Blood Empire

Chapter 5

The princess is naked again, she stands in front of her wardrobe taking her time in looking for an outfit to wear.

The smell of lavender fills the room as Karilya uses the towel she has taken from her body to dry her hair, squeezing and wringing out the extra water.

"Hmm," she hums to herself as Elios tries his hardest not to stare, "let's see, what should I wear?"

"It doesn't matter," Prince Elios says, a growl on his voice as he tries to hide the fluster that wraps around his chest, "just pick something."

Karilya doesn't even acknowledge that Elios spoke, she purses her lips and continues to flick through her new clothes that were purchased specifically for her yesterday after the engagement was announced.

Elios is unable to help himself, his eyes begin to wander, traversing over her curves. When Karilya is dressed, she is hidden, but now, stark naked before him, she has nothing to hide behind. Elios takes her in, taking note of the muscles in her arms and legs; she is strong, and has been put through some kind of training that has left her toned and sculpted.

But Elios is unable to focus much on the muscles as he becomes distracted by the princess' voluptuous curves and long legs, of which the prince is unable to stop himself from picturing them being put in a situation where they may find themselves over his shoulders.

As quick as the thought enters his head, curses himself and turns away, busying himself by looking anywhere else and keeping his eyes off the Amyan princess.

When Karilya finally starts to get dress, Elios finds her wedding dress dumped on the floor by his feet. He purses his lips in thought as he scoops down and picks it up, feeling a sense of disappointment stir in his chest as he regrets that he was not the one to help her out of the red and gold fabric.

"How's this?" Karilya asks, drawing the prince's attention back to her.

She now stands, dressed in a casual Nurian outfit; a deep burgundy wrap dress with a plunging neck line and short sleeves. It is light and ties around her waist, she has her damp hair pulled over her shoulder and she looks to the prince for approval.

"It's... um," he stammers, unsure of the words he's allowed to use, "fine."

"Fine," she echoes seemingly disappointed, but she takes a breath and then adds, "then let's go."

Elios growls in the back of his throat and leads his wife through the halls and down the stairs towards the back of the palace. He leads her to the training room where he gestures to the benches off to the side.

"You can sit there," he says before turning to his teacher and bowing.

"You're late, my prince," the teacher says with a disapproving glare.

"My apologies, master," he says as he unties the sash around his waist and sheds his shirt, "my wife couldn't decide what to wear."

"So... why am I here?" Karilya asks from the sidelines as Elios begins to stretch and warm his muscles.

"I have been charged as your keeper," Elios says as he stretches his arms behind his back.

"Weird way to say 'husband' but go on," the princess laughs as she tosses her damp hair over her shoulder.

"My father has instructed me to keep you close by," Elios says, ignoring Karilya's quips, "we are married but you are still the daughter of our enemy."

"Enemy," Karilya muses, frowning at the word, "I thought our wedding was apart of the alliance, my father is opening our borders to your people and establishing trade routes to ferry supplies that your nation is in desperate need of. And yet you still call us enemies?"