As he went to walk away I grabbed his arm.
"Don't leave." I say, barely even awake.
"I'm not going anywhere. Just going to the other side of the bed."
I let go of him. He went to the other side of the bed, pulls the covers back, and climbs in. He scoots over to me, puts his arm around me, and pulls me to him. He nestled his chin in the space between my shoulders and head.
"You smell nice." He says and kisses my neck.
"Mm Aidan, the sun will be up soon. We need to sleep." I muttered.
"I can go for days with little sleep and if it meant loving you I'd forgo sleep for life."
"Ok, I need sleep."
"You can sleep all day tomorrow." He said as his hands start to roam. I wince as he grabs at a sensitive area.
"Sorry." He said in a disappointed tone. He lets out a small sigh and wraps his arm around me again. "I'll let you sleep."
"Mm thanks…we should have another feast soon. It was fun."
"We…should."
That was the last thing I heard before I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up the next day Aidan was already gone for the day. I sat up and let out a groan as my body ached.
My body was red like a lobster from the tattoos but they were beautiful. The ink connected to make flowers, arches, and other beautiful shapes from my legs to my chest to my back and my arms.
I got up carefully and put on a loose-fitting dress so it wouldn't rub or irritate my skin. I waltzed over to the doors and stopped. I hesitated every day, Aidan told me it would be unlocked and I would have free roam of the castle. Every day this was true but what if Aidan got what he wanted out of me and locked me back in here?
I took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, and opened the doors. I let out the breath I was holding in and looked around at the familiar hallway.
"Do you wish to go somewhere mi'lady?" The first guard asked. I had gotten to know him as Marcus, and the other guard was Nicholas.
"Oh um…where is Aidan?" I asked.
They stare at me a moment, not wanting to answer.
"Can I go to him?" I ask it a different way.
"U-um, he's out mi'lday." Marcus said.
"I'm certain he will come see you when he returns." Nicholas said.
"Oh," I clasped my hands together and took a breath, "w-well I'd like to go to the library then."
"Very well mi-lady." Marcus said.
I spent the day in the library reading another riveting book. It was another rainy day so going outside wasn't something I could do today unless I wanted to ruin my dress. It was an older dress, one of the ones from when I first got here, and it wasn't as nice as the ones the tailor had been making for me but I still didn't want to ruin it.
"What happened to the dresses I just got for you?" I hear and look up from my book.
I see Aidan and a smile breaks across my face. I toss my book to the side and rush up to him.
"H-hi." I say, excited.
"Do you not like the dresses?" He asked.
"N-no I love them. I just…my skin is a little sore from the tattoos so I wanted something less constricting."
"Oh…sorry about that." He said as his finger gingerly traces my collarbone.
"Don't be. I love them." I say with a smile.
He smiled down at me in return. "I'm glad."
"H-how was your day?"
"It's better now." He says as he reaches up to caress my face. "I brought the merchant to help with the planning."
"M-merchant?" I ask.
"For the wedding."
"Ah yes, of course. He came in the rain?"
"To plan a royal wedding?" Aidan asked in a playful tone.
"Oh…right." It always seems to slip my mind that he is royalty here. This palace is so different from the one I had been living at previously. It's more laid back, more relaxing.
"Are you disinterested or-"
"N-no, it's just a lot to take in."
"Do you want me to help?"
"It's supposed to be planned by the bride, not the groom."
"I don't want to overwhelm you."
"You're fighting a war, negotiating a peace, planning a peace meeting, and running a nation. I can plan a wedding."
"Ok…as long as you're sure."
"I can do it."
"As long as you're sure it's what you want."
"Take me to the merchant."
It was several days of intensive planning with the merchant. I wrote down all our decisions each day and talked to Aidan about it over dinner, which we had together every night. He was extremely busy but he always found time to see me once during the day and to have dinner with me.
"So this is the table cloth we'll be using, this is the china that will be on the table, and these are the flowers that will be in the vases." I said as I showed him the samples the merchant had given me.
I held my breath standing over him as I waited for his response. He had been ok with everything I had picked thus far but I didn't want to disappoint him. It was all so exciting but also exhausting.
"What do you think?" I ask nervously.
"Do you like them?"
"Y-yes."
"Then I like them too." He sets the samples down and looks up at me. "Now come here." He takes me by the waist and pulls me into his lap.
"Ai-Aidan." I say.
"No protesting." He muttered. He moved my legs to make me more comfortable, pulled me in close and gave me a kiss. "You deserve a break."
"There's too much to do before the wedding next week."
"Mm." He lets out a moan as he moved my hair over my shoulders. He placed his hand on my shoulder and pulls me back in close.
"Say that again." He says.
"Which part?"
"Getting married."
"You already know we're getting married in seven days."
"Yes." He says and kisses me. "But I love to hear you say it."
I put my arms around his neck and lean in.
"Just seven more days." I tease.
"Then you're mine."
"I thought I was already yours?" I tease further.
He scoffed. "You are. I meant your body." He kissed me again but more passionately this time. He opened his mouth and pushed his tongue inside.
His hand went under my dress and stroked my leg as it moved up my thigh. He stopped when he couldn't move his hands any further and gripped my butt to hold me tight.
I was the one to pull away. My body was getting hot and my mind becoming clouded.
"Oh the things you do to me Ari."
"You're tempting and torturing yourself right now Aidan."
"I'll return it in kind in just seven days time."
"W-what does that mean?"
"More of what we did the night of the feast only all night and into the day this time."
I bit my lower lip as I tried to keep control.
"Don't you know the lip thing you do drives me crazy?"
"What else drives you crazy?"
"You. Everything about you."
"Seven. More. Days." I tease.
He lets out a groan.
"You really know how to torture a man." He mumbles.
"I will take that as a compliment."
"Tease while you can. After the wedding we'll be spending two days in the bedroom."
"T-two days?" I say in surprise.
"Oh yes. We will only be stopping to eat and sleep." He teased in return.
"I'd like to be able to walk after all this." I say with a groan.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." He gave me a kiss on the lips then put me down and stood up from his chair.
"After our days we'll be heading to the peace talk meeting. Then hopefully the beach."
"Th-the beach? Really?" I asked excitedly.
"If all goes well."