Fang Ten

“Time is what we want most but what we use worst.” ...

I stood in place, unable to catch my breath, I deflected my panicked gaze from his aloof eyes and was fortunate enough to catch Penelope, who stood, watching from a distance.

She noticed my gaze and walked over to where we stood. At her arrival, his Majesty freed my wrists and picked up the vase.

"Perhaps I'll put it away, now that there's an inquisitive one in the castle." He crudely remarked, possibly referring to me. I used my fingertips to massage my swollen wrist.

"That would be best, I very much believe my blood would be quite a hideous shade of red." I retorted sharply, turning to take my quick leave.

He snorted from behind me, "Ah, what an interesting take indeed." I heard him say as he made his own exit, placing stress on the word interesting, as though he were mocking me.

Usually, I would have bowed my head and retreated to my quarters. But that was back home, you see this was now my husband's territory, meaning it belonged to me as well.

On that basis, who else would dare to scold me? His Majesty? Well, a little scolding never hurt anyone, now did it?

I ungracefully turned around, Penelope sighed and pinched her temples, cursing her for making the trip here.

"And, what colour would his Majesty's blood be?" I asked, my voice resonated off the halls, a reminder that this place was both quite large, and rather empty.

His Majesty halted his steps and looked over his shoulder at me. "Ebony, Ebony black." He answered with a bite in his words.

I could not help myself but chuckle, he furrowed his brows as he made a full turn, sizing me up with his icy cold glare. "Would her highness care to share what it is she finds so amusing?" His Majesty asked in a prickly tone, surely angered by me.

Immediately, I straightened my back and gave him a square look and folded my arms across my chest. Without raising an alarm, I marched over to where he stood and started to study every part of him before me.

He raised a questioning brow utterly thrown off when I grabbed one of his wrists and gave it a firm squeeze, though my strength counted for nothing.

"What in the devil's name are you..."

"See!" I pointed out, amazed by my obvious discovery, his majesty deflected his crimson red eyes to a pink patch decorated on his pale wrist.

"Your blood is red." I reiterated. Little did I expect his Majesty to titter at my sense of humor, and I did not know when I found myself giggling.

It was the sound of Penelope's clapping that pulled me out of the trance his Majesty placed me under. I let go of his wrist and swiftly stood beside Penelope.

"Why, if I knew you prefered the company of my brother, I would have asked him to give you the tour in my place. It isn't too late now, what do you say brother? Could you give her higness the regal tour?" Penelope implored, taking the vase off his majesty's hand.

"I'll make double sure to keep it well, so your mind can be at ease, whilst you two stroll around like all the other mundane newlyweds." She said, pulling her lips back, apparently sickened by the idea.

Stepping forward I chipped in, "surely his Majesty has a number of things to attend to..."

"Let's visit the drawing room then." His Majesty chimed, cutting me off. I blinked twice, wondering what devil had possessed him into offering to show me around.

Just what sort of marriage bond did we both share?

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We both walked through the halls without saying a word to each other. His Majesty had his hands behind him and I had mine in front. We truly did resemble a pair of newlyweds, taking a stroll. Save for the fact that we avoided each other's eyes and we're horribly out of step while walking.

I fought back the urge to ask why his Majesty why there were no guards stationed in the palace, or at least none that I could see.

Fortunately he stopped walking, "we've arrived." Said he, standing in front of two mighty doors, too heavy looking for such a delicate looking man to push back.

Or so I thought. I stood corrected, when his Majesty effortlessly pushed back the doors, to reveal a spacious room with a long table which had twelve seats round it.

"How does her highness like it?" His Majesty asked standing in the middle of the room with spread out arms. I swiftly used my palm to mask the wide grin spread across my face. Although I doubted he would see it.

When Penelope said she had made arrangements, she meant that she had gone out of her way to let down all the curtains, blocking all ounces of sunlight.

"It is my first time being inside a drawing room." I admitted, running my fingers across the shelves which housed a various number of maps.

I was curious and wanted to see one, but was interrupted by his Majesty, he had a paid of dice in one hand, and in the other a bottle of wine.

"Wine?" I asked in wide eyed stun, "have you had any?" He asked me in a flat tone.

"I'm afraid only once, father would not let either me nor Daphne have any. He said it was too unbecoming of women to drink such overwhelming substances." I discovered sooner than later, that around his Majesty, I was awfully chatty.

His demeanor dampened all of a sudden, I was tempted to ask what had placed a damper on his mood, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, I deflected my gaze to the dice he held in his hands.

"May I?" I asked, perhaps pulling him out of his thoughts. He stared at my eyes intently, swallowing my wits and quirkiness with a single gaze.

I turned my head away before he could burn the image of my imperfection into his mind, he took two steps back, and dropped the wine on the table.

"Do you want to give it a go?" His Majesty perfectly balanced the dice in-between his fingers, and stared at me with a tempting look in his eyes.

"A game?" I mumbled.

"A gamble." He answered in a firm voice, playing the role of the proverbial devil, here to tempt my pure virtues.

But the only difference in this scenario was, that I was ever bit more of a devil as he was.

Hence, I marched up to him and pinched my chin, "What are the stakes?" I asked in the most daring tone, curious of the idea, no...

I was smitten by it.