Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Langrion’s hand shook as he slipped back into his bed chamber unnoticed. His face did not reveal anything, but his heart was ablaze with so much rage and anger.

He clutched his mother’s ring tightly towards his chest. It was his most prized possession. His mother gave it to him when he was a little boy, and he promised her that he would give it only to the girl to whom his heart would belong to.

Langrion thought that he can finally fulfil his promise when several months ago, he decided to propose to the person he had loved since childhood – the elegant and lovely Edelfina. He had been over the moon with happiness, and he thought she was as ecstatic as him too. He wondered why she had asked him to keep their engagement a secret, saying that she needed time to announce it to the House of Nanris. When he finally saw her together with his brother in bed one day, he had begun to understand that Edelfina had other plans. He accepted it without word when she broke their engagement soon after. His heart was broken into so many shards that he did not think he’d ever have the strength to go on living. It was then that he made the rash decision to go back to Sensala to be able to buy some time as he tried to forget her.

Then several weeks ago, while on his way back to his hometown, he unexpectedly met Shia. She was like a raging wildfire – always unpredictable, unafraid, and out of control. But the more intimate moments he got to spend with her, the more vulnerable she becomes in his eyes. He thought he could probably trust someone like her again, someone who was just warm and open enough, and someone who was willing to go even through hell and challenge the Devil himself for him...

As if reading his thoughts, Shia suddenly emerged from the bathroom with several servants in tow. A towel was wrapped around her body, and her olive skin glistened against the sunlight. She gasped a little at the sight of him by the bedroom door as if she was looking at a ghost.

“Y-your highness,” she said, her face turning as red as a beet. “We didn’t expect you to come back so soon...”

“Leave us!” Langrion ordered them. He walked across the room towards her. For some reason, she seemed to shrink away from him. She walked back several feet away until she hit the brick wall. Now, she had no other choice but to come face to face with him.

“Is something wrong,” she muttered while looking down at the floor and avoiding his direct stare.

“Am I of no value to you?” Langrion said; his voice was cold and emotionless.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she finally looked up to him. “What do you mean, sire?”

“Am I not even the least important to you, Shia?” he repeated his words.

Up close, Shia smelled so wonderfully fresh and sweet. He shifted his gaze at the soft curls that framed her face and at her big, brown eyes. At that moment, he seemed to have lost his sense of reason. She began to say something, but he was too distracted by the fragrance of her body and the softness of her hair that he did what he did next.

He kissed her passionately on the lips.

******************

“Am I of no value to you?” his highness whispered.

Shia blinked and asked in surprise, “What do you mean, sire?”

It was true that Shia’s heart skipped a few beats when she saw his highness by the bedroom door. She honestly did not expect him to come back so suddenly. She had pleaded profusely with the maids that she will don her clothes by herself today, but now it seemed that she will be living to regret that decision.

His majesty’s eyes had a glint of danger in it. Despite the presence of the numerous servants amongst them, Shia felt helpless and embarrassed with just a towel covering her newly-scrubbed skin. She was too conscious of her nakedness that she could not even bring herself to directly meet his gaze.

As he got closer and closer, Shia became more and more aware of the bruises in her body that had not yet completely healed and the burnt mark on her wrist that still ached. She tried to back away from him, but he kept walking towards her.

Now pinning her against the wall, his highness suddenly asked her that very puzzling question. For a brief moment, Shia caught a hint of pain in Langrion’s face although his voice sounded cold and commanding. She tried to read what was on his mind further, but his usual defenses were up. She could not see beneath his facade of indifference.

“Am I not even the least important to you, Shia?” he said once more.

Again, his eyes were fixed on her so intensely that she wanted to melt on the spot. Shia recalled the sheepish grin on his majesty’s face the night before. She tried to wrack her brain for a reason why his temperament had suddenly changed that morning.

“Langrey,” she softly called him by his childhood name. “Did something happen? Did I do something wro-”

She did not get to finish her words as he went up and kissed her.

Shia’s heartbeat began to escalate more and more. His highness continued to press down his lips upon her, and she felt her body tremble all over. The seconds turned into minutes, and he was still kissing her. Shia began to close her eyes.

His body moved nearer to hers, and his hands had starting to travel down her back. Suddenly, she remembered that she was inadequately clothed. She swiftly pushed him away from her.

“Your highness, please stop...”

He looked at her as if she had wounded him somewhere. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“I should ask you the same thing... Why are you doing this?...” She gulped back, “Are you really Langrion, or are you someone else?...”

To Shia’s relief, he stepped back a few inches away from her. He could see the disdain in his eyes as if he was positively irked by her accusations.

“I am just a monster to you, am I not?” he began to say, “but even a monster like me gets hurt too.” He dangled the ring in front of her face. “Don’t ever lose this again!”

He moved towards the desk and violently placed the ring on top of it, and he got out of the bed chamber, slamming the door as he left.

Shia collapsed on the floor. She really wanted to hit herself. How can she have forgotten about his majesty’s ring?! She wanted to call him again and explain her side of the story, but in order to do so, she must make haste. Cursing herself for needing to dress up pompously as nobles do, Shia began to put on the various articles of clothing as quickly as she can.

******************

‘Idiot! What did you just do?’ Langrion began to beat himself up after what he just did. He left the bed room in haste. He did not think he could stand being near her again and control his own emotions at the same time.

By now, his anger about the ring has been completely washed off, and the only thing that lingered was his embarrassment on how he acted towards her. He did not know what came over him, but he knew he shouldn’t have kissed her without thinking things through. Shia’s eyes looked too frightened at the sight of him that he was unsure if he could face her again.

Sighing, he called some of the servants by the door and commanded them to arrange a spare room for him somewhere so that he could bathe and get ready for the day.

When he had finished, he went down in front of the manor. As expected, he was met by a flustered-looking Shia and by Lady Khailis, all set up to go to town for the day.

Thankfully, years of being a prince had made him a master at putting up a cold and implacable facade. He ignored Shia’s bashful side glances and proceeded to board the carriage. After a few skirmishes outside, Shia also boarded the carriage and sat in front of him with a confused Lady Khailis in tow.

A long silence ensued between the three of them with only a few awkward glances exchanged between Khailis and his majesty.

Seemingly unable to stand the tension after a while, Khailis began to speak. “So... I heard something happened when I was away. Care to fill me in?”

It was Shia who answered her. “Before that, can you tell me something?” She began to pull away the ruffles that covered her left wrist. “Can you see anything?”

Langrion’s eyes fell onto the tattooed swirls in her inner wrist. For a moment, his gaze brushed on Shia’s eyes too, but she looked away from him very quickly.

“I’m not sure... Am I supposed to see something there?”

Shia’s jaw fell to the ground. “You mean you don’t see anything?...”

Khailis hung her head in confusion. “Umm, I see your wrist... It looks clean enough, I think... Am I supposed to see something else? Do you see anything, Langrey?”

Langion nodded, his eyes also wide in disbelief.

“Earlier, the servants who helped me took a bath could not see it too...” Shia said as a worried looked washed over her face. Langrion wanted to say something to comfort her, but his throat felt too dry.

Shia began telling Khailis about her dream and the tattoo that only he and Shia can see. Suddenly, they heard the horses neigh, and the carriage came to a halt.

“We are here, sire. We have just arrived,” the royal carriage driver announced.

“Let’s go,” Langrion said, “It’s high time we meet with Silas.”