[EVA'S POV]
"Good morning," Baxter greets me with a smile, which fades once Ace joins us in the kitchen, leans against the granite counter and folds his arms intimidatingly.
"Good morning." Ace responds with a smirk. Baxter frowns and looks away from him to me with a frantic look.
"Wait, why are you giving me the eye? I swear I didn't peek on you two last night when you were screwi..."
"Baxter," I cut in with a warning glare. "That's not the point. Ace and I are returning to Exyclott today."
"T-today?" Baxter stutters, looking shocked. "Isn't that too early?"
"That's what I said, but Ace is restless. He wants to return to his people immediately."
"Why?" Baxter asks with a squint your of his eyes.
"Why?" Ace repeats with a humorless chuckle. "I'm a king. It's my duty to..."
"Yeah, I know what kings do." Baxter cuts him off, rolling his eyes. "You're hurt. Are you sure you're well enough to return home?"
"Thanks for your concern, Baxter, but I'm an Exyclottan warrior. My wounds won't stop me from performing my duties."
Baxter shrugs. "Okay. You can leave then. After you've had breakfast though."
I gaze at him critically and realize that behind his nonchalant expression, he is actually worried and heartbroken. I immediately feel loved. He doesn't want me to leave just yet.
"Baxter," I say softly, placing my hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "We want you to come stay with us. For a few days. In Exyclott."
His eyes instantly widen in shock. "What?"
I nod with a smile. "Yes. If not, this is probably the last time we meet. But Exyclott is an amazing place, you'll love it." I assure him.
He immediately drags me to a safe corner away from Ace's line of hearing.
"Won't there be wars and stuff? What if I get killed? Your boyfriend will protect you, but he'll definitely not protect me. He always looks like he wants to squish me."
"Ace is a king. As long as you're under his tutelage, it's his duty to protect you from any harm. It was even his idea to bring you along. Plus now that Hudson is dead, there's no reason for war."
"It was his idea to bring me along? Did you beg him to do it?"
"No. He's actually very considerate." I say fervently with an encouraging smile. I don't know why Baxter thinks ill of Ace so much.
Baxter looks over my shoulder at Ace before nodding. "Alright." he agrees. "I'll tag along."
"Yes!" I squeal and engulf him in a hug, my heart filled with excitement and satisfaction. He hugs me back, laughing at my actions.
"If you guys are done, can we start packing?" Ace growls behind us, causing Baxter to pull away from me. He scurries away to his room to park, leaving me and Ace alone.
"I've never seen you that happy." Ace says, putting his hands into the pockets of his sweat pants which hung loosely on his taut waist.
"Trust me, hun, I'm very excited that you're allowing Baxter to come along." I squeal, placing my hands on either sides of his neck.
"I can see that. That tight hug with him said it all." he groans out, and I immediately sense a tinge of jealousy and disapproval.
I find myself laughing at his behavior as he peers down at me with a slightly irritated frown. "Oh Ace! It's just a hug. In fact, I can give you more than that."
He cocks an eyebrow at me. "Really? Show me then."
A smile plays on my lips as I lean in slowly as though I was going in for a kiss. He glances down at my lips readily, his eyes having some kind of sparkle, filled with amusement. But just when our faces are inches apart, I move my lips away from his face and go to kiss the nape of his neck.
He groans, obviously dissapointed. "Cardale," he calls out warningly as I pull away from him, giggling.
"There!" I declare. "Now let's go and do some packing." I pat him on the chest and turn away to leave, purposefully letting my hips sway as I walk away.
"I'm definitely going to let you pay for this, Cardale." I hear him mutter behind me. How threatening, but from experience, his threats were never empty.
Sad thing is I knew that for a fact.
✴✴✴
[EXYCLOTT, GLEMSTONE]
"Woahhhh!" Baxter gasps next to me as we get off the car, presently in Exyclott. "This place is beautiful, Eva."
I nod in agreement, saying, "Not until it had its new king."
"Is this the palace you were talking about?" he whispers beside me, as we follow behind Ace who hasn't spoken a word yet.
"Yes. It's huge, isn't it?"
"It's gigantic. I could live here forever. It's full of...."
"Your Highness!" Moros suddenly appears before us with a couple of soldiers behind him, bowing before Ace, and then me. "It's great to have you two back. Your people have been waiting for you. And I have great news."
"Who is this creepy old man?" Baxter leans in and whispers into my ear.
