𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐥.𝐫.𝐡

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈

"Are you sure you're alright? You're been very quiet lately." Luke said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and I set down my quill.

A few days had passed since my encounter with Sebastian and the words he had spoken were the only thing I could think about.

I grew more and more worried as I was still surprised with his confession. Not to mention, Edmund decided to send me another letter regarding the situation.

The harsh words in his writing gave me the impression that Sebastian had tried to reason with his King but proved unsuccessful. The letter didn't mention the envoy but the warnings written in there were enough to scare me.

At this point, I was seriously contemplating what I could do in order to get out this but all my ideas seemed pointless and useless.

What else could I possibly do? Edmund was going to kill all my loved ones if I didn't accept his proposal yet if I did, I most likely wouldn't see Luke again for the rest of my life!

I shivered at the thought.

"Yes, just thinking about this Frost Festival." I hummed, giving him a small smile.

"You're not a very good liar, your Grace." he laughed, standing up and walking over. I tilted my head up at him as he leaned his hands on my desk, only just opposite me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Really, I'm fine." I quickly picked up Edmunds forgotten letter and slid it into a draw but when I looked up again, he had cocked an eyebrow. I swallowed uncomfortably and sat back, fiddling with my fingers. "There's just a few things on my mind."

"Such as?"

"I'd rather not say, at least not for now anyway," I said, avoiding his gaze and I heard him let out a sigh. "Oh, I forgot! Queen Liz wanted me to go through this list for the Frost Festival!" I suddenly gasped, pushing a few books to the side and I rolled out a very long scroll and I bit my lip as I anxiously scanned down it.

The Frost Festival was only a day away but apparently, the villagers were in charge of it all. Liz however, wanted the girls and I to help her out with the activities that she was planning for the children on the day but I had completely forgotten about it!

I then leaned my elbow on the table and began to scratch my head when I noticed Luke's hand reach over to push the pot of ink away and I blinked up at him.

"Leave it," he said, also pulling the scroll away and rolling it back up.

"But I can't. Your mother asked me to do this for her."

"It can wait! You're anxious about everything but you need a distraction!" he laughed coming over and I let him pull me up. "If you won't tell me what it is, then I'll just make you forget about it!"

"And how do you propose you do that?" I laughed, his excitement already making me feel a lot more enthusiastic and for a moment, I seemed to have forgotten every troubling thought.

"I may have something in mind." he snickered, and just like that, he yanked me out the room.

—

"Luke, stop it! Someone will see us!" I giggled, tugging at his hair as he peppered my neck with ticklish kisses.

"Like who? The castles cat?" he laughed, bringing his lips back up to mine and kissing me passionately. His hands rested on my hips whilst my own were loosely holding on to his neck and I let out a tiny hum from enjoyment.

My back then dug into the wall as he pushed me further into it, only to cup his hands around my burning cheeks and he smiled into our slow kiss.

"You two are unbelievable!" Jack's voice suddenly cried out, causing Luke and I to abruptly pull away from each other and Jack let out a laugh.