The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

16~ SORRY SEEMED TO BE THE HARDEST WORD

"Hey, get off me. You're heavy," I said as I looked up into the pair of red eyes that peered deep into mine. After all, where else was I supposed to look at? His entire face was hidden behind that wolf-shaped mask. Even though I tried to bump his head back then, the mask was still there. It stuck like glue, refusing to drop. "Did you hear what I said?" I wriggled under his weight, trying to break free from him. But it was challenging when he pinned both my hands to the mattress.

"I rejected your proposal to make you my queen. Yet, this is how you plan to make me agree?" He asked in a mocking tone.

I frowned, wondering what he meant by that. Out loud, I asked. "What do you mean?"

Valdemir kept his eyes locked on mine as he moved both my hands above my head. "Are you feigning ignorance?"

"It's happening again." I groaned in frustration. "Why do you always return my question with your own?"

He leaned down and said, "It's simple." I turned my head to the other side in reflexes as he put his face next to my cheek. "Because I want to."

"You're annoying, you know that?" I stared out the window to see the moon was even smaller than before, for the clouds were covering it. The night sky was darker than the last time I'd looked at it.

"I didn't know that. But thanks for letting me know," he leaned down further.

I could feel something prick my cheek, which I assumed was his mask. And that only meant one thing. He was close! It was a good thing that the mask also hid his lips underneath. Or else I'd have goosebumps all over the skin. I didn't think I could resist it with his hot breath next to my ear and his body hovering over me.

“G-get o-ff m-me, Valdemir,” I stuttered.

"What if I say no?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

I widened my eyes in shock, wondering what he planned to do. Yet, my curiosity didn't last long as trepidation came to take over. I became alarmed in an instant when he moved my hands above my head. He then placed my wrists on top of each other and pinned them down with one hand.

"Valdemir?" I turned to look at him to find he had already moved his face further away from my cheek. I should be relieved to see the distance between us. But I wasn't.

"People say that the princess of Zariya has an ethereal beauty that can be compared to a fairy and that she's number one in the realm. Her skin is like the first snow covering the land, so pure and white. Her long, silky blonde hair is like golden threads of rare silk. As for the pair of her green eyes, they're like precious emerald gems." He ran his free hand down from my temple to my cheek. "But they seemed to forget about one thing. They haven't mentioned the combination of your heart-shaped face and lips." He brushed his fingers down the jawlines before hooking them under my chin and lifting my face.

I clamped my mouth shut as his thumb traced my upper lip. Still, I could taste the saltiness of his skin as he lingered there. It made me want to part my lips and run my tongue over his thumb.

Gosh! What am I thinking? I scolded myself inside my head.

"Have they never noticed how seducing your lips are?" His thumb moved down to trace my lower lip.

I sucked in a breath, wishing he would retract his hand before I lost my mind.

And he did.

After tracing the shape of my lips for the second time, he withdrew his hand from the side of my face. There, he brushed his thumb against my cheekbone.

"You said you aren't like those men." Now that my lips were free, I wasted no time in reminding them what he'd said. I may have proposed to become his queen, but it didn't mean that I'd sell my body. I was willing to sacrifice my happiness. Not my virginity. "Didn't you say you aren't interested in me?" I controlled my voice so that it wouldn't shake.

Valdemir remained silent as he peered into my eyes. With a sigh, he said, "If you're worried about me forcing you, you don't have to."

I let out an inner sigh of relief after hearing these words. It seemed I was worried about nothing. Just when I was about to tell him to get off me, a gasp echoed throughout the room, making Valdemir and I turn to the door.

"F-forgive me, your majesty. I've come at a bad time. I-I'll return later," said Dila as she hurried to avert her eyes to the floor.

Dila? What's she doing here? I thought to myself as I shoved Valdemir's chest, hoping he would get off me. I was glad he didn't refuse this time. He allowed my strength to push him off the bed, where he stood on his feet at the end of the bed.

"No. It's fine. Come back, Dila," he said, making Dila halt her step. "Put the soup on the table."

"Y-yes, your majesty." Dila stuttered as she headed to the table.

"Soup?" I frowned in confusion as I looked at her coming into the room.

"Lumina said you'd eaten nothing since lunch. So, I had the kitchen make this soup," said Valdemir.

"I-If Miss and Your Majesty don't need anything else, I-I'll excuse myself now." She curtsied and turned on her heels. Her eyes remained on the ground for the whole time.

No, don't leave. I don't want to be alone with him! A voice popped up in my head.

"Dila, don't leave," I said.

"Yes, Miss? Do you need anything else?" Dila turned around with her head still lowered.

"W-well, I.. I…." I tried to come up with an excuse that wasn't so obvious to Valdemir that I feared being alone with him. "I... I need you to help me change into my nightwear."

"Right now, Miss?" She lifted her face and looked at me in confusion.

"Yes. Right now."

"What about the soup? Don't you want to finish it first before getting ready to retire?" she asked.

"No. I'm not hung—"

"If that bowl of soup returns to the kitchen untouched, I'll make you starve for a week. I won't tolerate anyone who wastes food," said Valdemir in a stern voice.

"Don't you think you're being too bossy? How could you force people to do what they don't want?" I turned to glare at him.

"And don't you think you're being too spoiled?" He narrowed his eyes. "Besides, I don't care what you say. I'll do whatever I want." He shrugged. "My castle. My rule."

"You!" I glared at him.

"Alright. You should drink the soup before it goes cold. I'll leave." He headed toward the door.

"Good night, Your Majesty," Dila curtsied when he walked past her.

