43. It Just Felt Right

**Several days later**

**Dean**

I prefer to do things at night. The air was cool, perfect after a long day of work. There were a lot of things going down at night that one wouldn’t be able to see in the day. The neon lights coming from the lights of certain stores gave the streets a whole new atmosphere.

A group of four knights approached me on the sideway. They gave me a nod, which I returned, and we carried on our separate ways. In my arms was a shopping bag full of groceries, enough to keep my stomach full for the weekend. I had a car that would have made going to the supermarket easier, but taking a walk instead sounded like a good idea.

Until I bumped into someone.

"Oof!"

She fell and landed on the ground. I carefully placed the shopping bag beside my feet and stooped down. "Sorry about that. Allow me to aid you."

Slender fingers were placed in my palm. She gazed at me, recognition shining on her brilliant eyes.

"Oh, it's you! Apologies, I should have watched where I was going," she giggled.

I blinked several times before the name finally came to me. "Lady Melissa. No, the fault is all mine."

I held her up while I grabbed the shopping bag in one hand. I stared at her.

A red cape covered her ankle-length black dress. Melissa's hair was made into a braid that wrapped around the circumference of her head. Her smile was as gentle and soft as butterfly wings.

And her hand was still in mine.

I cleared my throat. "Excuse me." I dropped her hand. It was of a much lighter shade than my beige skin. “I should have watched where I was going.”

Her glossed lips stretched into a smile. “That’s alright. Actually, I’m glad that it was you I bumped into, Sir Dean.”

I forgot to speak for a moment. “Is that so?”

She points to my bag. “Late-night shopping? I thought that you were one of those guys that had their housekeeper do things like that for them. I mean, it’s not like you don’t have the money to.”

“I don’t see the point of doing that when it's something I can easily do by myself.”

“Hm.” Melissa joined her hands behind her. “You’re not like other men, are you?”

Something twitched in my stomach. “I reckon we’re all different from others, no matter how much we try to act like we’re all the same. Speaking of men, I saw your father in parliament today. I didn’t know that he left the city yesterday to visit one of the counties.”

She folded her arms, a sigh emitting from her mouth. “That’s my dad. You know how he is. He takes his position as messenger of the common people seriously. He's seen a lot of stuff, so Dad has learned to be way too overprotective. I mean, he doesn’t even let me have a boyfriend. Don’t you think that’s unfair?"

"Really?" I think it over. "I guess if I was a father, I would be overprotective too. As a knight, I'm faced with a lot of scenes that I could have lived without. However, you’re an adult. And from what I’ve seen and heard of you you’re not someone to be easily swayed. No one can stop you from pursuing marriage if that’s what you wish for.”

Melissa gifted me with a bright smile that exposed her white teeth and waved me off. “Oh, you’re so sweet. I’m sure your girlfriend thinks you would make a good father.

A girlfriend? Do I give off the impression of someone who’s taken?

“I’m actually not in a relationship, neither do I have a lover.”

“Why not? I don’t know if you realize this but you’re quite a handsome man, Dean. You have a good job that you’ve earned out of your own hard work and you seem like a cool guy. It’s hard to believe that there aren’t a lot of women who are trying to claw their way into your bed.”

“If they were to try and enter my house the guards would have thrown them out,” I said this with a blank expression.

Melissa started to laugh. She covered her mouth with her hands. The corners of my lips turned up. My stomach felt light.

"Goodness, you're funny too!" A finger wiped the corner of her eye. "Say, are you busy tonight? I know you must be tired from work and maybe I'm being inconsiderate by asking you this but…"

I answered quickly. "I'm not busy. I've got what I need and I still have plenty of energy, so don't you feel guilty about what you want to say."

Melissa shyly cast her gaze to her feet. She tucked a dark lock behind her ear.

"It's silly. I was going to ask if you wanted to follow me to this little upstairs cafe I know. That's where I'm heading. I figured having company I enjoyed was better than going there alone. What do you say, Sir Dean?"

That was something I didn't expect. I could always go home and watch a show on my laptop while I'm having a snack. However, I couldn't find a reason to turn her down, especially since I didn't want to.

I nodded. "If you lead the way, Lady Melissa, I'm willing to follow."

She grinned and pulled me by my elbow. "You can call me by my name without the title, you know? It's not far. Let's hurry before someone recognizes us and starts a scandal. I have a ton of questions I want to ask about your ice gift!"

I allowed her to take me where she wanted to go. It just… felt right. My legs started to walk before my mind could catch up.

Having a snack at home didn’t seem all that interesting anymore.

_______

**The next morning**

**Chester**

“Are you sure about this son? I don’t want you to feel like you’re missing out on having a say on your wedding cake.”

Sirius shook his head with a calm smile on his face. She shoved everything he thought he would need into a black suitcase.

“It’s fine, father. I made you promise me that I’d be attending in your place during the next annual budget meeting. I’ve been so high on cloud nine that I didn’t realize we planned the cake tasting on the same day. But my darling fiance understands. Besides, she’ll have you and Anna to keep her company.”

II leaned my body against the walls of my office, watching him. It’s funny, kids grow up so fast. I remember when his little body crawled into my chair and claimed he would take my place one day. When he misbehaved and I forbade him from having dessert, he would lock himself in his room. Not a single servant could enter.

Now here he is, resembling nothing like his seven-year-old self as he takes on more responsibilities for the betterment of our people.

“Where is the son I had that used to decorate the pots in the kitchen with crayons?”

He rolled his eyes, chuckling. “I’m not a child anymore, Father. Anyways, I have to go if I want to get to the treasury building on time. Ester is probably on her way to the greenhouse so you might wanna get moving. See you when I see you!” He picked up his briefcase, then his phone. Within a few seconds, he was out the door.

I sighed, feeling somewhat relaxed. As soon as I found out that Sirius didn’t have a dragon, I started to fret. How would he be able to defend our kingdom without one?

Now I see that there’s more to a king than the power he holds.

The greenhouse was attached to a section of the palace, so I didn’t need to go outside to enter if I didn’t want to. As I strutted down the hall, someone suddenly grabbed onto my arm.

“Sooo, a little birdie told me that we’ll be having cake for brunch,” she said.

I patted Anna’s head with my free hand. “It’s way too early for brunch.”

“And yet we’re going to eat a bunch of cake? How does that make sense?”

I shook my head, way too amused to argue with her. We stopped outside of two large wooden doors. This was it.

My arm reached out and I pushed one of the doors open, stepping aside so Anna would go in first. “Just make sure that you don’t get a tummy ache like last time,” I told her.

Anna held up her nose and brushed past me. “No promises! I’m not a psychic, I can’t see the future!”

After I walked in behind her, before I could reply, I saw something that forever changed the way I saw beauty.

Sunlight shone down on Ester's face as she gazed at the tall plants that towered overhead. Her curly hair developed a red hue under the light. A small section of hair from each side of her head was braided and joined into one above the back of her neck. The rest of it was loose.

Her pastel floral blouse has sleeves that go up to her elbow. Its V-neck opening showed off her elegant collarbone. Her legs were wearing dark blue skinny jeans and brown three-inch heels were on her feet.

I stood there completely frozen as I stared at her. I could rationalize why it felt so right. It just did.

Anna already made a beeline for the cakes.

Because of that, Ester realized that other people were there.

She turned to me and flashed a gorgeous smile that was enough to give an old man a heart-attack.

“You’re here early. I guess you couldn’t wait to satisfy your appetite, huh?”