"Uhm, my Prince?"
He blinked, like he had just snapped out of the haze, "I'm so sorry Bronwyn. I know I made a promise that I would personally take you around the city, but I had been neck deep in court matters all day, but all I could think of was you."
Unable to control the excitement that had begun to grow deep inside of her, she sighed before running over to him at the speed of light, her arms stretched around him in an embrace, the mere gesture taking him by surprise. His steps faltered at the abrupt closeness.
She exclaimed, "You kept me waiting!"
He inhaled the flowery fragrance from her silky curls, finding comfort in the warmth she provided with her arms around him. Instinctively, he reciprocated her hug, fingers rubbing soothing circles around her shoulders.
"I let you down and I know it. That doesn't speak well of me, and I am deeply sorry for disappointing you. Let me make it up to you, Bron. If you let me."
He pulled her at arm's length, palming her cheeks before he leaned down to press a kiss on the ridge of her nose. "God, you look so beautiful."
He watched bright colors spread across her cheeks as she smiled, fidgeting where she stood.
"I cannot take you to Dremlin or Aranspeth today, but, I can take you on a tour through the imperial palace. You would love the things we have here."
She nodded hastily, not wanting to miss the chance to spend a moment with him before he had to rush back to his princely duties. This was turning out better than she had expected. Yes, she had once hated the idea of being betrothed to the Narvan prince, but now, it no longer seemed like a bad idea.
She was living a life straight out of a fairy-tale novel, her prince-charming was right in front of her, and she couldn't deny the sizzle between them whenever they touched. She had to admit, she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
Prince Lucien also could no longer hide the fact that he had developed a certain interest in the princess of Elrandal. That much was pretty obvious.
"I think that will do."
He nodded in agreement and just as he was about to turn towards the door, his eyes caught a glimpse of the book she had tossed on the side of the bed. He gently helped her to the side before walking over to pick it up.
"Ah, ahh..I see someone has taken an inkling to the history of Narva."
She squealed, "I am curious indeed. I have always wanted to know why the empire is called Narva and the palace is called Blackstone court."
He chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement in them, he reached forward to hold her arms as he strode towards the door,
"Then your questions need an urgent answer!"
In the next five minutes of walking for what seemed like eternity through the magnanimous palace, they now stood right inside the library hall, Bronwyn muttered a gasp! Never had she seen so many books in one place. Her mouth dropped wide open on its own accord,
"The gods have mercy! This is like a hall of books!"
"I swear it, you look like a beautiful fish with your mouth hanging open." Lucien managed a laugh from behind her.
Bronwyn smiled at what sounded like an insult or a compliment. She couldn't tell. She strolled past the books arranged neatly in fine rows, feeling dizzy at the sight of so many books.
From where she stood, she could feel Lucien's gaze burning a hole through her as she shuffled from book to book, picking through whatever piqued her curiosity.
Suddenly, she could feel his hot breath fanning against her skin as he whispered underneath his breath, drawling out each word.
"There is a myth. I do not know how true this is, but there was once a legend that there once was two kingdoms; Adromard and Galorith, and their kings journeyed to the Westlands in search of an end to the terror that had ravaged the Midlands and plunged it into total carnage. The then emperor listened to both kings lament their misfortunes."
She hummed as he continued on, "The armies of Zolan were fully trained in combat and defense and were impenetrable! Even the strongest of mages did not stand a chance against them. There were rumors that their armors, weapons and shields were forged with the Blackheart stone which absorbed magic."
"What happened next?!"
He laughed at the curious expression that had tainted the glow on her face, he held onto her arms, leading her to the edge of a ledge, sitting while he pulled her over into his lap.
"They knew the Westlands controlled a vast army of soldiers and no kingdom in the whole land combined could stand a chance against them. Then again, the emperor controlled a legion of mages, so they thought they could defeat the armies of Zolan with his help. At the sight of the vulnerable kings, the emperor felt empathy towards them, but he was unable to grant their request."
He watched her eagerly, "He could not put his soldier's lives at risk, and he also didn't want his mages exposed to the Blackheart stone. The emperor had a lot of enemies and a slight shift in the army's defense could put both him and his empire at the risk of war and infiltration."
He stared off into space for what felt like eternity before she heard him speak again as he kneaded his temples, ""Then he spoke of the dark warlord who ruled the Lowlands that had been subjected to ruins, and it was impossible for anyone living to go to because there were rumors that the kingdom was cursed, and dark malevolent spirits inhibited the land. And whoever neared those cursed grounds never returned."