Valdemir halted his step before her and said, "Goodnight. Make sure she finishes the soup. Report to me after you're done attending to her."

"Yes, your majesty," said Dila.

When he reached the door, he stopped and turned to look at me. "I'll give you one night to think about my proposal. I'll be waiting for your answer tomorrow morning. I hope you'll make the right choice."

*******

I couldn't fall asleep. Instead, I keep tossing and turning on the bed, thinking about Valdemir's proposal.

He got the point. All the things he explained made sense. If I were to stick to my plan, I would put Ralph in danger. Did I really want to do that?

My eyes fixated on the ceiling for the entire night, watching it go from black to reddish-brown as the light of dawn shone into the room. That was when I realized it was morning already.

"Miss? Are you awake?" asked Dila as she opened the door and stepped inside, carrying an ewer and a basin.

"Yes." I sat up on the bed and looked behind her, hoping to see another presence. When there was no one, I frowned and asked, "Where is Lumina?"

"She was transferred to the main castle this morning, Miss. So, from this day onward, I'll be the one attending to you."

"What? Why?" I couldn't believe what I'd just heard.

"I don't know, Miss." She shook her head. "All I know is that she asked me to attend to you from now on."

I watched Dila pouring the water from the ewer into the basin and dabbed the white clothes in. I kept imagining Lumina standing there, just like she'd always been. But no, she wasn't. Guilt built up within me, making the pain in my heart accumulate. I didn't know she was so upset to the point of avoiding me.

"Miss, please wipe your face with this," said Dila as she handed me the white clothes.

When I was done wiping my face, she helped me change into a vintage blue dress and styled my hair into a waterfall hairstyle. Everything Dila did was just like what Lumina had always done. However, it wasn't the same.

I miss her. I thought to myself.

I missed the liveliness that Lumina brought to the room every morning. I missed how her broad smile always cheered me up whenever I felt down. And I missed the small talk she always had with me while I ate.

The morning with Dila was no different from spending the time alone. She was so quiet that sometimes I had to look up to see if she had already left the room.

After breakfast, I sat by the window and waited until the sun was a little higher in the sky. When I saw it was the right time, I stood up and turned to Dila, who was standing at about fifty feet behind me.

"Dila, take me to the main castle. I need to talk to Valdemir," I said.

She looked at me with a surprised countenance, but it didn't take long for her to recover. "If you have business with His Majesty, I can go to inform him. You only need to wait here, Miss."

"No." I shook my head. "I don't want him to call me 'spoiled' again. I'll go to him and give him my answer."

Dila showed no sign of moving, making me look at her with my brows furrowed. As if she could read the confusion on my face, she said, "I'm sorry, Miss. The main castle forbids outsiders from entering."

"What? But I'm already inside Ascian's territory. It's not like its existence is a secret to me. Do they have to hide the castle from me?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Miss," she lowered her eyes to the ground.

"It's okay," I sighed. "Then, can you please go to inform Valdemir that I need to talk to him?"

"Of course, Miss." She curtsied and left the room.

Well, I'm dying to see how mysterious their castle is. I wondered if they had something to hide. A thought popped up in my head.

Before I could reason with it, my feet moved on their own. And I found myself tailing Dila as she headed to the main castle.

I kept my steps as light as possible so that Dila wouldn't notice my presence. After leaving the secluded castle, it was fortunate that there were many enormous trees around for me to hide if she got suspicious. Not that she turned around, anyway. Dila kept walking ahead without stopping or turning to look behind her once.

It took less than ten minutes before I saw a vast castle upfront. Although it had fewer stories, it wasn't much smaller than my castle at Zariya. I could understand why they only built three levels. They didn't want it to stand out from the forest. The castle's roofs stood precisely where the tallest tree branches were, making them almost blend in with the surroundings.

Now that we were approaching the main castle, it was no longer just the two of us. Men and women walked in and out, tending to their duties.

That's enough for today. At least I know the way. I need to go back before someone spots me. With that in mind, I turned around and was about to take the first step when a familiar voice halted me in place.

"Dila!"

I hid behind the tree and peeked out to see Lumina running toward Dila.

"Hey, what're you doing here? Don't you need to stay by her side in case she needs anything?" she asked when she was within arm's length.

"I finished the job," said Dila in a monotone. "I'm here because she sent me to get His Majesty."

"I see." Lumina nodded. "How is she? Did she finish her breakfast? You must encourage her to eat, okay? She seemed to be in a bad mood, so her appetite wasn't that good."

"I know," said Dila.

"Were her eyes red and puffy?" asked Lumina.

"A little." Dila nodded.

"That's not good. I need to get some cucumber slices for her. After you inform His Majesty, drop by the kitchen, okay? You need to apply them to her eyes to reduce the swelling." Lumina's voice was full of concern, which hurt my heart even more.

I thought she was mad at me since she asked for a transfer. But it looked like this was not the case. She was still concerned about me.

"Now, come on. Let's hurry," said Lumina as she grabbed Dila's hand and darted toward the castle.

I stepped out from behind the tree when they were out of earshot. My hands balled up into fists as I watched their backs disappearing to the distance.

"Lumina…" I murmured her name, although I knew she couldn't hear it. "I'm sorry...s-sor... sorr-r..." I clenched my fist until my knuckle turned white. I hate it when my lips refuse to say the word out loud.

"Who are you to come and go as you please?" echoed an icy voice that sent a chill down my spine.

I jumped in surprise and screamed. But there was no sound coming from my lips because a big hand covered my mouth from behind.

^

.

^

©️StellaKMary | The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard