Luciana glanced at Freya, then shyly averted her gaze, her hand going to her stomach which was still perfectly flat. "Yes. I am pregnant."Freya's face lit up for a moment, then she frowned. "When were you planning to tell me? I should be the first person you told." "I am sorry. I thought you'd be very excited if I tell you the day you and Elric would leave. You know, something to keep you smiling on your way back."Freya shook her head. "Now I heard from your handmaiden first. I will hold it against you forever." She joked. She then stood up and went over to Luciana. "Congratulations Lucy." She hugged her cheerfully, and Luciana laughed. "You should take Rebecca's advice. I will continue.""You need to rest as well." Luciana urged her, but Freya shook her head."Go on, don't worry. I will be coming in soon. There are still a lot to explore here."Luciana knew that she would not be coming in soon. She knew Freya was desperate, and she would not stop as long as there were still books
Elric's eyes met Freya for a moment, and he sent her a warm smile. He wanted to say something to her, but since it was Luciana's wedding, he should pay her all the attention. "You look beautiful, Luciana." He stated, and she smiled. "Thank you Elric. You look dashing yourself." She then walked to Elric and linked her arm in his. Before they walked out, Dahlia rushed to them and whispered in Luciana's ear; "Fuck him hard tonight." Luciana's eyes widened, but she did not have the time to respond. She noticed Elric's discreet smile and she knew that he heard. But thankfully, he didn't make a comment, he just walked her out of the room. When they got to the front of the double doors of the throne room, Elric stopped walking and turned to her. She too turned to look at him. She wondered if he was still attracted to her in any way. She believed he was now over her. She liked that he was the one giving her away. It symbolizes that he was indeed letting her go, and he seemed satisfied.
Dahlia's eyes were wide open, and Lorenzo could tell that she was afraid. They were about to leave the dance floor, but he held her back, and continued to dance with her, his body covering her."You don't need to be afraid. He cannot take you away from here.""He will disrupt this wedding. He definitely didn't come here to shake hands and make peace." She shook her head."Calm down Dahlia. No matter what he does, he can not take you away. He is not foolish enough to disrupt the wedding of the King and the Queen in their own kingdom. He could lose his life. That would result in war, and your father's men are no match for Durville's army. He would not risk that."Dahlia nodded, but she was still very watchful of her father. She saw him get to the dance floor, picked a girl and began to dance with her."We should alert the King and Queen." Dahlia suggested, and Lorenzo nodded.A servant walked by, and he called her. He whispered something in her ears, and she left.Soon Dahlia noticed an
Malthus came to face Raziel, his gaze brimming with arrogance. "Give me my daughter now, king Raziel, if you do not want me to rain chaos on your kingdom."Raziel was so tempted to laugh, even though he was boiling within. How could the man be so fortunate? "You are lucky, you know that?" If only this was not his wedding, and he would not like to ruin it for Luciana. She was even pregnant, and the last thing he wanted was to stress her out. If only the duke had done this when he was still a prince, and had no care in the world. Perhaps his head would had been rolling on the floor. He was sure that the duke knew that, and that was the reason he chose that day to visit."Where is my wife?" Another angry but annoying voice came from behind him. He turned to see King Ralph. This fool! He almost rolled his eyes.Raziel pointed at him. "Are you not the impotent king? Who invited you here?" He asked loud enough for people to hear, and they burst into laughter.Ralph instinctively recoiled, f
Freya woke up the next day to see Elric sitting on a chair in front of the bed, watching her. He had a look of mischief on his face as their eyes met. He then leaned back into the chair."Good mooorning Freya." He drawled teasingly. "Did you sleep well?"She sat up, her mind blank for the first few seconds. Then snippets of what happened last night began to appear in her head. He carrying her up the stairs, placing her on the bed... She could just remember fragments, but she hoped and prayed that she didn't do something to embarrass herself. But from his teasing look, she guessed that she would had done so."Good morning... Duke Elric." She greeted shyly, avoiding his gaze.He chuckled. "Duke Elric? We have gone back to the formalities again? Isn't that interesting?" He teased, laughing softly. She definitely embarrassed herself."Did anything happen? Did I say anything stupid? Know that I don't mean it." A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but Elric continued laughing. "Why are you
Luciana and Raziel were stopped by the woman, as she hurried up to them. "Your majesties, please wait."They turned to her, not knowing who she was. She even looked very stressed."Why don't you just come in?" Luciana invited her, but the woman shook her head."I will soon be on my way. I just wanted to know something. I have been searching for my husband for weeks now. I don't know where he is. But someone told me that he was last seen here." She sounded desperate. "Please, I really need your help finding him.""Where are you from?" Raziel asked her."I am from Wesborne, in the kingdom of Vacresh. My husband is a Lord.""Who is he?""His name is Marshall, Marshall Kruger. He left, telling me that he was travelling for some business, but he never came back. They are about to take everything from me. I need him." She was now almost at the verge of tears.Luciana and Raziel expressed the same shock at the mention of Kruger's name. So she was his wife? Raziel looked over to her to know i
