The Art of Trouble

Chapter 17: The Spa Bath

The event that followed was lively, filled with Kanian people, and of course, Lameria was there. They laughed, chatted comfortably, and the new couple drank their own vintu, Arkania's very own wine.
Everybody was saying each of their blessings to the two, and nobody would have guessed that they were being married through sheer circumstance, except for Lameria. After the ceremony, she had been mindful of their actions. From time to time, she would glance at Lucy and Gray, perhaps to check on their actions with one another. Prior to the ceremony, and even before they arrived at Arakani, she had kept on reminding them of their undertakings. She would tell them to act not just like partners but a real couple. This made Lucy cringe in annoyance. She didn't want to be always reminded that she would soon become Gray's wife. As much as her recognition of Gray being her friend and now, partner, she was still uncomfortable, thinking of him as her husband.
However, at the present, Lucy thought of none, but determination. She really wanted to tell Lameria to stop being paranoid, as she already got this.

After the celebration, the new couple were led to a tree house, in which Lucy thought of as glamorous. There were wooden stairs that would lead them inside the house, and there were windows that encircled it. Gray was glad the they could finally rest. Yet, he brought with him a bottle of the same vintu they had drunk after the ceremony, as he thought he and Lucy could drink it together. He wanted to distract himself from thinking about a certain possibility that could happen once they're alone inside.

(🤔😉)

As the newlywed got inside the house, they immediately gave attention to the place.
It was a one-bedroom house, perched around 12 meters high up in a treetop, and the blonde mage was literally out of breath both from climbing up and from its beauty. The wraparound windows provided a neck-swivelling sight of a mountain range. Gray stood near at one side and from there, he could see the lake he had been eyeing upon during the ceremony. He was confused as to why he had been staring at it, whether the view had just truly captivated him or it was something he should do to distract him from his feelings at that particular time. Nevertheless, it was more of the latter.
Meanwhile, Lucy continued to explore around the house. She got, overwhelmed when she saw a medium-sized spa bath, situated on the left side of a seating nook that's complete with wood fire. The celestial mage suddenly felt uneasy. The place was actually for couples. With only one bedroom, having a king-sized bed, and with lots of flower petals scattered on the spa bath's water- the entire area brought out a romantic vibe. It gave Lucy chills all over her spine, thinking that she and Gray were alone inside this somewhat love nest. She didn't know what the man had been thinking, or maybe, she was just over thinking. However, as soon as she cleared her throat into speaking, Gray was already in front of her. He had slightly raised both of his hands; each had been gripping a bottle of vintu.

"I don't know with you, but I still can't sleep, so, wanna join me with these?"

Gray began to offer, much to the girl's relief. She began to realize that she had been holding her breath ever since they set forth inside the house. She gave a gentle sigh and responded,

" I thought you only had one bottle? B-But, sure, I can't sleep either."

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It had been a couple of hours already and the newlywed had almost finished the second bottle. The two had been chortling and bantering with each other ever since they finished their first one.

"Ahaha... It was funny, I spaced off in the middle of the ceremony, and Lameria's face was already faltered. Haha..." Gray broke out.

"Hahaha, so you're mocking her, who's your master?" Lucy asked as she laughed along with him. She was now lying down on the floor, just a few feet from the spa bath.

"Not really, it's just I have not seen her that way before, and by the way, she isn't my master. Although, I've high respect for her."

"Well, to be honest, I found her leadership quite annoying sometimes." The blonde mage admitted.

"I get you... But, we need her, Lucy." Gray answered, almost in a pleading way.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, dude. It's just that, I don't know if she's being paranoid or just being overly cautious. Like in our plan of marriage, how many times she'd warned us and told us to act like real?... Maybe she doesn't trust me, that's why she'd been that way." Lucy stated. The frustration in her eyes had now been obvious by Gray's perception.

"Lucy, stop saying something like that." Gray had now moved from his position and somehow, he was hovering above her. One of his arms supported his upper body as he sat down.
"Listen to me Lucy, I don't know whether it's true that Lameria doesn't trust you or not, but all I know is that  you're my partner, and I give all my trust in you. That's even included in the promise we've had. So, don't ever be concerned what others think of you, as long as the two of us our doing our jobs, got it?"

Lucy was touched with Gray's words that it brought her to tears." Damned these tears, and damned Gray for being so gentleman... " She told her inner self in a berating way. Then, she only nodded in response to him, wiping away some teardrops from her eyes.

"Besides, between us two, you've been better at acting as a real bride, you could become a good wife with that skill of yours." Gray bantered, yet with a serious tone. He, then gave Lucy a wink when she met his eyes.

"Are you now flattering me Mr. Fullbuster, and now my Adviser.?" Lucy gave out a sharp comeback. She wasn't sure of Gray's joke, but, at least, she felt relieved from her emotions before. She moved herself up from the floor and gave his arm a punch.

"Aw!.. Hey, I'm just stating the fact- that you're good at acting." The raven-haired man stood-up. At first, Lucy thought he was just going to the bathroom, but was shocked when he moved to carry her bridal style and tossed her to the spa bath.

"You'll pay for that, ice princess," yelled Lucy, who was now wet as a newborn chick, while Gray unconsciously stripped off his clothes and hopped into the spa bath, just like a kid.
"No need, we're even now..." He chuckled while saying this, and Lucy had now given a loud squeal. "Graaayyy... Your clothessss!... Uurrrhhgh...! And here I thought, you've changed. Sheeessshh...!"

"Calm down woman... We're in this mini pool, it's only right if we stripped off our clothes. You should do it too, there are petals covering us, anyway."

"Not gonna do that, ice princess... I'll be going to the bathroom." And with that, Lucy stood up from the spa bath and immediately went to the bathroom, draping wet.

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Hello dear readers!
  First of all, sorry for the typos or grammatical errors. I've only seen them the 2nd time I read this chapter. It's just because, my excitement to post a new one gets the better off me, that I wouldn't mind checking my work after writing it. So once again, 🙏 me. And thank you guys for reading my story! . Well, the characters are not mine, except for Lameria, the old man, and Yohan,and also, the setting of this story. That's it!
See you in the next chapter!