1. Amberstone | ✓

24. Rowan's Knights

"A twin? Though, we haven't heard of the Thethian princess having a twin," Alec obviously didn't get the memo and continued to ask him. The man beside him elbowed him and sighed dejectedly at his denseness. 

"Stop asking," Rowan warned.

Elianna saw Rowan's expression darkened slightly and it was the first time she saw him wearing that kind of expression. Fidgeting uncomfortably, she turned to the knight named Alec and nodded her head, "Yes, I'm her twin." 

"Even when you look like her, it's easy to tell you apart from your eyes. Oh right, we haven't introduced ourselves to you. I'm Kaylon," the one who was always grinning introduced himself to her and pointed towards the other three men as he read their names accordingly, "That's Alec, Tristan and Ilias. As Rowan mentioned, we're his knights." 

"It's an honour to meet the royal knights of Iftia, I'm Elianna," she gave a courteous nod and continued, "I'm sure all of you arrived here to bring Rowan back." 

"He can actually easily return to Iftia by himself but we're here because he said that he's bringing someone back with him," Tristan smiled. "And I'm assuming that it should be Lady Elianna that he's referring to." 

"My companion would also be following," Elianna returned the smile. "Thunder is resting inside the house, I'll introduce him to you in a moment." 

The knights looked confused and Alec was the only one who wasn't on the same page as the rest of the knights when he asked, "She's following us back to Iftia?" 

"Yes, Alec," Tristan exhaled. "For once, pay attention when we talk." 

"As his consort?" Alec blurted out.

"No, Alec. I wrote that she'll be following us to Iftia and staying in Lyx," Rowan explained, slightly exasperated. 

"You can't blame me, Ilias refused to tell me about the letter," Alec pointed towards the man with silver-blonde hair and indifference still expressed on his face to show his lack of remorse. 

Elianna stared at Alec for a moment before breaking into another burst of laughter. She briefly explained her situation to the knights and they listened to her attentively. Then, Kaylon mentioned, "You're going to be lonely, Lady Elianna. Other than the maids, Lyx is filled with a bunch of men. Noble ladies never stepped foot into Lyx and Rowan turns down every female guest who requested to visit." 

"Why?" 

"His palace is ugly," Alec blurted straightforwardly. "When you're at Lyx, you'll see how that place is simply a man's den and there's nothing fitting to cater to a lady's preference. It's as plain as a monastery." 

"Simplicity is not ugly," Elianna chuckled. "I'm rather comfortable with a simple environment and it wouldn't be a problem if they're no ladies around. I can chat with the maids." 

"You're rather odd," Alec laughed. 

"I wouldn't describe myself otherwise," she laughed. "I overheard that all of you had to rest. If all of you don't mind, please come into the house." 

Elianna guided them into the house and surprised that she managed to get all of them into the small house. Having Rowan in the house already felt like a huge feat but having five tall men and one big cat in this small house was really something. At this moment, she finally understood why Jason mentioned that this house meant specially for her. It was only enough for her and Thunder. 

"You have a panther as a pet?" Alec exclaimed. His eyes lit up upon seeing Thunder. 

"Thunder is not a pet." Elianna rolled her eyes. 

Alec said the exact same thing as Rowan when they first met and it was no wonder that there was a saying that birds of the same kind would flock together. Elianna shot a look at Rowan while he replied to her with a nonchalant shrug.

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• Rowan •

His knights found space within the house to rest. Since it was a small house, they had to make do with it. Turning to open the bedroom door slightly, he noticed that Elianna was also fast asleep since she only had a few hours of sleep before the commotion with his knights woke her up. 

Rowan settled on the side of the bed as he reached to lightly brush wisps of her soft brown hair away from her face. He played a little with her hair but careful not to wake her up. Lowering himself, he landed a soft kiss on her forehead and thanked her silently.

Thank you for agreeing to come to Iftia with me. 

With her around, he was sure that Iftia would be more bearable. 

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