The Sleepy Princess Loves The Cold Duke

Chapter Sixteen: Beauty and the Beast

Steven scribbled in a journal.

Dear children of Princess Poppy and Duke Loki. It's your uncle Steven. I am going to be documenting the days that your father first begins to try and win the heart of the Princess.

So far it's been a big fail.

"What are you doing?" Poppy eyed the box of cookies as the steps of the lab. Loki was standing far away from the lab when Poppy opened the door to grab the container. "Steven told me you don't like it when people go near your lab. So I'm standing here." Loki pointed to the ground to prove he was standing far away.

Poppy eyed the cookies wearily. "They're not poisoned right? Like another weird way of trying to kill me?"

Fail

I was watching from a tree and the whole interaction had me rolling. I laughed so hard I fell from the tree. Sandy found me and took care of the wounds... but this is about your parents.

Loki looked pretty defeated but after a nice pep talk from yours truly and our guy was back in action!

See you tomorrow!

- Uncle Steven

•••

Yo kids! Guess what! Your mom smiled at your father. Loki was pretty excited about it. He even left the field whispering, "small steps." Isn't that so cute?

The Duke had made a platter of chocolate cupcakes by himself. Even though he hates sweets he ate one to prove it wasn't poisoned. She laughed at him basically dry barfing the cupcake. I thought it was gross but, I guess love is blind.

- your favorite uncle

•••

Week two of operation Win the Princess' Heart.

Sorry I missed a couple days. But all the Duke has been doing is making desserts and working. Sandy thinks it's sweet but I think it's boring. The most recent thing he did was pretty amazing though.

Loki led the Princess down the hall. She looked at the blank wall they had stopped at in confusion. "My father used to spend most of his time in here so I had it sealed off after his death." He placed his hand on the wall and crushed the concrete. The weak wall slowly crumbled away. Poppy coughed from the ash and Loki hurriedly apologized.

He has apologized to her more times this month than he has in his life.

A door was revealed behind the wall. Loki pushed it open and stepped in first. He offered a hand to Poppy which she took. She held onto him as she climbed over the broken concrete. When she made it inside her eyes widened. It was a library. The roof was a glass dome. The overhead light from the sun made the room look magical. The library was covered in dust and cob webs but the tall book shelves that towered over her were stunning. There were stairs leading to the several floors of books she couldn't wait to read. Her heart pulled with anticipation.

Poppy knew that the Duke's father was a sore spot for him. Meaning she also knew that opening this library to her must have been a tough thing for him to do. "Thank you." She grinned up at him. A genuinely happily smile that warmed his heart. He liked the way she looked when she smiled and wished she would do it more often.

Poppy hugged him as a sign of thanks and Loki stood there unsure of what to do. "I really am thankful. It must have been a hard thing to do by showing me this." Loki looked around the library. It was a bittersweet feeling. "If it makes you this happy then I'm fine. If you want I can have a few maids start cleaning it up now." Poppy nodded against his chest.

She pulled away from him. This is when Loki learned of the cold feeling that separating from a hug left. And he didn't like it.

I'll keep up the updates!

Yours truly,
- Uncle Steven