Disguised for Love

Part 12

The smell of the foods made her eyes widen as she sits down properly while Draco takes the chair opposite her.

They had finished eating their lunch, and the foods that he had cooked are delicious. Faye never even imagines that he can cook, let alone this good. He surprised her that, with his built, the first thing that comes to mind is that he is a guard or a warrior and will wait for someone else to do the cooking, not him in the kitchen.

"Draco, where did you learn how to cook?"

"I learned it when I always come here as no one will cook for me."

He answered her while sitting down on the couch.

She then went to the window at the back of it to look outside.

"This is a nice place, is there any log cabin nearby?" she asked while turning to look at him.

"No, my place is secluded. You see the mountain?" Draco turned his back to look at her, and then she turned around to look at it and nods.

"On the other side of it are the log cabins of the nobles in Pantheocelesian. Even that of the King is there. We can go there tomorrow afternoon." he told her while she left where she stood and walked towards him.

" You mean we will be staying here tonight?' she clarified.

"Yes, we will stay here for two nights, and then we will go back early in the morning."

"But I didn't bring clothes with me."

She sniffed herself and then pouted at him.

He laughed at her reaction while standing up and meeting her halfway.

"Don't worry; did you see the cabinet inside the room? There are clothes for you and me."

Then he hugged her and sniffed on her hair, "Ah! You smell good," and then on her neck while whispering, "You just want me to compliment you of your fragrance."

She bites him gently on his torso. He jerked, which loosened her hold on him. As she saw how he looked at her, like a fox eyeing its next meal, made her runs to get away from him.

Before she can enter the room and closed the door on him, he caught her on her waist, which made her shout in surprise. She then feels him gently biting on her neck. The sound of sucking echoes inside the room, and it made her ticklish enough that she squirms on his arms.

"Draco, stop it. I'm ticklish," she protested but still laughing.

She slapped his hands on her wrist gently when he didn't stop, but instead of doing what she asked, he carries her on the bed and gently puts her down, and then he too lay beside her. He holds her hands while staring at the ceiling. They remain that way until they had regained their composure.

Faye turned to her side with her head supported by her palm; she looked at Draco, whose eyes are now closed.

He looks tired, and so she decided to leave him to rest. She got up, went to the nearby cabinet, opened it, and found only men's clothes.

She opened another cupboard and saw women's clothes. She touched the green one made of silk.

Unbeknownst to Faye, when she left the bed, Atticus also opened his eyes and followed her progress. His thoughts were on how to tell her that he wanted to bring her to the Fusion Hill. He is sure once he mentions it, she will start talking about another male deity. Their relationship's rapid progress pushed him to make the decision. Even aware that his action will have undesirable consequences. He is afraid that she will be in an unusual condition before she finished her time being a maidservant.

He can almost imagine the horrified look of her parents, and that made him chuckle.

Faye heard Draco laugh and then turned around and saw him staring at her with a smile on his face.

"I thought you were sleeping, "she crossed the distance between them and sat down on the foot of the bed.

"Your opening the cabinets awaken me," Draco complained while getting up to sit down. " Now, I have a headache; you have to compensate me for disturbing my sleep."

She immediately stands, walked towards him to be closer.

"I am sorry," She said while reaching out her hands to massage his forehead, but then she heard a knock from the front door.

Draco immediately stands up from the bed, leaving her looking at his back as he walked towards the room's door.

She heard him calling the name of the other guard, Guilder, and then the door closed. She can only hear the rumbling sound as they talked, as she doesn't want to be seen by anyone being here alone with Draco. She lay down on the bed and wait for him.

Suddenly he was there in front of her again.

"Faye, I hate to cut short our trip. I need to go back to Diamond Palace."

"It is alright," she abruptly gets up from the bed. Relief that she will not be staying here alone with Draco for days.

She shivers as she imagines what will happen in the two days that they will be here. Then she remembers, she still needs something in the market.

"Once we are in the city, leave me in the market."

Draco's reaction to what she had said almost made her regret telling him so.

"Alone?" he looked into her eyes, and when she nods, he speaks out his opinion, "you know I don't like it when you go alone there. Just tell me what you need, and I will get it for you."

Faye looked down, and in an almost whispery voice, she said, "but I am going to buy some personal things I need."

He raised her chin, smiled, and then suggested again, "Just wrote what they are, and I will bring it for you. I will leave you in the Blue Lake Woods. The cherries are waiting for you to cleanse of its fruits," he teased.

