Chapter 34

The distinct scent of nature coupled with the muffled moans from beside her, Elena stirred in her sleep, gradually regaining consciousness. She flickered her heavy eyelids open, only to be almost blinded by the bright morning sun. Elena scrunched her nose in disgust the moment an earthworm crawled in between her toes, she made a motion to stand up but felt a weight keeping her in place.

'What's this?' she thought, her vision locked on the thick black cape that draped from her shoulders down to her ankles. A familiar scent carried by the wind filled her nostrils, she tried once more to stand up but felt a tug on her sides.

Elena raised a brow with drowsy eyes, she blinked twice in confusion wondering to herself what that warm enveloping feeling was. She was fairly comfortable in her current position and didn't want to trouble herself with having to leave.

That was till she heard a moan and felt someone's hot breath on her neck.

Elena widened her eyes in shock, it was then that she noticed the long pair of arms that enveloped her in a somewhat loose embrace. The scent she had picked up on was from having him so close to her, and the moans...

"Your highness?" She called out in a candid manner, attempting to peel off his grip from her sides.

"Mhmm." A muffled groan was the response, Elena picked up on the voice and was certain that it was indeed her husband.

A nervous knot tied in her stomach as flashes of last night's conversation flooded her head all at once, the princess chewed hard on her cheeks, mortified.

"It's morning already, we should get up now." She managed to say, forcing herself to make the situation seem as natural as possible.

He didn't respond verbally, but his grip on her sides instinctively tightened, Elena let out a sigh and closed her eyes. 'I can't tell if he's asleep or not.' she mused to herself, contemplating whether to let them sleep some more.

After all she wasn't complaining about it, and he seemed to be fine with it.

'No, no...we ran into bandits yesterday, it was pure luck we escaped unscathed. He's younger, so it makes sense that he's arrogant and naive. But as the wife, I should place my foot down.' the princess resolved, determined to earn her keep.

"Your highness, you'll catch a cold sleeping here, don't forget there are no servants to wait on you." Elena reminded him hoping that a spoiled young prince would fear contacting a cold.

"Shut up and let me sleep." He rudely growled into her ears, bringing his warm cheeks closer to hers.

Her ears reddened at his groggy morning voice, she didn't know whether to get angry at his pissy tone, or get flustered by how close he was. Whatever conclusion she decided on, Elena was certain that if she stayed any longer in this position, it wouldn't end well.

"His highness is throwing a tantrum...geez, you're sixteen right? That means you should heed more to your elders, and more so it's good advice to listen to your wife." She chided, discreetly slipping one hand away from his grip.

She heard him hiss under his breath at the mention of his age, Elena's lips flattened into a smile at his insecurity. Just as she attempted to free her other hand he crossed both his legs above hers, caging her.

'Is he for reals?!'

Elena pinched her forehead and swayed her head from side to side, her lips parted in stun, stun from the realization that she was feeling somewhat lighter than usual.

Could it be?

The princess stared at herself and noticed that the heavy chains wrapped around her where not only gone, but sat idly next to the river bank. The only thing left was the collar which felt a bit looser than usual.

Elena was tempted to ask about it, but felt a sharp headache all of a sudden, she squinted her eyes to cage the pain and gritted her teeth. She was too focused on blocking out the pain, that she failed to notice her husband's rich baritone voice, whisper something into her ears.

"Do you need the medicine?" He asked in a tone which was far from caring and coaxing, but at the same time not so indifferent.

"I don't know why...but I feel like something isn't right. There's this flash I keep on seeing, like..." She took an abrupt pause to catch her breath.

"It feels like a memories are fading away." Elena explained in a distraught tone, curling her fingers into a tensed fist.

Alixandre who had genuinely just woken up, was stunned to hear the princess gritting in pain under her breath. He was still gathering his thoughts when she started spewing all about losing memories. His expression dampened at her words, but he swiftly recovered from it.

"You can't take the medicine on an empty stomach so I'll..."

"Let me make breakfast!" Elena announced with enthusiasm in her voice, cutting him off completely. He furrowed his brows, wondering how swiftly it took her to recover from migraines.

He didn't particularly want her cooking his meals, but at the same time he didn't see any particular downside arising from the act. "Do as you wish." Alixandre said, then retracted his arms from her sides, stunned he had maintained that position till morning.

His mind flashed back to when Elena had fainted all of a sudden, and how he ended up having to nurse her till her fever went down. He frowned when he recalled how he had to cuddle her to keep the cold at bay. If it had been up to him, he would have locked her up in the carriage and left her there till they arrived at Crimsoncreed.

But alas...

The princess sprung out of his grip and stretched her arms, the cold morning breeze wildly tossed her golden locks of hair about. Alixandre scoffed at the sight, he rested both hands under his head, and relaxed against the tree bark, stealing glances at her.

Elena abruptly looked over her shoulder and caught him staring, he pursued his lips then swiftly shifted his gaze to the grass. The princess cocked a sly grin as her fingertips combed through her hair.

"His highness is still hesitant to tell me his name, shall I take it that he's shy and sheltered?" She teased, crouching down to wash her face by the river.

Alixandre paid no heed to her words and merely curled his lips into a frown, "nor does he care to know my name." She blurted out in a fleeting tone.

After she spent about five minutes washing her arms and feet, she sat by the river braiding her hair to make it easier to move about, using her reflection in the water as a mirror.

'Eh?! As I thought, I'm no good at grooming my own hair!' her eyes frowned at the ugliest braids she had ever laid eyes on.

However, she kept her head up high and rose to her feet, brimming with the excitement of carrying out a wife like duty. She took a sweep of her surroundings, pinching her chin in contemplation.

"I think I can manage..." She said to herself then settled her sights on the unbothered man, who sat under the large tree, catching a bit more sleep.

A mischievous grin drawn across her face, Alixandre shrugged his shoulders, he could sense the young woman's malicious aura from where he sat. He sent her a questioning stare, which she replied to with a quirky smirk.

"I've decided on what to make for breakfast, but I'll need his highness to help."

He raised a brow at her tone, "I never agreed to help you." He growled.

The princess ignored him completely and strolled to the carriage, Alixandre who acted aloof around her, closed his eyes and continued with his morning nap. But he found it hard to concentrate, especially when he could hear a clatter sound from his left side.

"What is that slave doing..." He thought, slowly lifting his eyelids to take a peek and check. When he did however she caught his stare and smiled warmly at him.

"I'll need his highness help to make breakfast, after all it was his highness's idea not to bring any servants, I figured he might as well do this much." Elena said, returning with a bowl.

"And what is that?" He asked in a sultry tone, eyeing the silver bowl.

"It's for the fish." She said, presenting the bowl to him, her eyes roaming around the tree, staring at the twigs and sticks in particular.

"Fish?" He voiced out, vividly expressing his confusion.

"Yes Fish. If we're going to have fish soup, then fish is the key ingredient." She explained.

"And where do you intend to get this fish?" He questioned in a prickly tone.

"Has his highness ever tried fishing before?" Elena asked with wide eyed amusement, grinning from ear to ear.