Morning came and went. The handmaidens arrived shortly after she returned to her room and began drawing a bath for Mira. She tried desperately to get them to leave, but they would not hear of it.
"Lord Zander insisted that we personally care for you today, m'Lady. He would not forgive us if we did not do as he asked."
As they undressed her, Mira's embarrassment was quite obvious. She'd been licked, sucked, and bitten to the last inch of her skin, and the marks were there to prove it. The handmaids saw everything, but their faces showed no reaction at all. It was as if it was a non-event.
As she bathed, they put an ointment on her neck, where Zander had bitten her, and when her hair had been washed and dried, they found a new dress for her to wear.
The new dress was pale pink, with white lace around the wrists. More importantly, it had a high collar, which effectively hid all the kiss marks and love bites. Then, they put pink sapphires in her hair and earlobes, and they escorted her downstairs.
The dining table was set with pastries and hot porridge with milk, but there was only one place setting.
"Where is Zander?"
"He is outside, m'Lady." The serving maid slid a cup of tea in front of her.
"It's snowing outside! What's he doing out there?"
"He is recharging, m'Lady."
Recharging my ass!
Mira threw her napkin down in disgust and stood up. "Where is he?"
"He is in the Rose Garden, m'Lady."
"Lead the way."
Within a few minutes, Mira was standing outside, in the gale, with the snow blowing into her face. It was freezing cold, and her shoes had gotten completely soaked. She had run out without a coat, but she was too mad to care.
The fool was wearing white, as he is usually wont to do, and it took her forever to find him, with all that snow swirling around.
He was sitting on some kind of wood platform, looking like a plaster-of-paris statue, with snow caught in his blue hair, and stuck on the ends his long lashes.
"Zander!" She made a beeline to him. "Are you out of your freaking mind???"
He opened his eyes. "Why are you out here?"
"I should be asking you that question. It is freezing out here! You are turning into a blue icicle. Come in this instant!"
"Your shoes are soaked. Where are your handmaidens? Why have they allowed you to come out here without your coat?" He stood up and made his way towards her. Then, without warning, he picked her up and carried her inside.
"Who took my wife outside?" His voice boomed in the ante room.
Instantly, the serving maid who had led her out, along with the entire wait staff, came running. "My Lord…"
"You." He gave her a frosty look. "I want you gone by midnight."
She paled, but nodded and said nothing.
He ignored the serving maid and moved quickly, setting Mira down near the roaring fireplace in the parlor. One of the servants handed him a warmed blanket, which he wrapped around her shoulders. Then he took off her wet shoes, and began rubbing her feet with his hands.
"I'm fine, Zander. The fire is hot, and I'm warming up nicely."
"Your feet are wet and freezing, and you ran outside in this blizzard, with no coat on." His eyes glinted with anger.
"I was looking for you."
"Why?"
"Because it was snowing and I was--I was worried about you!"
Zander heaved a sigh, then he sat down next to her and sat her on his lap. "Listen to me. Your husband is what is known as an Elemental Cultivator. What that means is, I absorb the elements into my body, and that is the source of my powers. Do you understand?"
"So you weren't freezing out there?"
He shook his head. "I am the Crown Prince of the Northern Realm. It would take far more than a blizzard of this small scale to chill me."
"Oh." She looked down at her hands. "I thought you only absorbed the sun's rays."
He shook his head. "It's not the sun's rays I absorb. It is the universal life force. As it happens, sunlight does provide certain things our bodies need, but the real power comes from the universal life force."
"I understand, Zander." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry I interrupted your recharge."
He smiled and lifted her face with his finger. "My wife is worried about me. I should be ecstatic with joy." He bent and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I am ecstatic with joy. I was out there because I needed to balance my body."
"Balance?"
"Yes. After you left me...I was too hot." He reddened to the tips of his ears.
"Did it work? Your re-balance?"
"To a point. But I'm starting to get hot again."
She turned to the fireplace. "We're probably too close to the fire."
"It's not the fireplace." He rested his head on her shoulder. "It's you. I'm too close to you."
"Do you...want to go back out there in the snow to re-balance?" Mira wrung her hands. She did not want to inadvertently harm his efforts at cultivation.
"No. I was going to come join you for breakfast, but you came down before I had a chance. Let's eat. We will most likely be summoned back to the palace before noon."
Since her shoes were wet, Zander carried her to the dining area and set her down at her usual seat. The handmaidens were there with a new pair of shoes and her ermine cloak. Then, while Zander and Mira ate their breakfast, they silently waited on the couple until a court messenger delivered the summon.
It was time to leave for the palace.
🌺🌺🌺
By the time Mira and Zander arrived, and had been shown to the Royal Green House, it was indeed past noon.
Even though the weather outside was below freezing, the Royal Green House was quite warm. It was oval-shaped, with a large glass dome that let in plenty of light.
Snow was swirling in goose-feather clumps everywhere outside, but it never stuck onto the glass panes. Mira felt as if she was standing inside of an inverse snow globe.
