A Market Visit

"Thank you, king Azrael. I am very grateful for the time you have spent with me," Renata said, her bright blue eyes gleaming like the ocean as the sun shone in them.

Azrael nodded his head in acknowledgement, not saying a word. He then asked, "When do you plan to return back to Arcadia?"

Renata bit her lower lip, the gleam in eye dying down. "Do you not wish for me to stay here any longer, Your Majesty?" She asked, her brows knotting to form a frown. To her it seemed as though the King did not enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed his. It almost appeared like he could not wait for her to return to her home.

Azrael glanced at her, wondering if she was too gullible to take the hint. He rolled his eyes, saying. "I have a lot of task to complete and you are simply wasting my time,"

Renata felt a sharp stab in her heart at the king's cold word. Did he not care that his words would hurt her? She wondered. "It has just been a few hours we have spent together, King Azrael, I am beginning to believe you do not want me here," she said, stretching her hands to hold his gloved hands.

Azrael's expression was as cold as ice, he pulled his hands away, immediately she touched him, crossing them behind him. "When are you to return to your kingdom?" He questioned again, his voice emotionless. His tone sent a shiver down Renata's spine, and not of delight, but one of fear. His black eyes appeared hollow, no emotions whatsoever ever crossing through it.

She cleared her throat, tucking her blonde locks behind her ear. She averted her gaze from him before replying, "I plan to leave in the next two days,"

"Good," came out Azrael's curt response. "Then I shall dedicate the whole of today for you, as tomorrow I will have no time to engage in any activities whatsoever with you, so what do you suggest we do today?" He asked, his voice softening. Immediately, the gleam reappeared in Renata's blue eyes, her face brightening up almost instantly.

"I am very grateful for your thoughtfulness, Your Majesty," she replied with a small bow, a light shade of pink, creeping up her neck.

"So, what would you like to do?" He asked, quirking his left brow at her. Renata could not process how well Azrael's demeanor changed. Earlier he appeared stone cold, but right now, he had suddenly become friendly. The king was a strange man, she thought to herself.

Renata had never been to the dragon kingdom before, she was curious to know if they lived their lives just like humans did. "I would like for a tour around Valeria, I would love to see what life in Valeria looks like for your people," she said, pouting her lips.

Azrael stared blankly at her, so she wanted both of them to be together in the enclosed carriage again? She was indeed a very bold woman for someone who seemed to appear innocent. His lips almost tipped up to form a smile, but it vanished before it even appeared.

"Of course anything you want,"

---

Inside Azrael's royal carriage. Renata was seated opposite the king, she had her eyes glued to him through out. She was fascinated by his unearthly beauty, it was almost impossible to just glance and look away from him. It appeared as if he was asleep, his head leaned backwards with his eyes shut close.

"I am quite aware of my good looks, but do you not think it is rather rude to be staring so openly Princess?" Azrael questioned, his eyes finally fluttering open.

Renata averted her gaze immediately, her face turning red. Wasn't the he asleep, how did he know she was looking at him? Her thoughts were everywhere.

"Valeria is beautiful," Renata finally spoke, her voice breaking the awkward silence as she changed the conversation. She had her face turned towards the window, staring outside.

"It is indeed,"  he said, his voice low and lazy.

Renata continued to stare outside, she had some questions to ask him, but it was rather too awkward for her to speak so she just continued to look outside the window.

"Would you like us to stop at the market?" Azrael asked, causing Renata to bring her gaze to him. Her eyes widened as she noticed him undoing the first three buttons on his shirt.

"O-of course, Your Majesty. I do not mind," she replied, choking on her saliva. Renata hoped they would not be getting out the carriage because she hadn't been to a market before, she always sent her maid to get her things from there. She heard that there were a lot of nefarious people in the market, including beggars. Her face twisted in distaste at the thought of it, she hated beggars.

"What seems to be problem, have you changed your mind already?" Azrael asked, his head tilting to the side while his dark gaze stared at her.

He must have noticed to look on her face for him to ask her that question. "O-of course not, Your Majesty. I still plan to visit the market as I have never been to one before," she said, twirling her hair in her hand.

Azrael nodded his head, it was expected of a spoilt princess not to have visited a market, so he wasn't surprised.

"Do your people ever take their dragon forms?" Renata question out of the blue. She had heard from a lot of people who said, the dragons had lost their ability to transform and were more like humans now, but she wasn't sure about that.

"Never," he said, before continuing almost immediately "It has been forbidden to transform for over a hundred years. When dragons transform, they loose control of themselves, thereby turning them into mindless beasts," he said dauntingly, his voice dangerously low. His hollow gaze never left Renata's, making goosebumps appear on her forearm.

She nodded her head in understanding. To every human, dragons were still mindless beasts, be it in their human form or dragon form. They were all considered barbaric. Renata thought it was stereotypical, but she didn't think things would be changing anytime soon.