Princess Lea (Part 1) Eng.

Chapter 4

– These tattoos even suit you – he admitted, unable to take his eyes off her exposed skin.

She had black lines on both sleeves that ran the length of her arm. It looked as if someone had run a thin brush over her skin, leaving traces of paint.

– You will be the first tattooed queen.

– I am not going to be a queen – she replied as she combed her hair in front of the mirror.

– As far as I know, you are the eldest daughter of the king.

– You know a lot of things - she said with irony.

– I study every day - he replied, trying to keep his tone of voice calm and trying to hide his smile.

– I have no intention of being a queen – she added, taking out the hair dryer.

– Is that the reason for all these escapes?

She did not give him an answer, but turned on the hair dryer and stared at her own reflection in the mirror. That would explain a lot, she was running away to let her parents know that she did not want to take over the power, and they probably did not listen to her, as they always did. Samuel did not approve of this kind of behavior, not everyone was fit to be a ruler. But he had noticed that Lea was very different from her sister in many ways. In his opinion, she was more suited to take the reins of power than the more reserved and reserved Letycja.

Lea dried her hair and changed into her pajamas. She sat down on the bed and examined her hand and the new suture. Samuel sat on the chair by the desk and watched her, finding himself increasingly unable to take his eyes off her. If he had met her outside of the palace and she was not a princess, he would probably have asked her to join him for a cup of coffee, but as it was, he had to think of something else to catch that magic thread of understanding.

– Okay – she replied, breaking the silence, which to her surprise was not uncomfortable at all – you can go now, I'm not going to run away.

– I don't believe you – he said calmly.

She looked at him, it was obvious that she was irritated, which was a bit of amusement and a kind of satisfaction for him.

– Why are you being like this? – she asked with a frown on her face.

Any other guard would have left her alone, happy that she could go and watch TV or whatever it was they usually did, but Samuel was different, he looked at her without saying a word, and that probably irritated her more than if he had just yelled at her for running away.

– It seems that we're on the same level when it comes to stubbornness.

Lea narrowed her eyes, she didn't like this at all. She heard a knock on the door of her room.

– Come in – she said.

The door opened and there was her father standing in front. She took a deep breath in.

– I'm glad you're here – she said to her father, relieved – can you get him out of here? - she asked as she looked at Samuel.

– I am only here to thank him for your safe return home without any unnecessary scandal.

Samuel stood up.

– He said he's going to sit here all the time – she moaned.

– If he wants, he has my permission – the man nodded – I'm grateful to him, the other guards complain about you, that you make their lives difficult. So maybe I've finally found someone who will be able to tame you a little bit, young lady.

– I'm an adult now – she rolled her eyes.

– Then act like an adult – he interrupted her – and stop running away. We're preparing for your swearing in as my successor. What kind of light do you put me in when you keep running away from me?

Leah didn't answer, but Samuel could see in her face that she was already planning another escape. She was lost in thought, staring at her hands. When the king saw that his daughter had no intention of arguing with him any further, he left her room and left the two of them alone.

Samuel spent the rest of the evening in the room with Lea. The girl fell asleep and he decided to go to bed, leaving one of the boys to watch her in case she tried to escape, but she slept in her bed all night.

The next morning she had a lesson with a private tutor, so she spent most of the day, from morning to night, studying. Samuel was away on a business trip with her father for a couple of days at the time. They both concluded that the girl might be an escape route, but to their surprise, no such thing happened.

When Samuel returned to the palace with her father a week later, he went to look for Lea on his own. The bodyguards who guarded her reported that she spent most of her time in her room studying. This surprised him, but also made him suspicious. It was almost nine o'clock when he found her in the garden. Leah was lying under a tree, looking up at the stars.

– Are you lost? – she asked when he walked up and looked at her.

He gave a smile to himself.

– I came to see if you were okay – he replied, not caring at all if she annoyed him, he liked it when she irritated him.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

– You expected me to run away – she said more than she asked.

– I expected you wouldn't.

– My car is at the mechanic's – she shrugged her shoulders.

– And that is the reason why you didn't run away? – he said in surprise – I don't believe you.

That was only half the truth. In fact, Lea had started to be a little afraid of Samuel after the last escape, she didn't want him to have to watch over her all the time and her father might get a bad idea like that. She preferred to avoid that, for her own good. Her plan was an escape, but she needed more time to think about it. Her father still hadn't given up on the idea of her taking the oath.

Samuel sat down under the tree beside her, he didn't ask because he knew the answer.

– The TV is broken and you have nothing to do? - was her question in surprise, but she didn't move from her seat.

– I don't watch TV - he looked up at the sky, it was really beautiful out here.

– So what do you usually do when you don't have to take care of my father?

– I take care of you – he said, smiling.

– A fascinating hobby - she said, but a smile was playing at the corners of her mouth.

– I work out, mostly – he added after a moment of silence – to stay in shape.

Lea had no comment, she'd seen him shirtless once before and it was obvious he was in shape. He had a perfectly sculpted body, but she pushed the thought to the side. They sat under the tree for a while, not saying a word, before Lea decided to lay down. Samuel led her back to her room and, to her surprise, left her there on her own.

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