Tropical flowers of all colors and types bloomed here year-round, and the humid air was thick with the scent of plumeria and ylang ylang.
Among the clumps of cream white gardenias and the bright blues and yellows of bird-of-paradise, the insects clicked and chirped. Monarch Butterflies flitted about, dancing among the open blossoms.
The Royal Green House was even tall enough to accommodate various palm trees and other broad-leaf tropical plants that could never have survived a harsh Ashryan winter.
A large white-clothed table had been set at the center of this lush sultry setting, laden with food of all types. Everyone had already gathered for the feast.
"Zander," The Emperor Di Roy Rashak waved his arm. "Come and have a seat. No need for formalities. We are all family, having a bit of lunch here."
"Thank you, Royal Uncle," Zander nodded his greetings. He and Mira bowed their heads in greetings to his uncle and parents, and then took their seats.
Zander's parents were seated to the right of the Emperor and one of his favored concubines, the graceful and beauteous Elana. To the Emperor's left was Erick Rashak, and next to him was the Princess Celeste Zaravan.
That left the last two seats for Mira and Zander.
Without hesitation, Zander led Mira to the seat next to the Princess, and he took the last one, between Mira and his mother, the Queen Kalara Rashak, of Tamein.
Mira smiled at the Princess Celeste Zaravan in greeting. She returned the smile, looking calm and composed, and completely dignified, as if yesterday had never happened.
Mira envied her calm, cool exterior. So this was part of what a good Princess was trained to be.
Sitting next to her was an unusually cool and collected Erick. His elbows were on the table, hands folded and resting over his mouth, as if to hide his expression (or to keep from saying anything inadvertent). The only thing that did not change was the devilish merriment in his eyes.
They had barely begun to be served by the servants when the Emperor cleared his throat and began a rather self-important soliloquy.
"I gathered each of you here today to try and clear up a very big misunderstanding that occurred yesterday."
He paused, as if for effect. "Now, I understand that you princes have experienced some rather unfortunate and harrowing incidents, but I am sincerely glad that you have survived them, and are none-the-worse-for-wear. Since everything is back to some semblance of normalcy, affairs of the state must be conducted by heads-of-states within the appropriate time frame."
The Emperor turned and gave a gentle smile to the Princess Celeste Zaravan. "Our lovely Princess here has been at Jade palace for over two weeks. I have sent word to her father, the King of Topaz, that she has arrived safely, and is awaiting the appropriate time to begin marriage proceedings." He paused and took a sip of the ruby wine in his crystal goblet.
"Now, the ties of matrimony, especially in regards to heads of states, do not necessarily have anything to do with matters of the heart. As you can see," he indicated to the concubine Elana seated to his left, "...the beauty residing in my heart is sitting here with me."
He gazed with adoration at the Concubine Elana. Clearly, he had not invited the Queen, his consort, to this family gathering, for the purpose of this demonstration. "As heads of states, we do not have to choose the kingdom or our beloved. We can have both."
Neither Erick nor Zander looked particularly impressed. They both stared at the Emperor, and then glanced at each other. Erick laughed, while Zander lowered his lids, his thick lashes hiding the thoughts within his silver-blue eyes.
"Rather convenient, isn't it Royal Father?" Erick raised his glass and gulped the contents in one swift swallow. "I wonder who the Queen chose as her love, since she also does not have to choose the kingdom or her beloved."
The Emperor's eyes blazed fury, but before he could make an appropriate retort, Queen Kalara Rashak of Tamein had spoken up.
"Love is something that grows over time. A person you just met may not be in your heart, but over shared experiences and hardships, you grow to love them."
Zander nodded. "I agree, Royal Mother. My wife and I shared many experiences and hardships together, which has forged our unbreakable bond. I have grown to love her very much. I'm afraid there is no space left in my heart for anyone else."
"That's not what I meant, Son," she faced him with firm insistence.
"I do not refute the truth of your words, Royal Mother," he countered. "Thank you for your teachings."
"Enough!" King Leo Tamein slapped a hand on the table.
The dinner buns on the plate next to his hand bounced and settled into a jumble. "Your first priority, as Crown Prince, is to listen to your mother."
"Yes, Royal Father," Zander acquiesced. "I also have to prioritize my wife's wishes as well."
"Your wife's wishes do not count!" King Leo Tamein sniffed, looking away.
"Is that your teachings for me, Royal Father? That your wife's wishes do not count?"
King Leo shifted his eyes back to his son. Unable to respond, he grabbed a dinner bun and stuffed it into his mouth.
Emperor Roy Rashak cleared his throat. "Aherrrm...Well. Regardless of what transpires today, I will be announcing the marriage between Princess Celeste Zaravan of Topaz to the Crown Prince." Emperor Di Roy Rashak folded his arms across his chest, settling back on his chair.
"You two boys need to take yourselves off and fight to see which of you will win her hand in marriage. Now go."
He waved his hand, and a courtier came to the table. The courtier gave a deep bow. "Please follow me, Your Royal Highnesses."
Zander and Erick both rose, and without another word, followed the courtier out a side door.