"His name is Moros. He's the second in command." I reply.
"I don't remember my grand father having this much muscles. And he's holding a sword...?"
"May I ask who this gentleman is, Your Highness?"Moros asks Ace.
"It's no one, Moros." Ace says, causing both Moros and I to frown. "Just make sure he's comfortable. He's my beloved's guest. What's the good news anyway?"
"The disease, Sutr's disease...its gone!" Moros announces with glee. "The infected people recovered while you were gone and there were no signs of it again."
"Oh that's great!" I squeal excitedly. "I was so worried about them since my healing powers are gone."
"You don't have to worry again, My Lady. The people are very happy. We were all praying that you both will be safe. Are you alright, Your Highness?"
"I'm fine. Is Ekon Khan still alive?" Ace asks.
"Yes, you gave no order to kill him and so we just locked him up. He's in the dungeon."
"Good." Ace smirks. "I need to have a word with him. After that, I'm going to see my people." he says, before turning to me. "I'll be back, hun. You can show Baxter around."
"Okay." I say as he kisses my forehead. I wonder why he needs to go see Ekon Khan. Maybe he's going to kill him? He looks perturbed for some reason.
"Oh come with me, Steele, let me show you my room." I say, pulling Baxter behind me after Ace and Moros are gone.
Once we get to my 'chambers', I meet none other than my eight handmaidens in it, redecorating. On seeing me, they rush towards us and start bowing profusely.
"My Lady! You're back! How is the king?" Athena asks, taking both my hands in hers and looking genuinely concerned.
"He's alright, Athena. I missed you. How have you been?" I ask.
"Worried. Who's your friend, My Lady?" she asks, turning to look in Baxter's direction.
I almost gasp in surprise when I see Baxter's red cheeks as he stares at Athena. What's wrong with him?
"B-Baxter." he stutters. "My name is Baxter. Baxter Steele. Steele is with an 'e' otherwise it will be the metal 'steel', but that's not actually the meaning. Even though I don't even know the meaning of the surname. It's nice to meet you." he ends with a shaky laugh as he takes Athena's hand, and kisses it, leaving me in shock. What has come over him?
And why is Athena blushing and giggling so shyly? Oh God.
"Athena is my name. I'm the potential queen's handmaiden."
Potential what now? I'm nowhere near fit to be Queen. I mean, If there were a dress made of Queen material, it'd burn my skin the moment I wore it. I don't think I'm ready, I'm not competent.
However, they seem to be ogling each other for seconds while I stand there, awestruck. The cupid must've shot an arrow.
"Baxter will here for a few days. He's our guest." I say, breaking the silence. Athena immediately steps away, maintaining a respectful distance. "I was just coming to show him my chambers. What do you think, Baxter?"
"It's...beautiful." Baxter replies in an unusual soft voice. "But I think I've found something more beautiful." he adds, his eyes still not leaving Athena. She coyly looks away, blushing as she fidgets with her dress.
I roll my eyes at the exchange.
"Um, M-My Lady, we'll leave now." Athena stutters, before quickly walking away with the rest of the ladies following behind her. Her cheeks were still tinted red.
A smile teasingly at him as he rubs his neck bashfully.
"Don't." he warns, going over to sit down.
I lift my hands in surrender. "Okay. I'm not going to talk about the sexual tension which I can still feel. But I can tell she likes you too." I say with a wink.
Baxter groans. "Just drop it. By the way, why is everyone bowing when they see you?"
I shrug. "I don't know. I guess it's because I'm from Sansora."
"It's a weird treatment."
"Oh trust me, you've not seen weird yet." I interject. "The handmaidens literally follow me to a bath and actually bath me. Can you imagine?"
Baxter immediately stands up. "Are you kidding? That's really cool!"
I roll my eyes. "Pervert."
"Now I want to have a bath."
"You're crazy." I shake my head.
"I'm serious. I want those ladies to bath me. You know...including the beautiful one I just talked to." he bashfully says.
"Were you too busy ogling my handmaiden that you didn't hear her tell you her name? It's Athena."
"Yes, her. Anyways, tell her I wish to have a bath now, Eva."
"But we just arrived...and you're clean." I point out.
I frown, confused, as he reaches over to my dressing table. I immediately gasp, when he picks my hair oil, pours an amount into his palm and rubs it across his clean chest.
"See?" he asks, turning to me with a proud grin. "Now I'm oily and unclean and I need a bath."
Complete the sentence, Men Are.....
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