Completely Naked

The King had turned into a huge wolf, his shining silver coat shimmering with hints of golden hue as they brushed against the wind. She had never even dreamt that a wolf could look so large and majestic. He was practically almost twice her height!

He then stretched down, almost kneeling.

"He's giving you permission to climb," Gideon commented after seeing her stand mindlessly without a clue of what to do.

"Oh, won't I fall?" Xenia asked with a whisper.

"No, you won't. Just hold onto him tightly."

"Won't that hurt him?" she worriedly asked, stretching her hand out to touch and caress King Darius's head.

He looked very fluffy and adorable in his wolf form, unlike most rogue werewolves she had witnessed before. Those all turned into terrible monsters in the end.

"Such a little amount of strength won't hurt him, okay?" Gideon chuckled, "His Majesty is not a very patient person, so please mount him soon before he changes his mind and turns back into a human."

"Okay?" she hesitantly answered as she positioned herself to mount His Majesty. But just as she was about to raise her legs, Gideon called out to her once more.

"Oh, wait! Please carry this with you." Turning to him, Xenia watched as Gideon took something tied onto his horse and gave it to her.

"It's His Majesty's clothes. Make sure you don't lose them. We wouldn't want him attending the ceremony naked or in his wolf form, Xen."

Coming back to her senses, Xenia nodded to Gideon before finally climbing up to hop on Darius's back. It was a necessity, she thought to herself.

She had to reach the Kingdom of Ebodia as soon as possible and swap places with her sister. Slowly climbing on to Darius's back, she hugged his neck as tightly as she could without hurting him, holding onto her dear life as she waited for him to move.

Soon enough, King Darius started to run. Xenia lost her breath as she held on. He was moving so fast that she had to squint her eyes to protect herself from the wind blowing in her face.

'Good thing that my wig wasn't a cheap and ordinary piece. Otherwise, it would've already been blown away by the wind,' she thanked her luck. She had always worn a special wig, cast with a spell by her friend Jayra, that would refuse to move from her head unless, she removed it herself, or else, her gender would have been discovered by now. 

As the wind continued to hit her from all directions, she began to feel the stinging cold getting to her. However, the rush of adrenaline she was experiencing compensated for the sudden chill she was experiencing. Surely riding a wolf at very high speed was incomparable to riding a horse.

"This is so wonderful!" she exclaimed with a broad smile on her face. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and she couldn't wait to just boast about it in front of her brother and sister once she reached her kingdom.

'I probably won't have enough time to do it though… I will have to travel with the Vampire King to the Kingdom of Valcrez as soon as the wedding ceremony ends,' she gravely reminded herself.

She only had a limited time to spend with her siblings. The wedding ceremony was at night, however. So hopefully, they could arrive at the Kingdom of Ebodia before sunset.

Xenia didn't know how long they had been traveling, but she could bet that it was already noon when His Majesty suddenly stopped and leaned down, signaling her to disembark from his back. As such, she did.

And in that instant, he suddenly shapeshifted back to his human form.

Xenia's eyes widened. He was standing completely naked. But before her eyes could go even further down, she immediately closed them and turned around while covering her eyes with her palms.

"Your Majesty! How could you shapeshift in front of me without any warning?!"

The King laughed out loud and scoffed, "Xen, how could I warn you in my wolf form? You're not even a werewolf for me to telepathically communicate with you! And for goodness sake, why do you look so flustered seeing a man naked?! Are you not a man yourself?"

Hearing him, Xenia snapped herself back to reality. She almost forgot that she was pretending to be a man.

Immediately grabbing Darius's clothes from the bag Gideon gave her, she presented the bundle of clothes to him without even looking, "Here are your clothes, Your Majesty."

Darius frowned, "Why are you handing it over to me? Help me put it on!"

Xenia gulped, 'Ah, I'm his warrior servant, so it's natural that he asks me to help him get dressed. What did I put myself into?!'

She mentally shook her head. She had to keep up with her appearances. Steeling herself, Xenia calmed herself and met The King's gaze.

"I will help you get dressed then, Your Majesty," Xenia stated with an awkward smile.

"However, this is my first time doing this kind of thing. So please be merciful and lenient if I make mistakes. Please guide me and teach me how to do it properly."

The King suspiciously looked at Xenia and ordered, "Just put the damn clothes on me, Xen!"

At his harsh words, Xenia moved quickly, bending down to help him with his trousers.

"Give me that!" he commanded, feeling just as flustered as her when she bent down.

'Thank heavens!' she silently thought, feeling relieved as she handed the article of clothing to him. She realized that she was indeed acting weird for a man.

"My cape… Put it on me," he commanded again, so Xenia moved and almost hugged Darius while wrapping the cape around his body.

'He's so warm,' she thought. He also had a pleasing smell which she couldn't help but breathe in.

Xenia quickly took a step back.

Her heart hammered in her chest and she wondered why she was feeling like that. The intense stare that The King was giving her had this weird effect on her. Chills ran down her bones, not because of fear or anything, but because his gaze was so penetrating that it could make anyone's knees feel so weak, even someone as daring as Xenia herself!

'What is happening!!??…'