A New Feeling.

Bewildered. Amused. Frozen.

Aragon watched her eyes dancing with anticipation and curiosity, and he had to hold back from bursting into laughter right there. All this while he didn't know she wasn't aware of his real name but now that he thought about it - he has always been referred to mostly as 'Your Majesty'.

His inflamed eyes burned with amusement, and he leaned closer to her. Because of the sudden closeness of his face, Raziah had to press herself harder against the carriage before his citrus scent would completely overtake her lungs.

His lips stretched back into that deviously handsome smile that did something very wicked to her insides, "Olive burner." He answered in a hushed whisper, the warmness of his hot breath gently fanning her face.

His fingers moved to her face, and her breath got stolen away when he tucked her hair behind her ear. A cold chill ran down her spine as she noticed the amused look in his eyes had transformed Into something much deeper, and from her ears, his sinful hands that ignited fire across her skin trailed down her face, and stopped right under her lips.

Then, he swiped them, cleaning off the smudge of her lipstick.

The second he pulled back, Raziah released her breath and watched as he alighted from the carriage. Offering her his hand, it had him recalling the beautiful dance she showcased, and the magnanimous way she had offered him her hand to dance.

The Princess took his hand, and he helped her down.

"Olive burner is your nickname, your Majesty." She said once she was on her feet beside him, still feeling the after-effects on his fingers.

"A nickname is also a name." He replied nonchalantly, then quickly added, "You must be tired. No one knows about my arrival this morning, let's head inside."

That was when Raziah skimmed her surroundings. She was staring at Erandell's Palace compound which wasn't so different from the one back in Naria. The well-arranged flowers, to the rock statues that portrayed a message like a painting. The morning sky was beautiful and welcoming.

Aragon let her into the quiet palace, and straight to their room. Because he had never planned to bring a bride back with him, he didn't prepare anything for her so she was stuck with the same clothes she was putting on. Raziah noted that, but she didn't say a word.

She was a little sleepy from the long journey, so as soon as they got into the room she took off her shoes, and was about to jump into bed when he pulled her attention, "Change into this for now."

He handed her the smallest of his night robes, and she accepted his kind offer with a small nod. It looked very big, but it was incredibly soft and had his scent all over it. Her Big eyes darted from the cloth, back to his.

"Thank you." Then she swallowed softly, expecting him to leave so she could change.

But Aragon had other plans, "I'm sleepy too." He said, taking out another robe from his cupboard. Before she knew it, the shameless royalty was already undressing before her.

Raziah's legs moved before she could think of anything, and she dashed towards the second door which happened to be the bathroom. Her eyes broadened, shaking from anxiousness while her grip on the robe tightened.

She heard him chuckling from outside, making her cheeks flush from embarrassment.

She wouldn't have run off if he didn't start take off his clothes unexpectedly. Shaking her head, she undressed and tied the robe around her body. To her, it looked like she was putting on a gown that was almost dragging across the floor, but it was so very soft and comfortable.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she saw that he was already lying on one side of the bed. His big structure had occupied a lot of space, and once again she wondered whether this man had prepared for her arrival, or he just happened to get married to her without making any preparations.

The bed was so small!

Luckily, she sighted a couch by the side that could accommodate her small body. Raziah went over to the chair, and laid down on it. It didn't look as soft as the bed, but it was something that she could manage.

"Raziah."

Her name from his lips had another unnatural chill running down her delicate spine, and she sat up to look at him. This was the first time he was calling her by her real name, and she was a little glad that he did.

Another part of her silently prayed for her body to stop reacting stupidly anytime he did something to her.

"Yes?" She answered.

"Get up, and come here." He said, patting the space beside him.

"It's too small. And here isn't so bad so..."

His eyes swiftly changed, and Raziah zipped her mouth shut.

"Come here, Raziah." He repeated, this time in a whisper.

Gathering her dignity from where she had unconsciously thrown them off, she stood up without another word and walked over to the bed, laying down close to him. Her legs were dangling by the edge, and the rest of her body was curled into a ball.

An attempt not to touch him?

Unfortunately for her, Aragon was still going on with his plans.

Raziah gasped softly when his warm hands gathered her body, and pulled her into the warm cocoon of his arms. For as long as she remembered, she always slept alone so this was very new to her.

Her shimmering eyes lingered on his neck for a while, before she mustered the courage to peek up at him. As if he could read her mind, he also gazed down to see if she was already sleeping.

Catching each other in the act, Aragon's eyes twinkled with laughter and something steeper once again, while Raziah's lips set into a thin line. Now that she was so close to him, his burning eyes were beginning to burn her back.

The man had thick eyebrows, and his lashes were full too, but not very long. His nose was straight and pointy, perfectly fitting his face, and then his lips.

They were redder than hers, and a little plump.

She had almost asked him if he was putting on makeup which was clearly stupid, but now that he was so close to her there was no denying that it was the natural color of his lips.

Once she returned her gaze back to his eyes, he asked, "Are you done eyeing me?"

"Yes," she replied softly, "You're a beautiful man."

Then, her eyes fluttered close.

As sleep overtook his bride, she gradually relaxed on his body - but not completely. The whole thing was still foreign to her, so she couldn't relax as much as wanted. He noted her breathing had gotten even again, her Long golden lashes looked like rays of the beautiful morning sunlight.

His eyes moved to her arm, and he saw that he didn't take off the wristband, and she kept rubbing them even in her sleep from time to time.

Recalling his thoughts earlier about her beauty not astounding, he corrected himself, "Hazel, your beauty is a different type. And you should never call me beautiful again, do you understand?" His voice rumbled out with a darker meaning that clouded his words.

And his eyes.

.

.

.

The sound of running water revealed his dark eyes to the world again, and his Majesty felt the absence of something very important to him. Recalling everything that had gone on Last night, another smile touched his face.

No wonder he slept so soundly today.

But, she was absent.

His eyes twinkled with mirth again. Gosh, it hasn't been up to a day that he knew her, but her strangeness and difference from the others was crawling up his skin in weird ways. He stared at where she was lying just a while ago which was still a little warm, and her spicy scent was still in the air.

The sound of rushing water was coming from the bathroom, and after a while, it stopped. He didn't know why, but he decided not to let her know that he was awake and quickly shut his eyes closed, peeking at her through his lashes to see what she would do.

He wanted to know more about her.

Would she come back to bed? Leave? Try to kill him? He needed to know.

Raziah tiptoed out of the bathroom, shutting the door very softly. She was sure to make no sounds, with the towel around her body, plus her dress and robe draped around her shoulders. Her wet hair was stuck to her face, and her mind kept telling her to go back inside the bathroom and change there.

But the Prince was still fast asleep.

And, she didn't want to get the dress, or the robe wet.

Standing around his blindside, she went into a squatting position and took off the towel. Instantly, she quickly wore the dress before he woke up, and tied the towel around her head. The nature of the sun streaking in from the windows told her it was already noon, but the man was still fast asleep.

Did she by any chance make him sleep uncomfortably by sharing the small bed with him? But he was the one who asked her to come over, and so she shrugged the thought away.

But First things First, she needed to act accordingly and do what her mother usually did whenever she was in this position. So instead of leaving, she sat down on the couch and watched him uninterestingly dozing off.