Chapter 28
The ride to the castle took twice the time it would've originally taken had Law been able to keep his pants up for longer than the few middle day hours.
"You do know how late we are," I said it more as a statement than a question and he grinned over at me from his horse.
"Oh yes and I enjoyed every minute of it," he waggled his eyebrows and I kicked my horse into a canter.
"What are you being shy for?" he yelled over the hooves drumming and I glanced over at him with a steely look.
"I'm little more than a servant and you're a prince. We have to get back to the status quo," I reminded him and his good mood evaporated.
"But," he started and I shook my head.
"Whether we like it or not," I pressed and he slowed his horse to a trot and then a walk. Finally he stopped his horse completely and dismounted. I had stopped a few feet in front of him and dismounted confused.
"Why are we stopping? We need to get back to the..." his mouth was on mine before I could finish my sentence and he grabbed my wrists as I tried to push him away.
"I don't care if you were a leper. You're my mate and I'll address you as I wish," he growled and picked me up and put me back on the horse. I had barely gotten my seat before he slapped the horse's hide quarters and it galloped off towards the castle. I let the horse run for as long as he wanted to and when we reached the castle gates, he was still going. He ran past the outer circle of the town and then into the courtyard where I was able to dismount again and rubbed my face with one of my handkerchiefs. That's when I noticed the thin tattoo string that was obviously Lawrence's. I plucked at it hard but it didn't even bend. It just made a sound like a harp and I decided to make sure to not do that in front of Aiden. He would bring up too many questions. Not that I would be able to blame him, I was beyond confused with my own emotions at the moment.
"Welcome back!" Linessa's voice carried with the joy of one who had just gotten a pleasant surprise after being worried for a few days.
"How's my prince?" I asked as a groom took my horse and she grinned at me.
"He's doing much better now that there's not a war hanging over his head. It took you two forever to get back here. We thought you had been robbed by highwaymen or killed by assassins wanting to start a war. I told him that it wasn't possible because you were there but he still worried about you night and day. I swear that man cares about you more than his kingdom," she shook her head ruefully and I patted her back gently.
"I've known him for years. You've only known him for a short time. Although, you two seem to be a better fit than we ever were," I noted at her tightened fists and she loosened up.
"No wonder he likes you so much. You talk as if we might be able to get married and have children. We'll only be able to create scandals though. It's not something I like thinking about much," she informed me and I nodded knowingly. I was in the same boat. It would be a miracle if Law and I were able to take our relationship in the public's domain. I wasn't going to get my hopes up for that. Although thinking back on it, we would have a problem if he ever decided to get married for any political reasons. His tattoos would go nuts when they consummated the marriage. That thought made me stop for a second and I felt bile rise in the back of my throat. The idea of Law marrying someone else gave me a bad feeling in my stomach and I wanted to puke.
"Are you not feeling well?" Prince Aiden's voice asked quietly and I blinked up at his concerned face. I controlled my facial expression and straightened up slowly. I opened my eyes again to see Lawrence sitting on his travel horse staring at Aiden's hand with a mixed expression on his face. His eyes met mind for the briefest second before they regained their control but I saw what he was feeling in that moment. I'm not proud to say that I felt a deep sense of satisfaction from the fact that he was jealous of a simple gesture but it did strike me as something that I shouldn't be so happy about.
"Naomi? Are you sure you're alright? You look a little weird," my friend's comment went through my ears and I turned to her with a puzzled expression.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm perfectly fine," I answered and she gapped at me as I passed her to stand by my prince.
"That's not a very pretty look for you," he informed me quietly and I smiled slowly at him for the smallest minute.
"It shouldn't be. Possessiveness is ugly," I answered and he seemed to take a step back from his thoughts as if to see me for the first time. I felt the line connecting me to Lawrence get thicker and I saw him coming towards our welcome party.
"Aiden! How are you?" he grinned at my prince and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Better now with the threat of war gone," he replied honestly and Prince Lawrence nodded thoughtfully.
"You know the old king was actually alive..." he continued his story as he waltzed in the castle leading his noble friend on with his tale. Linessa glanced over at my calm demeanor and raised an eyebrow.
"What did you do? He acts like he hates you," she told me and I shrugged it off as one of his issues.
He didn't talk to me for the rest of the day or the next few days for that matter. Whenever he saw me, he suddenly had something to do and then when we were forced to be in the same room as each other he didn't even make eye contact. It was disturbing with its thoroughness of complete and total abandonment and I could feel my mood getting lower in the happiness scale. I found myself remembering our trip back like it was some sort of dream and I kept having to look at his mark on me to make sure it wasn't. A week passed by and then two, Tynan and Liana ended up keeping me company most nights.
It was one of the few nights that they weren't there that I took off my tunic to look at the mark. There it was. It stared back at me glowing accusingly in the moonlight when I heard the door open with a soft squeak and I glanced over at the entrance to see Lawrence standing there staring at me. Our link had attached itself to us for the entire time and it retracted itself from my wrist without so much of a sound. He closed the door quietly behind him and he just looked at me. I turned away from him and I started putting my tunic back on. I got as far as pulling it over my head before his hands settled on my hips and he softly kissed my neck.
"I can't do it," He murmured against my throat as he pulled me to him. "I can't act like you're nothing but a servant."
"It's the right thing to do. You still have to get married to a noble from one of the..." he stifled my protests with his mouth and I let the tears fall slowly down.As he kissed them gently away, my heart tore itself into a million pieces and he put it together again.
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