our race was the instigator. This proved we mustn't judge someone based on stereotypes." 

"Thanks, Mez." I smiled at her, to which she smiled back.

"I'm glad that the council members and King Valdemir banished them from the kingdom. I don't even want to breathe the same air as them again. Besides, if we kept them locked up in the dungeon, it'd be just a waste of our food." 

Now that she spoke of the dungeon, I took advantage of this opportunity and got down to the topic. It was what I was here for, after all. 

"Oh, the dungeon, huh? That reminded me… how is Edward?" I asked, trying not to sound too hasty. 

"Well, like usual. That guy is the definition of obstinate. He received fifty whippings every morning and another fifty at night. He even told the guards to splash saltwater on him. As if that wasn't enough, he also chained himself to the wall and knelt. The only time he spared himself was a bathroom break and a quick meal." Mez sighed. 

I knew I was the one who granted his request. Still, it pained my heart to hear about the details. That night, after Dila and Lumina changed the bedsheet, Edward tucked me into bed and knelt. When I asked what he was doing, he said he needed to ask my permission for something and that he wouldn't get up if I didn't grant it. I could still remember those words as clear as day. The word that shook my heart to the core. 

I knew you said that you'd forgiven me. But I still couldn't forgive myself unless I did something to atone for my mistake. Please allow me one month. After that, I'd put the past behind me and devote myself to the duty, said Edward. 

I thought he wanted to take some time off to clear his head. But what he said next left me nonplussed. 

I needed to inflict the same pain you'd suffer on my body. Your wound took one month to recuperate, so until that time, I'd be in the dungeon and punished myself. This was the only way I could forgive myself. So, please allow me this request, he said. 

"He said he'd only do this self-punishment for a month. Today is the last day, so he should be out, right?" I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat. 

"I think so. He should be out tonight." Mez nodded. 

"What's with the long faces?" asked Gerold as he returned, carrying two trays of food. He put one down in front of me before walking past me and settling down next to Mez. 

"Nothing. Let's eat. It'll be time to get back to training soon," said Mez, picking up the spoon and digging into the soup that must have already gone cold. 

*******

After lunch, Lumina and I headed back to the castle. I tried to find Thomas and Isleen to say hello, but they weren't in the training camp. Mez said that Thomas was still under therapy, so he was kept away from the others. Isleen was with him. It seemed the accident was still taking a toll on him. I wanted to go and talk to Thomas, saying that everything was alright and that I didn't blame him for it. Still, Valdemir said it wasn't the best time to let me meet him yet. 

How I wished he could come out soon so that I could say all those words to him. The thoughts made me sigh. 

"Why are you sighing, Miss? Are you tired? Do you want to rest? We can sit down over there?" said Lumina, pointing to the rock on the side of the path. 

"No, it's okay." I shook my head. "I'm not tired. I can still walk."  

We were only halfway to the castle when an unexpected presence showed up, walking in the opposite direction. His red, high ponytail fluttered along with the wind, contradicting the dark attire he donned. 

"You just recovered. Why did you push yourself? You really are an expert at making people worried." His deep voice was full of concern. "Lumina, why did you let her out? I told you to take good care of her, didn't I?" 

"I-I'm s-sorry, your majesty." Lumina knelt. Her body was shaking like a fledgling. 

"Don't blame her. It was me. I forced her to accompany me to the training camp. I miss Mez, so I wanted to pay her a visit," I said, watching his dashing figure approach. 

"If you want to meet Mez, just tell Dila or Lumina to come and get her. Why go out all the way here?" He came to a stop in front of me. 

"Because I don't want to disrupt her work, making her going there back and forth. She's busy, unlike me, who has nothing to do. Besides, I also want to get some fresh air." 

"Good. I'll give you all the fresh air you want," he said. Then, before I could ask what he meant by that, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me in a princess style. 

I gasped in shock, wondering what he was planning to do. "Hey, what are you doing? Put me down." 

"If you don't know how to cherish yourself, then let me do it," said Valdemir.  

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©️StellaKMary | The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

A/N: I'd like to ask for your opinion about something. Do you think I should start putting this story on Pay-to-Read in the next two weeks or wait until completion?