Chapter 8 The Overprotective Husband
Fernanda woke up with a startle the next morning, wondering how and when she fell asleep. She had tried her best to stay awake due to uncertainty of what might happen with Sebastian sleeping together with her on the same bed, but had later fallen asleep.
Speaking of the devil, he was no longer on the bed behind her any mo re, she threw a quick glance around the whole room but saw no signs of him.
"Was it all a dream?" She thought as she sat up against the bedframe. But it was all too vivid to be a dream, he had held her by her waist and pinned against his massive and muscular body throughout the night. She could also still feel the sensation of his touch.
Her maidservants walked in as she sat there looking confused, "Your highness," One of them started, making Fernanda shut her brows up. She wasn't happy with being called that, it only reminded her of her tragic fate as the wife of a notoriously cruel king.
"Please call me Fernanda, that's much better." She responded quietly, surprising the maidservants. Their faces lightened up immediately because that would be the first time Fernanda had spoken to them without crying or raging.
"We'd get into trouble if we don't address you well, your highness." One of them replied with a bright smile. The corners of Fernanda's mouth lifted up, enunciating a small smile.
She understood very well what they meant, the world was a bit unfair to them and something as trivial as them not addressing her in the way she is supposed to be addressed, could put them in so much trouble.
"How about you call me by my real name whenever we are alone but address me as your highness in public? Will that be okay?" The maidservants exchanged glances and Fernanda could see the nervousness on their faces.
"But if you think it's going to be a hassle for you, then please, by all means, do not listen to me. I just want everyone to be comfortable around me and I also wish to feel comfortable around everyone too." Fernanda immediately added, looking apologetic for raising the issue.
An awkward silence enveloped the room as the maidservants stood fidgeting with their hands. Fernanda also didn't know what to say, but as she was about to dismiss them out of embarrassment, the other maidservants who hadn't said anything yet, spoke up.
My name is Maya,” the younger maid said brightly, her tone sweet but oddly composed, like someone who had practiced cheer for years. Fernanda felt a flutter of relief, warmth seeping in from her nervous edges. She was so glad they didn't ignore her as she was already shriveling in embarrassment.
"And I’m Yolanda," the older woman added, giving Maya a sideways glance that Fernanda couldn’t quite read.
"Your highness, sorry… Fernanda," Yolanda continued. "We’ve prepared your bath."
"And your breakfast!" Maya chirped again, her gaze lingering on Fernanda’s bare shoulder for just a moment too long, her eyes flickering with something unreadable before she smiled again.
"The king gave specific orders, plenty of food to help you gain strength... and weight," she added with a giggle.
"Your highness... sorry... Fernanda. We didn't know your preferences yet so we prepared a lot of dishes." Yolanda informed Fernanda who just shrugged, "I do not feel like eating." Fernanda told them.
"Those were the King's orders, he asked us to prepare varieties of dishes and make sure you eat more than enough so as to gain some strength... and weight." Maya replied cheerily but Fernanda was having none of it.
"Gain strength?" Fernanda scoffed, as if it wasn't audacious enough of him to sleep in her room without her consent, now he is dictating how and when she is supposed to eat? The disbelief in her voice was very much evident.
The two maidservants, although clamped their mouths shut, their brows were shot up in surprise because everything Fernanda wasn't saying showed on her face. "Go ahead and tell the king that i said he has no right to either pick or choose for me. I will be eating however I like, and if I choose to starve then it is still none of his business."
An hour later Sebastian showed up in Fernanda's bedroom as she was just stepping out of her bath. She froze when she saw him, not because she wasn't expecting to see him, but partially because the only thing she had covering her body was a small towel and mainly because he was also shirtless, with his hard sculpted muscles and biceps bare as he stood in front of her without a care for his appearance while having a grim expression on.
Fernanda found herself unable to look away, she gulped as she took in his marvelous physique. He was so huge and his body was scarred in so many places, evidence of so many wars and violence.
