•Benjamin• Green eyes stared back at me in the mirror as I buttoned up my white shirt. It was somewhere around six in the morning and I figured that starting off early would cater best to the busy day ahead. Thinking back to the request that Heather made yesterday, I was curious to see her reaction. Most nobles - especially high nobles - would never associate themselves with the poor, especially villagers. A part of me thought that she might be doing this as lip service. Maybe she thought that she would seem more attractive or queen-like if she was a "helping the poor and defending the weak" type of person. Those type of hypocritical people annoyed me the most. They behaved like they were doing everyone a favour by being nice. No matter how many times I witnessed it, it angered me no less. Helping someone in order to brag about it and get praise from the people around you was not help. At the same time, Heather was a mystery to me. It was difficult to know what she was thin
•Heather• I was seated in front of my dressing table as I watched Annie and Bridgette move back and forth while they made preparations for the night. I had already taken my shower and my ladies bathed me in a soft lavender fragrance before applying honey oil on my skin. I had taken a pill a few minutes ago and was brushing my hair while I waited. With all the bustle that this night created, I somewhat felt like Benjamin and I were announcing that we were going to sleep together and it was quite embarrassing. Seeing that the same thing happened on our wedding night, I hoped that it wouldn't be like this every time we wanted to have sex. After finding out Benjamin's womanizing past, I was sure that he knew how to please a woman and this made me even more self-conscious. I wasn't confident that I would please him, but keeping Annie's advice in mind, I tried not to think about it too much. "My Queen," Annie called as she stood next to me, "It's time to go to his Majesty's room." I l
•Heather• I groaned softly as I turned under the warm covers of Benjamin's bed. Slowly opening my eyes, I squinted them immediately at the invasion of the soft sunlight that shone in through the open curtains. When my eyes got used to the light, I sat up and stretched my hands over my head with a yawn. I felt refreshed this morning and the slight soreness in-between my legs served as a reminder of last night's activities. Warmth filled my cheeks as I thought about how I would face Benjamin later. I looked at where he slept and my brows furrowed in confusion when I saw that he wasn't there. As much as I felt relieved, I couldn't help but wonder where he went. "Good morning, Heather," Benjamin greeted as he walked into the room from the bathroom and I looked at him. He was buttoning up the cuffs of his shirt while he would occasionally look up at me. "Good morning, your Majesty," I answered, making him chuckle. "Still on the formalities?" "I'm more comfortable using your ti
•Heather• A few minutes into the party, Benjamin and I watched the crowd mingle from our throne. Everybody was having a good time as they talked over drinks, but I was bored out of my mind. The guests could only approach us for greetings if we kept sitting here. As much as the royal family scared me to an extent, I wanted to socialize with them and show them that I was part of the family as well. I looked at Benjamin and unlike the night of our wedding, he didn't bother to smile. I could not blame him though. Given where we were seated, it was not hard to spot a few nasty glares here and there. "Your Majesty," I called, making him look at me. "Are we going to interact with the family tonight?" "Do you want to interact with the royals?" he asked, his tone heavy on the term "royals" and it felt like he was correcting me for using the word family earlier. I hesitantly nodded. "But that is only if you don't mind." "I don't." He stood up and offered his hand to me and I receiv
•Heather• After dinner, we went back to socializing and I was getting pretty tired. Benjamin was talking to a someone that I wasn't familiar with so, I stood next to him with a smile on my face as I held myself from dozing off. I could not wait for the night to come to an end. I didn't have any expectations on how the guests would behave but despite the smiles and laughs, they all seemed to have some sort of invisible barrier around them. My family was definitely not the best but at least we had some moments of warmth. I had Diane to defend me when my father let out his anger on me and she would always play with me when the other kids didn't want to. She stood up for me when I couldn't and being the lovable person that she was, people rarely got angry with her. Even on my worst days, Diane would never stop trying to put a smile on my face. Who did Benjamin have on his worst days? "My Queen," Silvester said as he walked towards Benjamin and I. "You look tired." I smiled at h
•Benjamin• Would I mind? Of course, I wouldn't. Who would refuse an offer such as this one? I looked at Heather's slender shoulder down to the top of her back. I was laying right behind her but our bodies didn't touch. We were both naked and I wanted to touch her, but scaring her was something that I was not willing to do. My eyes went up to her hair that was tied in a messy bun. I could see that her ears were red and I wondered if she had any clue about how she was making me feel. I wasn't a man who restricted myself and to be honest, I was not going to start any time soon. Although I try to hold myself back when it came to Heather, there was only so much I could do especially when she was naked right in front of me. I moved closer to her and put my arm over her waist. Feeling her tremble against me, I took that as permission to move closer until our bodies touched. Her warm skin was heavenly soft and it smelled amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about how it felt under
