"Ness wake up..." I was shaken awake gently and I would have lashed out violently if I had not known that it wasn't Nate. Something about his touch all ways calmed me.
"Why..." I moaned stretching out under the soft blankets. I groaned and wrapped myself tightly in the cocoon of warmth. "Hmm... well for starters you'll miss dinner and I don't think you want that." He reminds me in a teasing voice.
Instantly I'm up and out of bed but he grabs me and stops me. "First you need to get dressed, you've been asleep half the day..." He says pushing my hair back from its curly mess. I groan, "Why can't I jut go down in this?" I gesture to the sweat pants and AC/DC jersey that I showed up in.
He chuckled and spun me around. "Because dinner is semi formal, love." He whispers into my ear. "And if you're up to it and only if you are up to it you can meet my head advisers after dinner." He says kissing my cheek. I lean into his hold and am, for the moment at peace but a knock at the door interrupts us.
Nate turns and opens it leaving me now cold. "Hello Cecelia, how are you?" he says kindly. I turn and see a short older woman with fading wild red hair. She beams at him, "I am doing wonderful my king." her eyes flicker to me and her smile seems to grow wider.
"Is this her?" she says hurrying over to me. I'm surprised when she gathers me up in a hug. I see Nate grimace but my injuries don't hurt. Cecilia is like a very soft cushy dough biscuit. I smile at Nate and he relaxes.
"I'm going to find Tasman, I'll be back in an hour." He says before closing the door. His warmth leaves the room but Cecilia gets started. "Alright it would be best for you to go soak in the bath while I prepare. Then I will come in and wash your hair." she says gently pushing me towards the bathroom.
After I'm done I call her in and she washes my hair so well it shines and isn't even a bit frizzy. I'm surprised cause I'm never able to get it to look this good. "Alright my dear." she says after rinsing it one more time.
I get up and she quickly wraps a towel around my body. I'm glad she doesn't see my scars but when I get out of the tub a sharp pain reverberates from the source of my discomfort. I stop and sigh deeply trying to make the pain go away.
"What is the matter, are you hurt?" she asks quickly. I shake my head just as Nate barges into my mind. What's the matter Nessa? Do I need to come to you? he asks quickly.
No... I'm fine I just stretched wrong. Then I moved the towel a bit to reveal the scars that were now red and inflamed. "Oh dear... you've been injured."
She takes me to the chair and has me sit down. While she is hurrying around I grab a pair of under wear and a strap less bra to put on. Now I just sit with the towel around my shoulders catching the water that drips from my hair since I'm no longer naked.
"This will make you feel better." she says coming over to me with a salve in her hand. It's vanilla scented and when she wipes it against my tender skin it is warm to the touch.
There is a small tingling on my tummy where she wipes it and instantly start to feel better. "Thank you." I smile gratefully and she nods.
After she washed her hands she tackles the task of doing my hair which is actually pretty easy with her. I look in the mirror and see it braided around my head and the rest of my curls are let down in the back. She puts a golden head band in it and then nods in approval.
She goes to the wardrobe and pulls out a soft looking green dress. I slip into it and she does all the ties that go behind and around me.
The fabric is light like the Muslim blanket that I sleep on at home. But it will keep me warm. My shoulders are bare since the straps start lazily at my arms.
After she is done I slip on a pair of Gladiator sandles and thank Cecilia. She smiles modestly. "It is the least I can do, you make my king happy." She says hugging me. I blush immediately. "He is always kind and thinks of everyone but himself so it is nice that there is someone to give him that twinkle in his eye." she says just as he knocks on the door.
He sticks his head into the door and flashes me a goofy smile. When he really sees me his face drops into one of awe. Cecelia excuses herself and then we are all alone with each other. I see that he has switched out his outfit and now it's formal armour like the one my grandfather wears.
The breast plate is the most intricate piece, it is obsidian with gold embroidery. I trace my finger silently around the patterns. His warm hands trail up my arms around my elbows and rest on my shoulders. "I really don't want you to wear this now." He says running a small on my left shoulder.
"Why...?" I ask looking up into his eyes. He raises an eyebrow at me. "Because everyone of their eyes will be on you. And I don't want that." He says cupping my cheeks. I groan, "Attention whore..." I mumble before I kiss him softly on the lips.
It had only been about a few minutes but I guess for Tasman it was forever. He started to knock on our door interrupting our kiss. "I'm hungry Nate! You said you'd only be a minute!" he yelled. His voice was muffled and I had to stifle a giggle.
"Okay, okay were coming!" he yells opening the door. Tasman flashes us a satisfied smile and practically runs down the hallway. But I'm okay with that since Nate and I are left strolling leisurely down the dimly lit hallway.
"What did you dream about? Me?" he smiles cheekily at his poor attempt at joking. "No..." I think for a moment. "Actually nothing... it's been months really since I had a peaceful sleep." I say actually surprised.
"Good..." Nate says wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling us even closer to each other. I sigh against the side of his torso. He's soooooooo warm. Like a cinnamon bun. I smile unconsciously and hug him closer.
