Thorns of Roses

Chapter 44 - My ex enemy

"Humph," a loud groan sounded under a pile of blankets as the sun rays made their way through the room and lightened it up in a brief moment - waking a grumpy princess. Placing a pillow on her head, she turned away from the window and tried to go back to sleep.

It was not the time for her to start the day yet.

Just when she was about to fall into a slumber, her eyes popped wide open, and - shoving the blankets away from her - sat up in an instant. Turning her face left and right confused, eyes strained as she was scanning the room, she mumbled, "What... How did I get in bed last night?!"Shifting her gaze to the other side of the bed, realizing it was untouched and Félix was nowhere to be found in the room, a relieved sigh escaped her lips.

Looking through once again, she didn't even notice when her gaze froze, lingering on the sight of the couch. Seemed like her brain wanted to mess with her as the events of yesterday immediately flashed back in her mind. Her heart was throbbing faster and faster as the memories replayed in front of her eyes.

The morning, the moment she found her mother's robe, the guilt of not attending the conference, the worry of how Félix will react to her absence. Félix.

Félix. 

She could remember every bit of their conversation, how understanding he was of her situation, how he consoled her and acted with her in a caring way, how she rested her face against his shoulder, and how...

"I fell asleep on his shoulder!" Mari exclaimed frustratedly when the memory appeared in front of her eyes. She glanced down at herself, noticing she was still wearing yesterday's clothes - including the cloak of her mother and buried her face into her palms.

"He must have put me in bed last night." Mari assumed as a soft blush stained her cheeks.

Shaking her head in embarrassment, she grunted, "ARGHH! How could I be so reckless around him?! What could he think of me now?" as if her mind turned into a football field, her messy thoughts were playing an unfair match with her.

It couldn't be more than a few minutes later when the Princess -  trying to calm herself down while desperately erasing the memories of last night from her mind - heard some movements echoing from the hall. 

"Ahh, it must be Alya! " Marinette perked up and looked at the entrance as the stepping sound was slowly approaching the room. 

Her relieved smile left her face the moment the door creaked and - instead of Alya - the Prince entered the room.

Even though it was still early in the morning, it wasn't noticeable to him by the looks of it as not even a single bag under his eyes or a muffled yawn painted his face. On the contrary, Félix looked like someone who just came out from a Delacroix painting. His blonde hair framed his face - some stray ones had fallen across his eyes that just emphasized the tone of his intense greens even more.  He wasn't smiling, but Marinette could see the laugh lines appearing in the corner of his eyes when he spotted her in the bed.

Failing at the attempt of hiding her blushing face, the Princess mumbled in acknowledgment to herself, "Not fair! How can he look so dashing even in the morning?!" Shifting her reddening face away from him, Marinette abruptly grabbed her blanket and pulled it on herself - trying to somehow hide her morning look, unsuccessfully. 

"Ahhh, you're awake!" Félix constated, the corner of his lips curling as he stepped into the room. 

"Good Morning to you too," The Princess grunted, still embarrassed by her appearance.

Glancing back at the Prince, she quirked an eyebrow. When he entered the room, Mari didn't notice at first that something was odd with him. Instead of his regular attire, he was wearing his outdoor boots and one of his red cloaks was hanging on his arm. " Ummm... Are you going somewhere?" she asked curiously.