Chapter 28
Soaked to the skin, we slipped back through the very same tunnel we had used to get out. There was no point in returning by any other path, because Lysande had quickly realized we were gone after he had knocked and walked into the empty room. And not just that.
He came up behind me, lowered his face beside mine, and said, "Princess, you left the door open."
If it had been anyone else, I would have sworn he was saying it with a laugh, but since it was Lys, I was certain he was mocking us.
Still, like the most graceful princess in the world, I slapped my palm against my forehead the moment he answered. Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at Welme, whose lips were also pulled into a very clear 'well, fuck' expression.
Well, fuck indeed.
It did not take a genius to know that from now on this boring, squeaky giant would be even more present on our backs.
Like a flea... in metal armor.
"I can't believe we left the door open," I said, nearly stomping my foot against the floor as we squeezed through the little open doorway. Welme only shook her head as she had nothing of value to add.
"Good night, Princess," the giant said monotonously, though there was some victorious note in his voice that only annoyed me more as he forced himself through the opening.
I had hoped he would get stuck there, but somehow, with some strange kind of grace, he managed to get through.
He straightened himself to his full height, adjusted the wet cloak behind him, and passed a hand through his damp hair.
At that movement, I felt my eyes widen, so I quickly turned my back to him.
I heard him pick up his helmet from somewhere and place it on his head, and with heavy steps echoing across the stone floor, he headed toward the door.
Welme went into her own room, probably to fetch towels, so for a few moments we were left alone.
He took hold of the handle, then turned and looked me in the eyes.
I could still see the fire burning there, and as he looked me over from head to toe, something in his expression seemed to brighten even more.
I lowered my gaze to where he had been looking and realized my entire body was outlined by the wet fabric.
The dress was thin and made of poor material, and he could see every detail of my body.
I bit my lip in shame and wrapped my arms around myself, while his gaze returned to my face.
"I hope Your Highness will be a good princess tonight."
My lips parted slightly at his words. I felt warmth spread through the lower part of my stomach, and lower…
Yet he only bowed, opened the door, and stepped outside. I heard him take up position in front of it, and then there was silence. And I, I stood there stunned, staring at the place where he had just been.
'Will you be a good princess tonight?' echoed through my head even while Welme came to me and began drying my hair and my body.
It echoed while I pulled on the thin nightgown that burned against my skin.
It echoed all through the night as I turned and twisted in bed, while my skin burned and pulsed in the hope that I would hear those words once more.
The next morning, as the sun began to rise over the horizon, we went out to the training grounds for Lys’s daily training. Meera was already sitting in her place, reading a book, and Corian, in all his scarred glory and wearing only trousers, was warming up with his sword.
They still had not noticed us arriving, but when we got close enough for me to see Meera properly, I realized she was not actually reading at all.
More accurately, she was peeking over the top of the book and every few seconds glancing at Corian as he warmed up.
She was so absorbed in her 'reading' that she did not even notice me standing three feet away from her.
She did not notice Lys either, who bowed and walked over to Corian.
"What book are you reading, sister?" I asked as I sat down beside her.
For a moment, she looked at me in shock, blushed, and then muttered, "Excellent, but sad."
I raised an eyebrow and pulled the cover of the book closer so I could see it better. My sister Meera was reading a dictionary.
I could not stop myself and threw myself backward, laughing so loudly that both Lys and Corian stopped their warm-up.
"Stop, shut up, you fool," Meera said, hitting my shoulder and pulling at me to sit up. Tears were running down my face and my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. I could not catch my breath and thought I might faint. "Stop," she pinched my arm.
My laughter was not stopped by the pain or her pleas, but by the sight before me. My chuckles slowly faded when I saw our Blood Knights, all muscle, sweat, and bare skin, leaning on their own swords with slightly confused expressions on their faces as they watched us.
"Is it funny now?" Meera asked me.
"Oh, dear heavens," I only muttered in return.
After they saw that we weren't going to say anything, they turned back to each other and resumed their usual training. Meera giggled softly beside me and went back to reading her sad little book while I sighed and flung myself onto my back again.
The grass pricked at my neck, and the first warm rays of the sun were already heating my face that had long since grown too hot. Metal began to clatter and squeal, and the grunts of the two giants kept interrupting the restlessness in my head.
