Winter's Dead Bride

Chapter Twelve

It was very late when the dinner was over.

The Emperor had his fellow equals talking to him and all their children had all suddenly surrounded me. Foxe cleared his throat, offering to start the conversation.

"Alright, so here's what happens... Miss Chióni is mine," decided Foxe, looking into my eyes with a grin on his face.

Teí laughed out loud, looking like he was having a lot more fun than the rest of us were and he seemed more carefree with the people he knew best. Cabiôs (or perhaps it was Astylle... I still can't tell...) gave his brother a hard look, making him go a little quiet.

"What kind of rubbish plan is that?" grumbled Agòn, leaning towards me.

"She'll clearly fall for me," shrugged Aystlle, giving me a heartfelt look as I melted in Foxe's close presence.

Damn! Curse me for being weak against these handsome people...

"Then I'll definitely be staying here for some time," stated Aurum, raising an eyebrow at the arguing boys.

"And you think I'm going anywhere?" grinned Asda, as Cosmo had a staring contest with his brother.

"This is just so entertaining! I can watch this all day," Teí laughed again, watching as the boys continued to argue over me.

"Why don't you also join in, Teí?" suggested Blossom, nudging Teí's arm with a big grin on her face.

"Yeah Teí! You two seem to have some kind of a strong connection between you," agreed Zinnia, subconsciously messing with Ecer's hair.

"Do you really think Azalea would like that? She looks horrified already, therefore, if I were to join in, what are my chances in winning her heart then?" he shrugged, locking my gaze.

My heart thumped hard in my chest as he took me by surprise. Was he planning to give me a heart attack? 

"Awwww! That's adorable! When did you develop such amazing feelings, Teí?" gushed Poppy.

Teí's eyes twitched in annoyance, glaring at Poppy with a deadly look on his face.

"Says the one who can't confess to the love of their life," he bullied her, making it very clear that they had a shared secret between them.

Poppy immediately blushed, shaking her head quickly.

"D-don't say that out loud, you horrible monster!" she cried, looking embarrassed.

Teí grinned, obviously victorious.

"Now... what were you saying?" he teased, raising an eyebrow at Poppy who only helplessly pouted.

Suddenly, I felt Foxe wrap me in a comforting hug, making me look away from the silent war between Poppy and Teí, distracted.

"Mine. You're definitely mine," he said softly, making me tremble with surprise.

Oh, shoot!

"Quit trying to cheat, little Foxe, it's clear that she likes me," muttered Agòn, giving Foxe a hard look.

But Foxe only grinned, hugging me tighter, clearly not caring about his brother's words.

"I like making you people jealous of me for once," he smirked, sticking out his tongue.

Agòn growled, giving his rival the look of death. I nearly jumped in fright but at the same time, it was hilarious. Teí and Poppy were also still going at it.

"But still...I'm only offering," grumbled Poppy, sighing heavily as she was clearly losing to Teí.

"Should I tell him then? I'm not going to hesitate to do it if you don't stop," warned Teí, raising his eyebrow at Poppy who was looking at him with pleading eyes.

I turned back to the princes, drawing in a measured breath.

"Ah...you guys shouldn't fight over me. I'm pretty boring anyway," I admitted, managing to loosen myself from Foxe's embrace a little.

For some reason, these people didn't seem to hear a word that came out of my mouth. Instead, my words seemed to be the fuel to all of these problems. I groaned as they started arguing with each other again, making me want to just shrink away from the situation and quickly disappear. After all...this was the first time in my life that this much attention had been directed to me...

It felt so strange and yet, so nice.
_

I shifted, feeling myself lying on a comfortable bed, my hair sprawled out under me. It was warm with a pleasant homely sense to it.

"Already given up on them?" asked a quiet voice beside me.

I was surprised to hear the familiar gentle voice coming from absolutely nowhere. I quickly blinked my eyes open, finding Teí's amber eyes looking back into mine. I blushed, quickly trying to find something else to look at as the honey colour of his eyes nearly killed me with their softness.

"Given up on who?" I puzzled, feeling a little strange that we were alone.

I looked around the room now, my eyes travelling along the detailed and priceless artwork on the richly painted walls. There were some draping curtains made of silk and they were the colour of cherry wine. They covered the tall windows at one wall of the room and there was also a beautiful fireplace on the other side beside the door.

"Those bothersome things back there," he muttered, addressing his brothers.

I sat up slowly, shaking my head a little, finding the courage to look at him this time.

"How did I get here?" I questioned, realising that someone must have carried me to this room.

He blinked at me, his eyes looking a little confused.

"Foxe knocked you out cold... how is it possible for you to forget something like that?" he puzzled, looking extremely concerned now.

Huh? When?

"Prince Foxe did that?" I quizzed, wondering why he would think of doing such a thing but then again, there was no pain to be felt...

"Yeah. That horrible thing... Do you still feel any pain on your head?" he asked, reaching out to touch my hair.

I just stared at him, genuinely confused.

"No," I replied, trying to think hard to when Foxe must have knocked me out.

"Really? No pain at all?" he traced, running his fingers through my hair now.

I went red, finally aware that he was touching me all along!

"I-I'm sure I'm, I'm fine," I stuttered, averting my gaze again as he let my hair fall through his fingers.

"So you're not suffering from a headache or feel as though you're lacking personal space?" he inquired, his voice noticeably changing as though he was teasing me.

I peeked into his eyes, trying to catch him out but he pulled on a serious face again.

"Are you being serious?" I dared to ask, still looking for a hint of playfulness that could betray him.

He innocently nodded, letting my hair fall against my back again.

"When did Foxe knock me out?" I questioned, still puzzled about how I could let such a thing escape my memory.

He was suddenly quiet as my attention was drawn to the photos of the family above the fireplace. I turned back to him to see him covering his mouth, on the brink of laughter. I raised an eyebrow, realising that I had just let myself be fooled by the greatest actor of all time. Then the sweet sound of Teí laughing filled the embellished bedroom, making me feel a little more alive as I gazed at him in awe.

"There's no way I'm letting them win," he laughed, drawing closer to me.

And without me even knowing how I was being wrapped in a warm hug, forgetting that the rest of the world existed as I inhaled his nice scent. I smiled to myself and hugged him back, feeling safe.

Wait a second...