Chapter 5| Didn't you know?

I sat on the bed, contemplating whether I should tell him that I'm not ready for the consummation. Lost in my thoughts, I did not hear the door open.

I was surprised when Julian appeared in front of me. I stood up and faced him.

"Julian... I-I'm not ready for the consummation,"

He smiled. Tucking a hair behind my ear, he cupped my face. "I know,"

We stared at each other for a couple of minutes, not saying anything. Julian broke the silence.

"Get dressed, we are going somewhere,"

I furrowed my brows. "Where?"

"You will see,"

After I got dressed, I walked back to the bedroom where Julian was waiting for me, a white fur coat in his hand. He motioned for me to go to him, and I did. He draped the coat on my back, tying the strings at the front.

Julian led me to the stables outside of the palace. He helped me mount the horse and he followed soon after.

We rode to the woods for a few minutes before we stopped. I was amazed when I looked around. It was a small clearing, with a frozen lake at the center. The grass below was covered with snow, and tree branches that protruded were also frozen with ice. It is truly magical.

He got me off the horse. My feet landed with a small thud on the snowy ground. I felt happy.

"I always promised my self that I will bring my first wife here, to my favorite place, no matter how much I hate her or like her," Julian told me. I laughed.

"And which part am I? The hate, or the like?" I trod carefully. His amber eyes found mine.

"I don't know," he went further to the clearing, leaving me behind.

An idea popped in my head. While his back was turned to me, I crouched down to gather a handful of snow, forming it into a ball. I threw it to his retreating figure, hitting his head. I laughed when he froze and turned to me with an angry face.

The snow was on his head as he looked at me, smoke coming out of his ears. My laughter died down when he crouched and took a handful of snow and formed it into a bigger ball. My eyes widened as I knew what he was going to do. I ran, but my heavy clothing made it hard. I faced him just in time to feel something cold hit my face.

"Aahhh!" I wiped the snow off my face in an attempt to lessen the cold. He was laughing so hard, tears were in his eyes.

I was mad, and I was not going down without a fight. I threw a snowball at him, again, and the playful look in his eyes disappeared. Uh-oh. I am in trouble.

The next thing I knew was that we were having a snowball fight. It was fun. Our laughter echoed across the clearing as we laid on the ground, exhausted.

"That was fun," I told Julian, feeling content. He closed his eyes before standing up and lending his hand to me. I took it and stood up.

We went back to the palace, tired. The hallways were quiet as we passed by. It was dimly lit by a few candle lights, and I was thankful that Julian was with me.

Arriving at our chambers, I wasted no time to get out of my snow-covered clothes. By the time I already finished, Julian was already laid in the bed. He patted the space beside him.

I lay on the mattress, facing him. I studied his face. He had slightly tanned skin, sharp features, and there was also a faint scar that stretched from his eyebrows to his cheek.

"I got it from a fight with Oscar. I did not know that he was holding a dagger," he explained. I felt sorry for him. He must have had a rough childhood. I played with his black curls that I came to love so much. It was soft as if it was silk.

"Thank you,"

"For?" he asked.

"For understanding that I am not yet ready, and for bringing me to the clearing tonight," I replied with a smile.

I woke up, confused as to why my bed suddenly got so hard. When I opened my eyes, I nearly fainted when I found out that I was not laying in bed. Instead, I was laying on top of Julian! His broad arms were secured around me, not letting me move.

"Julian," I poked him lightly. He did not wake up, and I found my self staring at him. He looked so peaceful.

"Julian, wake up,"

He groaned, but only tightened his arms around me. I struggled against him, and luckily, I was able to remove my self from him. He did not notice this, as he just continued sleeping.

The maids assisted me in the bath. After that, they dressed me in a light blue gown that showed a little cleavage.

I went back to the bedroom, expecting that Julian was still there, but to my dismay, he was not.

"Where is his highness?" I asked one of the maids.

"His highness has matters to attend, milady. He said that he won't be joining you for breakfast,"

"Very well. Take me to Princess Meredith's chambers instead,"

I felt my heart drop when the maid told me that he won't be joining me for breakfast. The maids showed me the way to Meredith's chambers. I dismissed them and was about to knock on the door when it opened and a tall, handsome brown-eyed man came out, his hair looking disheveled.

When he saw me, he bowed. Meredith came out, and when she saw us, her hand went to her mouth. She dragged me inside, leaving the man outside.

"You did not see Angelo come out of my room, understand?" She was nervous, I could tell.

I placed a hand on her shoulders and looked at her, a smug look on my face. "Yes, I will not tell anyone, but..."

Relief crossed her face, but then it turned into seriousness. " But what?"

"But, you should tell me who the guy is," I wiggled my eyebrows at her, causing her to flush.

I laughed when she attempted to cover her face with her palms. "Ah-ah-ah, young lady, tell me, or I would have no problem telling Julian about the mys-"

"Okay okay! Don't freak out, but the man who you just saw earlier was the General,"

"Ooohhh, The General, and the Princess," I teased her. She was blushing.

"Aurora, stop it! It's not funny!"

"Yes, it is! Look at your face," I could not stop laughing.

"How did the date go?" it was her turn to wiggle her brows at me.

"What date?"

"Don't act as if you don't know Aurora. I saw you leaving with Julian last night,"

I blushed when she said that. "It...It was not a date!"

"Yes, it was," she teased me with a don't-even-try-to-deny-it look.

"No, it was not, he told me that he promised his self that he will take his first wife to his favorite place, no matter how much he hates her or like her,"

Meredith's mouth formed into an 'O'.

"Besides, I came here to have breakfast with you. Julian left, telling me that he has matters to attend to,"

We ate in silence.

"Meredith?"

She hummed in response.

"Why were the wives of the princes was glaring at me last night?"

"Don't worry Aurora, they were just jealous of you," she smiled.

"Why?"

"Because you are beautiful, and their husbands seemed to take an interest in you,"

"Oh,"

We finished eating, and Meredith insisted to take me on a tour to the palace. I agreed.

We were walking around the hallways when I asked something to Meredith.

"What do you think will happen to your brothers?"

She knew what I meant. "I don't know, and I don't want to know. Even if Julian was the only brother who treated me with respect, Delvin, Oscar, and Helius are also my siblings. It would hurt to see them die,"

"What about the General? You know the law. Princesses can only marry someone with higher status than theirs,"

"Angelo and I will find a way,"

We kept walking until we passed a window. I looked out but then something piqued my interest. There was a vacant space outside that was lined with unlit torches. Chairs were placed, and the flag of Kashmir was hung at the pole. Servants were busy as if preparing for something.

"What are they doing?" I asked Meredith.

She gave me a sad look. "They are preparing,"

"Preparing for what?"

She looked at me as if I've grown another head. "You don't know?"

"What?" I got a bad feeling about this.

"Aurora, tonight is the full moon,"

I felt my heart race as I processed the information. Oh my god. I covered my mouth with my hand. "Tonight?"

Meredith nodded.

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