Love Before Blood

Chapter 9

We went straight to the room we were staying in, and surprisingly there were no maids around to undress us. There was a purple sheer, silk nightgown hanging in the closet when I went into my side of the room.

I started blushing immediately, after I put it on. The nightgown barely went all the way to my knees. The front of the nightgown dipped down to my belly button, basically showing half of my boobs. Now that I’m looking at myself, I just realized my boobs didn’t look that bad. I think it might be a B-cup. The back of the night gown...well, there basically was no back, at least until the skirt of the gown. And it had spaghetti straps. It’s so...revealing.

I looked in the mirror on the side of the closet, and I looked basically naked. The idea of this nightgown was supposed to make me look and feel sexy, and I don’t feel like any of that. My dull, grey eyes made me look sad. My thin waist made me look like I was starving, and my small arms and legs just made me look even more so.

I don’t know what it was he saw earlier, but he’s not going to look at me the same way he saw me in the other dresses.

Three loud knocks sounded on the door. I looked around to find something to cover my revealing nightgown and saw a sheer black robe laying on the bed. “C-come in,” I said after I put it on.

Azriel came in wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. “Are you okay?” he asked,” You were taking a long time.”

“I-I’m fine,” I said,” I just didn’t feel ready to show what I was wearing.”

“You’re wearing the nightgown the maids left for you?” he asked in shock.

I nodded my head in embarrassment. “There wasn’t anything else other than this robe. Um...will we have to...y’know?”

“What?” he said,” Consummating the marriage?”

I think I saw a little red under the mask. I nodded my head again and looked down at my feet. “We don’t have to tonight. We can consummate the marriage another time.”

“But, I thought-”

“Look,” he said sternly, cutting me off,” if you're worried about breaking our customs and traditions, well, don’t be.” I gave him a confused expression. He sighed When my parents were married, they didn’t consummate the marriage until a few weeks later. As long as we consummate the marriage within that time, everything will be fine. They didn’t know each other that well and had s*x after they got to know each other better.”

I let out a sigh of relief. There was no way I was ready for any...sex. “So what are we going to do?”

“Well, we will still sleep in the same bed, but I won’t touch you or do anything that would make you feel...violated.” I heard the hesitation in his voice.  “I’m not good with romance...”

“I know, but remember I’m not either.” He looks at me with an unreadable expression. “I mean, I’ve read many romance stories but it doesn’t mean any romance.”

“Well, on the contrary, I’ve read mostly books about war strategies, ethics, and politics.” I made a shocked face because I tried reading those books at one point, and that is one of the most boring materials I’ve ever read, but they do teach actual life lessons at the end of each chapter. 

“I admit they were pretty boring, but I wouldn’t be able to gain victories from the battlefield and build empathy for my soldiers if it weren’t for those books.”

I smiled and said,” In one of the stories I’ve read, the couple would exchange thoughts to each other. They did this every day until they realized how much they truly love each other.”

“Do you want to do that, Avalon?” he said with amusement in his eyes.

“I do,” I said while blushing. I then returned his look of amusement,” Would you be interested, Azriel?”

“Very well,” he said,” I’m thinking that the war is finally over, and I won’t have to end another person’s life by my hands. I’m thinking about how you just smiled in front of me and how much your smile will grow with each passing day. And I’m thinking how beautiful you looked in the dresses you wore tonight and how you will look in all the other dresses.”

I didn’t know what to say. Too many thoughts were going through my head at one time. I took a deep breath and said, “Well I’m thinking about how I don’t have to worry about my mother getting hurt anymore. I’m thinking about how much I enjoyed flying for the very first time in your arms and how they were so warm when wrapped around my thin body. I’m thinking how I don’t have to be afraid of you after getting to know you for a little bit. And I’m thinking about the beautiful eyes and skin that peeked behind your mask, and when I took off your mask, I couldn't stop thinking about how you look without the mask. And I’m thinking how gentle your scarred hands would graze my hands as we were dancing in the ballroom.”

He smiled at me and said,” You gave five, and I gave three.  Does this mean I owe you a few more thoughts the next time we do this?”

“Yes,” I chuckled and smiled once more.

