Veiled Love

8

Louis

As I held onto her tightly, I closed my eyes, lost in my thoughts. I hadn't expected her to return after leaving me out here. Frankly, I didn't care whether she did or didn't. However, her absence did give me some much needed time to think. After she left, I found a tree and climbed up, hiding there while snug in the cloak she had given me.

It had been a while since I had sat down, wrapped in the cloak, feeling its warmth. Peace was a luxury I couldn't afford at the moment, especially with the constant patrols of guards passing beneath the tree where I hid. But I couldn't shake off the events that had unfolded...The chase, her insistence on helping me.

It was odd and a bit amusing. I didn't know her, yet I used to have a soft spot for her. What a fool I was. But now, there was no time for sentimentality. Now that she was here, I could perhaps make good use of her. The hood of the cloak finally slipped off my head as she urged the horse to speed up, as if she could read my mind. I held onto her tighter, my palm pressing against her stomach. I could feel her flinch each time I touched her, even the slightest bit.

Vanilla. A heart of rose and jasmine. sensual, deep and addictive.  The fragrance grew stronger as I sat closer to her, her long hair softly whipping around my face. It lingered on her cloak too, a scent that irritated me deeply. She seemed so easy, easy to take advantage of, from what I had observed so far. Just because I had saved her, she felt obligated to help me. Pathetic. Perhaps I could use her. I could get closer, find out the truth behind my mother's death instead of killing her right on the spot... I can do that later, when she's no longer of any use to me, so the kingdom can feel the same loss I felt but worse. I smirked, opening my eyes and leaning back slightly. I extended one hand to brush her hair to one side of her shoulder. Another flinch.

"Princess-"

Before I could continue, the horse came to an abrupt stop, causing me to instinctively grab onto her tightly. The sudden halt made me lean forward roughly onto her. I frowned as I heard laughter coming from in front of me.

"Rosetta," she corrected gently, her voice soft yet unwavering. She glanced over her shoulder at me, a small, tired smile playing on her lips. "And you?"

I hesitated, caught off guard by her unexpected reaction. My gaze softened slightly as I met her eyes, the warmth in them disarming yet unsettling, puffy and swollen as usual.

"Lou," I finally replied. I hated this part, but I knew she would ask eventually. If I wanted my plan to work, I'd have to make her comfortable with me.

"Lou, huh?" Her voice light but with an edge of playful mockery. "Like short for... Lou-ser? Or maybe just Lou-dicrous?"

Are you serious.

I raised an eyebrow, giving her a dumbfounded look before speaking dully, "I think Lou will suffice for now." She chuckled softly at her own joke. Lou was just a short name I had come up with, I couldn't go around telling people I am Louis, especially the princess.

"Well, Lou," she said as she started getting off the horse slowly, a soft "oof" escaping her lips as she reached the ground, "we're here."

I jumped off after her, watching as she pulled her horse near a small fence, tied it up, and unclasped the pouch from its saddle. I looked around. A small cottage stood before us, well kept but with the entrance and roof covered in snow.

I followed after her as she made her way to the door, her hair moving gracefully with each step. I narrowed my eyes, a muscle ticking in my jaw. She opened the door, making a small creak, and wrapped her arm around mine, pulling me inside. I flinched slightly as her cold hands seeped through the fabric of my shirt. What is she doing? Was she always this casually touchy with every stranger she met in the slums?