Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 40

Patting his shoulder, she began walking ahead, leaving him to watch her disappearing figure. He smiled and ran up to her. They walked side by side once again, heading for the prisoner the fox prince knew would be the perfect bait for Saxhish.

After it felt like they walked for five minutes, they stopped in front of a prison gate. It was dim inside, so Astoria could barely see the prisoner. That was until there was a sudden collision on the prison gate from the prisoner upon catching a glimpse of her and the fox prince. She jumped in surprise and saw that it was none other than an orc.

If Nexi was the one who had seen it, she would have started shaking in fear, remembering the horrible event she had witnessed as a child. This was because this orc was the type of creature that helped the Dark Lord in attempting to kidnap Nexi when she was younger. She never thought she would see an orc this way. Seeing it in a dungeon made it appear even more malevolent.

“This is the prisoner,” Yashiro said, pointing to the orc.

It was now bleeding in different parts of its body due to the impact of colliding onto the prison gate. She stared at it in displeasure, a frown plastered on her face at the thought of such a creature causing so much pain to others.

“Okay, but why him?” she asked, crossing her arms.

The fox prince leaned forward and stared at the orc, who, upon seeing the prince, shifted away from the prison bars. The orc stared at the prince, totally distressed. It huddled in a dark corner of its room and clasped its hands over its head. She could hear its shallow, rapid breathing and noticed that it was terrified of Yashiro.

“This orc was wanted for thirty counts of murder, fifteen counts of rape, and ten counts of theft. He is one of the worst prisoners when it comes to the way he murdered his victims,” he replied, leaning back.

“I’m guessing that the way he murdered them was ruthless and monstrous?” she asked.

She pressed her lips together, and he nodded. This orc’s soul would definitely be dark and perfect, according to Saxhish. However, there was something that was bugging Astoria. Would the spider woman actually accept this orc with the way its appearance is? Would she not be disgusted by it? As if hearing her thoughts, the prince answered.

“Don’t worry about his appearance,” he began, “His appearance won’t affect Saxhish.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, narrow-eyed.

She was a bit skeptical.

“Yes,” he assured her, “You said it yourself that she feeds on the souls of men, which means she does not care about their appearances, but on their souls and how much dark energy they possess.”

She nodded and clasped her arms behind her body.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, smiling.

“Let’s get going now,” he told her.

They left the dungeon and arrived at their room a few minutes later. She sat on the bed and yawned while stretching her body.

“If you’re tired,” he said, walking towards the bathroom, “you should sleep unless you want to take a shower first and then sleep?”

“It’s not that I’m tired,” she said, rubbing her eyes, “but more like my body is stiff since I was asleep for a few hours.”

He smiled, nodded, and stepped inside the bathroom. He closed the door, and a few minutes later, she heard the sound of running water announcing that he was now showering.

She walked to her suitcase and grabbed her shower gear, sandals, a plush towel. She also needed a hot shower after what she had gone through. When he was finished, she saw him walk out with nothing but a clean, crisp, white towel wrapped around his waist. Again.

“Can you not walk out looking like that?” she asked him, blushing ever so slightly.

She knew it was a stupid question, but she could not help it.

“No, I can’t,” he said, “Now, go and take your shower because it will help your body feel better.”

He had a towel in his hand and was drying his long, black hair. He stared at her, and their gazes were fixed on each other’s eyes. She shook her head and abruptly stood up and quickly walked past him, not wanting to stare at his well-toned body and hard chest any longer.

She shut the door and felt her knees give out. She placed her shower gear on the floor. She covered her face with her hands and felt the heat radiating off of her face. She was a blushing mess. Anyone would be feeling this way if they saw what she saw. The fox prince was the most handsome prince she had ever met.

“Get it together,” she told herself, lightly slapping her cheeks.

She then stood up, changed out of her dress, and took her shower. As soon as the water hit her body, she gave out a little moan of satisfaction. The shower made her want to remain standing under the hot water forever. Yashiro could hear her humming a tune, and he smiled. He changed into his nightgown and lay on the bed.

After a few minutes, she came out of the shower and wrapped herself in her plush towel. He saw her emerge from the bathroom, her body pink and smelling like lavender. Seeing her hair dripping and the droplets landing on her slender shoulders made his gray eyes dilate.

He watched her as her hands firmly held her towel as if she was afraid that a sudden wind would blow it away and leave her bare for him to see her everything. When she walked to the closet to grab a long nightgown, she could feel his eyes piercing her back. She turned around and walked back to the bathroom.

“Geez,” she mumbled, licking her lips, “he looks like a hungry fox.”

She wore her nightgown, tied it as tightly as she could, and hung her towel. Her hair was still dripping. She noticed that he was plugging in a hairdryer when she walked out of the bathroom. He smiled when he saw her and ushered for her to come and sit down so he could help her blow dry her hair. She sat on the floor in front of him.

He first grabbed a clean towel and gently towel-dried her hair, giving it a quick brushing. He then turned the hairdryer on and began to blow dry her long blue-black, wavy hair. For a while, Astoria felt highly comfortable, loving this hair treatment. When he turned off the hairdryer to signify that he was done, she could not help but be a bit disappointed.

After a few minutes, they were both lying in bed. She had turned her back to him because she did not want him to see her sleeping face. After all, she was still embarrassed about this whole marriage arrangement. It was something she had never experienced and was not supposed to experience yet. He stared at her back.

Within minutes, he noticed her rhythmic breathing and learned that she had fallen asleep. He likewise fell asleep, exhaustion washing over his entire body. He woke up in the middle of the night to find that she had faced him, her lips slightly parted, letting out even breaths. He stared at her small, round, and radiant face, her porcelain skin sending pheromones that were driving him crazy with desire.

He lightly traced her lips with his finger, smiling as he stared at her faint freckles. He wondered why he never noticed what a beauty Nexi was? Why had he never noticed how wonderful and unique she was? She rustled in her sleep and moved closer to him, burying her face in his chest. He stiffened, his heart racing rapidly at the sudden intimacy.

He felt her breath on his chest, and he looked down at her through his lashes. He watched as her face started to writhe. Her breathing became rapid, and she was groaning softly. She was beginning to shake, and he heard her lightly sobbing.

“Mother,” he heard her utter, “Mother… Don’t die, please…”

Her lips quivered, and he instantly knew that the princess was having a bad dream. He placed his arm on her shoulder, gently patting it in even beats.

“There there,” he whispered, trying to comfort her, “It’s okay. It’s okay, princess.”

With those words, Astoria stopped trembling and let out a heavy sigh. Her face was back to normal. He carried on patting her shoulder until he was sure that she was no longer in distress or having her bad dream. He smiled as her breathing slowly started going back to normal.

After a few minutes, he also fell asleep with his strong arms now wrapped around her. This was one of the best sleep he had ever had, and it was all thanks to her. He vowed to make sure that he kills Saxhish and anyone that tries to harm his fated one.

‘Fated one?’ he thought, pursing his lips.

He stared at the human princess in arms and beamed.

‘Yeah, the Gods have sent me my fated partner, so I’ll do whatever is in my power to protect her and keep her happy.’