x
“Ivetta, wake up.”
Chevalier’s voice floated through the fog of sleep to me, coaxing me to wakefulness, but I shook my head. “Just a few more minutes…”
“The carriage is here, Ivetta.”
I opened my eyes reluctantly. The room was unusually dark, but the light shining around the curtains was enough for me to make him out, propped up on his elbow beside me.
When had he drawn the curtains?
He chuckled and brushed the hair back from my face. “You shouldn’t have had that last glass of wine.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have encouraged me,” I muttered, burying my face in the pillow again. I didn’t have a hangover, but thanks to that glass, we’d stayed up later than we probably would have otherwise.
“You were too cute.” His fingers skimmed across my back, pushing my hair to one side before his lips pressed into my shoulder, and then the heat of his breath moved up my neck to my ear. “With your flushed cheeks and all that giggling…”
And this was why we’d stayed up late. I squirmed as his lips followed his breath, showering my ear and cheek with kisses. “Chevalier…”
“We can delay another hour, if you’d like,” he breathed in a low, husky voice. “But we won’t be sleeping.”
“Chevalier,” I chided, rolling away from him and onto my back. I stretched my arms above my head, my voice stretching with them. “You’re awfully wide awake for someone who isn’t a morning person,” I remarked, finished with a contented sigh as I dropped my arms onto the pillow.
“I heard the carriage arrive,” he replied, taking a lock of my hair and twirling it around his finger.
And that was probably when he closed the curtains, I realized. “So, you’re back on alert.”
“You didn’t expect that to change?”
I shook my head. “No, I guess not.” I yawned and sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Just so long as we don’t have guards outside our room all the time.”
He sat up, too, and wrapped his arms around my waist. “The rules are still the same,” he said, leaning in to kiss my neck. “You’re safe when you’re with me.”
“I’m not sure about that.” I put my hands on his upper arms in a semblance of pushing him away, but I was giggling too much to actually do it. “We have to get ready.”
“We’re the king and queen. If we want to take our time, nobody can complain,” he reasoned. His arms tightened around my waist as he added light nibbles between his kisses, his fine hair tickling my skin with each movement.
“Chevalier…” My weak protest did little to stop him, especially since I wasn’t exactly putting up much of a fight until I felt a targeted nip on my neck, harder and almost painful. “Hey! Don’t you dare leave a mark,” I warned him. “The last thing I need is—”
His smiling lips cut me off for a kiss, and my meager resistance deflated. He kissed me again, and again, pressing in a little harder every time as my hands drifted up to his shoulders, then his neck. A tug on my lower lip told me he wanted more, and I let him in easily, our tongues meeting and dancing to the tune of soft sighs and mingled breaths. Each shift of his body against mine and each slight change to the angle of the kiss stirred and warmed the butterflies in my stomach more. He caressed my back as he leaned into me, and when his hand came to my shoulder, applying gentle pressure, it was tempting to comply, to lie down again and let this continue.
“Mm, Chevalier, no,” I said, pushing him back reluctantly. “We really need to get ready.”
There was no disappointment on his face, just a smile on his wet lips and a spark of mischief in his crystal blue eyes. “The servants are making breakfast,” he said, his thumb rubbing back and forth across my shoulder.
“No,” I repeated, fighting a smile as I removed his hand from my shoulder. “Are you helping me get dressed, or do I need to call a servant?”
His smile morphed into a smirk. “Do you need to ask?”
“My dresses are a lot harder to get into than to get out of,” I said, climbing out of bed and heading into the bathroom.
“Do you doubt your king?”
I paused in the doorway with my hand on the doorframe, looking back at him. “Your abilities? No. Your intentions? Yes.”
We’d laid our clothes out on the sofa the night before, but his sword wasn’t there anymore when we finished in the bathroom, although Chevalier hadn’t left me alone for more than a minute to move it. I spotted it when I pulled on my undergarments, propped up against the wall next to his side of the bed. He must have put it there when he heard the carriage arrive. I knew his overprotectiveness wouldn’t change after we got married, but there was still something a little sad about it. For a week, he’d let his guard down, and now, no matter how playful and relaxed he seemed on the outside, I knew he was back in a state of constant watchfulness.
Although he was still a relentless tease.
“It needs to be tighter,” I told him, watching in the mirror as he laced up my corset.
“Why do you wear this?” he asked.
“Because you found out I was a princess,” I reminded him. “It came with the title.”
“You don’t need it.”
“Thank you, but the dresses don’t fit right without it.”
“Then you need new dresses.”
I sighed and shook my head. “I already have more dresses than any one woman would ever need, including two gorgeous engagement and wedding gowns I will never wear again. And it still needs to be tighter. But not too tight!” I warned him, seeing his smirk in his reflection. “Unless you’ve decided you don’t want me around anymore.”
