CHAPTER 13
After a restless night filled with tossing and turning, I decided to take a bath in the morning.
Someone had placed a basket on the table next to the tub filled with small, colorful orbs that smelled wonderful.
Speckles of plants were strewn throughout them.
Choosing a pale pink orb, I drew it close to my nose and breathed in.
Rose! I climbed into the hot water, dipped the orb in, and began rubbing it along my skin.
It felt rough and wasn’t washing my skin as it should; instead, it was…
fizzing? A small ball of light flew down from the lantern above me and took the orb out of my hand, which had to be triple its size.
The ball of light then dropped the orb into the water, sending tiny droplets splashing up.
It erupted into bubbles that filled the room with the smell of freshly picked roses.
The colorful ball had completely disappeared, and a layer of bubbles lay on the water, covering me.
I nestled my head back against the porcelain tub wall and closed my eyes.
“Right, Avyn, enough lollygagging. Get out of the tub and get dressed. We have a busy day today.” The Prince's voice stirred me awake from my peaceful nap. He had a towel in his hand and reached it towards me.
What the actual fuck! “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!” I gathered what was left of the bubbles and covered my body as much as I could.
“Relax, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Come on, it’s time to get out.” He opened the towel towards me. There was no way in hell I was going to get out and let him wrap it around me.
“GET OUT NOW!” Screaming at him, completely mortified.
“So feisty.” With a quiet laugh, he laid the towel over the basket of orbs and left, closing the door behind him.
My chest thrummed, torn between embarrassment and the hold he had on my emotions.
I pushed the lever to drain the water from the tub and climbed out, wrapping the towel around my body and spilling the basket of orbs underneath it while hurrying to hide all my intimate parts in case he decided to come back in.
I made it to the bathroom door, but quickly stumbled back inside and hid behind the door.
You have got to be fucking kidding me. The Prince was half lying on my bed, knees bent over its edge, and feet placed on the ground.
“Do you mind?!” The nerve he had.
“No, I don’t mind.” He didn’t move and continued to stare at the white fabric draped from the canopy of the bed frame.
Shit, we were back to playing his little games.
“Well, if you aren’t going to leave, then you can at least grab me some clothes from my wardrobe.” I was not going out there with him lounging about.
He propped himself up, resting on his arms, leaning back. “Fine, Sweetheart.” He stood up and sauntered over to the wardrobe, pulling out a pair of pants and a shirt with hardly any sleeves.
Of course he fucking did. I closed the door as much as possible and only left it open enough to reach my hand out for the clothes.
Placing them in my hand, I grabbed them quickly and pulled them into the bathroom, slamming the door shut, making sure to lock it this time.
His laugh filled my bedroom and drifted into the bathroom from the small crack under the door.
Dressing quickly, pulling on the form-fitting black pants and the too-tight shirt that hardly covered anything, I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and my hair was still damp from my bath.
Hanging on a small golden hook by the mirror were multiple ribbons.
I tried to remember how Maya had taught me to braid my hair and let my fingers do the work.
It was not the best braid I had ever seen, but I managed to braid the hair down and around the crown of my head, joining them together into one braid at the back.
Flyaway hairs peeked out from the braid, but it would do for now.
I exited the bathroom, and the Prince was lying back down on my bed. “I only have black slippers. Will that be okay for today?”
“There are some boots by the door for you. I brought them with me.” He responded, not even bothering to sit up, obviously bored with waiting for me.
By the doorway, a pair of black boots were waiting for me. “Thank you.” I walked over, reached down, and grabbed them.
They were heavy and made of leather, with laces that tied up past my ankles.
Choosing the chair instead of sitting beside the Prince on the bed, I laced the boots up tightly, making sure they were securely on my feet. “Okay, I am ready.” I stood up and put my hands on my hips.
He rose from the bed with effortless grace, then stilled when his eyes met mine, something unspoken drifting between us.
The room felt heavy, and my heart quickened with every passing second.
I was locked in this room, and now, I was locked in his gaze; I couldn’t move.
