Heidith gently placed Zadhea on a sofa and instructed a female worker to bring warm water along with two towels. Zadhea glanced up at him in confusion, but she didn't plan on asking anything. She felt too exhausted to even move an inch.
"All men out now," Heidith suddenly commanded, catching everyone off guard.
The men who had followed them all the way to the room left one after another silently. Now, there were only three women left apart from the royal couple.
After the female worker brought what Heidith asked for, he lifted Zadhea's dress up to her knees as her slender legs came into view.
"What are you doing?" Zadhea blushed and tried to hide her legs, feeling embarrassed.
"Be good. I'm about to give you a massage. It will make you feel better," he looked at her seriously. "Don't worry. I won't take advantage of you."
"But others are watching," Zadhea lowered her head. "So please don't."
"Privacy."
The women looked at each other before leaving the room, closing the door behind them.
"Now it's only the two of us," Heidith knelt before her, ready to massage her feet.
"Hey, what are you doing? Don't kneel in front of me," Zadhea became horrified.
In the past, it was considered a humiliation to kneel in front of a woman unless she was a ruler. Although Zadhea's own father, King Edwin, loved her mother to death, he would never kneel before her.
It was an insult to men.
Heidith didn't listen to her. He soaked a towel in warm water and wiped her legs using it.
Zadhea knew her feet were dirty since she walked barefoot for a long time. Hence, she didn't want him to touch them. "My feet... They are dirty. Don't touch them. It's disgusting."
She bit her bottom lip hard, feeling rather uncomfortable. She herself wouldn't touch them that willingly if they were that dirty with dust and soil. She'd rather splash some water onto her feet first and then rub them against the floor. As for touching them to clean... Ew, no!
"It's my duty towards you," Heidith raised his head to look at her. "And it's not disgusting."
Zadhea's eyes focused on her lap all this time. But when she heard his words, she blinked and stared straight into his eyes as if she wanted to see through his soul. When she sensed his sincerity, her heart filled with something indescribable. She didn't know what she was feeling. It was weird. But weirdly good.
Zadhea didn't want to bother him anymore. She could see how tired he looked. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and his hair was messy. It seemed like he had a hard time finding her.
'He must be equally tired as me,' she concluded in her mind.
Clearing her throat, Zadhea softly spoke, "I'm hungry." Her voice sounded more like a whisper.
Heidith stopped his actions for a second. "Oh. Wait a bit more." Then he swiftly but carefully wiped her legs using the remaining dry towel and covered her legs with her dress before rising to his feet.
"You want me to carry you again?" He reached out.
Zadhea took his hand and stood up as well. "No. It's fine. I feel much better."
"Told you." He smiled.
Zadhea smiled back. "Thank you."
"Okay, okay. Let's go have some food," Heidith urged as he opened the door.
"Oh yes," Zadhea trailed behind him, asking, "By the way, did you have your lunch this afternoon?"
"Mhmm, I couldn't. I had to look for a kid," Heidith answered truthfully.
"A kid?" Zadhea pursed her lips, feeling aggrieved. "I'm not a kid."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Okay... Kid."
"Hmph!" Zadhea looked away, folding her arms over her chest.
"Ha ha," Heidith laughed heartily.
When Zadhea heard it, her gaze softened as a smile decorated her face.
"It's beautiful," she subconsciously mumbled.
"Huh?" Heidith tilted his head, looking confused.
"Nothing," Zadhea took his wrist and dragged him out. "Let's go."
Heidith looked at the way she held his hand as his lips curved into a smile, feeling happy. Then he interlocked their fingers.
Zadhea pretended that she didn't care, although her heart beat rose up.
At the dining table...
"We are the only people here," Zadhea looked around, feeling a little better since she didn't like crowds that much.
As she said, the dining hall was empty except for the two of them and a waiter who stood in a corner, ready to approach them whenever they needed his help.
The place was quite spacious, and it looked similar to a hotel restaurant.
"Not surprising," Heidith pushed some bread to her side. "It's three in the morning after all."
"Three AM?" Zadhea widened her eyes, finding it hard to believe. "Time passed that fast? I didn't feel it."
"But I did," Heidith released a soft sigh. "It felt like an eternity..."
Each passing second felt like hours to him. He didn't give up searching for her, although time seemed to stop. It felt suffocating and uneasy, almost unbearable. His heart was beating fast like a drum, and he was super afraid, thinking that something bad happened to her. When he found her jacket and heels, his soul almost left his body. He was that terrified. He even forgot to breathe. He felt alive again only when he saw her sitting on a bench with his own eyes. That time he swore to himself that he would never abandon her like that no matter what. Or else, he knew if something happened to her due to his recklessness, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Zadhea opened her mouth to say something, but the waiter approached their table with a boiled egg.
"There's only one left," he put it down on the table between the couple. "I deeply apologize for that, your Highnesses. Please bear with it."
"It's fine. You can go," said Heidith. "Ah, don't forget to bring our juices too. That'll be enough. You don't have to bring anything else again."
"Aye, sire."
When the waiter left them, Zadhea looked at Heidith and said, "You can eat fish. I'll eat this egg."
Before she could take it, Heidith quickly grabbed the egg and ate half of it before putting it on her plate.
"Sharing is caring," he winked at her.