•Heather• "There's nothing else to do today?" I asked before taking a sip of my afternoon tea. "No. The King hasn't given any duties to you yet," Bridgette answered. I sighed and put my cup down. "Do you think that he is doing this on purpose?" "It's still the week of the festival so, work really dulls down during this period." "I don't believe you." And I really didn't. If work really dulled down, why did I not see Benjamin unless late at night? He looked busy while I had way too much time on my hands than I would have liked. Benjamin has been behaving weird recently and I had no idea why. Our relationship was good enough and I thought that we were going to get even closer especially now that we slept in the same room, but I guess I thought wrong. Ever since we slept together on my second night in his room, Benjamin hasn't touched me. We still slept on the same bed and even cuddled, but that was it. I wasn't complaining but I did not think that he would let me be eve
•Heather• I stared at Scott in mild shock. I have never thought of something like that, but wasn't paying evil with evil wrong? Didn't it make things even worse? "I can already see that you disagree with me," Scott said. "And I don't blame you. It's ridiculous but it takes a thief to catch a thief, right?" "I don't know what to say about that," I answered honestly. "I apologize for surprising you with my words but that's how it looks like in my eyes." "But are there not better ways to sort something like this?" He hummed thoughtfully. "The King might not look like it, but that man's thoughts are all over the place. He tends to overthink things." I furrowed my brows in disbelief. Benjamin and overthinking didn't go together. He always looked like he had everything under control that I couldn't even imagine him dwelling over his thoughts for more than necessary. "What do you think, my Queen?" Scott's question pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked at him. "About wha
×Heather×I took a small sip of my tea, afraid that it would cause another eruption of vomit, and when it didn't, I sighed in relief."Is this the same one that you served at first?" I asked as I looked at Bridgette."Yes, but I added honey instead of sugar cubes. Does it taste different?"I hummed and took another sip before reaching down to rub my belly. "Not really but I can tell. The baby seems to like it." "I'm happy to hear that. Please enjoy it while you can."And I was. Ever since I entered the second month of my pregnancy, food has become a challenge. I was never a picky eater but the baby was very particular about what I ate and I would be lying if I said that it wasn't annoying. You could never get used to the feeling of vomiting out your insides.I also became very sensitive to scents so I couldn't paint anymore. The scent that I loved became one that gave ma a headache. On the bright side, I was excited to have a child. They still had a long way to go until they would be
×Heather×Dawn came quickly and we had to go into the carriage after the servants were done preparing everything. I was exhausted and half asleep that by the time the carriage started moving, I went back to sleep.This time, our journey was peaceful and quiet but for the hooves hitting the ground below. That was probably because of the large number of reinforcements that surrounded us and I was grateful that there were no complications in having them sent to us.Benjamin had calmed down even though I noticed that he had a lot on his mind. I strongly doubted that Prince Alfred would get out of this unscathed but that would mean our relations getting worse. It would also mean that I couldn't see Diane anymore.I worried for my sister and wondered if she knew about Prince Alfred's plans to attack us. And if she did, I wondered what she thought about it. Diane's hatred for Benjamin was a bit of a shock to me and I would not be surprised if that's what made her be okay with this plan, if s
×Benjamin×I kicked one of our attackers away from my sword and watched as he fell onto the ground with a loud groan."I will ask again, what do you plan to gain by doing this?" I asked as I pointed my sword at him. He spat blood to his side and glared at me without saying a word. I chuckled. "You have no idea of how lucky you are that I chose to repeat myself instead of resorting to torture." Seeing that he stood firm on keeping his silence, I drove my sword into his shoulder and watched as his face twisted in pain. This man was the leader of the group assigned to attack us. Despite knowing that the objective was an assassination, the way this was done was strange. "I know that Alfred sent you. Your silence will bring little benefit to you so, it's best for you to speak," I said."Even if I speak, I will end up dead either way," the young man answered. I hummed and pulled out the sword before driving it into his thigh. "Then it will make no difference if you speak.""Go to hell, y
