The semi-concrete roads of the town were almost void of residents.
Lianne and Lenora passed from one store to another only to find that the stores were either closed for the day or the vendors were with the procession.
The town looked like it had gotten through the battery of time.
Some of the structures had cracks on the edges, some had their paint fading, and others covered by moss. When they reached the plaza of the town, Lianne saw a statue of the late king build in the center of the fountain. She cringed at the sight of it.
“This statue would become memorabilia soon enough, but never will this be brought down. His son wouldn’t allow it,” the princess whispered low whilst staring at the statue forty meters high.
The plaza constituted of a natural wide lake. It was surrounded by mainly red oak trees and pines that grow to high lengths.
Th
It didn’t take the princess long for her to visit back the town.After her breakfast, she immediately took off riding Arinna, but this time, she took another route.She decided to scout the south side of the mansion where a couple of meters away was the famous white sand beach connected to the wide stretch of blue-green ocean.It was a scenery she had always hoped to tour since she had seen only a small part of the ocean from her balcony, which was facing the east side; so there was always the sunrise and the mountains greeting her every day.She so much wanted to swim the ocean and taste the saltiness of it. Now, it was her chance to plunge into the water and feel the burning light of the sun touching her skin.She left her horse and her riding dress just a few meters away in a stony rock ledge when she arrived at the shoreline, confident that no one would find her swimmin
Early morning of the third day since the entourage’s departure, Lianne was already feeling anxious for the next day of which she knew the entourage would arrive, but she was oblivious of the prince’s subsequent premature arrival on this very day.She knew if she would remain in her room or within the vicinity of the mansion, then she’d feel more uneasy, so she once again went to ride on her horse back to town.She passed through the forest on the north side and took a basket of apples on her way.The town was livelier than it was two days ago and many of the stores were open for business now.There were horsemen riding on the streets and carriages passing to and from the market place.A group of children and adolescents were running and jumping at the sides of the road as she passed by looking like they were happily playing some kind of game.
The water trickled down Ruen’s hair to his torso as he took a refreshing shower to cleanse his thoughts.It would have been one good way to relieve his stress, but every time he watched the water run down his skin, it reminded him constantly of how the liquid would mold well with Lianne’s body.It would seem that the water was luckier than he was for it could touch her and feel her without qualm.“Lianne...” Ruen murmured in desperation as he closed his eyes and recollected his thoughts to that last kiss they shared.It ached his heart somehow knowing he would never see her again.Would she be angry if he would come looking for her then? Would she be angry if he were to find her and have her imprisoned inside the castle?Of course, she would.He violently shook his head to clear the thoughts away.
Lianne was lying underneath him, her legs secured together and flexed to provide him no entrance to her modesty. Her pupils dilated as she began to realize what he was about to do based on the very position they were in.“Your Highness,” Lianne spoke, her voice trembling. As opposed to her anger earlier, her eyes showed fear now as he looked at him. “Don’t...don’t do this.”His face lowered close to hers. She, in response, closed her eyes and shifted her head to the side. Her cheeks began to spread a deep shade of red, her hands shook, and her heart pounded agonizingly fast.“No, please...”She braved to look at him again as she pleaded her case. She expected his expression to be of greed and lust, much like Cain and the duke, but it was different. Entirely different.Though Ruen’s orbs were icily cold, it showed a visible fer
It was a very busy afternoon and probably the most joyous of all celebrations.At last, the Kingdom of Regaleria was set to go on the path of righteousness, on the path to glory and magnificence, minus the death and bloodshed of course.Or at least that’s what all the people in the mansion hoped for.Whether the newly crowned king will follow the footsteps of the late King Garlow or not, that was the prime question. King Garlow raised Prince Ruen after all, the traits of being like the late king, all he had inherited.Lianne knew she couldn’t stay away from the celebration, but she wanted as much as she could not to run into the prince in any of the hallways. It would be awkward if they were to see each other after that heated encounter the last day.Being in the horse field was her best option, but it seemed that all of her plans were wasted when the princess saw the
“Lianne, I love you. I need you to be with me forever,” Cain whispered the words close to her ear without any qualms.Lianne froze when she heard him say it, unable to believe his frankness. She felt him lower his head to her shoulders, taking in all of her scent. Then, she felt a tickling sensation as he brushed his lips along the plane of her neck.“Ah!” Lianne let out an audible gasp, but it was not of pleasure, but of distress, of distaste. She pulled out of his hold and the moment Cain heard her distressing reaction, he freed her immediately, stunned and confused.“Lianne?” His eyebrow lifted.The princess quickly collected herself, touching her neck on the spot where she felt his lips touch.“I...I’m sorry,” she apologized. But what was she apologizing for? she thought. Was it for her reaction? Or was it the fact that sh
It was already midnight, yet Lianne still couldn’t sleep.It was difficult for her to disregard the fact that she had not eaten dinner and that it made her stomach growl in protest. But what had mainly hindered her from drifting to slumber were her thoughts of what happened the night earlier with the newly-crowned King.She knew she had slapped his pride real good and that she was the one to blame for their confrontation. How could she have forgotten he had risked his life for her?The act itself was concrete proof that he wasn’t being manipulated by his father.Now, she felt absolutely guilty to be easily misled by Duke Conrad’s words.Seeing the prince for the first time express such emotions was a complete shock for her. All this time, she had thought of him as a person devoid of emotions. He would usually wear his familiar cold, blunt facade as if he was not
Ruen looked at her with eyes burning every fiber of her being. He leaned against the door frame and said, “A minute it is then,” crossing both his arms while waiting for her to respond.Lianne clenched her hands into a fist, conjuring up enough strength to confront the King despite his taunting gaze.What was wrong with her now? She was stubborn already to seek an audience with him, but it was as if all her resolve had weakened just by the mere sight of him standing there, so close, so attractive, and so inviting.Her eyes betrayed her as it perused the length of his bare chest. He was wearing his nightclothes just like her. Simple to say, they were both informally dressed.With this realization, her body suddenly turned hot, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. This reaction only convinced her how vulnerable she was to this kind of attack of her senses. She couldn’t cr