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.
"I'm sorry," Mick whispered as they stood next to each other. "I should have told you about it or prepared you for it," he said and the look on Lucia's face softened. "It's alright," she whispered in response, but from her cramped posture he could notice it wasn't alright. Mick didn't say anything after that. The ballroom drained from the guests, the guards letting them all out. Lucia's family had left after a quick kiss goodbye, her sister couldn't wait to meet her after a week again so Lucia could tell her all about the princess life, which Lucia had zero appetite in. The prince and the princess were guided through the castle, to one of the highest floors and to their room. The candles were still on and Lucia was guided behind the divider, the maids untying her corset and undoing it from her body. She felt relieved at the feeling that she could breathe properly again, the material of her dress falling a bit more loose around her body. The maids wanted to help her with her dress too, but she held up her hand. "Please, I can do it myself," Lucia spoke.
The maids looked at each other, remaining in their positions. "Do what she asks," Mick sounded meanwhile and the maids then left the room. Lucia blew out the candles meanwhile, not wanting him to even get a glimpse of her naked body. She didn't want to be childish, but she just felt incredibly uncomfortable. Mick let her take as much time as she needed, not asking her if she was ready or anything. He laid under the blankets in the bed, one of his hands folded behind his head. "Are you ehm..." Lucia peaked her head from around the screen. "Are you wearing clothes?" She asked. "I am," Mick replied with a soft chuckle. Lucia had tugged her night gown over her head, glad it covered her up properly and she walked around the bed, opening the curtains to get in on the other side. She moved her hair away from under her neck and her shoulders, letting it fall over the soft pillow while she tugged the duvet over herself. "You don't have any bad intentions, right?" She asked softly. Mick turned to his side to look at her. "Even though we just met, I could never hurt you, Lucia," He muttered and she looked away from him again, satisfied enough with his answer to lay still on her side and hope that sleep would consume her somewhere this night.
The bright sunlight that came through the windows caused her to wake up. She hadn't slept much, she could notice from how heavy her head was feeling. Lucia opened her eyes, looking next to her and seeing that the other side of the bed was empty. Lucia sat up, feeling slightly relieved that Mick wasn't here, she had the first moment to herself since last night. She rubbed her tired eyes, moving a hand through her hair. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and her feet were met with the cold stone of the floor, which made her step on the carpet quickly. She looked around, none of the maids to be seen either. Lucia wasn't sure what to do, or where to go, but her first thought was that she could better find Mick. She opened the door of their room, for which she had to use a lot of strength to pull the heavy door open, but it wasn't locked or whatsoever. Lucia peaked her head around the door, almost as if she wasn't allowed to go out of the bedroom. She made her way onto the hallway, the stone feeling cold under her feet, nevertheless she was too curious to see where the Prince was.
She didn't come across any of the maids on this floor, however she looked out of one of the windows and saw the workers busy at the stables, the horses freed in the meadows and a courier was unloading the food stock of the week for the castle of Geneva. Lucia pulled her eyes from the scene many meters below her and she continued to walk. She remembered that around the corner was the bathing pool and she looked over the balustrade, but the water didn't ripple and didn't show any sign of someone taking a swim in there. She hesitantly walked down the slightly humid stone of the stairs, her fingers caressing the wall next to her as if it would save her from falling in case it was slippery. "Prince?" she tried, maybe he was down here after all. Lucia looked around the corner and didn't see anyone, walking further down to see the crystal clear water. She gasped and took a step back when suddenly two hands were planted on the ceramic tiles of the edge and his strong arms rose from the water.
Lucia remained frozen in her spot, watching Mick easily lift himself out of the water, but oh my good lord of the heavens, he was not wearing a single piece of clothing. Her cheeks turned into tomatoes and the heat rose to her skin so quickly, for a moment she was sure she would pass out. Build like Poseidon, with strong pectorals, broad shoulders and the abdomen under the skin of his stomach were sketched as carved-out marble on his body. "Lucia," Mick spoke, reaching for the towel that hung over one of the statues on the side, chuckling as the princess had turned her face away and covered her eyes. "You're awake," he stated next, finally covering himself up and it made her look up at him again, her eyes trained on his face after she swallowed hard. "I couldn't find you," she said, fiddling with her hands behind her back. "You found me," Mick let out a breathy laugh. "Did you sleep well?" he asked next and her eyes didn't fail to notice the droplets of water that fell out of his blonde hair, and drippled down his chest, or the way his biceps flexed when he moved his hair away from his forehead.
"Not really," Lucia replied honestly, gnawing on her bottom lip. "I could notice," Mick hummed. "You can always rest a little throughout the day if you want," he suggested. "Are you hungry?" he asked now and she shyly nodded. "I will get some clothes on, alright? You can wait here if you want." Lucia watched how he walked into the corridor and he was probably drying himself and then finally he would cover himself up with clothes. It didn't take him very long and Lucia couldn't help but admire his hair that was still messy and fluffed up after the swim he had taken. The hallways got busier the lower they went and eventually they crossed the mainfloor to reach the dining room, which Mick had showed her yesterday already. Maids walked around with plates in their arms, bread, fruit, jam and more that was served on the neatly made table. "My mother and my sister just finished breakfast so you could get used to this first. Tonight we will have dinner with them," Mick informed her, guiding her to the table and shoving a chair back for her. Lucia nodded at him, a small smile tugging on her lips.
"What will we do today?" Lucia asked and he sat down as well, his blue eyes briefly wandering over her face. "I thought of going out for a ride with my horse." Lucia remembered that her mother already mentioned that Mick was an excellent rider. "Would you like that? See a bit more of Geneva?" he asked and she nodded again. "I'd love that," Lucia replied and he smiled back at her, holding her gaze until she blushed again and let out a small laugh that made her look away from him. Mick diverted his eyes, but the feeling of his heart skipping a beat remained in his chest.