10 Defying the helio (1)

"I don't want you in my bed." She pulled herself away from him, only to be trapped in his arms.

"Your Majesty!" She snapped in annoyance.

"What's wrong?" He asked in all seriousness and she wanted nothing but to chop him into pieces. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"I may be your wife but I'm not going to let myself be touched by hands that have been on two hundred other women." She grabbed his hand and pushed it away from her waist. The man shamelessly slid it around her again before she could slide away, this time tightening it.

"My hands have not been on two hundred women." He denied her accusation.

"It doesn't matter. Get out of my room." She knew he would only tell her that he owned the room, so she jabbed him in the stomach and used the distraction to get off the bed. She didn't dare to glance at him. She knew that he must be boiling in anger.

She retreated to the door, preparing to dash out if she needed to. "Since you are here, we can talk about my offer." She tried not to stutter.

"We can do that with you beside me. Come here." He beckoned her over, making fear wash over her entire being. He wouldn't do anything to her, would he?

She steadied herself and walked over, feigning confidence. She glanced at the candle stand and decided the moonlight was bright enough.

"Your Majesty?" She grabbed her wrist and pulled her right beside him. His arm was around her shoulders before she could slip away.

"This is how newlyweds discuss. So, tell me about your offer, wife."

There was nothing peculiar about what he had just called her but her face flushed crimson at the sound of it.

She cleared her throat and tried her best to ignore his hand that was rubbing against her neck. "There is a weakness in the border separating Itrusia from one of the neighboring kingdoms. If you promise to cancel the attack against Ivrasea, I will tell you all about the weakness and how to strengthen it." She looked up at him to add, "It would be tragic if the neighboring kingdoms caught wind of it and decided to invade."

His hand paused and he looked down at her for a while. He was probably trying to figure out whether she was telling the truth or lying. In the end, his lips twitched.

"What's the weakness?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I will not state a single word about it before I get your written promise with the royal seal of Itrusia."

"There is nothing wrong with the Itrusian border. It's strong enough." He dismissed her words.

"No. I'm certain…" She bit down on her lip to stop herself from talking. He was provoking her to spill the weakness without promising anything. Nice try.

He stood up and headed for the door. She rushed after him. "Are you leaving?"

He stopped without turning to face her. "I only fall asleep in my bed. But if you want me to stay here instead, I can make an exception for you."

Her face heated when she realized exactly what he was implying by that. "No. Have a good night, Your Majesty."

"Dream of me." He whispered before leaving her room and closing the doors behind him.

She exhaled a tired sigh. That didn't go as she thought. Which king would say no to a chance to strengthen his kingdom? He was probably going to investigate the borders on his own and wouldn't need her help anymore.

Was stealing the royal signet ring her only option?

She was horrified just thinking about it. The best that could happen was him being compelled by the seal to stop his planned attack. However, there was also a high chance that she would be caught and beheaded. She didn't mind dying if her people would be safe but he might just be able to nullify the decree. Besides, the ring was always on his finger. Was there a way to steal it aside from sleeping with him?

"Never." She muttered. It was already bad enough that she was going to dream of him like she always did every time he told her to.

____

In the morning, Jessica woke her up jovially.

"My Lady, His Majesty would like you to join him for breakfast.

She grunted but let the maid help her bathe her and then glanced at all the gowns she had to choose from in confusion.

"Why are they all blue?"

"His Majesty requires all the ladies in the castle to wear blue gowns on the fourth day of the fourth month." Jessica explained.

Delaney studied her brown clothes with interest. "You are not wearing a blue gown yourself."

"That's because I'm a maid, My Lady."

Delaney walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a red gown. "Why should I be expected to follow a tradition of the Itrusian Castle which I know nothing about?"

Jessica was horrified but she couldn't defy her lady, so she helped her dress up in the red gown.

By the time Delaney showed up in the dining room, she had already heard enough gasps of shock from maids and concubines who saw her. Even so, she held her head high and walked to the table, bowing her head slightly.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

He nodded while staring at her gown and everyone waited for her to be dragged out of the dining room and barred from showing up before the king.