Gravity was pulling me closer to the floor, and shadows moved in the corner of my vision, but I could not look away from him.
At last, he broke his gaze from mine, but it roamed over my body instead, his mouth dropping in silent response.
He looked back into my eyes, and at the lip that was now caught between my teeth; his mouth pressed into a thin line, and darkness swam in his eyes.
Wait, was it darkness? Or was something else stirring his emotions?
He cleared his throat, “Umm … We will start in the gardens this morning.” He stood, but not before taking a moment to adjust his pants.
After navigating through the labyrinth of corridors, we made our way back around to the gardens. He had a notebook in his hand, but nothing to write with. Odd.
“Today, we are just going to explore the manor, walk around, and check things out.” He said
“Okay, and what am I supposed to be looking for exactly?” I asked him, noticing that his gaze roamed over my body again. Folding my arms, I silently called him out for his wandering eyes.
Knowing he had been caught, he teased me instead, “If I told you that, then this wouldn’t be fun for me.” Then flashed me a playful grin that sent my stomach fluttering.
“So you want me to walk around… And tell you what I see?” What the hell?
“Yes. Just lead the way, and I will follow.” He tucked the notebook into the back pocket of his pants, ran both hands through his hair, pushing it off his face, and motioned for me to move.
I rolled my eyes and turned around, taking a moment to decide which direction to go in.
The gardens looked normal to me, lush and beautiful.
The fragrance of the flowers filled the wide-open space, and bright, vibrant colors lined each patch of greenery.
Stepping, not sure where to go, I walked mindlessly for a moment.
If he wanted to follow me all day, then so be it.
I walked over to a patch of pink and white flowers that lined the edge of the garden's pathway.
“I see pink and white flowers,” I said pointedly.
“Tulips, they grow in the springtime here, some linger into the summer months.” The Prince explained.
I reached down to smell one, and it snapped backward, closing its petals around its center, cowering away from my outstretched hand.
“Oh!” Withdrawing my hand and straightening my back, I turned to the Prince, and he had the notebook out and opened, but still wasn’t writing anything.
He didn’t say anything to me, so I continued walking.
Servants bustled around us, and guards walked by doing their patrol of the manor.
Each one sneaking glances at me as they passed by, leaving whispers in their wake.
All the attention was overwhelming, and I began to nervously fidget with my hands as I walked, picking at my nails just like Maya had the last time I saw her.
There were too many curious eyes on me, so I decided to follow the path out to the willow tree.
The Prince’s footsteps rang out in the quiet behind me; close enough to notice, but far enough to give me space.
We reached the willow tree, and I went to move the long, flowing branches out of the way to hopefully sneak under and escape for a moment, when they moved out of the way on their own, creating a gap for us to walk through.
I hesitated for a moment but then proceeded under the tree’s branches.
The pile of black pillows still lay under the tree's branches; the servants must have forgotten to gather them from the night of the party.
Sitting down on them, I curled my knees up to my chest.
“Already giving up?” The Prince sat down beside me, pulling the book out before he lay back on the pillows. “Or did you want to go down memory lane?”
I cast him a pointedly sarcastic look and rolled my eyes as he threw his head back in laughter.
“I just need a moment; I am not used to all this attention. It’s overwhelming.” My chin rested on my knees as I spoke.
“Take all the time you need. This is one of my favorite places to come and relax, escape the hustle and bustle of the manor.” He reached his arms up, placed them behind his head, and closed his eyes.
Neither of us said anything for a while, both letting the other enjoy the quiet surrounding us, and I watched as the strands of leaves swayed in the wind, wait, no, they were…
dancing in the wind? They were going in different directions and wrapped around one another.
One flew up, then down, creating a ripple through the leaves as they opened and closed, moving along the willow tree's shoots.
“Everything is so... Alive,” I whispered, not looking away from the dancing branches.
“Every living thing has a soul.” His eyes remained closed.
“The mortals from the past couldn’t appreciate what this world had to offer and would use everything without thinking of the consequences.
” One eye opened in my direction. “It is another reason we created the incantation, to protect what could not protect itself.”