Zadhea gave him a stern look. "Are you serious right now?"
Heidith shrugged in return.
Zadhea had no choice but to finish the other half of that egg.
The waiter brought a glass of apple juice and informed them that the orange juice would be delayed.
The moment he left the table again, Heidith took the glass, but Zadhea swiftly snatched it from him and gulped down half of it before pushing the glass to his side.
"Sharing is caring," she repeated his words with a wink.
When Heidith saw that, his heart skipped a beat. Although her wink was friendly, he couldn't help getting flustered.
When he took the glass to drink the remaining part, he saw a faint lipstick mark.
Heidith swallowed hard. Should he be bold enough to drink from the spot she used?
In the end, he avoided the lipstick mark and drank from another side.
The waiter felt that something was wrong when he saw how strange the couple looked when he brought a glass filled with orange juice. With trembling hands, he carefully put the glass down on the table between them without making a sound and then gulped a little, feeling nervous. After that, he took a few steps backward and turned around before disappearing completely. When he arrived in the kitchen, he heaved a sigh of relief inwardly and smiled at the cook, waving his hand a bit.
The cook wiped his hands dry. "Let's go home."
The waiter nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes."
'Let's go! Escape!'
Heidith narrowed his eyes at Zadhea, and she did the same to him in return. They looked like a cat and a dog, ready to pounce on each other.
"Ha, gotcha!" Heidith took the glass before she could and drank half of it in one go. Then he pushed it to Zadhea's side, just like she did.
Zadhea felt her right eye twitch.
Heidith looked at her daringly and then pointed his chin at the glass, signaling her to drink.
Zadhea spread her arms in the air and stood up. "Sorry, I'm full."
'Drink by yourself, idiot.'
Heidith felt a bit disappointed. However, he didn't like to waste food, so he took the glass to finish the remaining juice, but a hand snatched the glass away from him.
"But I don't like wasting food. That's why," Zadhea emptied the glass and put it down with a thud.
Heidith raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
The girl shook her shoulders with a smirk.
Zadhea's jaw dropped when she realized they had to share the same room that night, maybe morning... Whatever.
"Are they serious or are you serious?" She looked at Heidith accusingly, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot on the floor, waiting for his explanation.
Heidith scratched his neck with a troubled look on his face. "I don't know. I think they think we are a couple... I mean a real couple."
"Huh?" Zadhea dropped her hands with a look that showed, 'Gosh! I'm done with everything.' "I think I don't need to think what you think or what others think. I only think you should find another room. Don't think much and go find one."
Heidith shook his head in disapproval. "I think you don't think how bad that idea is. If you want, you can find one yourself. Now shoo!" He tried to push her out of the room.
"Seriously?" Zadhea became speechless. "...Why do you think it's not a good idea?" She tilted her head, looking confused. "And how can you kick a girl out at a place and time like this? I don't even know this place. How can I find a room myself, you heartless creature?!"
'And you still dared to explore that garden by yourself,' Heidith rolled his eyes in his mind.
He raised two fingers. "You have two choices."
"One, stay with me in this room." He folded one finger.
"Hey, hey, don't show that finger!" Zadhea quickly grabbed his hand and folded the other finger. "I agree, I agree."
Heidith shrugged. "As you wish."
Zadhea went to take a bath, and Heidith waited for her to come before going to the bathroom to take a shower too.
Hopefully, the staff had prepared casual clothes for them beforehand.
When Heidith came out after dressing up and drying his hair, he was greeted by Zadhea's sleeping figure.
'You gave me a very hard time the whole day and now dared to sleep like nothing happened?!' He thought angrily.
Clearing his throat, he shouted, "ZADHEA!"
"Who's that?!" Zadhea sat up straight with a gasp.
Heidith felt a little guilty. "You were sleeping?"
Zadhea clenched her hands into fists, thinking of punching his handsome face.
"No, I was cooking!" She glared at him.
Heidith laughed like a villain. "Haha, sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry?" Zadhea's glare turned murderous. "Sorryyyyyyyy???"
"Yeah. Sorry." He pounced on the bed and covered himself with blankets. "And good night."
Before he could blow the candle, Zadhea blurted out, "Excuse me."
"Yes, ma'am." Heidith turned to her with a smile. "What should I do for you?"
"Before I kick you off, go sleep on the floor." Zadhea pointed her finger at the cold marble floor.
"What?" Heidith frowned. "Why should 'I' sleep on the floor? This is my room. You go sleep on the floor."
Zadhea narrowed her right eye. "You must be serious."
Heidith clicked his tongue. "Very."
"Ugh!"
In the end, they decided to sleep in the same bed together.
"Actually, it's not the first time we're sharing the same bed," Heidith spoke, looking at the ceiling while lying on his back as darkness filled the room. There was no light, apart from the faint moonlight that struggled to visit them through curtains.
"Zadhea?" He turned to her side only to see her sleeping peacefully, without making a sound.
"Oh, you're sleeping already?" He kept looking at her.
"But let me continue..."
"That night, I held you like this." He pulled her towards him and circled a hand around her waist, hugging her gently.
"Good night, wifey."
A/N:
I don't want to be a good author anymore. Let me update once or twice a week ONLY. I hope you get what I meant.
😒