"Dahlia, do you still want to become the Duchess after your father?" Luciana asked Dahlia one day, as they had tea in the garden. She remembered that it was one thing Dahlia really wanted and worked hard for. Her desires wouldn't just go away like that."I have let that go. My father will never agree to that. He would never had agreed when I was still living with him obediently, not to talk of now that I have become so rebellious." She laughed. "It is not possible. Besides I am very satisfied with the life I have here now. It is more than everything I could ever ask of you."Luciana smiled. "But if you were still given the opportunity, would you like to take over after him?""I guess so. But not now. Let me enjoy the total freedom I have now without being tied to so much responsibilities. It is not everytime girls like me get to do whatever we want." Dahlia responded."Even when you become the Duchess, you should not let too much expectations tie you down. One thing I learnt from Razi
Freya stared at Elric, wondering if he just said that to get to Lady Kruger. That should be it. It would have been lovely if he meant it though."You don't know her? But she claim to know you. Take a good look at her." He then glanced at her from the side of her eyes. "Or maybe she has become so much more beautiful than the last time you saw her." Freya's eyes widened. Was he on something? "I think the last time you saw her, she was all skins and bones. Look at her very well, and tell me you remember her." The smile in his face had now disappeared, and was replaced with a seriousness that made her a little alarmed. Even Freya was surprised at the sudden change in her demeanor.Lady Kruger then stared at Freya, her brows knotted in concentration. She was about to say that she did not recognize her, until realization suddenly dawned on her. Her eyes circled wide, and she covered her wide opened mouth with both hands. "She... She's the one? I... I didn't know she was yours." She took a g
Time rolled by fast, and soon it was time for Luciana to deliver. The midwives did their best to ease her pain, and make her comfortable, but it was still a hell of pain for her. Raziel stayed with her all through, holding her hand, giving her his comfort, but even that did not work this time. She ended up hitting and scratching him for the most time. After a moment of difficulty and pain, the baby finally came out. When Luciana heard the cry, all the pain was forgotten. She wanted to reach up for the baby, but the midwife already placed it on her chest. "Congratulations, your majesty. It's a boy." She glanced at Raziel who had his eyes on the baby, before returning her eyes to the miniature being. She stared at the child, her eyes becoming moist. There was this feeling of completeness she had just from staring at him, from hearing his little cries. Raziel still held her hand, kissing the back of her palm as he watched his baby in the arms of his precious wife. He had expected this
The next few days with Elric were the best for Freya. He had always treated her good, but now he treated her like something so delicate, so precious, so valued. She never knew that she could fall more for him, but she thought wrong. What was there not to fall for? Sometimes she wondered if he was only a figment of her imagination because he was so perfect.Everything was going so perfectly. The construction for her foundation was ongoing, and he had introduced her to some individuals of high status, and they had also supported her. She knew that some of them just wanted to be close to Elric, but she would take every support. At least, they would help her create awareness.It was all laughter and fun, until the night of the next full moon. She had been worried the whole day, and Elric was the one calming her down. There was a chance that he would not pass through his usual episodes, but the uncertainty gnawed at her.Night finally came, and the moon came out. She lay beside him, prepar
Elric stared at Freya, concern filling his gaze. She seemed a little frightened, as she hugged herself, her heart beat rising, almost as if she was going into a panic."Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you. I just..." She gasped. Just as he was about taking her clothes off, she had a flash back of when she was in Lord Kruger's mansion, and she was forced out of her clothes."Tell me." He urges her on gently, and she took a deep breath."I... it felt like... I only remembered when I was in Lord Kruger's house. He always took my clothes off." She then confessed in one breath, her body trembling a little."Come here." He pulled her into his embrace. "Don't worry, we will take it slowly." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, calming her down. "I'm am not Kruger, and I will never ever hurt you." He assured her. "Remember what I told you when you were afraid of letting anyone touch you? I said it was your mind playing tricks on yo
