Ms. Nine Tailed Fox

Chapter 21

"It's time to wake up," said the man, his voice husky yet caressingly smooth, and the words bore a faint northern accent, hinting at his untamed soul and distinguished origin.

Amaris lay on his side, his elbow and upper arm sinking into the sheets as he propped his head on his fist and knuckles rested under his temple. His short undone hair fell disheveledly into his clean forehead, silver strands reflecting the morning rays, making him appear younger and less fatal. His nightwear, thin royal blue linen shirt and trousers, looked fascinating against his pale glowing skin, and his half-exposed chest protruded with muscles of a warrior, fierce yet tantalizing. He was but a fine specimen worthy of the clamor of the ladies and their undying obsessions.

His voice stirred the tiny creature slumbering beside him as the white fox burrowed its snout deeper into its front paws, shying away from the assaulting sunlight and protesting against the man's words.

It was precisely a round snowy fluff of fur, and the grand duke's throaty chuckle rumbled, pleased by the sight.

"Child, are you aware you have shifted to your fox yet again?" His other hand reached and lifted the tiny paw burying the fox's eyes.

Seraphina's ears twitched, and her heavy eyelids slowly blinked open, revealing a pair of stirring golden orbs shimmering with brilliance. Her upturned misty doe eyes rested on the man as if appreciating the delight of his beauty and then shifted to her paws.

Tsk tsk, at this rate, I will become immune to males' charm, Seraphina amused as she raised her slender pointy muzzle and stretched heartily by arching her back flexibly and straightening and extending her claws all the way out. When she yawned, her teeth band boasted pearly white sharp and shapely incisors and canines and premolars and molars, and the long pink tongue twisted flowingly. Her action was undoubtedly unladylike but queerly presented with elegance.

"Good girl," Amaris teased the little fox, admiring the other's unbridled and wild bearing.

"Daddy, I am essentially a fox. And foxes are nocturnal," she whined soulfully.

"At the same time, you are the young lady of the house. Besides, as far as I am informed, they are classified nocturnal because they hunt at night, and you, my princess, are no huntress," he rubbed his daughter's head endearingly and rose.

"I will send in Julia. Get ready, and after breakfast, we will depart. We will reach the castle before evening," the grand duke's lips, slightly chillier than hers, were pressed on between Seraphina's brows, carrying the man's tenderness and doting, and he took his leave.

The door closed, and the sprawled little fox rose to a sitting position, and the previous laziness and sleepy countenance vanished as her eyes burnt with clarity, wit, and caution. Seraphina effortlessly shifted to her human form, her delicate brows scrunched up gravely, and plumb lips flattened into a line.

Each day, it's becoming increasingly apparent and hard to ignore. This pull... the call... and the dream.

A month has passed since the grand duke's notorious disruption of the high court. The prime minister, a man priorly proclaimed as the noble sire of the empire, was now but a beacon of a clown as the scars never faded, much less healed despite the Shelons' unrelenting efforts, and the imperial princess and the young nine-tailed fox separated not on the best of terms. However, both children were wise to understand that when fate brought them together once again, they would embrace each other with the hearts of two bodies of one soul because the bond they had nurtured in the short span of a month was extraordinary and spiritual.

Not long after that day, the Callensos departed to the north as the capital was but a vile whirlwind of conspiracy and gossip that neither his grace nor his children bothered to entertain. From then on, Seraphina started to feel the abnormalities.