[Music Recommendation: Chemtrails Over The Country Club ~Lana Del Rey]
Oriana had always been bold but never this bold. She was literally initiating a kiss with someone she was supposed to hate. There was nothing pleasing about Adric, nothing she could think of that melted her heart. The annoying grin now made her want to smile, the touch she was once repulsed by now caused a spark in her whole body, and the teasing that used to make her want to ram her head into the wall she didn’t notice anymore. What had changed? Was it her or Adric? She didn’t know.
With her eyes closed, she wrapped her arms around Adric’s neck, craning her neck. Though it was an uncomfortable position, she liked the feeling.
Adric had his eyes open, looking at the small princess who was craning her neck to reach his level, her plump lips on his. Her eyes were closed, showing her long lashes that fluttered every time she tried to open her eyes. He was caught off guard by the kiss, but the girl handled it like an amateur.
Adric decided to help her out. He dropped the can, snaking his arm around Oriana’s waist, he pulled her closer. He deepened the kiss, his tongue rubbing against Oriana’s lips. He was about to move faster when Oriana pulled away.
She stepped back, trying to catch her breath, her face red with blush. She bit her lip shyly. Oriana didn’t know what had come over her, but she had felt the urge to kiss Adric. At first, she thought she was imagining the whole thing until Adric nibbled the top of her lips, bringing her back to reality. This wasn’t how she had wanted to confess her feelings to Adric. She wanted to do it like a lady. Though she didn’t possess the qualities of being called a lady, she wanted to try, especially now that she knew she was in love. But she had acted without thinking.
What if Adric saw her as someone loose? She gasped. He might not take her feelings seriously. She needed to explain herself.
Adric didn’t say anything. He watched as the princess tried to gather her thoughts. He wanted to hear her reasons too because he was confused. Oriana had never shown any liking for him, but he didn’t mind if she wanted more from the odd relationship they had formed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"You don’t need to be shy, I totally understand," Adric said to make her comfortable. It wasn’t a new experience for him, but he knew it was for the princess. He had always thought the princess was all talk and knew nothing about the relationship between a man and a woman. She got too bold sometimes and made decisions that she regretted immediately.
"No, it’s not that...I don’t want you to misunderstand," Oriana started, looking down.
Adric smirked. "I won’t. It was a mistake, right? I totally get it and the type of mistakes you make. I won’t bring it up or tease you with it in future."
Oriana gulped. She remembered these words after she had been with Adric; she had called it a mistake and asked him never to bring it up. But this time it wasn’t. She did it with clear eyes and wanted Adric to know.
"No, I—" she was about to explain herself when Nicholas cleared his throat.
"You already found the princess," Nicholas said with a tight smile, his eyes on Oriana. He wanted to know how long Adric had been with the princess.
Adric nodded. "Mhm, and you caught a big game. I guess you won." He said looking at the lifeless deer Nicholas was hokding. Before he turned to leave the forest.
Oriana touched her flushed cheeks. Adric had just misunderstood her actions. What if he saw her as someone who threw her body at any man she saw without thinking and then called it a mistake? It was bad.
"Princess, are you okay?" Nicholas asked, seeing the faint blush on Oriana’s face. "Are you cold?"
Adric didn’t stop walking but listened to hear Oriana’s response.
Oriana pressed her lips, her eyes on Adric. She wished they had more time alone so she could tell him that this time it wasn’t a mistake.
"Princess?" Nicholas called again. Though he had lost the chance to be the first to find her, for the first time Adric had accepted defeat, so he won. A win was still a win as long as Adric acknowledged it.
Oriana nodded slowly. "Yes, I’m fine. We should leave." She started walking behind Adric. Looking at his back, she didn’t know if she would get another opportunity to tell Adric how she really felt, but she hoped it wouldn’t take long.
Back at the palace, servants were there to attend to them. Oriana looked around for Freya, with whom she was more comfortable, but the girl was absent. She decided to walk to her room herself. Turning to look at Adric one more time, she saw him talking to his personal guard with a serious look on his face. When he turned to look in her direction, she blinked and looked away.
Adric nodded to what his personal guard said, and they both turned, walking back to the forest they had just left.
Oriana was curious as to why Adric went back to the forest. She pressed her hands together, worried about him, but there was nothing she could do.
"I had so much fun today," Nicholas spoke with a polite voice aimed at impressing the princess. But Oriana was not in the mood at the moment. She just bowed slightly.
"I should go in and rest now. You should too." She suggested before walking past the young man.
Nicholas sighed, looking at the path the princess walked through. He suspected that Adric had done something to her. "Don’t worry, Princess, I will save you soon," he said under his breath before walking away.
Oriana rubbed her shoulder as she walked through the palace passage straight to her room. Her eyes scanned everywhere, looking for Freya. Everyone should be back from hunting by now. It was almost time for dinner, and they had spent the whole day in the forest. She turned to cut the corner that led to her room when someone blocked her way.
"Long time, Sister," Sophie waved her hand in front of Oriana, almost blinding her. She had a wide smile on her face, and behind her was Bessie, who had her head bowed.
Oriana stood there, looking at her sister and her former maid. She had almost forgotten about them. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
Sophie chuckled dryly. "What do you mean, what am I doing here? I’m here for the King’s birthday, of course."
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