Enslaved

Chapter 10

The next morning, Prince Balthazar had me get dressed. I wore a sun dress, one that allowed my mating mark to be seen. We had a matching mark that appeared after it healed. It was a snow flake wrapped in shadows. Each mark was unlike any other to represent the two who were mated. I braided my hair to the opposite side, to ensure it didn't cover it. I slipped on my heels before leaving the room.

"Why does dad always address you by Hansen and not Mokoto," Lui was asking Mokoto. "He addresses me by my last name," Mokoto replied. "He doesn't address Azula by her last name," Lui pointed out. "It is rude to address someone by their family name, when their family is deceased," I informed, instead of Mokoto. "Oh," Lui said, his eyes filled with a hint of sadness. "I forgot." I offered a kind smile, "That's okay."

Prince Balthazar then came into the kitchen, dressed in a grey suit, with a black shirt beneath, and a grey tie. "Are you ready," he asked me. I nodded, "Yes sir." "You don't need to be so formal Azula," he said, for the third time that morning. He grabbed the keys for one of his rarely driven personal vehicles. He wanted it to be just the two of them, no one else to accompany them, it seems. I followed him to one of the vehicles and I was then surprised when he opened the door for me on the passenger side.

"You need to get used to this," he said to me. "You're no longer a slave, you're my mate, and future queen." I nodded and slid into the car. He softly shut the door and went around as I looked about the interior. It was a soft grey, silver, and black interior. "You seem to not like it," he noted as he began to drive. "Its nice," I told him. "Its just that, other than the color of the walls in your room, nothing you own has any color." "Our room," he corrected. "You will be moving in with me. If you'd like, I can have the room redecorated to your liking." "The room is fine," I told him. "I was just pointing it out." "You truly are blunt, aren't you," he asked me. Most have been annoyed by my bluntness, but it's most likely due to lack of social interaction throughout my life. Plus I've been so used to following direct orders, and spoken too directly, it's all I know.

"It's all I know how to be," I told him. "I've only been spoken too in a direct manner, never getting any social interaction so I don't really know how to talk any other way." He took my hand and laced his fingers with mine. "Its something I admire," he told me. "Many have only have tried to omit things from me since I can tell a lie, and others have just stabbed me in the back. Its refreshing to have someone who doesn't shy from telling me the hard truth."

"You have my undying loyalty," I told him fully meaning it. "Even without us mating, you had it the moment you told me you were going to call me by my name. You gave me something that I had been stripped of for so long, I almost forgot it." He brought my hand to his lips and I felt slight sparks run down my arm.

I was a little shocked when we pulled up to a jewelry store. When he got out many stopped what they were doing to eye the Prince. Many took this opportunity to take photos and videos on their phones. He went around and opened my door, and I could hear whispers over his actions. He held out his hand for me and I took it. I slid out of the car, and all talking stopped, all eyes on my mating mark. I wanted to make him proud, and not scorn me later, so I kept my chin high. As we walked to the door of the store, he kept a possessive hand on my back. Before we got to the door, a man from the inside opened it.

"It is good to see you, your majesties," he said, addressing both of us as we entered. He made sure to shut and lock the door behind us. I did my best ignore the people who stood outside, their faces plastered to the windows. "We are here to buy my mate and I a matching set of her choosing," Balthazar told him. Not many followed the customs around rings anymore. Mostly the rich did because they could afford it.

"We have a large assortment, of new collections that came in earlier this morning," the man said while leading us over to the glass counter. He went to the wall, "None of the public eye have seen these yet." He pulled out trays of rings from a large safe. He placed them on the counter and they all sparkled and shined beneath the light. "Choose which ever one you want," Prince Balthazar told me. I looked over the rings. They were all unique, with varying sizes and colors of stones with designs.

My eyes were drawn to a silver ring with rose and ice blue colored stones. They were small, but brightly. Between each of the rose and ice colored stones they had smaller sized diamonds between each of them. I then thought about my earlier comment on how Balthazar didn't have anything of color. I smiled softly, "I want this set." The man looked from me to Balthazar who simply nodded. He pulled out the set to allow us to try them on. The ring was bright and very noticeable against his tanned skin, and it made my smile widen.

"We'll take them," Balthazar told him with a nod. He rung us up and we left, our rings shining brightly on our fingers. More photos were being taken as we were leaving. He opened my door and I got in. When he got in he laced his fingers with mine as he began to drive. "Let's play a game of twenty questions," he suggested to me. I know the goal was so that we can get to know each other, so I nodded, "Okay."

"What is your favorite color, mine is black," he asked me. "Rose petal pink," I answered. "What is your favorite dessert? Mine is chocolate cheesecake." "S'mores," he answered and I looked at him a little shocked. "Its because growing up when my father took me out camping to help train my survival skills, we would make s'mores since mother wasn't there. Mother found the treat to messy for royalty to eat." I nodded with a small smile on my face.

"What is one thing you hate seeing, for me it is mercy being given to those who don't deserve it," he said since it was his turn. I cringed as I thought about it, "Blood. I can handle a little from like a cut or something, but I feel sick when I see too much of it. It takes me back to the war." He brought my hand to his lips, "I will keep any matters that involve me shedding blood out of your sight then."

I gave his hand a light squeeze, "What makes you happy anytime you see it? For me its snow." "Other than seeing someone who deserves it suffer from the pain I caused, its seeing Lui," he told me. "He is my son and I will do anything to ensure he stays safe and happy. And I will do the same for you." My heart seemed to flutter at his promise. What does that mean? Emotions can be so hard to figure out.

"What is something you've always wanted, but could never have," He asked me next. "For me its freedom from my royal duties. I don't want to be the king, but I refused to let my brother have the throne. Gods know he would lead us to ruin." I tried to think of my answer. "I can't really think of anything," I admitted to him. "You've already given me so much that I never knew was possible for me. How could I possibly think of having more?"

My answer seemed to throw him off a little, but it was true. I thought I was forever destined to be a slave, but now I'm mated to the future King and I was accepted as the future Queen. He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it softly, "And I pray I can continue giving a life you never knew was possible."

Part of me wanted to not believe him, as if this was all some fairy tail like my mother told me when I was a babe, but I could tell through the bond that he meant it, and that made me excited to see what the Gods had in store for us.