The truth was that I had barely slept the entire night because of Lys, and when I finally did fall asleep, I spent the whole time dreaming of warm, wet lips against my neck, whispering the same thing over and over again.
Will you be a good princess?
At the mere thought of it, the skin on my arms prickled again and my cheeks grew even warmer, and the grunts coming from just a few feet away certainly did not help the situation.
“Oh, yes, Isolde, your father wants to see you this afternoon. It is about that ball for your birthday,” Meera said from behind her book.
I sat up again and pulled my dress a little, lowering my long stockings so I could feel the sun on my legs.
“Do you think he’ll marry me off then?” I asked her honestly, and she laughed in return.
“You?” she asked through her laughter. “You, to be given away to some man? Please, Isolde, he’d give away the entire kingdom before giving up his little princess.”
I pressed my lips together and lowered my head between my knees, watching the knights.
“Come on, darling, enjoy yourself that day. Dance with the lords and have fun, and there’s no need to worry about that. And honestly, marrying off a princess isn’t that simple. It won’t just happen because of one ball,” she said with a shrug.
In the brown of her eyes, I saw nothing but honesty. She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and tied it behind her before snapping her book shut.
“Come on, have breakfast with me and then we can...” Her words were cut off by a shout and then the sound of a body hitting the ground.
We both jumped to our feet and jerked our heads toward the source of the noise, and when we saw both knights thrown down into the sand, we ran toward them.
“Corian!” she cried, throwing herself beside her knight, who was lying on his back while clutching his side, while I quietly knelt beside Lys, who was already on his knees, holding his biceps.
Blood was running between both of their fingers, and their bloody swords lay in the sand.
“What happened?” Meera asked while pressing one hand over the other on the wound.
“Please, give us bandages,” I shouted toward the servants standing nearby.
Without thinking, I moved so I was fully in front of Lys and lifted his fingers so I could see the wound. It was deep, but luckily it hadn’t damaged any vein.
“We got a little carried away,” Lys said, looking down at his own injury. He shook his head and brushed the sand from his face before shaking out his wet hair. He tried to stand on his own, but I held out my hand and helped him to his feet.
“Don’t worry, princess, it isn’t that bad,” he said, but I cut him off.
“Don’t be an idiot, Lys, it could get infected.” At that moment, a servant handed me a piece of gauze before going over to Meera. I moved to Lys’s side and ordered him to move his arm away.
“It’s not that se— Fuck,” he hissed when I pressed the gauze down. “You really do have a gentle hand, Princess.”
“Shut up,” I bickered back.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meera slowly helping Corian to his feet while still keeping hold of his waist.
In her eyes I saw so much fear and concern, emotions I hadn’t even known she possessed in such abundance. Corian lowered his head, laughed, and said something softly to her ear that I couldn’t hear, and she shook her head.
I turned my attention back to Lys.
“Don’t worry, it was much worse before,” he said, sliding his fingers beneath mine and pressing the wound. “You’re really very worried about me,” he said in a voice that was almost teasing, and I snorted back.
“I’d set a record if you died, just so you know.”
“And you’d be so heartbroken,” he shot back while pulling on his shirt.
He managed to put on the uninjured arm, but stopped with the wounded one. “You’re going to the healer. Both of you,” I said, turning toward Corian as well, who was still speaking with Meera and not paying any attention to the blood soaking through the gauze.
“There’s no need,” Lys said, still trying to get his arm through.
“That’s an order, knight,” I said, stepping behind his back and spreading out the sleeve so he could slip his arm in.
“I’m fine,” he said again, but I ignored his weak protests.
I rolled my eyes, picked his sword up from the ground, and, while looking him straight in the eyes, dragged the bloody side of the blade across his shirt before handing it back to him.
“After you go to the healer and change into your armor, we’re going to the king. He called me in about the ball,” I informed him.
At the mention of the ball, Lysande’s face changed completely. That faint smirk he had been wearing all this time disappeared, and instead he ran a hand over his curly bangs before saying in a voice even colder than before, “As you command, Princess.”
Leaving Corian and Meera behind, with the hope that they would remember to go to the healer instead of talking, we walked in silence toward the castle.