{Music Recommendation: Earned it ~ The Weeknd}

"Good..." The young man’s voice rumbled in the dark, causing the girl in front of him to jump. "Now, come here... let’s get started."

The girl gulped, pushing a strand of her hair that was standing out behind her ear. Before she could take a step, he dragged her forward, pushing her to the bed as he slid her dress off her shoulders, letting her breasts spill out.

"Ah!" The girl gasped. "R-Rowan... wait! I can’t-"

"Shh, Freya... you never know what you’re capable of... Relax, you can take it." He trailed kisses down her body, his hands moving to her thighs, spreading them apart. He could see the dampness between her legs, a clear sign of her desire for him. Rowan smirked, his tongue flicking over her clit as he tasted her for the first time. . .

...A few days earlier...

The next morning, the delegates of Avon finally arrived in Eridor. It was still early dawn, and the kingdom was covered in dew. The local merchants were seen dressed in furry coats as they carried their merchandise in small carriages with donkeys leading the way. It was obvious that the way of life of the people of Eridor was far different from life in Avon.

"Most of the women dress like men too..." Louis pointed out, looking out through the window.

Rowan nodded in agreement, also looking out through the window. He smiled. "They look good."

Freya’s head snapped around, glaring at the man who had just spoken. Since last night, she had refused to meet his eyes, even as they continued their journey. And here he was, acting like nothing had happened between them last night, even making comments about other women in front of her.

Rowan, feeling like someone was looking at him, turned his face, and his eyes locked with those anxious brown eyes, reminding him of how she sounded when his fingers had grazed her tender nipples. He raised his pointer finger as if he was going to point at something, then pressed it to his forehead. Seeing the spark in the girl’s eyes when he did that, Rowan’s lips tugged before he looked away.

Freya curled her toes as she held her breath. When Rowan turned to look at her, she tried her best to look away but couldn’t stop herself from looking at his relaxed midnight eyes that was now covered with his silky raven-locs. And when he raised the same finger that had touched her bare breast, a part of her body where no man had ever touched or felt. A strange feeling washed over Freya, making her want to squeeze her legs tightly.

"Freya?" Louis touched his daughter’s forehead. "Are you okay? Your face is..."

Without knowing it, Freya’s face had turned red, and right now, she was feeling really hot inside. She darted her eyes from her father to Rowan then down to her legs.

"Pa, I’m cold! Close the window," she pointed, turning her head to the side. Freya wished so badly to be anywhere but in the same carriage with Rowan.

Louis, who had been finding his daughter’s attitude strange since they left Avon, sucked his teeth. Without saying anything, he closed the window and kept quiet.

Finally, their carriage stopped in front of the palace. The Royal family slowly came outside to meet their guests, and in front was the Crown Prince with two young women and a young man beside him.

"Welcome, people of Avon," the Crown Prince waved happily with a bright smile on his face. He tried to hug Rowan, but the young man took a step back.

Rowan moved to the side when he saw the Crown Prince trying to hug him. "I know you’re excited, but hold yourself."

The Crown Prince threw his head back, laughing. "Rowan! I was so glad when King Adric told me you’d be the one to come in his place. I remember how you threatened to kill one of my men, and you sounded so serious. Looking back now, I guess you were only joking."

Rowan chuckled softly. "I don’t think I was joking," was his cold response.

The Crown Prince rubbed his neck gently, then cleared his throat. "Ahaha! Okay..."

Rowan continued, "His Majesty, King Adric, and his Queen, Oriana, send their best regards to you. To foster the alliance between Avon and Eridor, we have come bearing gifts." He gave a small bow.

"Thank you, thank you. Welcome to Eridor. I am Crown Prince Conrad... and these are members of my family. My brother and my wives..."

"Wives?" Freya muttered. Rowan turned to give her a small glare. She cleared her throat.

The Crown Prince smiled. "It’s okay. I understand things here might be a little different from Avon, but we are very homely people," the young man said, looking at his guests when his eyes fell on the young girl and older man behind Rowan.

"And they are?" he asked.

Louis took a step forward and bowed. "I am Louis, Your Highness. The Keeper of the Pantry of the Royal House of Avon, and also, Rowan is like my son. I wanted to come here with him and make sure he’s fed well."

"Lovely..." The Crown Prince smiled. "I thought Rowan wouldn’t have anyone around him because of his insufferable ways, but I guess I was wrong." The Crown Prince paused, then he continued. "And the young girl... I’m guessing Rowan’s wif-"

Freya widened her eyes. "No!" she protested. She didn’t like the fact that everyone wanted to associate her with Rowan.

Louis eyed his daughter, then turned to reply to the Crown Prince. "No, she’s my daughter. Her name is Freya, Your Highness."

The Crown Prince nodded. "Oh, so she’s like a younger sister to Rowan... I’m sorry if my words offended you." He gave Freya a small wink.

"Then that means Rowan isn’t married? Great! We can even foster the alliance between the two kingdoms better now. I’d told my sister so many things about Rowan because he stood out on the battlefield. He wasn’t even afraid of death, and I was so impressed. It’ll be lovely if Rowan and my sister have a marriage talk together. What do you think?" Prince Conrad asked, looking at his guests.

Louis felt bad. He knew that Rowan was every woman’s dream man, and it wouldn’t take long for him to get married. He was not just amazingly tall and a great fighter, but he looked rough and edgy. Even the way he spoke, though sometimes crude, was what women craved. The same man with these qualities was rejected by his own daughter, a tiny girl who only had a father who could cook. His eyes fell on his daughter, and the man felt even more annoyed. And now they were proposing marriage between Rowan and a princess. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"What?" Freya asked her father when she noticed him glaring at her sternly.

Rowan patted the Crown Prince’s shoulder. "I appreciate your kind thoughts. It would be nice to have an alliance with Eridor, but I’ll give it some thought. Especially, I will have to talk with my sister... since she’s so protective of me," he drawled out the word sister.

Hearing Rowan call her his sister made Freya hear bells tolling at the back of her mind. They were warning bells, and it was a danger alert.

"Oh, I see. I hope your sister accepts our proposal. It’s good to see you acknowledge her so well. My sister and I are so different; we always fight about everything. Seeing a different brother-sister relationship is refreshing," the Crown Prince chuckled. "I shouldn’t keep my guests outside. Please come in and share breakfast with us."

As they all turned to go inside, Freya ran after Rowan, dragging him back. Though her pull didn’t have much effect on his heavy body, he still turned.

"What are you playing at? Why do you need my opinion on your marriage?" Freya asked, her brown eyes darting left and right as she glared at Rowan.

Rowan looked down at his hand where the girl was holding him. Raising it up, he made his fingers slip into Freya’s palm, then he rubbed it gently. "Because I feel my sister would give the best advice... won’t you, sister?"

"Stop! I’m not your sister!" Freya held her breath when she felt Rowan’s finger twirl on her palm. She didn’t know why, but the way he did it made her mind run wild with sinful imaginations.

Rowan finally pulled out his finger. Raising it to his face, he pressed them together and smiled. "So soft... is this how it feels?"

"What feels?" Freya narrowed her eyes, looking at him suspiciously.

Rowan’s lips curled as he rubbed the tip of his finger on his tongue. "I think we both know what I’m talking about... Now let’s go inside, sister, before people see us." He turned and left.

"W-wait!" Freya tried to call him back, her ears burning red. She tried to control whatever it was that was stirring inside of her. "I’m not your sister..." she said under her breath.

Rubbing her face gently to make her cheeks stop burning, Freya followed him inside the palace.