Blue Blooded - [Mick Schumacher]

Five

Mick and Lucia moved towards the other end of the castle, the entire hallway had only one door and it belonged to the room they were going to share. For as far as Mick knew, nobody had slept in there for a long time, but when they stepped inside it smelled fresh, as if the maids had been cleaning all day. There were square carpets with the weapon of Geneva on them on the floor and there was a painting on the wall, from Rembrandt which his mother had recently bought. Candles were lit in the room and the maids shuffled around the bed, pulling on the sheets, replacing the pillows, others tugging on the curtains around it, holding them open and then they stood still next to the bed, bowing gently for the prince and the princess. "Prince, princess," one of them spoke up. "Is everything as you would want?" she asked, her hands folded together behind her back. Lucia didn't really know what to say. The curtains around the bed were beautiful, the carpets and the painting just as gorgeous, however the fact that she had to share the room with the prince already, from the first night on, made her feel uncomfortable.

"It is fine like this," Mick spoke up to break the moment of silence that caused the maids to nervously glance at each other as if they had done something wrong. "Princess Lucia?" his voice woke her from her thoughts and she looked up at Mick before back at the maids, forcing a gentle smile on her lips as she nodded curtly. "It's perfect, thank you," she replied and the maids were relieved. "We will help you with your corset tonight, princess. We have set up your divider already, and your nightgown is cleaned and dried," the maid informed her. Lucia nodded once more, looking over at the filmsy screen in the corner. She of course knew what it was, but getting undressed in front of the eyes of strangers made the blushes rise to her cheeks once more. But the sooner she got used to it, the sooner it would be alright. "The Queen is asking you to return to the party. The guests are missing you," the maid said, her last words before they all left the room. The silence returned and Mick looked down at Lucia and the concern on her face. "It's tradition, Lucia, I'm sorry," Mick said. "We have our traditions too," Lucia replied, not in a comforting way, but letting him now that she wasn't going to force them on him either.

Mick nodded, not replying anything to her at the moment. "We're expected down in the ballroom," he said and she moved out of the room. She waited in the hallway as he pulled the door closed and her eyes were directed to the floor while they walked back without speaking. She liked what he showed her in the castle, however that they had to sleep together, share a bed from tonight on, was something that made her feel even a little bit nauseous. Dancing with him, holding his hands, she didn't mind it much. But she was going to be close to him tonight and after all, he was still a stranger. She didn't want him to take advantage of her, even though he had already told her they weren't expected to do anything else but sleeping. She got a strong feeling of resistance, she wanted to go home tonight, she didn't want to stay here. The guards opened the heavy doors of the ballroom, the music was still playing and basically nothing changed, only the look on her mother's face after she had disappeared without her knowing and the guests, they were a little more drunk.

"Mick, Lucia," Queen Corinna spoke up when the royal couple came up to them. "Mariëlle already told me that you approved the royal room," Corinna continued, looking between the two of them. Lucia nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. "Mother, maybe it's better if we sleep ap-..." "Apart from each other? Why?" Corinna interupted him. "We know each other since today," Mick spoke and Lucia appreciated the fact that he tried to help her. "Don't you want to pay tribute to the tradition of our castle?" Corinna asked, the look in her eyes pretty much telling them she only accepted the answer she wanted to hear. "It's fine, Queen," Lucia spoke up. "We will get through it." Corinna's eyes glided over to her and she nodded contently. "Stay here now," Corinna continued. "The guests are leaving in a bit." Mick and Lucia remained where they were, briefly looking at each other, however there was tension and Mick didn't like it. The friendly atmosphere between them was killed when the maid asked about the room. He should have explained their tradition to her earlier.