Freya woke up the next morning, wanting to get out of bed. Then she discovered that there was a weight holding her down. That was when she realized that Elric had slept on her bed. She screamed internally. Now she didn't feel like getting up again.She turned to him, staring at his face. How could someone look so good? Her eyes fell to his lips, and she remembered their kiss the previous night.Elric's lips slowly curved into a smile, and she realized that he was awake."Good morning." He greeted in a low but husky morning voice, and her heart did a little flip. This man was trying her patience. He even had dimples... Ugh!"How long have you been awake?" She asked."A long while now.""And you didn't get up?""I prefer lying down here with you."Oh no, he just woke up and decided to attack her heart.His eyes suddenly opened to meet her orbs, staring back at him."As much as I would love to stay here all day, I have to get up."She nodded in understanding. "How do you feel now?" She c
Freya didn't let Elric get up, as she basically jumped on him, and he fell back into the bed."You are okay!" She exclaimed, hugging him, her hands tightly wounded around his neck. "You scared me, you scared me so much." She whispered to him."I'm sorry I put you through that." He whispered back, stroking her hair. "I'm really sorry."Luciana and Raziel gave each other a look, before deciding to leave them to their privacy.After hugging him for a little while longer, she pulled herself up, but her legs still straddled him. "How are you feeling? Did it work?"Elric's brows furrowed, before he realized. She had actually stabbed him. That was why he lost consciousness in the first place. What did she use? He remembered the excruciating pain he felt."What did you do to me?"She thinned as lips, as she prepared herself to answer. "Please don't get angry.""I only want to know."She nodded, feeling a little nervous. "It was the vampire poison. Luciana and I... We wanted to kill your vampi
Freya didn't know when the hours passed, but the next time she raised her head, it was already morning, and Elric was still yet to wake up. She got up, utterly tired. She didn't sleep at all through the night, hoping that he would wake up.She paced around the room restlessly in confusion, refusing to believe what her mind was telling her. She believed that he would wake up. Perhaps it would just take a little while to work. After walking for a while, she sat on the floor, her back against the wall.She stayed like that for only a few seconds before going back to the bed. She rested her head on his chest to check for his heart beat, but she still heard nothing. Her heart sank to her stomach, and she reached to clutch her own chest. Terror gripped her so hard, she felt like it would fall off.She suddenly burst into laughter. This was all a joke right? Perhaps it was a very bad dream. Because this could not be happening to her. She didn't fall completely and stupidly in love with him j
Freya engaged Elric's in talks and some fun games to keep his mind occupied. She also tried playing with his hair, making it the way her mother used to do for her and Luciana, making him appear a bit feminine. She thought he was still handsome in it though. It was as if her attempts to distract him was actually working, as he was still doing a good job controlling himself.But even with all her efforts, Freya couldn't prevent the inevitable. She noticed that he was beginning to experience his torture again when she saw that his palms were tightly clenched, and he had also gone quiet, leaving her to do all the talking. He also had his eyes tightly shut.She reached for his clenched fists, and was surprised to feel moisture. His claws has elongated, and he had wounded himself.Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, and she just reached to hold his clenched fists. This seemed like it was going to be a very long night."Hey, how are you feeling?" She couldn't help but ask. She wanted to
Luciana gave Freya a small dagger, coated with the poison. Freya's heart skipped at the reality of the situation was beginning to dawn on her. This was a really really big risk to take, and the 'what ifs' were too much."Do you need me to stay back and help you with it?" Luciana offered when she noticed Freya's nervousness, but Freya shook her head in refusal."I want to do this. And I think Raziel would throw me in your dungeons if I keep you too long." She joked, and Luciana laughed."Alright then. I wouldn't like to plead on your behalf. People might think I'm bias because you are my sister."Freya only chuckled a bit. "Thank you Lucy. It was nice having you over."After Luciana and Raziel had left, Freya became overly aware of the time. She also kept a very close eye on Elric to know if he planned on leaving the house. But he was just still very much like himself, and it didn't seem like he planned to go anywhere. She still asked Alice to keep an eye on him, just in case she misse
Freya was floating among the clouds as she recalled the kiss between her and Elric the previous day. She was currently lying on her bed, but she couldn't help the smile on her face. She decided to write to Luciana."Calm down Freya, it's only a kiss." She scolded herself as she got up. She had been telling herself that since the kiss happened, especially when she was close to Elric.At dinner the previous night, she thought it was going to be awkward between them, but it wasn't at all. He was very casual, and even a little more touchy. Perhaps he would think she was acting like a child. Actually, anyone would think that she was acting like a child.She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. Her heart skipped a little, thinking it was Elric. She opened the door only to find Alice."Good morning, Lady Freya. Did I wake you up?"Freya shook her head. "Not at all. I have been up for a while. Is there a problem?""The duke wants to speak to you. He is in the balcon