The Bastard Princess

44.

-HER-

"Arsinoe, I don't have anyone other than you," He spoke from downstairs. I was perplexed at his words. My brain couldn't find a meaning to that. Did he speak in a tongue that I wasn't versed with? I couldn't tell but it definitely had my heart racing.

Chefren never said anything like that to me. Even though I loved him and never spared an opportunity to show it, he never did anything for me. He never bought anything for me.

What made the prince do this anyway? I couldn't find a reason for his actions. The only thing that seemed reasonable was he wanted something from me in return... but what? I didn't have anything except my life.

"What do you want from me?" I asked him sharply. Meanwhile, I found the small knife that I hid under my makeshift bed. It was better to be safe and guarded than sorry.

"I just want to apologize for what I said last night. I didn't mean any of that," He answered calmly. His voice had shed away the sternness until it sounded gentle. I was finding it hard to trust the prince. He was a wolf and the only thing that I knew about them was their viciousness.

He also happened to be the son of a tyrant. I only expected him to have inherited his father's nature but the way he was talking right then, it made him appear someone completely different. I was finding it hard not to doubt his motives.

This could have been a trap by him. I didn't want to fall prey to him. I had already been taken advantage of. I wouldn't be able to bear the pain if that happened again.

Deciding to look into the matter, I slowly rose from my makeshift bed before I went to the opening of the ceiling and peaked from there. He was standing there with a bag in his hand. His silver eyes instantly spotted me. I shivered when they focused on me.

"What did you buy?" I asked him instead. I kept peeking from the opening as he answered, "Some hairpins, a mirror, a comb and a-"

"Hairpins... comb?" I interrupted him and he nodded, "And a mirror?"

"Yes," He breathed. His eyes held my gaze intensely. I had to tell myself not to look away. That would be a sign of submission and weakness. I didn't want to appear vulnerable to him and give him the idea to exploit me.

"Take out the mirror and have a look at yourself. You need the comb and hairpins more than I do," He was stunned at my words while I burst out laughing. I tried to contain my laughter but as I soon as I looked at him again, I couldn't help but burst out laughing again.

"Arsinoe," He growled at me lowly. I came out of my hiding and placed a hand under my chin and peered down at him, "What else did you buy?"

When he clenched his jaw and glared at me, I wasn't scared. This greatly surprised me. There was something about the prince that seemed playful rather than dangerous. Though Chefren wasn't like this. He was unpredictable and seemingly dangerous.

"A shawl and some sweets," He answered, maintain his glare on me. I could see his jaw muscle ticking while his body seemed tense. Instead of getting scared, I was amused by his reaction.

"You spent a lot of money on someone worthless like me," I commented and his eyes instantly dropped the glare. Guilt coursed through them as he pressed his lips in a thin line. It was the second thing that surprised me tonight.

"I didn't mean that last night," He said. His eyes softened for some moments before they trailed down to my body. I shivered under his gaze. I instantly shot him a glare as soon as his eyes were back to mine.

"I don't want anything from you," I told him briskly before returning to my bed. I heard him grunt downstairs before he walked out of the house. Unknowingly, I took a sigh of relief before I tried to go back to sleep.

As I waited for sleep, I couldn't help but contemplate over the situation. It was odd... nothing like this ever happened in my life. No man had ever tried to give me anything then why would he?

I was more confused than ever. I couldn't make anything out of that. Why was he doing it? Also, tonight I got to see a different side of him. I had always seen him stern and distant but tonight he appeared to be more than that.

It was sometime late in the night when I heard him enter the house again before his footsteps moved to the bed in the corner of the room downstairs. It creaked miserably as he laid on it. I stayed awake listening to him tossing around before I was completely claimed by sleep.

Next morning, I woke up due to the commotion downstairs. I peered through the gaps to find that he was back at hammering several pieces of wood to the house. I was quick to notice that his hair had been trimmed very short and his beard was missing. My stomach dipped at the sight.

He looked like his old self again... the wolf prince. As if he was ready to ascend to the throne and rule Zaeris but he was stuck here because of me.

It was becoming a routine for me to wake up to him working downstairs and then eating my fruits while staring at his muscled back. I then set out. I felt his eyes on me as I climbed down the ladder. He had instantly stopped working and turned his attention to me.

I did my best to not to look at him as I left the house. I then went to the lake to wash myself before I finally set out for the temple. Life was unexpectedly going back to normal but there was always this small voice telling me to be alert, to not grow comfortable.

Things seemed too normal to be real and to last like this forever. Peace seemed alien. My eyes still drifted to the woods, as if expecting to see someone appear out of it. Someone who'd threaten my existence.

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