When I woke up, it was past lunchtime. I was not even in my right mind after waking up. And the moment what happened last night came to my mind, I felt even more embarrassed.
It was true that it did not hurt anymore. Moreover, it was too good to be true. I had been weird. Peculiar sounds were leaving my mouth and if I recalled correctly, I even asked for more. How embarrassing!
He was too strong. I had a feeling that he would not even bother to stop if it was not for me. We had to keep going on until sunrise. After that, I did not even remember when I fell asleep or perhaps I had lost my consciousness.
My limbs hurt as if they were smashed by a big machine. It was too difficult to even sit. At this rate, I could not even think of standing.
"You're awake, my wife."
I almost screamed hearing his voice. I did not notice anything after waking up; rather I was more focused on trying to remember all of the embarrassing things I had done last night.
Now that I looked at him, he was dressed properly. It seemed like he had some work done while I was sleeping like a log.
"When did you wake up?" I asked.
"I had woken up late today- at 8," he replied.
'Eight in the morning is late... Are you kidding me? We literally slept after 5.'
"What time is it then?"
"Three. It's past lunchtime," he said. "You weren't waking up. The maids got worried and called me. So I've come to see if you're alright."
"Oh, sorry for worrying you."
"Do your limbs hurt?"
I was sure that I had become all red already. I looked down on my lap, so I would not have to meet his eyes.
"They're just... sore," I replied.
"Don't worry, it will be gone soon," he said. "Now you better freshen up. We will have our lunch."
"You didn't have your lunch?" I asked in surprise.
"No."
"Don't tell me you didn't have lunch because..."
"Go and freshen up quickly, my wife. You don't want your husband to starve, do you?" he said, cutting me off.
"Right," I said and tried to get out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around me.
He caught me quickly as I almost fell. "Careful. I'll send the maids. Don't move, okay?"
And just like that, he left. A smile curved on my lips. Perhaps everything was not a bad thing. But the best thing that I found was that he was truly waiting for me. How could someone be like that? How could he wait for me for seven years?
I wanted to know more about when he first saw me or why he chose me. But he told me that I did not need to ask him that. When the time would come, he was going to tell me that himself.
"Ruby!" I exclaimed loudly the moment I saw Ruby entering along with other maids. By the look on her face, it did not seem like Demetrius hurt her. Rather she seemed happier than the times I saw her before.
"Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!" she said, bowing.
"Thank me? What are you saying? Because of me, you had to go to the dungeon. I'm truly sorry," I said quickly.
"No, Your Highness. Because of you, His Highness did not punish me. He forgave me for my grave mistake and also made me your personal maid," she said, sniffling.
Demetrius made her my personal maid? But why? The way he behaved last night, it seemed like he hated Ruby and did not want her to do anything with me. But then why did he make her my personal maid? It was not like I was not happy. But I could not ease my mind. I needed to ask him about it.
"Anyway, Your Highness, Arianell has prepared your bath. Should we head there? And today, Your Highness needs to wear a dress that covers her neck," she said.
Hearing her words, I looked down to see what she meant. My goodness! What the hell did he do to my skin? Were those the things that people called hickeys?
It was so embarrassing that I did not even know how to look at the maids. They had known what we did, but I did not want them to see marks of it.
"You look so red, Your Highness. Do you by any chance have a fever?" Ruby asked anxiously.
"No, I'm fine. Let's just head to the bath now. Demetrius must be waiting," I said.
During the bath, all I did was close my eyes and hear their blabbering about my skin and how good the king was to me. Everything was embarrassing, so the best thing I came up with was to keep my mouth and eyes shut and pretend not to exist.
"His Highness calls Her Highness with such sweetness that's even greater than peach," Arianell said.
"Yes, and did you see the way he was yelling at the tailor for not bringing the cape?" Ruby said.
"What did he do?" I asked, not being able to let this one slide. Did he truly yell at the tailor for that reason? But when did he even order a cape for me?
"His Highness had ordered a cape with black lace and the one the tailor brought had black lace too but the lace was not dark enough," Ruby explained. "That's why His Highness has been in a bad mood in the morning."
No matter how I looked at Demetrius's behavior, he was kind of childish and immature in some ways. Even though it was a bit cute sometimes, it was not a good thing. I needed to talk to him.
After taking the bath, the maids dressed me up in a very comfortable and casual dress. It was a shift dress. Though I liked how comfortable and light it was, the maids were not happy with it.
"Your Highness, don't you think it's too short?" Arianell asked.
"Don't judge His Highness's taste. His Highness chose this for Her Highness," Ruby said.
Demetrius chose this for me? When I told him that the dresses here were heavy and it was hard to move in them, he had told me that he would get me something comfortable. So he truly did it for me.
"But if others saw Her Highness in this dress..."
"If they try to say something bad, I'm sure His Highness will do something about it," Ruby said.
They put my hair in a high bun which was not too tight nor too loose. I had three maids before, but for some reason, I did not see the other one again. And as Ruby said, Arianell and she were my two personal maids from now on.
"This dress suits you, my wife. Is it comfortable?" Demetrius asked the moment he entered the room.
The servants were preparing a small table in our room. The room was big enough for it. Truth be told, the room was twice the size of the room I was in.
"Yes, it's comfortable. Thank you for being considerate," I said. I could not look him in the eyes. Because whenever I looked at him, I would remember last night.
"My wife, aren't you being too formal with your husband?"
"Am I?"
"It hurts my feelings."
"Sorry, I was just... Never mind. Let's eat now. You must be hungry," I said.
"You're hungrier than I am, my wife. You haven't had your breakfast and besides, your body needs some nutrition as well after a tiresome night," he said.
Ruby was shaking with laughter as she placed the dishes on the table though she did not make any sound. Arianell was bright red like a radish. And as for me, I almost had a heart attack and if there was a way to die out of embarrassment, I would have been dead by now then.
"Please enjoy your meals, Your Highness."
Ruby and Arianell left after serving everything. We sat face to face at the table though there was no point in doing so as I could not meet his eyes.
"What is it, my wife? Is the food not to your taste?" he asked as if he had no idea what was going on.
I sighed. "It's not that. But the problem is you can't tease me in front of everyone. It makes me uncomfortable."
"So you mean teasing you while we're alone is okay?"
"That's... Can't you just stop teasing me?"
"Not a choice."
"You're being childish, Demetrius," I said. "Anyway, only if we're alone, you can behave like that. But not always."
"As my wife wishes," he said with a smile. "Well, my wife, tomorrow, shall we go on a date?"
"On a date?"
"Won't you like it?"
"Of course I will. But where?"
"That's a secret, my lovely wife," he smirked. "Just be ready at ten.. And by the way, the marks on your skin look good on you."