He tightened the laces incrementally and kissed my neck. “There is no risk of that.”
“That’s nice to hear, but it’s now too loose again.”
“Why?”
“It just is,” I said, sighing again. “This would be quicker if we called for a servant.”
He chuckled. “You seem to be in a hurry.”
“If Theresa were here, I’d already be dressed, and she’d be halfway done with my hair by now,” I countered. “But she doesn’t play all these—watch your hands!”
Next was the dress itself, which took easily twice as long as it should have, but we finally finished so I could work on my hair while he dressed. I sat at the vanity, brushing the tangles out and watching enviously in the mirror as he donned his much more reasonable attire. His reflection met my eyes and smirked.
“Like what you see?” he asked.
My blush gave me away, but I scowled petulantly at him. “Why don’t I get to wear a shirt and pants?”
“Because I like you better in a skirt,” he replied, pulling his boots on. “Leave your hair down.”
“You haven’t even seen me in pants,” I countered. “I bet you would like it.”
He secured his sword belt around his waist and grabbed his cloak from the coat rack. “I’m sure I would.”
Lined up in the hallway to greet us with bows and curtseys was a row of servants, and my cheeks warmed, wondering how long they’d been standing there and how much they’d heard. Chevalier, of course, was back to his cool, collected self, his face smooth and expressionless as he led me past them without a word. We ate breakfast in the dining room we’d never used, and then we exited into a world of green painted in the vibrant colors of spring where the royal carriage awaited us, marked by Rhodolite’s gold rose crest emblazoned on the white door. A team of bay horses with glossy coats and braided manes and tails stood patiently in the traces; Charlie sat straight and tall in the coach box, his uniform pressed and polished.
I hadn’t noticed those details the night we left the palace. It had been dark; I had been tired; and I’d been barely clinging to control while overwhelming terror ate at my thoughts. Now, it was bright, and although I was still tired, I felt no fear at all. Nor was I surprised when Chevalier kissed me immediately after the carriage door closed behind him.
“Everybody’s looking,” I hissed, glancing out the window. The carriage jolted into motion with a creak of wheels and a clip-clop of horses’ hooves on cobblestone.
“Back to being shy already?” he asked, slipping his arm around my waist.
“I’ve always been shy about public displays of affection,” I reminded him. “Aren’t you tired? You were up as late as I was, and you woke up earlier than me.”
His crystal blue eyes dropped to my lips and then flicked back up to my eyes. “Right now, I’m more concerned with picking up where we left off earlier.”
I had no reason to argue when his lips came crashing onto mine, nor did I want to. The rhythmic pace of the horses was already putting the chateau behind us, and our only witnesses were the rolling green hills under the clear blue sky. I still had to remind Chevalier a few times the windows were open and Charlie could probably hear us, but he didn’t care. And, to be honest, neither did I.
Spring had taken hold of the world just before our wedding, strengthening its grip with every passing day and bringing more warmth, life, and color to the landscape. It was a pleasant ride. I watched the scenery pass us by, a vivid array of vibrant hues in the countryside, a bustle of morning activity in the cheery little towns, Chevalier asleep on my shoulder and my hands folded on my lap. People pointed sometimes, especially children, and I smiled and waved. The sunlight caught the stones in my wedding and engagement rings and reflected onto the gold ornamentations of Chevalier’s regal attire, drawing my eyes to the polished sword hilt at his left hip, stamped with the royal family’s rose crest.
I’d asked him about his crest before, the white tiger. He’d received it with his name and the crest on his sword in his infancy, during the Rose Bearer’s Ceremony, as had all of his brothers except Jin and Luke. Their ceremonies came after they arrived at the palace.
He’d been born and raised for this life. I had only known I was a princess for less than a year. And now, I was somehow expected to stand at his side as queen.
It was intimidating, to say the least. I tried not to think about it, but when we finally arrived at the palace at midday, it all came rushing back to me. Our luggage had gone ahead of us while we had been eating breakfast at the chateau, and everybody was there in the outer courtyard, waiting for us. Chevalier’s brothers, Sariel, Theresa, Belle, Rio, Julius, the rest of my guard detail—everybody was there.
I took a deep breath, fighting the rising anxiety. I knew nobody expected anything from me beyond looking the part, but after a week with no titles outside of teasing remarks, returning to the reality of a structured life with rigid traditions felt suffocating.
“Little dove,” Chevalier murmured, catching my chin gently and coaxing me to look up at him, “all I ask is that you hold your head up high.”
The playful tease of earlier was gone from his crystal blue eyes, replaced by warmth and genuine affection, and I remembered him saying similar words to me before his coronation ceremony. Suddenly, I could breathe again. Nothing would really change. Not his love for me; not his expectations of me. He chose me because he knew I could do this.
I smiled and nodded.
