Chapter 23: Chapter 23
DAHLIA:
As that long and eventful day turned into night, I felt nervous in a good way. Tristan and I would be spending our first night together. I will finally be with my mate. It was a dream come true!
Right after the wedding that afternoon, we went straight into Tristan’s fief at Crohmwall District, which was in the northern part of Talandor, just a little bit beyond the palace gates. Although it wasn’t too far away from the capital, Crohmwall was surrounded by mountain stretches and a deep, lush forest, which made it an easy hideout for any rogue wolf or vampires.
Despite the looming danger, I was not afraid. On the way to the district, I saw that plenty of knights were in patrol.
“They are our own personal knights,” Tristan said, responding to my questions through our mind-link. Miraculously, after we shared our wedding kiss, our mind-link was re-established. I can now happily talk to this wolf inside my head, and so can Eva.
“After what happened to you back in Hildt, I thought you’ll feel safer if I increased the security around here. You didn’t develop any fears after that attack, did you not,” Tristan asked thoughtfully.
I shook my head. “If anything, I should be grateful about that experience,” I said.
His eyebrows shot up in the air. “And why is that?”
“Well, it brought me to you,” I said, smiling back.
He held my hand and squeezed it tightly. “Please don’t regret marrying me in the future, Lady Hurst.”
“I won’t… Plus, I am not Lady Hurst anymore…”
“Ah, yes… I almost forgot you are now Countess Abell, my lovely Countess Abell…” Tristan breathed the words closer to my ears, which heightened my senses and tickled me a bit. He brushed his thumb towards my lips, as if he was about to kiss me when suddenly, we heard a loud and artificial coughing sound from across us.
“Your lordship and ladyship, as much as we know the fact that you extremely like each other, I don’t think we would want to witness the extent of such love,” Lina said in a cold manner that made me blush in utter embarrassment.
That’s right. Tristan and I had nearly forgotten that we were still in the carriage and that we were sharing the carriage with Lina and Gideon.
“It’s alright for me though, sir, and madam. I have no objects if you want to get intimate here.”
Lina gave him a sharp look, and Gideon’s face was instantly covered in sweat within seconds.
‘What a shame… If only they weren’t here,’ I heard Tristan say through our mind-link.
I smiled internally. ‘If they weren’t here, what would you do?’
‘I would eat you whole, Dahlly…’
I felt heat suddenly shoot up to my neck and ears. Why was it so stifling hot now when it’s still spring?
‘Be ready tonight, my love… I’ll make sure you’ll never forget it,’ Tristan continued to say through our shared consciousness.
His words were etched in my mind throughout the festivities. As the clock struck seven, Tristan started to bid the guests good bye. Lina quickly came to my side and stole me away from the crowd.
“Quickly, Lady Dahlia, you have to prepare.”
“Prepare for what?”
“The wedding night, of course! Didn’t you see that the lord is already trying to see the guests away? Let’s come quickly and take a bath. I’ll help you out.”
Truthfully, I was in a daze. I didn’t know what to do if Lina didn’t come. I nodded and followed her into the chamber that was supposed to be our bedroom.
The room was spacious and well-lit. It was surrounded with a cream-colored wall paper with faint designs of flowers.
Lina ordered me to bathe in warm water infused with aromatic soup and petals. She massaged my body with scented oil and scrubbed my skin with fragrant salts, which I had never experienced before until this morning.
“Do we really have to do all of these,” I asked exasperatedly at her. Of course I wanted to be beautiful on my wedding night, but do I need to do this preparation every day?
“Lady Dahlia, wedding nights are the highlight of one’s marriage. Of course you’ll have to do this every day now since you are married.”
I didn’t know if I should trust Lina’s words. She’s still unmarried, and so far, she has never mentioned anything about experiencing that kind of first night before. Did I really need to bathe as elaborately as this from now on?
After bathing, Lina helped me don a white sleep wear. It didn’t look any different from the usual sleep wear I put on, except that this one has a very low cut in the back.
When she had finished combing my hair, Lina had left me inside the room with only a single burning candle light at the top of the drawer. I wanted to protest, but she said that it was an important wedding tradition.
I had nothing to do, so I lied in bed. My dress was making me feel cold from the back.
After a few more minutes of waiting, I felt bored. I got up from the bed and peered at the window.
The moonlight illuminated the room, and I was grateful for that. I looked at the trees and bushes that surrounded the fief, and I wondered how beautiful it would look like when morning came.
Suddenly, my ears picked up a faint sound of movement in the bushes, right across from where I stood. I squinted my eyes to see who was behind those trees. I knew there was something or someone there. I could almost hear a faint breathing.
By and by, my eyes had adjusted to the dimness of the night, and I was able to see a silhouette. It looked like the curvy body of a woman.
I was at the second floor of the fief, but I was sure as hell that the person below was looking straight at me. I wondered how much that person could see and why she was standing there like a ghost. Was she a thief? Did papa send an assassin to come find me?
At that moment, my heart stilled. It must really be papa’s spy! Why else would someone stand in the shadows like that while a celebration was going on in the grounds?
Before I could do anything, I felt a hand touch my exposed back. I shivered in fright. Shortly after, a voice began to speak.
“Don’t you dare move an inch…”