Elinor’s heart beat a bit faster as Azeph took her hand pulling her into the room with a smile. She looked back at the door as it was being shut then turned back toward him his mind racing with a million thoughts as she wondered what was about to happen.“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything,” He reassured her and she felt herself blush at her unwarranted thoughts, “At least for now,” He added and her cheeks grew even hotter making him chuckle.She swatted his chest and he pulled her into his arms in a loving hug easing her annoyance with him instantly.“I only want to take care of you tonight,” He said still hugging her in his arms, “Will you let me take care of you?” He asked against her ears and she felt a shiver run down her spine.“There’s a maid for that, you know,” She said,“I want to be your maid for the night then. With a few more privileges,” He answered and she sighed against his chest.“Was that a yes?” He asked with a charming smile and she gave him a wry smile,“You have su
Elinor woke up to the rays of sunlight on her face and the feel of something heavy wrapped around her waist. At first, she panicked, but then she remembered last night.Azeph was spooning her from behind and she could feel his breathing against her neck. Slowly shifting to face him she smiled as she looked into his sleeping face. He was beautiful when he was sleeping too.“Seriously, you could win a beauty pageant,” She whispered, as she softly touched his face.“So do you,” He said his eyes still closed startling her.“You were awake?” She asked as he caught her hand,“No, I woke up when you moved,” He said as he left her hand to his lips and kissed her in the palm.“Good morning, Your royal highness,” He said.“Good morning, Azeph,” She said as she touched one hand on his bare chest and pressed a kiss to his shin.He gave her a surprised look and she grinned as she quickly wiggled out of bed and made her way toward the basin to wash her face.“That’s unfair, doing a surprise attack
There were very few things that Elinor loathed, some of them were dreadful formalities. As she stood there listening to the headmaster’s long speech as he went on with his poetic descriptions of the weather and the Academy, then their kingdom and the king after that. She just wanted to bang her head on the wall and cry in frustration.She looked down at the empty seat beside her and sighed. Louis’ seat was still empty even though Stella has returned safely to the academy. He had claimed that he had some urgent business to attend to and since then she had barely seen his face.The investigations on both attempt were on hold and it seems like her father had gotten involved when he heard about it later on.As if the sound of the explosion didn’t reach his ears as he departed from the count’s masion.Sometimes she wondered if her father trusted her or just thought that she was plain stupid.“Are you okay?” Azeph asked from her other side and she looked back at him with a smile.“I’m fine
“You know that there’s nothing we can do for him here. If he comes back, I will have to hand him over to the commander. It was his majesty’s orders,” the headmaster said as he sat down before her in his office.“Louis won’t come back here,” Elinor said with a calm tone, “ I think he already knows what awaits him if he comes back,”“I hope so. I can’t help but think there is something wrong about this. I am trying to contact his majesty as of now, and all my routs are getting blocked,” he said“I will look into it, hopefully, this crisis is nothing but a misunderstanding on my father’s part,” she said and the headmaster sighed and nodded.Elinor stood up to leave after excusing herself and the headmaster stopped her as she was exiting the door.“Don’t do anything reckless,” he said.“I do not know whatever you are talking about, head master,” she said.“You are not permitted to leave the academy,” he ordered.“And I do not intend to leave it in the near future,” she answered before ope
Elinor was standing in front of her door waiting, one beat went then another, then she heard the knock on the door. “Come in,” She said Azeph opened the door to her room his eyes widening when he found her waiting for him right behind the door. “You were expecting me,” He stated, “I was, you were acting weirdly distant all day so I knew that you would be following me tonight,” She said and he sighed. “I wish I could stop you, but I know better than to try to do that anymore,” He said and she gave him a rueful smile. “You know better, huh…” She answered, “You seem to speak from experience,” she teased, “Elin, this is not the time to joke around,” He scolded and she laughed. “I know. But I will never have the time to laugh if I wait for the right time,” She said with a smile and his eyes saddened understanding her meaning. “I thought that you would be worried sick about him again,” He said. “I am worried, but I know for a fact that he is still alive and well and that’s all I ne
Elinor felt goosebumps rising up her skin as she reached for her gun aiming it toward the stranger who appeared before them.Azeph hadn’t hesitated to pull out his sword as he faced the intruder before her pitting himself in line of danger despite the fact that they barely spoke a word to each other in the last half hour.“Woah, calm down you two it’s me,” a familiar voice said and Elinor’s eyes widened as Will stepped out of the shadow before them with a grin.“Did you think that I would let you go without me?” He asked as he slowly walked toward them.Both Elinor and Azeph sighed at the same time, surprised, they looked at each other only to look away awkwardly when their gazes met.“Did something happen between you two?” Will asked and Elinor awkwardly busied herself putting the gun back into her pocket.Azeph sighed and put back his sword in place.“You could’ve gotten hurt,” he told his friend who grinned at them not seeming remorseful at all.“Sorry, I kind of forgot about that
“Another secret passage,” she said with a plain tone, and Azeph chuckled.“I will go down first, to make sure that the route is safe,” he said and she nodded.“I can’t get my dress dirtied after all,” she said “You’re weirdly obsessed over your dress tonight, it’s very unlike you,” he commented as he jumped down.“Well, a lady must always maintain her posture and elegance. For there are times when it is the only thing that speaks for her character and origin,” Elinor said with a huff and Azeph grinned before picking her up and pulling her down toward him.She gasped in surprise only to circle her arms around his shoulders as he put her down in front of him.“Where did that sentence come from? It sounded terribly like a quote from an etiquette book,” he said as he pressed his forehead against hers.“That’s what my mother used to say back when she was teaching me etiquette,” she answered "Hmm, then I must thank the duchess for raising such a graceful and beautiful woman. You don't hav
Elinor stared at Azeph for a while before he looked down at her with a smile.No, not a smile, a mask. A fake smile, like the one he gives when he's troubled by something."Your Highness, this is Count Amel, the person who was supposed to marry my sister before she passed away," he said,Elinor didn't need the introduction. She knew who count Amel was. What she didn't know is that he used to be Azeph's sister's fiance. "I see..." She answered,"We all thought something happened to you since you disappeared right after the funeral. My parents are extremely worried about you," Azeph said,"My apologies," the man said, "After that, I needed to remain alone for a while. My plan had been to eventually contact you one day but his majesty's orders prevented me from doing so until now. I am glad to see that you are doing well. I keep hearing about your achievements often wherever I go,"Elinor remained silent as she watched the interaction between the two men. She knew that there was too muc