Lovely Couple

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Orchid stepped into her room, after that weird conversation with the King, she had no idea how to convince Ciaran

She pitied the King but she had no intention on being Queen and ruling a whole nation

There, Ciaran stood in the balcony, his hair was let loose and it flew to the side due to the wind. His lips stretched into a straight line and frowns were slightly written on his forehead

His head turned to her and she gulped, taking the hair out of his face to tie it back behind his head, he walked towards her

Orchid's eyes were glued to his hair, it had grown quite long during her stay here. She remembered he had shortened it when he arrived at Atlank on Neera's party

"What did he say to you?" he asked, standing before her and she craned her neck a bit to look at him

"Who are you talking about?" she questioned. How did he get to know she was summoned by the King "H-he wants me to convince you into making the decision he wants" she answered "But I know you don't want to so I'm not going to try and-"

"Good" he replied shortly with a nod. Glad his wife was not persistent and the type to crave over power

They stared at each other awkwardly. Not knowing what to say

"You-" they both spoke at the same time. Ciaran nodded, urging for her to go first

"Why don't you accept the King's offer?"

"Do you want to be Queen?"

"I don't. I never thought of it"

"Does that answer your question?" he hadn't answered her question, instead she helped him in answering her own question?

And again, it was silent

Orchid could feel the hair on her arm rising as a strong gush of wind blew through the balcony

Ciaran walked over to the balcony and shut the door, before turning over to her

"You can have a change of clothes and get ready to sleep. I'll join you soon" and he left

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With her hair let loose, Leila stepped into the room after a slight knock. She could see Alan, sitting all alone as he went through some notes

"You should be asleep by now, Lieutenant " Alan said, his eyes not leaving the book he held

"Alan..."

"General" Alan corrected coldly and Leila frowned when he didn't even glance up to see her

"I didn't want to leave with the others because I wanted to look out for you" she stated, he was obviously mad at her for disobeying his orders

"Are you trying to say I can't look after myself, Lieutenant?" Alan asked, with a raised brow

"Why did you go see her?" Leila asked, ignoring the question he had asked and she went to sit besides him

"You handle my political affairs, Lieutenant. Not my personal life" he then stood up

"Is that it? Are you just going to ignore me? Us?"

"There isn't an 'us', Lieutenant. Return to your room" Leila stood up as well, going to stand in front of me

"Now that you've seen her, you plan to ignore me?" Leila inhaled sharply "What happened between us-"

"Was a mistake" he cut in. His sharp eyes passing a glare to her but she was not willing to back down. He had treated her way worse in the past

"A mistake? I understand you're sobbing right now because she is no longer with you. She has moved on with her life. You should too, with someone who's willing to stay by your side"

"You consider yourself to be that 'someone'?"

"I am always going to be by your side, Alan. I had been in the past, and I will be in the future" Leila said softly, her hand trailing on his cheek, hoping to see a little bit of warmth in his eyes, for her

"Return to your room, Lieutenant" Alan said taking a step but and Leila sighed. Turning around, she left

The moment she left, Alan sat back on the chair. His eyes suddenly dimmed

"Orchid..." he said sadly. His hand falling on his lap and his eyes glaring at the scrolls before him "Why didn't you wait for me?"

The scene of her standing so close to that Prince replayed in his head and his eyes widened when a sudden thought flashed through his head

'Had they spent the night already?'

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Orchid sat by Ciaran in the dining, once again having dinner without the presence of the King

Grae walked in through the grand door and he bowed in greeting

"Your Highness..." Ciaran nodded at Grae's incomplete words and he stood up

"Get our coats" he said to the maid on standby and she immediately ran to get it

"Are we going somewhere?" Orchid asked as he gestured for her to stand as well

"Hmm" he hummed, taking a coat from the maid, he draped it around her shoulder and helped her in putting it on

"Where are we going?"

"A place to spend the night" he answered shortly and took her hand

"The night? What are you talking about?" she asked in oblivion

"Somewhere we wouldn't be disturbed"

"I still don't get you" she answered as they stood in front of the carriage

"You will. Get in" he helped her inside the carriage and hopped in as well

"I'll follow from behind" Grae said with a bow as the carriage door closed

"Your Highness-"

"I thought we were pass that term already, Orchid" Orchid silently cleared her throat at his interruption and decided to remain quiet till they got to their destination, which she was unaware of

Soon, the carriage stopped and the coachman stepped down to open the door

Ciaran stepped out and helped her down as well and her eyes went wide when she saw where they were

"W-what is this?"

"A place to spend the night" Yes, he had said that before but why were they here

Could it be...?

"Come on" Ciaran held her hand and led her into the building

"A room" he said to the fair lady behind the counter

"A lovely couple" the lady said with a smile "Your Highness..." she bowed handing a key over to him

Ciaran took the key from her and walked towards the room number imprinted on the key holder

"Ciaran -" Orchid nervously called out as they stepped into a room. Her eyes scanning the room to stop at the neatly-made bed "This-" she turned around to look at him "What are we doing in this room? And don't you tell me 'to spend the night'. Why are we here?"

Her heart fastened when he slammed the door

Ciaran didn't give her an answer instead he took off his coat and was slowly taking down the buttons on his shirt

"What are you doing?" she questioned when he took a step towards her and she retreated slowly "Ciaran"

"Is this what it takes for you to call my name?" he said with a chortle, tossing his shirt to the side, leaving only a slim shirt on

He grabbed her hand and shoved her towards him, her chest coming into contact with his

Her lips opened to say something but no words came out as her eyes suddenly landed on his pale lips

His hand draped round her waist and she gasped before moving her eyes over to his

His lips lingered on hers as they took steps towards the king-sized bed

"Ciaran, stop...this-" her breath hitched when his cold fingers landed on her lips, silently shutting her up as they laid on the bed