She ignored his gaze and sat down three chairs away from him. She was displeased by the presence of other women at the table, who must be his most favored concubines. Alas, there was nothing she could do about them aside from accepting that they were now part of her life. A man in high power couldn't possibly be with only one woman and Darius was no different.

"Do you have something to say, Bernadette?" Darius asked the woman who looked smug.

She raised her head. "If I may speak, Your Majesty, Princess Delaney should not be allowed in the royal dining room for lack of decorum. Not only did she ignore us, but she is also wearing a red gown on the fourth day of the fourth month."

Darius rested his head on his hand to glance at Delaney. "She looks good in red, don't you think?"

Bernadette and the other concubines were shocked. Did he just compliment her for disrespecting his rule?

She quickly composed herself and switched tactics. "She disrespected you, Your Majesty."

Darius didn't tear his gaze away from Delaney as he dismissed her words. "Forget about it. My wife is upset that I did not give in to her last night. Later, write down everything a man can do to please his wife and bring it to me."

Bernadette wanted to explode in anger and jealousy while Delaney wished she was close enough to kick his feet. He was pretending to side with her while in real sense, he was creating enemies for her. Bernadette wouldn't hesitate to stab her if she ever had a chance. In fact, all his concubines would henceforth look at her with hate.

Breakfast felt like torture with all the women glaring daggers at her. When it was finally over, she waited for Darius to leave and rushed to find Felix.

"Lord Harcourt, wait!" She caught up with him in the hallway.

"Princess Delaney?" He turned when he heard her voice. He reflexively wanted to leave as soon as he realized it was her, but Darius had become unpredictable. There was no telling what would happen if he ignored his wife.

"Lord Harcourt, I need your help." She spoke and looked around at all the guards. They all worked for Darius and it would be troublesome if they told him all about their conversation.

"Would you like to take a walk in the garden?" She asked and led the way out before he could respond.

She let out the breath she had been holding when she heard his footsteps behind her, following her out.

She slowed down when they were out for him to catch up.

"I would like to talk about the invasion." She started, then waited for him to react.

He pretended not to understand what she was going on about.

She plucked a leaf from a nearby tree. "I heard everything. You don't need to lie to me."

Felix slowed down. "Even if you heard everything, you know who I answer to."

She turned around to face him, crunching the leaf in her hand to mask her distress. "I know. Which is why I would like to offer you a deal."

"That's…"

She felt something was wrong with his reaction and was about to ask when she felt a strong presence looming over her. Darius had arrived too soon.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" She squeezed the side of her skirt between her fingers nervously.

A hand wrapped around her waist, making her nearly jump.

"If I didn't come, how would I know that my wife is trying to lure another man?"

"I wasn't…"

She saved her strength. He knew what was happening and was only making fun of her.

"May I be included in this conversation?" He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Go ahead. Tell Felix what you were about to offer him."

"If I was going to tell him something behind your back, why would I say it in your presence?" She grabbed his hand to pull it off her waist but was unsuccessful.

"Your Majesty, please excuse me." Felix left as soon as she could, leaving her to face Darius on her own.

He turned her around as soon as they were alone. "When you said you were a smart princess, I thought you would know what you need to do to stay out of trouble."

"It is not my wish to start any trouble." She countered.

"Clearly." He scoffed. He couldn't keep count of the number of times she had defied him in just a day.

"Your governess has a lot to say about your ability to create trouble, don't you think?" He smiled, infuriating her. She hated talking about Eugenia. He seemed to know this, because he continued bringing her former governess up.

"What was it you did that landed you in the dungeon? Oh, defying your father. You seem to have a knack for breaking rules."

"Don't you bring that up!" She growled. That was the time she had angered the most potential suitor and she couldn't live it down.

"Why not? Is it because of what happened in the dungeon?" He found it amusing until her palm landed on his cheek.