Heart Over Sword - Chapter 119

“*Your highness! *” Cedric and Anwel exclaimed, flustered after seeing Evanna drowsy and falling asleep in the prince’s arms.

At their appearance, though, Evanna forced her eyes open. She still could not believe Arawn was carrying her in public. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, and she could see only a few nobles left. It did seem to be near dinner time, so that was why the gardens were not as busy. But still, they gossiped, and rumours would fly around.

But her exhaustion overruled her embarrassment. Surely, their rumours would not be vulgar and could possibly be a simple one of the crown prince’s guest falling ill?

“* What happened? *” Garrett demanded, seeming to magically appear before them. But Evanna knew it was because she was not in her right mind at the moment; he was probably just to the side and appeared before them.

“* She fainted. Block off the hallways leading to my quarters. If anyone sees, explain that she fainted and has not been feeling well, *” Arawn commanded. Garrett bowed and ordered Anwel to follow him, leaving Cedric as the prince’s personal bodyguard until they made it to his quarters. Evanna smiled gently at Cedric’s worried expression as his gaze locked with hers momentarily.

But his eyes flicked up to the prince, and he straightened and looked away, appearing to scan their surroundings. Evanna knew Arawn probably glared at him, but she had no energy to look up and check his chiselled face. She also refrained from giggling because the prince really did not need a bodyguard; not only was he an extremely talented swordsman, but he had many gifts. Gifts that reached their full potential.

“* Why did she faint, your highness?*” Cedric asked. His voice made Evanna snap her eyes open. She did not realise she must have dozed off. Her surroundings had changed, and she was now being carried through Arawn’s bedroom doors that swung open magically, most likely being one of Arawn’s gifts. He placed her gently on the sofa, ignoring Cedric’s question and instantly brought a grape to her lips.

Evanna blinked and stared at the prince. Arawn was leaning over her, one knee bent on the sofa, an arm behind her head as she let the fruit graze her lips. He was staring at her intently, his icy blue gaze locked with hers, waiting for her to obey his silent command. Evanna parted her lips, accepting the grape.

“* You need to eat more sugar,*” He whispered as he gently stroked the back of her head while he grabbed a few more grapes and helped her to eat them. After the fifth grape, Arawn broke his spell and looked away from her. Evanna realised then that there was a tray full of fruit on the coffee table; he must have ordered the servants to set it up as he brought her to his room.

She felt slightly better, though she wanted to sleep more than anything.

“Here, drink,” Arawn passed her a glass of water before returning to Cedric, who had followed them to the room, his hand resting on the handle of his sword. Evanna drank, though her attention was on the two men. Her cheeks grew heated, remembering how Arawn hand-fed her grapes. It was quite an intimate act, and Cedric watched the exchange.

“* We were simply talking for too long, and she overexerted herself,*” Arawn replied in a terse manner.

“* Your highness, she is still a noble lady.. Please do not torture her..*” Cedric pleaded.

Arawn narrowed his eyes. Evanna could feel the sudden change in temperature. “* Even if I were to torture her, it is of no concern to you,*” Arawn said coldly as he stared down the other elf.

Cedric bowed his head, “* I apologise, it was not my intent to*”

“*You may leave,*” Arawn interrupted with a wave of his hand, and the double doors swung open again. Cedric bowed without another word and before leaving.

As soon as he left, Arawn’s servants arrived with plates of food. Instead of sitting on the balcony, another chair was brought in, and they ate in a comfortable silence at his desk. Evanna was exhausted, and Arawn took this into consideration; he did not so much as tease her. Once they finished, Evanna announced that she was tired and needed to go to bed but had enough energy to walk back to her room. Arawn did not disagree with her but still followed her to her room, cautious that she might actually faint in the small time frame it would take for her to get to her bed-chamber.

Over the course of another three weeks, Evanna was lost in a routine that she couldn’t help but adore. It was something she couldn’t possibly do when she was in Dunhurst. In the morning’s, she had breakfast with the prince, and on alternate days they even ate in tense silence with the king. That was followed by the prince leaving her to do his royal duties in the morning that sometimes would take up most of his day, but most of the time, he freed his late afternoons to teach Evanna.

In the times that she was separated from Arawn, she found herself in the library learning more about the elven ways, not just about the woodland elves but the Lyvarians and even some tribes that have never been mentioned in the human realm. Her book also popped up for her to read, but it changed its contents every time she opened it. It indeed was magnificent. And when she was not in the library studying, she was practising with Cedric and Anwel and occasionally would see Reselda in her shop, providing help.

The routine was perfect, and she enjoyed herself. Her original plan was only to learn the basics in two weeks and try to escape, but it took her a week to master, decreasing the time it took for her to create the gifted circle. Once she showed signs of her endurance increasing, Arawn helped her with the guidance of her book on creating flowers in thin air. She loved it, there was much more that she could do with this gift, but the prince stopped her from asking questions about advanced elven magic.

By the end of the three weeks, the gardens and hallways were not needed to be blocked off for Arawn to carry Evanna back to his quarters. Her endurance of using her gift had increased, and so she was able to walk by the prince’s side after, although she still held onto his arm after losing her footing a few times. Arawn also stopped questioning her about the gemstone and seemed to enjoy her company; his teasing had not stopped though she knew it wasn’t some form of tactic.

The princess knew this because after paying a lot of attention to her surroundings for potential escape routes, she realised that the prince’s cold and chilling behaviour had not changed. Still, it was directed to everyone else but her. He openly showed his affections and ‘favouritism’ of her in front of others. Although it was becoming natural to them, the king soon heard of their affections for one another and how his son was extremely friendly to their ‘guest’.