He gave me a quick kiss and opened the carriage door. Those assembled raised a collective cheer as he helped me out of the carriage.
Chin up. Head held high. I could do this.
“Welcome back, King Chevalier and Queen Ivetta,” Sariel said, his usual thin, frightening smile replaced by a real one.
Belle and Theresa ran up and tackled me in a group hug. “How was it?” Belle whispered.
I felt my cheeks warm and whispered back, “Tell you later.”
My blush did not go unnoticed, however. Leon's amber eyes met mine, and he smiled knowingly. “Did you two enjoy yourselves?” he asked.
Chevalier didn’t reply, taking me by the hand and leading me past everyone with his usual cool indifference. I opened my mouth to reply to Leon and let out a shriek of surprise instead when Chevalier suddenly scooped me up and carried me inside.
“We already did this, Chevalier!”
“At the chateau. This is our home,” he said, smiling so sweetly that I couldn’t be mad at him, even when he set me down just inside the doors and gave me another kiss in full view of the entire audience.
“Are you taking notes, boys?” Jin asked. “That’s how you romance a lady.”
“The many satisfied women in my life don’t seem to think I need help in that department,” Nokto remarked.
“I can carry you to our room if you wish,” Chevalier said to me, looking at me as if his brothers didn’t exist and weren’t talking to and over each other a few feet away from us. It was hard not to smile, even with my face burning from embarrassment.
“Please don’t,” I replied shyly. “You have work to do.”
“What you do does not constitute romance,” Yves said, his scathing remark catching my attention. A single glance confirmed he was scolding Nokto, whose relaxed stance and sly smile stood in direct contrast to his older brother's clenched fists and narrow blue eyes. I could almost picture them as their crests: a cat bristling, its tail swishing angrily, while a fox looked on with a slight, curious head tilt and a tongue lolling lazily out of its mouth.
“Don’t tell me Elise turned you down again?” the fox asked.
“Regardless of the state in which they have left my office, I will not work late tonight,” Chevalier said, unconcerned with the near-fight brewing among his brothers.
“Ooh, sounds like somebody’s going to have fun,” Theresa called out in a sing-song voice as she came alongside me.
“Theresa,” I hissed.
“We’ll have dinner in the round table room. Your services will no longer be necessary after that,” Chevalier commanded Theresa, Julius, and whoever else cared to watch me melt into a mortified puddle of giddy excitement.
“Chevalier,” I whispered.
“Aw, look how cute and red you are,” Clavis teased. “Does that mean Chev will be in a better mood from now on?”
“Just go to work,” I said with as much authority as a tomato could muster under the circumstances.
Chevalier spun on his heel and strode away without another word, his white cloak billowing behind him, and Clavis, Nokto, and Luke obediently followed.
“Bring snacks,” Luke whispered loudly as he passed me.
It was lunchtime, but I smiled and nodded. He gave me a wink and a thumbs up.
“Welcome back, Ivetta,” Leon said, putting an arm around my shoulders and giving me a friendly squeeze.
“It’s good to be back,” I told him.
“Careful Chevalier doesn’t see you doing that,” Jin teased.
“I don’t think he’s got anything to worry about,” Yves said, his blue eyes meeting mine as he smiled knowingly.
“No, he doesn’t,” I admitted bashfully.
“Well, we’d better get back to work, too. See you later.” Leon waved over his shoulder as he walked away, Jin, Yves, and Licht following him.
“Rose missed you,” Licht said quietly as he passed me.
“Thank you for taking care of her,” I said, glad somebody wasn’t trying to make me blush even more—if that was possible.
“Ivetta!” Belle exclaimed suddenly, grabbing my arm and staring at me with wide brown eyes. “We need to talk.”
“Well, I haven’t had lunch yet, so we can eat in my—Che—my room,” I said, stumbling over what to call my new shared bedroom with Chevalier. “Have you two set a date yet?”
“Sure have. Boss man has the details,” Rio said with a wide smile.
“I’m not your boss anymore, Dog,” Sariel said irritably. It was funny watching him with Rio. He acted like Rio drove him nuts, but they had really become good friends.
“Oh, Sariel, that reminds me, Chevalier wants to see you in his office,” I told him.
He paled slightly, his smile regaining its usual frightening aspect.
I laughed. “He won't ask you to plan anything, and you’re not in trouble. I think you’ll like what he has to say, actually.”
“Hm.” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “I had better not keep the king waiting.”
Rio leaned towards me as we watched Sariel walk away and asked softly, “What’s that all about?”
I made sure Sariel was out of hearing range before I replied. “He’s getting a vacation. Maybe you can make sure he stays away from work.”
“Um, well…” Rio rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. I looked from him to Belle curiously. She also looked nervous.
“What’s—”
Theresa interrupted me by seizing my hand and dragging me down the hall. “Come on. You won't believe this."
ns 15.158.61.46da2
