taste of freedom(2)

"How did you..._ I mean how did you get in here?" Lilith stuttered while still in shock of seeing someone appear in her room like a phantom. "Have you made a decision yet?" He asked while choosing to ignore her question.

"I am not going anywhere, especially not with you." How could she entrust herself to someone who had just appeared of nowhere. Her focus returned back to her reflection as she pulled her hair to one side of her shoulder and she started to braid it while completely ignoring his existence.

Maybe she failed to notice it but every single thing that she was doing was being watched by his as he was standing not too far away from where she sat and when she pulled her hair to the side, hir eyes came to settle on her delicate, flawless neck and his eyes darken at the view represented in front of him. Did she not know what she was exposing herself to!

"I want to rest. Leave!"

This was the first time that a woman was not pushing herself to him and in some way it made him high but this time, he wanted to be right with her and he would make her fall for him in his own pace, without rushing her.

"Have you ever been to spring gala?" He asked while knowing very well what her answer would be. "Riding horses, swimming, tasting foods and drinks that you have never tasting, watching beautiful sceneries." He added, arousing more interests that she tried to conceal.

"What are you going to gain with all this?" She didn't know much but this she knew. No one ever did something without expecting anything in return and she was not wrong because at her question a smile appeared on his face and Lilith who was done braiding her hair got up and turned around to face him.

"You." Seeing her questioning look that was filled with disapproval, he added, "I want to spend time with you. I won't do something out of line."

"My parents will find out." It was a sign that she wanted to go with him and his eyes that were exploring her turned to look at her. "We will be back before anyone knows it." He assured her but on remembering something, she asked, "How can we go to a spring gala when it's still winter?"

"Some kingdoms ere experiencing spring right now. Also change into something simple, that won't bring us unwanted attention." Before she could even respond, Richard was busy going through her cardboard trying to find a simple gown for her to wear but there wasn't any.

"I will be back in a minute.'' Not a second after the man had disappeared and after a minute, he re- appeared with a sky blue gown and handed it to her. "This will do." He stated and when he saw doubt lingering in her eyes he assured her, "If you won't like it, I promise to bring you back."

"Okay. I will go and change." She finally gave in and Richard went on to sit on the edge of the bed so that he could wait for her. When he heard the door click, his gaze shifted to look at her, there were no jewels adorning her and her dark brown hair that was braided came to rest on her right shoulder revealing her shoulders and the thought that other men would see her the way he did caused jealousy to sip through his veins.

"There is one more thing left." He stated as he came to stand in front of her. The closeness that they shared reminded her of the dance they shared and she had to take a step back. "Don't move." He whispered to her and as of his words had hypnotized her, all she did was watch what he wanted to do.

His hands that were resting on his side were raised where he held her hair as if feeling it's soft texture and slowly started to unbraid it while keeping his eyes on her whereby Lilith could not look away. "Much better." He said as he straightened her hair such that it covered both her shoulders.

His fingers did not playing with her hair and his eyes were still on her and Lilith looked away when his fingers trailed her neck which made her shiver.

"Hold my hand princess." Hesitantly, she placed her and once she did, they apparated from the room. Princess Lilith who had been unprepared for this felt a strong wind hit her face which made her to close her eyes and upon opening them, her eyes widened in surprise and a smile broke on her lips.

This was a view that she could only dream of. Floweres of different colours and fragrance covered the land that outstretched far and wide beyond her vision but that was not the only thing that brought a goofy smile on her face. It was those fireflies that flew freely illuminating the area and Richard who was busy admiring her let go of her hand and immediately he did, she outstretched them while trying to catch a firefly.

For once, a genuine smile appeared on her face and for a moment she had forgotten who she was and nothing could bring him more satisfaction than what was right before him. When she finally caught a firefly, her grin widened and she whipped her face to look at Richard. "I caught it!" She exclaimed happily and when she stretched out her palm, it flew away making her frown but she schooled her expressions which turned into something serious.

"Thank you."

"It's too early for you to thank me when you haven't seen anything yet." He replied to her and at that, he held her hand and tugged her such that she was a step behind him and her focus was on the flowers that were everywhere. Subconsciously, she started grazing her fingers on the flowers as they continued walking.