Blue Lake Woods

Atticus did not bring her in the gazebo but inside a room full of windows adorned by swags overlying the drapes in white color, and the middle of the room is a bed. Faye then heard the water as it drops in a pool, and that made her went to the window to take a look outside, and there she saw the waterfall. The room is around ten cubics away from the pool's edge, in front of the cherries she and Chubb eat before.

"Draco, last time I didn't notice this place, is this new build?"

"No, it has been around for a while but only concealed. I was here when you and Chubb ate the cherries.

She suddenly felt hot when she recalled that day. She made her skirt into a container of the cherries, and then she and her pet finished it all under its tree.

He laughed at her reaction.

She pointed her fingers on his chest and complained, "I wonder why you always witness my predicaments."

Looking innocent, he spread his arms and said, "I don't know," and then he steps backward and laughs.

Looking petulant, she turned her back on him, which made Draco walked to her side and hugged her, "I'm sorry, I laughed at you. Don't fret about those situations that made you so adorable," he turned her to face him, "no one had made me happier than you when I see you do those things."

Still sullen, she looked at him, "still, it made me uncomfortable for you to see me lacking in grace."

He touched her face, "know this, Faye, I love everything in you, so don't worry if you are clumsy in front of me. You can be what you are, Okay?"

She nodded and then extricated herself from his embrace, turned her back on him, and then grasps the sill of the window. She thinks of what he just said; he loves everything in her. His words caused a ruckus on her mind.

"Does it mean that he loves her like couples do or just as close friends? The way he behaved lately seems like every lover did. What about her? Is it love also she feels towards him or only fascination?"

Faye shook her head while muttering, " She is only fascinated with him; it cannot be love."

The sound of the opening of the door surprised her, so engrossed on her thinking she forgot, she is not alone. Biting her lips, she turned around to see that she is alone. It was then she sighs in relief, but then she saw where Draco.

"These clothes are for you,"

She walked to where he is and then saw the cabinet is full of women's clothes; with surprise in her voice, she speak, "Oh! how come you know it will fit me?" touching the pink one.

"I always hugged you, so I do know," he winked at her.

Embarrassed, she turned her back on him and before asking, "Will no one be angry with you if I stay here?"

"Don't worry, this is my room here, and besides, no one visits this place nowadays. It will only be you and I who will know your presence here," Draco told her while turning her around to face him.

Faye suddenly feels shy to look at him; hence she doesn't look at him but at the wall at his back.

" I don't want to cause trouble for you. I can stay in the guest house on this duration of my day off."

"Your presence here will not cause a problem; besides, I want to know you are waiting here for me. "

What had Draco told her immediately alarmed her, "What does he mean by saying those words?" then it dawned on her Draco's is cooking something or..."Oh no, is she having an auditory hallucination that made her assumed he has feelings towards her more than that of a friend?"

"Hey," Faye heard Draco's said and then felt him lift her chin, and so she looked at him with wide eyes.

"What with that expression?"

"Oh, I remember Chubb. I have not seen him lately. Did you see him here?" She said while looking around to avoid his gaze.

"I am sure your pet is around here, playing," Draco told her while he cupped her face and looked in her eyes. "I need to go now, and I will be back shortly," She looked at him and then smiled. When she noticed him looking at her lips, she immediately pushed him.

A chuckle was all she heard from him as she walked away from him. When she could not hear his laughter, she stopped walking and then turned, only to see him gone already.

She walked back again to the cabinet, closed it, and then went back to bed.

Serenade Palace

Prince Atticus entered his library and saw his younger brother sitting on the couch and drinking. When Prince Celsius noticed him, he put the cup to its saucer, stands up, and then smiled at him.

"Well, well, grandfather has been asking for you. He has urgent things to tell you."

Atticus, who is already at his table, opened a drawer and took out an empty scroll to write something, and then he looks at his brother, whose face broadens with a smile.

"What is that smile for again?"

"I am just happy to see you behave like a normal Pantheocelesian deity, looks distracted, in a hurry, and what...in love?" he laughed.

Atticus looks at his brother and then said, "I am in a rush. If you want to talk to me, do it tomorrow or wait for me here, I have to go to see grandfather," he told his brother and then disappeared, leaving Prince Celsius with mouth gaping open for the suddenness of everything.

The King sat high upon his golden chair, drinking his afternoon tea, and when he saw Prince Atticus enters the room, he signals those in the place to leave, except for the head of his servants whose position is always at his right hand and three steps lower to where his throne is.

