4 Chapter 3

She awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and the sunlight breaking in between the ivory-colored blinds. It was the next day as always she had spent the night in Eric's room. She lifted herself in a sudden frantic rush, a heavy arm slipping off from her waist. A cool blast of air hit her bare chest as he got up and she dragged the blanket quickly over her naked form. The maids would be here soon after, to get the Crown Prince ready for his daily bath and duties.

While she has no qualms in facing the gossip running across in the castle of Newarfa, she hated being caught in between their intimate exchanges. It was one thing to hear gossip indirectly and it was another to be caught directly. She hated nothing more than being caught in the act and then being under the scorn of exposing her moments with Eric. She glanced towards the floor, her plain black dress laid there, rumpled and flopped like a sad black mass. Moving up, she knew she had to get up and out of there immediately.

The heavy arm moved, grabbing her by her waist, "Where?"

His voice was groggy, a scratching gravel against his throat but unlike his sleepy voice, his grip was firm on the curve of her waist. A smile softly slighted her face as she watched him scrunched his eyes and peeked an eye open with much effort.

"My room." She replied, voice husky from sleep as well and he closed his eyes back.

"It's better you stay here, my Sinne." He groaned, pulling her down into the sheets and a small 'eep' escaped her lips as her bum hit the soft surface of the bed.

"Eric, I need to change."

"Change here. You are not leaving this room."

He peeked another eye open again and his irises twinkled with mirth, "Don't dare go outside, my Sinne. You'll blind everyone with your brilliance."

"How flattering but I still need to leave."

Sorine smiled, slipping out from his tight grip. He leaned his head on his hand as he watched her naked form walk across the room, the sunlight beaming on the edge of her silhouette, her dusk tone skin gleaming all around as she bent over to pick up her dress. As always, he can't seem to tear his eyes away from her. He has calmed from his anger from the previous night but there grew a savage sentiment in him. He'd always want to lock her up and hide her all for himself. He gave her life and she has already saved his life with only her existence once. He would never let her slip from his fingers and if he ever did, he would take her life for it. He would not let her dare belong to anyone else.

As she slipped her dark dress over her head and it fell over her, covering up her glorious curves, Eric got up and padded across the carpet to her side.

"Stay." He whispered into her ears, dragging his hand up her thigh and slipping up her cotton dress along with it.

"Er—"

"Ahem." A foreign voice cleared her throat from the entrance of the room and Eric turned around, running a hand through his silver hair and an unnatural smile beamed through his face.

"Ila, You are here early."

"Yes and now I realize I shouldn't have come so early." Ila rolled her eyes over to the figure beside and her eyes rippled with scorn, "You seem to have company very early today as well, Your Highness."

"It seems like you still haven't gotten used to it, Ila."

"Please, Your Highness. Your private matters are the last of what I wish to witness."

"Better get used to it." Eric grinned breezily, placing a chaste kiss on Sorine's temple, "The future Queen is to be brighter than the sun."

"The King will not be pleased, Your Highness."

"You talk too much, Ila. I hope you learn to hold back your tongue before I teach it to be still."

"Eric!" Sorine gasped, pulling her apron over her head, immediately. What she had feared had happened exactly so. She hated being caught with Eric who didn't seem to have any reservations in hiding his involvement with her. The only thing holding him back from claiming her was the King's decree. The decree ruled that Prince or, in fact, any member of the Royal Family were forbidden from taking in women without titles and they were forbidden from possessing consorts within the walls of the castle. Eric. of course, would not relent and he kept Sorine in the castle as a maid as he could not allow her in as anything else, neither as his consort nor as his lover.

Yet not so strangely, he didn't allow her to work as a maid, earning the distaste of many actual workers of the castle.

She quickly slipped on her Mary Jane shoes, itching to dash out of his room by now. Ila was just over there when he grabbed her by the waist. He moved closer into her neck shamelessly pressing his body along her slender curves as he took in a deep breath of her scent. Sorine stiffened up immediately, feeling a bulge edge between her butt cheeks.

"Eric." She called with a warning edge to her voice. She could feel Ila glaring at her from the sidelines as she roughly ripped the blinds open. Sorine's heart thundered rapidly against her chest, what was he thinking?

"I'll get out of here, Eric." She told him stiffly, moving her body away from his bulge. She could feel the reprehension emitting from Ila's aura as She felt increasingly unnerved.

"Why? You have no reason."

"I have to change."

"Do that here."

Eric came closer, hugging her from behind. He swayed along with the tandem of the wind with a dreamy look in his eyes. He looked so at peace that Sorine had to bite back an affectionate smile from arising on her face. Suddenly a gasp echoed through the room and they both jolted in surprise, looking back at Ila.

"Your highness!" Ila exclaimed in shock, her hands on her mouth.

"Y-yes, Ila." Eric responded with fear in her voice.

"What in the heavens is that?" She asked with a reprimanding tone in her voice. She was pointing at the wall and Sorine immediately knew what she meant by that.

"Wha—Oh! That." Eric chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"You have stained the wall again! This is the fourth time this week!"

"I am sorry."

"I am sure you can take care of that, right? Eric?"

Sorine leaned into the cover of his large body, making sure that his body was covering her from the view of Ila and with that, she placed a quick chaste kiss on his hand, not wanting to kiss him in front of the Madam Supervisor who had taken a major role in bringing him up and claimed that Sorine had made him stray from his rightful path.

"Wait."

But without heeding his usual pleas and Eric being distracted by Ila's admonishments, Sorine took the chance to quickly slip out of the door. When the door closed in behind her, Eric was left to miserably stare at the stain that he had left the previous night.

Though it was quite early, hardly after six am, the castle was wrought with energy as the maids and butlers set to work, cleaning the lamps, dusting off the walls, rubbing the window panes to be sparkling clean, Sorine made sure to pass by the workers without much attention being brought to her, after all, she wasn't looking her best with ruffled unkempt hair and groggy puffy eyes, she didn't know why Eric had referred to her as the sun when she, at best, looks like a sad round puffy chestnut that had just fallen off the tree.

She ran past the activities that bustled about along the hallways of the east side of the castle. The east side is where the royal family lives and the back, south side of the castle is where all the workers reside at.

It is a long walk as she passes through hallways after hallways. At Least she felt safe now as the royal family is restricted from entering the worker's quarters. Eric wouldn't nag her as much now as he did in his room. He was always overprotective of her and wanting her to remain where he could see her. She arrived at her dwelling quarters soon, a small brick-walled room with a wooden door opening to it. It was only a simple room with two wooden beds positioned on each side of the wall. The occupants were often given only an extra cupboard to store their belongings and a extra set of wooden table and chair. Other than that, they were hardly given anything else.

"Oh." She breathed in surprise when she found that someone was already in there.