×Heather×I shifted nervously in my seat as we waited for Benjamin to arrive. Prince Alfred and Diane were already in the dining room when I got here but due to courtesy reasons, we could not begin our meal with a member of the table missing.The room was quiet but for the small talk that Diane and Prince Alfred shared. They tried to involve me a few times but I was too absent minded to maintain the conversation.I looked down at the tableware as I tried to gather my thoughts together. Despite spending the night and most of my morning with Benjamin, I still could not get over the fact that he was here.He was here and even confessed his feelings for me. Benjamin and I loved each other. I could finally think and say that with confidence. I was literally floating in a cloud of bliss that I did not even care if it showed on my face. "Apologies for the wait," Benjamin said as he entered the room looking as dashing as ever in simple yet outstanding attire. "You sure took your time," Prin
×Benjamin×"I apologize, okay?" I said for the hundredth time that morning as I pulled Heather even closer to me.We were seated up against the headboard of the bed while Heather rested against my bare chest. We had just woken up but my Queen wasn't in the best of moods because I failed to keep my promise to do something about preventing any possibility of pregnancy.I pulled out the first time but everything else after that was a blur. Despite Heather being angry right now, she seemed to enjoy it when I released inside her, but it did not seem wise to bring that up now."If I get pregnant, it's all your fault," she said with an adorable pout and I failed to contain the joyful chuckle that escaped me."Well, if you do get pregnant, I will be a very happy man," I replied. "You will take care of it yourself!"I laughed. "You are not that mean.""Fortunately, I am not." She sighed and after some hesitation, she continued, "Hey, Benjamin.""Hm? What is it?""If I get pregnant and give bi
×Heather×I clenched my hands tightly at my sides. What a fool I had been, loving a man who only wanted to get rid of me. Was everything that I saw and felt from him a lie? A delusion from my expectant and lovesick heart?I couldn't even stop the tears that rolled down my face - I did not bother to hide them. My chest ached in unexplainable ways as air failed to leave my lungs. It took all my strength to keep my legs from giving out and I wondered what I did to deserve this kind of treatment. Benjamin hesitantly touched my arm but I pulled myself away from him and took a few steps back. "Heather, I apologize. I didn't mean for it to come out like that," he added quickly, frustration clearly written on his face. "Then how was it supposed to come out like, Benjamin!? If you really don't want me, just say that instead of making me go around in circles; unaware of the reality of our marriage.""That's not it. I would never not want you." "That's nothing coming from a man who is stuck
•Benjamin•I put down the document that Alfred handed to me after our discussion and looked across the table at him. If it wasn't for his clenched fist on the table, I would not have noticed that he was nervous."Before you give me an answer, please give it some more thought," Alfred said as he straightened himself in his seat. "I know that it sounds ridiculous, especially since our Kingdoms barely have connections with each other, but I need a higher achievement to give me an extra push.""Haven't you already achieved much for your Kingdom?" I asked as I briefly glanced at the papers in front of me. "Why are you going so far just to ask for my help? Or should I say, threaten me to help?""I didn't not get her Majesty to threaten you.""Then why? Do you know that what you've done has basically given me permission to have your head put in a box?"He chuckled. "I did not know that you needed permission to do that."Scott stepped forward with a deep frown etched into his features but I r
•Heather• I nervously ran my hands down the red dress that I wore as I gave myself one last look in the full length mirror. Despite its lovely fabric, I was worried that it made my pale skin stand out more. I sighed, wishing that Bridgette and Anne were here to help me to not feel too self conscious. Today was the day that Benjamin was coming to Bluet Roei and as much as they tried to hide it, the atmosphere was enough to tell how tense the Castle was. The maids scurried left and right to get things in order, the stable men prepared the horses in case they were needed for a ride and the halls got cleaned over and over despite already being spotless.I wasn't allowed to leave the room that I was put in so, I spent most of my time drawing or reading. The room was huge with beautiful cream white walls that had artificial flower decorations hung over the lamp stands and mirror. The bed was large and heavenly soft. It was also close to the window that gave a view to the apple trees behin
Benjamin•I angrily stomped into my office and failed to keep my temper under a lid. I just finished my meeting with the subjects of Lefera and as expected, things did not go well. They didn't believe me at all.Most were free enough to make stupid comments while the silent ones spoke volumes with their facial expressions. The looks in their eyes reminded me of the day after my brother's death. The day my life changed in what I could only term as a messed up advantage.The day after I traded in my humanity for a better life. A life of isolation but nevertheless somewhat peaceful. I shook my head, pushing away the fog of anger and bitter regret, and reminded myself that Edward's death was not something that I did on impulse. He deserved a fate much worse than death.A roar escaped my throat and I angrily swept everything off my desk. Why were things getting so fucked up at the same time!?Time seemed to be moving in slow motion and my patience was running thin quickly. On top of this