The King's view Crown Prince Atticus as an obedient grandson and subject because not once did he disappoint him in anything that he asked, and in return, he also let him do the things that can make him happy.

Unbeknown to the Crown Prince, the King already knows about the female deity he is seeing. He keeps mum on it because of the real situation's unsureness. Though when it comes to the Princess of Camdenland, there is no compromise unless they get married, but he cannot also decline his grandson's needs.

Crown Prince Atticus bowed to the King, and the latter accepted his curtsy and then ordered the one on his right to give the scroll to him.

Crown Prince Atticus accepted it and then read it in front of the King.

"That is the message of the keeper of Sarcadean Mountain. You need to check and repair the crack that they had seen," the King told him after he finished reading. " I command you to go at once before it becomes a disaster."

"Yes, grandfather, I will do as commanded." he curtsied and was retreating to go out when he heard his grandfather talked, which made him stop.

"Your betrothed is coming here a week before your millennium birthday celebration. I hope that you can spend time with the Princess, especially that it is her first time to visit."

"Yes, grandfather," he answered while he continued to pull back from his grandfather's presence. Once he is at the door, he disappears with the mist, directly to his library. It was then he saw his brother, spooning a slice of cake and then put it in his mouth.

"So, he waited for him."

While looking at his brother's eating habit, he shakes his head while thinking, " His brother still did not outgrow his love of sweet foods, and he concluded that he would never be in the way he ate it with gusto.

Before he can disturb his pleasure in eating the sweet delicacies, he turned to the door and went out in a mist. Once out of his library, he called Guilder. It is to tell him to bring sweets and drinks to the Blue Lake Woods and caution him that Faye should not see him.

When Guilder left, it was only then he turned around to go inside. Taken aback as he bumped into his brother, who is beaming and with I know it all look.

"I thought eating your cake preoccupied your mind."

" I heard your voice when you order your guard to bring sweets to your darling as she might be hungry," Prince Celsius teased him, which made him looked at his younger brother with a scowl.

"Okay, I am not saying anything if you don't want to." Prince Celsius said while raising both hands as if surrendering and immediately change the topic by asking, "what did grandfather tell you as he was edgy earlier when he cannot find you immediately."

"He wanted me to go right away to Sarcadean Mountain to repair the crack that the keeper had seen," he answered while opening the door and walked inside.

"No wonder that grandfather looks so concerned."

"Yes, and then he talked about the Princess of Camdenland arriving a week before my birthday celebration," he continues as he walked directly to the opposite couch where his younger brother sat earlier.

Surprised about the news of the Princess, Prince Celsius grabbed the chair he vacated, "I cannot believe that finally the King let his precious daughter out and be seen by others. Do you think he has an idea that you are interested in another?"

"Not only you had begun to love gossip but also become suspicious. Grandfather sent him the invitation, not me. Naturally, he cannot refuse it."

"Hmm...Yes, you are right. But what will happen to the green-eyed witch? Will she not be jealous to hear that your other beloved will be here, and you will be spending time with each other?"

"She has no reason to."

"Oh! It is something that escapes me," Prince Celsius told him as if surprised by his answer.

"I am always with her, and she knows my love for her. So what is there for her to be jealous of?"

"So this is serious now, hmm...I never thought that there would be a day that you will say how you feel towards a female deity, especially if the woman is not the Princess of Camdenland." Prince Celsius chuckled, which made Atticus cast him a glance in wonder.

"I am just happy; finally, my elusive brother falls in love for real, "He told him, but then he retracts his wordings into, " not elusive anymore, but my brother in the throes of passion, " and then laughed aloud.

"So you are that happy? Anyway, I will not be here starting tonight, and as you are always curious about my love life, you better look after her when I'm not around." He told Celsius, who is still laughing as he stands up.

"Does she know already about your real identity?" Celsius asked him once he had stopped laughing.

"No."

"Oh! Before I forgot, Princess Isabela knows about your interest in another deity though she doesn't know yet for sure of who she is, with just one look at her, and it is enough for an answer. Do you have some orders for me to do?"

"Let them meet her. Sooner or later, they will know about her, but be careful that no one will hurt her. Maybe one of your women will be jealous too and do something."

"You are right, I don't mean anything, but when I saw her, I did grip the reed pen in my hand so that she will not be aware of my astonishment."

"As long as you know whom she belongs to, I am not jealous, and I trust you. So her safety while I am gone is in your hands. Also, she will stay in Blue Lakes Wood until I come back."

In a hurry to leave and go back to Faye to tell her that he will not be around for a while, he left his brother still sitting on the chair.