Their Princess

Chapter 10

Warm breath blows near my ear, making me squirm in Eli’s lap. His hold only tightens around my waist. It could have been a sensual act, but I know the truth. It's Eli, and he is worried about my well-being. After Eli and Rey briefly discussed the situation, Eli has been clutching me tightly in his arms, breathing in my scent deeply and then exhaling in relief, knowing I'm near.

Rey is pacing the floor furiously. He has informed Zed and Alerix about the incident, so now they are on their way back home. I don't know what they are planning to do, but the situation seems serious. I want to comfort them but don't know how.

“ You are not going anywhere without one of us with you, princess. Do you hear me? You are forbidden to go outside without us.” Yup, that's Rey. He has been laying ground rules for me for an hour now. I'm not saying anything, just nodding, aware that he needs some control to ensure my safety.

“ She has understood Rey. You're going way too strict over our innocent baby. She is already scared, and you're not making things easier for her. Calm down. She can sense that you're tense, and it's making her even more uncomfortable.” Eli says. 

I don't know how, but he always knows what I'm feeling even when I'm unaware. Rey stops and looks at my face. He rubs his face and comes to sit next to us on the office couch. 

“ You're right. I'm scaring my baby.” He rubs my feet gently, his big fingers tickling my sensitive flesh. “ I'm sorry, baby. I just don't want you to get hurt. I'm trying to do everything to make sure you're safe and happy. Okay? Please just bear with me.”

I smile at Rey “ I know Rey. I trust you. I trust all of you. And I know you guys are going to keep me safe. I'm not worried about me. I just don't like it when you're worried. I want to see you all happy. That's all.”

And that's true. I don't like it when people are worried, tense or angry. Because I start to feel guilty like I'm the cause of their worries.

“ Okay, I guess it's your nap time now. Let's take you to your room.” Eli carries me to my room, trying to distract me, which I'm grateful for. In my room, I change into my pad while Eli is preparing my bed. 

“ Are you bleeding, princess?” He asks me when I come out.

I'm not surprised with his bluntness. Brothers have been trying to make me feel comfortable with female hygiene from the beginning. They've also taken me to various healers to ensure that my body is healthy and well-balanced. But it always ended with healers informing the brothers that I was deformed, which led to another war by brothers. 

They absolutely forbade anyone saying that there was something wrong with me. So we often changed our healers. Until we find Mori who was genuinely interested in my well-being and treated me as an equal. 

I was worried that healers would find something in me and start to experiment on me. But no such thing happened. They were more interested in herbal healing medicine than scanning me. Thankfully. 

Before meeting Mori, I also had a visit with a gynecologist, which I absolutely hated. Turns out that the Ethnainian women have a little different body anatomy. So when the brothers took me there, the healer started to treat me like a rare species. The whole examination traumatized me. I was crying full blown when I came out. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the male healer, Rey was there with me that day.

When Rey saw my tear filled eyes and stupidly grinning healer. He lost it. He didn't ask me what happened. He just went ballistic on the healer, throwing him from one wall to another, one floor to another, punching left and right.

I never saw that healer again. And I made sure that the brothers never took me to a gynecologist ever again. Who knows what they will do out of their curiosity?

I shudder at the memory of gynecologists' hands. “ Yes. How do you know Eli?” I ask and sit on his left thigh. He circles my waist and nuzzles my head.

With a deep sigh, he says “ You're walking weird. You're grumpy and tired most of the time.” When I only hum, he continues “ You should have informed us. One of us might have taken a day off, if not all.”

“ I'm fine, Eli. Just tired.” He sighs again.

“ Baby, why don't you tell us what you want? How are we going to know what's going on if you don't tell us? We are trying our best baby, but we can only do little without your help. You've to be verbal about your needs. You can tell us anything. We won't judge you. I promise.” 

I know I have trouble vocalizing my needs and emotions. But hearing it from Eli triggers something in me. Now I'm angry and sad at the same time. I get up from his thigh and lay down on my bed.

I wait for Eli to leave the room, but he doesn't, so I pretend to be asleep. I hear some shuffling. “ Did I upset my princess so much that now she is ignoring me?” I feel his hand on my arm from the blanket. I don't want to be angry at him, but I am. And I don't even know the reason why.

He nuzzles my head and continues. “ Aren't you going to talk to your Eli? Come on, let me see your pretty eyes.” 

No response. 

“How will I survive today if you continue to ignore me?” He sounds upset now. I want to give in, but no words come out of my mouth. He pecks my cheek lovingly. “ Talk to me, baby. Please.” 

Giving up, I turn to face him. He genuinely looks upset, and now I feel guilty.“ I'm sorry, Eli. I'm not angry at you. I'm just grumpy today, please don't mind me. I behave like this on my periods.”

“ I'm grateful that you told me this. Take a rest now. I will wake you after a few hours. Okay?”

When I nod, he kisses my head and waits for me to fall asleep. He pats the back of my head with one hand and rubs my lower back with another. Just what I need.