"Have you had your breakfast?" He asked softly, his voice betraying his hard expression. "I don't want to," Fernanda replied bluntly, pulling the towel tighter against her body.
"That is not an option." Sebastian stated and Fernanda could hear the authority in his voice.
He had been sparring with Levi when her maidservants came to deliver her message. Everyone present in the courtyard had been stunned by Fernanda's message, even Levi couldn't hide his astonishment.
"You don't get to pick my options for me, Your highness." Fernanda retorted with a shaky voice. Sebastian was visibly angry as his gaze swept over her body. She was frail and shivering because she had been intentionally starving herself.
He took a step closer and she backed away almost immediately, "Don't even think about coming any closer to me."
"We slept together yesterday night and you didn't seem to have any problem with that." Fernanda didn't say anything, she also couldn't understand why she did not fight him. It feels ultimately wrong for her to admit that she actually felt safe together with him.
"No more snarky retorts?" He had already gotten closer to her now, she flinched as he reached for her face, carefully removing the strands of wet hair that glued themselves to her skin.
"You need to eat... Please." Sebastian said, his tone pleading and quiet. The silence after he said that was so uncomfortable, did Sebastian, the ruthless king of Clawshire just pleaded for her to eat?
"What is happening? First he came into my room and cuddled me to sleep, now he is begging me to eat something? Something is definitely wrong." Fernanda thought all while staring at him like he's some scary ghost. "I must be hallucinating, I'm already too hungry."
"Please." Sebastian said again, his voice slightly firmer this time and that made Fernanda's heart jumped. He was actually begging her and she wasn't hallucinating!
She was about to speak when the world spun violently. A crushing wave of heat and cold surged through her chest, like fire being smothered in ice and her knees buckled beneath her.
Sebastian moved before she could register it, catching her against his chest.
"You can’t even stand on your own anymore, and still you refuse to eat!" he grunted, the frustration barely masked in his voice.
As he carried her to the bed, Fernanda’s pulse thundered in her ears, and for the briefest second, a flash of silvery-blue light danced at the edge of her vision. She blinked and it was gone.
Sebastian scooped her into his arms and walked over to her bed, making her lean against the bedframe as he gently placed her down. He grabbed a slice of apple from her food tray that was nearby and brought it closer to her lips, "Eat it." He said firmly.
Fernanda didn't needed to be told twice, she unhesitatingly bit on the apple slice in his hand. The sweetness of the fruit almost made her shed tears, her stomach grumbled fiercely this time demanding for more. He pulled the table closer and took a plate of food from the tray to feed her more.
Sebastian was seething with rage and tried his best to mask it but Fernanda could sense it. He had always had a resting angered face but that wasn't what she was currently seeing. The look on his face was murderous and it was obviously clear that he wasn't going to let this slide.
Her maidservants might get into trouble for her recklessness, Fernanda knew she had to either do or say something because Sebastian already looked like he will be going on a murder spree as soon as he was done feeding her.
"I am solely at fault for this." She said, her voice almost inaudible. "Your maidservants were careless, they are going to pay for it." He responded few seconds later, his voice gruff.
"Nobody needs to pay for anything. I made the decision to starve myself." Fernanda said in a whisper, she was still too weak to be loud. "You don’t understand the risk you pose to yourself." Sebastian said, voice low, strained.
Fernanda was about to reply when a sharp chill bloomed in the air around them. The ends of her wet hair turned stiff, frost curling lightly along the silver handles of the food tray beside the bed.
Sebastian didn’t seem to notice. His fists were clenched at his sides, jaw tight.
“If you refuse to care for yourself, I will make sure someone else pays for it,” he growled, and a thin veil of frost shimmered across the surface of the bedside mirror.
“You’re not going to hurt them,” Fernanda snapped, ignoring the goosebumps racing down her arms. Whether it was fear or the cold, she couldn’t tell.
"Please! Spare them, they didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault, let me pay for it." Fernanda told him, her voice though shaky, was determined.
Their eyes were locked against one another's and for some reason, Fernanda felt she shouldn't have said what she had just said.