"Please don't eat me Nessa. Tasman would run Titan into the ground." Nate says distancing himself from me. I frown at him. "How did you know I was thinking about you as a cinnamon bun?" I stop and put my hands on my hips.
He looks away guilty. "Nathan were you reading my thoughts?!" I demand glaring at him. He bites his lip before bursting into laughter. I glare harder and he holds his hand up trying to stop. "No, babe I'm sorry! Really it's just you look like an angry kitten when you glare at me." He says coming closer.
I dance away out of his reach and he groans. "Okay, you kinda project your thoughts..." He says finally catching me. I glare at him still. "I'm sorry. You look like a very cute kitten." He kisses me on the nose and I melt.
"Fine I won't eat you... But I'm hungry and Tasman is probably wondering where we are so let's go." I say pulling him in the direction that I think is the dinner hall. He stops and grabs me by my waist. We do a 180 and turn to the right instead of the left.
.
I was right, Tasman was irritated at us for taking so long. So now he isn't speaking to us. I might be able to egg it out of him though.
I look up as the massive guards open up the gigantic door and inside of the room everyone stands up and stops talking.
Talk about Nope. I'm about to turn and run but Nate grabs my hand. Nate gets a lot of smiles and I get a lot of curious stares. Its irking me so bad that I want to hide in his cape that swishes behind him when he walks.
We get to the head of the table and everyone is staring at us in anticipation. "My friends, I would like to introduce you to your future Queen, and my love Nessa." I blush widely but I paste on my movie star smile for everyone.
Nate motions for everyone to sit down and the chatter starts up. I'm still very nervous and the tips of my ears are bright red. I'm so lost that I'd don't feel Nate' s hand reach for mine and I jump when I feel his warmth.
Calmness spreads over my body and I'm able to relax. "I know you're hungry so eat." He whispers to me. I grin at him and take some food from the tray that a servant offered to me. I got a little bit of everything and the people who surrounded us were really nice.
There was only one instance when I looked up I saw a girl staring at me with jealousy and hatred in her eyes. I eyed her curiously and she glared hard at me. I just shrugged my shoulders and smiled at politely. I didn't really have time for enemies.
Nate held my hand constantly throughout dinner even when he was talking with other people at the table. I sighed when he rubbed his thumb over my hand and he looked at me. I was the tiniest bit tired but I kept at it.
No yawning in public I kept coaching myself. Nate nudged me just as a group of people left the room. He stood up first and held his hand out to me. I took it great fully and we exited the room.
As soon as the door closed I did a happy dance. " I didn't trip! Or fall, or set anyone on fire!" I sang nearly tripping on Nate's cape. He stifled a laugh and I looked at him curiously. His eyes where focused behind me and I turned around slowly and was met by the sight of the group that left early.
I groaned loudly. So much for trying to be "proper".
"Princess." a few of them greeted me or bowed respectfully. I forgot I was technically a princess... duh.
I tried to save myself and I straightened up. "Uh hi.." I waved shyly and stuck like glue to Nate' s side as they crowded around. Nate grabbed my hand and held it surely, at least it gave me a bit of hope.
"Its a pleasure to meet you, Princess Nessa." A middle aged man with strangely grayish skin walked up to us. He nodded to Nate in acknowledgment and left the crowd. All the others did the same until the last two people came up.
He was a short man, his eyes looked very shifty and odd. Like he was expecting something to fly right at him. I looked at his right and saw the girl from earlier. Up close she was beautiful with ebony hair and pale flawless skin but the sour expression that remained glued to her face ruined it for her.
"It is very nice to meet you Princess. I hope you find our kingdom favourable." He says. His voice was a bit scratchy like a smoker did they have cigarettes here?
"Thank you, I like it a lot it here a lot. It reminds me of Asgard." I recall fondly. The man's eyes widened. "Asgard?" he asks curiously. I nod. "My grandfather, is The All father." I inform him, he seems to not be in tune with things around here.
He nods vigorously, I see a hint of something in his eye but ignore. "Jogunnir, Its quiet late I'll see you tomorrow?" Nate says wrapping his hand around my waist. I lean into him just as Jogunnir nods and his companion's frown deepens.
We turn away and begin walking down the hall. When we get far enough down the hall I finally speak. "He's a bit odd don't you think?" I mumble. Nate chuckles quietly, "Yes, Jogunnir is a bit odd. He's good at viewing things from a different perspective though." Nate says thoughtfully. I nod.
I fall into silence because I'm so tired and somehow make my way to the room with him. Nate takes his shower first and then shows me two times how to work the thing before I get in.
When I'm finished he's sitting on the bed (shirt less might I ad) studying a piece of paper. I get an evil look on my face and start to tiptoe over.
"Don't even think about it." He warns making me jump. I groan and stomp my way to bed. "How did you even hear me? I was being quiet." I whine as I scramble up onto the bed. He chuckles and pulls me into his lap. His hands rest on my hips away from the agitated part of my stomach which is healing quiet well.
I lean my forehead against his and sigh deeply. "I love you." I whisper shifting so my head is now on his chest. He rubs my back, "I love you too Nessa." his hands are like magic and they lull me to sleep pretty quickly.
In a few minutes I'm out like a light and deep into my dreams.