Bryce’s POV

Before we took off, I made sure that Avalon’s mother was left in very capable hands and to make sure she was well cared for. It took me a long time to find the perfect candidate to do the job. I wasn’t able to attend the wedding ceremony here because I had to bring my things over to the dragon before they took off without me. 

The flight to the Land of Drakes was awful. When we took off, I nearly fell off the saddle of the huge, black dragon. Good thing Cassian was riding with me and caught me. I had this feeling that the dragon did not like me very much. The dragon would fly at varying speeds. I’m pretty sure that it smirked at me and made itself a little more unsteady while flying. In the meantime, I may have accidentally eaten a few bugs in the air. When we landed, the first thing I did was throw up, mostly because the bugs were not sitting well with me.

I didn’t get to go to the wedding ceremony at the cathedral in the town. Instead, Cassian showed me around the palace to make sure that I don’t get lost while I’m here. It was like a maze, and I swear every corner of it had dragons in the air and on the ground. If anyone tried to invade this palace they would not have gotten through easily.

Cassian told me that the dragons down in the maze are very stealthy and the black dragon I rode on is actually their leader, or their Alpha. He also told me that all the dragonfolk can shift between and dragon form, but the royal family are the only people with special powers. Their powers are mostly genetic, and Queen Dia’s family is known to have one of the most powerful but still second to the royal blood. The three sons are part of the most powerful generation in their history. No wonder they were able to win countless battles on the field. I’m going to have to constantly remind myself not to get on their bad side.

Out of the three sons they have, Prince Azriel is Dia’s favorite but he mostly keeps to himself. The oldest, Prince Peri, is King Storm’s favorite, but he is mostly a d**k when it comes to politics. Prince Grey, well, they didn’t really pay attention to him much, but he follows Prince Peri around like a dog, trying to curry favor with their father. A lot of people in the castle say that he has a shade to him, like he’s purposefully trying to hide something from the world. I guess I know who to keep Avalon away from.

By the time we were done with the tour of the palace, we went straight to the ballroom. The ballroom was decorated with little tiny crystals sticking out of the walls and there was no ceiling.  If there were to be an ambush, everyone in this room would surely die.

All of a sudden, the lights dimmed and two bright lights streaked across the sky. One purple and one blue. They were in the shape of the Eastern dragons. When they landed in the room, Avalon and Azriel magically appeared. And the music started up and they danced for a while. 

While they were dancing, I couldn’t take my eyes off of Avalon. She was a natural. Her movements were very fluid and there was no sign of hesitation anywhere. When her blood was claimed as royal and she was drowning in different types of lessons, I would sometimes sneak a peek while I was on patrol. And the way she danced was beautiful. 

“How much combat experience does Princess Avalon have?” Cassian suddenly asked me. I forgot that he was actually standing right next to me.

“Not much,” I replied,” just enough to defend herself.”

“Good,” he said,” if it’s alright with you, I would like to Avalon some more combat moves. You are more than welcome to join us, if you’d like.”

“Why are you interested in training her?” I asked curiously.

I saw Cassian hesitate at my question. “Unlike the human royal family, the Drakes believe that the females should at least learn how to defend themselves if their guards are away.”

“I see. I would very much like to join.” He nodded and gave me a small smile.

Avalon and Azriel came over to talk to us for a bit. Now that I see her up close, she is even more beautiful. I mean I knew she was beautiful, even as a lowly maid, but I didn’t expect this. Right now, she looked like a goddess.

When the ball was over, Cassian led me to my room and said,” We will start training in a few days. Until then, you should take Princess Avalon on the tour.”

“Won’t Prince Azriel be around to do that with her?”

Cassian sighed at the thought and said,” Unfortunately, he won’t be able to, no matter how much he wants to. There is going to be a huge conference tomorrow and they are going to discuss the recovery from the war and send condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the war. Prince Azriel always delivers his condolences.”

“I thought you guys didn’t suffer any casualties in the war?” I asked carefully.

“In a war, Bryce, it doesn’t matter how strong or weak each side is. Both sides will always lose lives on that field.”

“I will remember that, sir,” I said and went straight to bed.