Chapter 10: Chapter 10
Shia’s sleepy, droopy eyes were greeted by so much wet, lopsided kisses all at once, but her body felt far too weak to react. In any case, the kisses didn’t seem threatening at all; it was rather warm and comforting like a big, hot towel during a cold night, and she began to relax a little bit as more and more kisses were planted on her face.
In a few more moments though, there was a bit of a commotion, and Shia heard someone drag away the thing that was warming her face.
“Chibi!..” Shia heard a low exasperated voice said. “You big doofus! Your highness will catch us at this rate!”
After sometime, and perhaps in an attempt to dry and tidy her up, Shia felt a soft cloth brush against her cheeks, and she swiftly caught the hand that held it.
The owner, instead of yelping in surprise, sighed.
“Very well,” she heard the female voice spoke in a low whisper once again, “you don’t need to grip my wrist so hard. You are way past danger... Well, sort of, but I can assure you I’m not your enemy.”
Shia immediately bolted herself upright from bed that everything seemed to spin a little. She did not feel like her usual self. It took a moment for her to focus her eyes on the interior of the cozy tent, the red-haired maiden whose hand she held, and the big, hairy animal whimpering at her back.
“What is that?” Shia pointed to the golden hairy beast that was behind the girl. It was licking one of its front paws while looking curiously at her. The thing seemed rather cute and cuddly, except that it was barring its sharp teeth towards Shia, which did not seem too pleasing considering how big they were.
“Umm, don’t mind Chibi. He’s just your everyday, average mowngry. Well, you might have noticed that he’s exceptionally chubby and maybe a tiny bit overfed, don’t you think? But don’t tell him I told you that... He’s rather sensitive,” the woman whispered nearer her ears.
It was the first time that Shia met a rather curious character. Despite Shia’s open animosity towards her, the girl seemed unaffected and unfazed. She did not look afraid of Shia at all. If anything, she did not look dangerous, and Shia, in spite of her wariness, loved the jolly, friendly vibe that emanated from her.
“Umm, so, can I get my wrist back?...Langrey did say this room was off-limits, although he would understand if I told him Chibi was attacking you.”
“Who’s Langrey?” Shia inquired. Although she already has some suspicions of the person she was referring to, Shia decided it would be much better to hear what she has to say and not assume things on her own.
“Well, he’s the man who stayed with you all night at the cave and the one you hid with inside the tree. Oh...And recently, he has also appointed himself as your future husband.”
Shia’s mouth must have hanged open so wide, the red-haired maiden stifled a laugh, but she gave her a reassuring pat in the back afterwards.
“There, there... That must have come out as something too shocking for you.” She plumped a pillow or two and placed it right at her back, and she adjusted the sheets to her comfort. “I really did not mean to frighten you in any way. Actually, I feel rather sorry... I think Chibi and I were part of the reason why this has all happened.”
“Where are my manners?” she continued after straightening herself up, “My name is Khailis. Lady Khailista Humphrey. I am the Imperial Prince’s body guard. What name can I call you?”
“S-shia,” she said as her eyes widened in fright. The lady looked like she might have been just around Shia’s age, but she’s already part of the Imperial Guards! As impressive as that sounded in Shia’s ears, she felt rather depressed to have finally walked to her deathbed. Now that an Imperial Guard has finally caught her, her days are surely numbered!
She scanned the girl quickly. It seemed like she is not carrying any sort of guiding stone. However, Shia eyed the humongous creature from behind her. If she decided to attack this lady with her dagger, she could probably make a run for it, at the very least, but she is not too confident that she can succeed when it comes to the plump, hairy monster she had called ‘Chibi’ earlier...
The guard – what was her name again? Khailis – smiled reassuringly towards her. “This is probably all too confusing and too overwhelming to digest right now... Maybe we should come to speak about this another time...” she was about to retreat, but Shia held her hands once again.
“Where am I? Why am I here? Are you going to surrender me to the Capitol?...” Shia did not really want to finish the last part of her speech, but she thought it was best that she readied herself and discover the truth earlier on, so she can figure out a plan.
“Goodness, of course not! No one is surrendering you the Capitol,” she replied. She adjusted her mattress one more time. “No one here except for his majesty and I know what you can do. And since his majesty has decided to take you under his wing, your secret will remain safe, unless you reveal it yourself of course! So, don’t worry and take a good rest...” she started standing up again, but Shia pulled her closer once more.
“Uh, who is this majesty that you are talking about?...”
It was the woman’s turn to leave her mouth hanging open. Eventually, she cleared her throat, “It’s none other than Langrey –formally known as his Imperial Majesty, Prince Langrion Zephiry Romualdi, the king’s nephew and one of the heirs to the throne. Or maybe you can call him Langrey too. It might be a good idea to create the illusion that you are close enough and that the engagement wasn’t rushed in, like, a day...or in a few minutes.”
They heard a faint, shuffling sound nearby, and the girl quickly stood up, “Yikes!... I don’t want to be caught on the prince’s bad side, but for his and the kingdom’s sake, I implore you to please follow his wishes until we can sort out everything.”
She scooped up the gigantic form of Chibi from behind, but he protested violently. As the sound of someone’s footsteps got nearer, the girl – Lady Khailis – gave it her all to shove the animal through the opening of the tent with her, and they both exited as swiftly as they had entered it.
A second after they were gone, a man emerged from the other side of the tent. His chest was exposed, showing his chiselled muscles. He was too busy drying his hair that he failed to notice Shia withdrawing the dagger from her boots and trying to strike him down, or at least, that was what Shia thought. He swiftly caught her wrist in the towel, and pinned her down the bed, with all the contents of the mattress flapping about as he landed on top of her.
Some wisps of wet and fragrant jet-black hair obscured the man’s face, but Shia could positively identify him as the red- eyed boy from the woods, the one she nursed back to health the night prior. Shia squirmed from beneath him, but he was far too strong and far too heavy for her to resist.
After a while, he spoke to her in a gentle manner, which is somewhat contradictory to the amount of force he is putting on against her. “I will let you go, but you have to promise me that you will put this dagger back where it belongs to and that you will try to listen to me without attacking first...”
Shia nodded. What choice does she have anyway? If she resisted even further, she might start becoming more and more entranced by the wonderful smell of his body, which was a mixture of honey and baby’s breath.
He started pulling himself up in an upright position, but she still did not let go of Shia’s hand that was conveniently wrapped around the towel.
After Shia and he have sat themselves firmly on the overturned mattress, he finally let go of her wrist. Immediately, Shia noticed the boy’s left eye began to turn into a reddish hue.
Before the whole iris turned into a deeper red color, he grabbed Shia’s free hand, and spoke. “I could not believe someone like you existed,” he began to say. His eyes were returning to its normal color now – a light, ocean blue hue. “I think we started on the wrong foot here. I remembered what you said about your family. You must hate me to the core, and I do not blame you. However, for the sake of the kingdom, you have to help me. You have to stay by my side. We have no other choice for now.”
Shia could not believe the next few words that he uttered with his lips. It sounded like he was about to propose to her, which was outright silly! Finding herself in an utter state of shock for the first time in her life, Shia could only blink her eyes several times and look at the man she knew nothing about as he spoke of something completely preposterous.
“Be my wife. Stay by my side until all is well, and be my wife,” he said.