Wagering a Year

Caspian was expecting to see a scared look on Anastasia’s face.

Instead, she gave a sweet smile that almost instantly melted away the tough façade that Caspian was putting up. He couldn’t help but keep on gazing at the enchanting smile of the Princess.

And then she spoke in the most melodious voice that he had ever heard, “That’s fine by me.”

“So you agree to get killed by me if you fail to make me fall for you?” Caspian questioningly raised his brows.

Without even thinking for a millisecond, Anastasia nodded her head, “Yes.”

Caspian scoffed and shook his head at how prompt she was to reply. And he whispered in his seductive voice, “You amuse me a lot…”

To Caspian, it looked as though Anastasia was really confident about winning the bet. He couldn’t tell where she got the courage to even think about placing such a bet in the first place.

But that was not the case. The Princess gladly accepted to die if she was to fail her ‘mission’ because she didn’t think that she would live past a year because of her disease anyway. She had nothing to lose.

Caspian was gazing at her innocent face. He noticed how her long and wavy dark ginger hair complimented her very well. Slowly, his vampire eyes involuntarily trailed down to her tender-looking neck. Her neck looked so inviting that he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Anastasia’s smile faded away from her face the moment she noticed the sudden change in Caspian’s demeanor. She could tell that his hungry eyes were fixated on her pulsating veins.

And to make the matter even worse, he rubbed his fang with the tip of his tongue as though he was itching to bite her right now.

The Princess instantly stuttered in panic, “Yo-Your Majesty, w-we just had a deal, didn’t we? You are t-t-to give me a year before you kill me.”

But he kept on leaning towards her neck and whispered in his spellbinding voice, “I am not going to kill you, love. I just want a little taste.”

His voice reflected his immense desire for Anastasia’s blood and he looked as though he was possessed by something unholy. His pupils dilated and his fangs elongated even further.

Anastasia’s heart hammered inside her chest. She didn’t know what kind of scary trick he was going to pull off again so she immediately jumped several steps back from the King.

However, he kept on taking a step forward with every step she took away from him.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty!” Anastasia tried calling out the sane Caspian but it seemed like he was long gone. She kept on backing away until her legs hit the sofa and she tumbled and happened to sit down.

Caspian didn’t waste a second to take advantage of Anastasia’s vulnerability. He pressed his hands on the headrests of the sofa so that Anastasia was held captive in between his sturdy arms. And slowly, he brought his face very close to her neck.

Anastasia’s body turned stiff and her eyes widened as she could feel his cold breath caressing her neck. And she heard him whisper, “You don’t have to be scared. A taste is all I need.”

Her instinct told her to push that man aside and run but her body refused to even move an inch.

So she desperately tried to push him away with her words instead, “Y-You are not t-trying to go back on your own wo-words, right? Wh-”

Suddenly, a soft gasp escaped her lips and she froze in place because she felt something sharp on her neck. She could feel Caspian’s fangs grazing her neck. She abruptly closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly, preparing herself for the pain that would come when he would tear off her neck.

That never happened though.

Thankfully, Caspian had snapped out of his trance. He realized what he was going to do to the woman he had agreed to give a chance to. And instead of biting her, he gently pressed his cold lips on her neck and kissed her as a way to apologize to her.

But his ego didn’t let his mouth say the same. Instead, he ended up whispering threats in her ear, “It’s a reminder to you. If you fail the bet then that will be the exact place where I will dig my fangs and drain the life out of you.”

Anastasia, on the other hand, was still trying to comprehend what happened just a moment ago. She wasn’t even paying attention to his threats.

She looked stunned as several thoughts crossed her mind, ‘Did he just… did he just k-kiss me? Oh dear lord! Will I have to go through this sort of thing often? I don’t think I am prepared for… This marriage thing is going to be harder than I thought.’

She was brought back to reality when Caspian suddenly stood straight and clapped his hands. “Okay, we have a deal then.”

The almighty King held his head high and declared, “The trial for our relationship starts from today.”

There was an awkward silence between the two for a while. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

The fragile Princess looked up at the hard shell of the King and wondered if she had made the right decision by provoking the King into wagering a year. She hoped that he wouldn’t deliberately make it hard for her… and she really hoped that he wouldn’t try to kill/kiss her every now and then.

Caspian had wanted to send Anastasia back to Orsenia but now that he had agreed to let her stay, he had to validate their marriage.

He thought about it for a while and informed Anastasia in a serious tone, “Since we have agreed on a trial period of a year, let’s not do the wedding vows yet. We will directly have our wedding celebration tonight. So, you should get ready for the ball. I will have your handmaid sent here.”

Upon hearing him say that he was going to send Tilla to her room, she instantly forgot everything and happily sprung up from the sofa. She had no problem with not saying the vows. She was just glad to hear that Tilla was still alive and that she was going to meet her soon.

She bowed the King with gratitude and said, “I will get ready. Thank-” Suddenly, she held her stomach with both of her palms and winched as though she was in great pain.

From the way Anastasia was holding her stomach, Caspian could tell that something was definitely wrong with that fragile human.