Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 69

She wondered who it was that needed one of them so early in the morning. It was 2am. She heard the fox prince click his tongue in annoyance and held back a smile. Opening the door, light from the hallway streamed in. Her eyes glanced sideways but found no one in front of her, that was until she glanced downwards. She saw Lara holding her pillow tightly. She crouched down and smiled at the little fox.

“Lara,” prince Yashiro heard Astoria call out.

He sat up and crossed his arms.

“Are you okay?” she asked the little fox.

She watched as Lara fidgeted, looking nervous with a hunched posture.

“Um,” Lara began, “I am having trouble sleeping, so…P-please may I-I sleep with you guys. I know it is an uncomfortable request, but w-well I-”

“Sure. Come on in, little one,” Lara heard Astoria say without hesitation.

The little fox’s eyes widened, and she blinked back tears, feeling extremely thankful. She stepped inside the room and found the fox prince awake. He was staring at her. Astoria smiled as she carried the little fox in her arms and walked towards the bed. She gently placed Lara in the middle, setting her pillow down. She got under the covers and pulled the covers over Lara and herself. All the while, prince Yashiro stared at them in silence.

Lara lay her head on her pillow, nodding off and jerking awake a few times. All the while, Astoria watched, her hand placed on Lara’s chest. She lightly patted the little fox’s chest until she fell asleep. She moved some loose, white strands away from the little fox’s face and smiled. She glanced up to find prince Yashiro still looking a bit annoyed at the interruption, and she almost laughed.

“Don’t look so annoyed. Go to sleep,” she whispered to him and rested her head on her pillow, facing Lara.

Prince Yashiro sighed and draped the covers on himself.

“Fine,” she heard him whisper back, “However, this conversation is not over.”

She softly chuckled.

“Yes, yes,” she sighed, “Sweet dreams.”

That is how Ai found them in the morning when she had knocked on the door countless times because the maid needed to give Lara her clothes to wear.

“They are probably still sleeping,” Ai told the maid, placing her hand around the doorknob.

The fox princess slowly opened the door and found that she was correct. Walking closer to their bed, Ai’s gray eyes widened in shock at the scene in front of her.

“Aww,” she quietly exclaimed, clutching her dress, “This is way too cute.”

She found Lara sleeping between Astoria and her big brother. Both Astoria and the fox prince were facing Lara, and the little fox had held their hands as she slept.

“Father, daughter, and mother,” Ai smiled, staring at each of them.

She turned to the door and walked out, shutting it behind her.

“Let’s give them more time to sleep,” she told the maid, “They look exhausted.”

They both walked their separate ways. Ai made her way upstairs to a room where she created her potions. On her way there, she came across prince Yoshito who was lost in his own world.

“Someone had a great time yesterday,” Ai teased, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

He snapped out his thoughts and rolled his eyes.

“And also,” Ai added, crossing her arms and pouting, “why did you not allow me to join you guys for dinner yesterday?”

Prince Yoshito sighed and shook his head.

“I wanted to spend some alone time with him,” he said, “You know how I have not seen him for two months since he left for his business trip.”

“You are just too possessive of uncle Adam,” Ai shook her head, dismissively waving her hand in the air.

Prince Yoshito laughed.

“Whatever. Where are Yashiro and Nexi?” he asked her, “I heard from one of the royal guards that he brought home a strange child. What is that about?”

She shrugged.

“It is a long story, but he will let everyone know today,” she smiled at him, “Anyway, I am a busy princess, so if you will excuse me.”

“Off to make some potions before breakfast?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Plus, the infirmary is running out of tranquility potions, so I need to make more,” she waved him goodbye and left.

He watched her back disappear as she turned to the right of the hallway. He heard the sound of a door closing and smiled. Steepling his fingers, he furrowed his brow.

“I am not possessive, right?” he mumbled to himself, his ocean blue eyes fixed on his steepled fingers.

He sighed and shrugged.

‘If it is true,’ he thought, a smile making its way across his face, ‘I cannot help it. I love Adam so much.’

He walked away. About two hours had passed since Ai had gone into her big brother’s room to wake him and his fiancé up. Astoria’s eyes slowly fluttered open, and she noticed that Lara was holding her hand. She smiled and slowly woke up, making sure not to wake the little fox and the fox prince.

She grabbed her bathing amenities and took a hot shower. When she was done, she walked to her suitcase, grabbed a simple, knee-length blue, sundress and headed for the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror after dressing up and tied her hair in a loose bun, leaving loose strands of hair on either side of her face.

She put on her black Mary Jane shoes. When she had stepped out of the bathroom, she realised that Lara and prince Yashiro were gone. She tilted her head and crouched next to her suitcase, putting back her things. The door opened, and the fox prince walked in.

She watched as he walked towards her and crouched beside her, his hands resting on his lap. He stretched out his hand and touched her soft and silky blue-black hair. She froze in place, unable to speak a word.

“Good morning to the woman who called me cute yesterday,” the fox prince said, grinning from ear to ear.

She pushed his hand away and stood up.

“I never said you are cute,” she lied, glancing sideways, “You must have imagined it.”

She heard him chuckle as he stood up and looked down at her, a happy smile plastered on his face.

“Hmm, maybe I did,” he teased, “Maybe I just imagined hearing you call me cute because I want you to call me that.”

“Never in your wildest dreams,” he heard her reply, causing him to laugh loudly, “Where is Lara?”

She backed away from him with every step he took. He kept steady eye contact, his gray eyes fixed on her cobalt ones. Her body hit the side of the bed, causing her to fall on the bed, her back hitting it. She watched as he hovered over her, his left hand placed above her head.

“Our little girl is taking a bath and will join us for breakfast,” he told her, “Breakfast will be at 10 since it seems everyone is running late today and overslept.”

His voice was husky, and she nodded.

“Wait,” she said, avoiding eye contact, “You called her our little girl?”

Prince Yashiro nodded and licked his lips.

“Yeah, she is our little girl,” he said, “I am finding myself growing fond of her since I woke up to find her holding my hand and yours. It makes me want to quickly get married to you and start a family-”

“Woah, whoah, whoah!” she exclaimed as her eyes widened in shock, “Let’s not rush the process.”

She heard him laugh and watched as his eyes slowly scanned her face. His gaze moved to her cleavage, and she blushed. He smiled and quickly kissed her cheek. He then stood up and walked into the bathroom. She sat up and let out a breath of relief. She fixed her hair and stood up, wanting to quickly leave the room before he tried to kiss her again.

She walked to Lara’s room and found her dressed in a cute, baby pink dress that covered her tiny shoulders halfway and flowed down into a simple sweetheart neckline. The dress was a comfortable fit with a graceful look.  The little fox’s arms were covered all the way down to her wrists. A dark blue bow, which rested gently on her belly, wrapped around her tiny waist. She wore cute pink t-strapped shoes.

“Princess Nexi!” Lara happily exclaimed upon seeing her.

The maid who was doing Lara’s hair bowed at Astoria. The little fox jumped from her seat and ran to hug Astoria’s legs, catching her by surprise. She smiled and crouched down, giving Lara a head pat. She caressed her cheek.

“Oh my,” she began examining her attire, “You look like a princess, Lara.”

The little fox tilted her head up and blushed, making patterns on the floor using her leg.