08. THREATS

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🌸 A N E E L A 🌸


The heavy rain had only lasted through the night and the earth had dried already once the courting party gathered at the nearby lake. It was warm and it felt comfortable to stand in the sun without needing a jacket. Seems like winter has drawn its last breath, Aneela thought to herself as she watched some spring clouds passing by on the blue sky.

The prince was already waiting for them, guards and a few Grisha were standing in the distance near the lake, observing the scene. He had his usual friendly smile on his lips and hands folded formerly behind his back as he greeted them with a pleased nod.

"Good morning, ladies. Thank you for joining me, this beautiful weather is perfect for our walk." His eyes caught Aneela's look for a moment. "I hope all of you slept well during the rainy night."

A smile tucked on the corners of her mouth, but she quickly looked away from him, over the water. Not a chance of getting me flustered over this, my dear prince. Nobody knew about their nightly conversation due to obvious reasons - mainly because the other bachelorettes would have her head if they would learn about it - but it would be a lie to say that she didn't appreciate him mentioning it to her in front of the others without them understanding a thing. It is our little secret now.

"I sleep like a baby through stormy nights." Brigitta immediately slipped next to him and blinked at him gracefully with her long lashes. And there we go again ... "Would you join me for the first few kilometres, Your Highness?"

Kilometres? Plural? Somebody have mercy on the poor man ...

"I am afraid we have to wait a few more minutes before we can go around the lake, there is currently a boat being transported to the docking station where it is going to be put into the water."

"Will there also be a boat ride on the lake in the future?" Aneela asked, trying not to sound too eager. "It was so much fun last time."

The prince smiled brightly at her and nodded. "Of course, Miss Ceron, I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. The boat is precisely for this activity but still needs some construction before we can host a little gathering on there."

"I bet Brigitta drowns this time because there is no way Nikolai will safe her annoying and straining self again. And I think nobody around here would blame him. She would do us a favour in jumping and he would do as a favour in not going after her." Kheru next to Aneela mumbled and the zemini needed to bite down on the inside of her lower lip to prevent her from bursting into a laughter.

"I will make sure we are able to begin our walk safely." The prince announced to the group with a firm nod and joined the Yul-Bataar twins along with some other Grisha at the boat to see how much longer the procedure would take.

DANDELION || Nikolai LantsovWhere stories live. Discover now