It has been three days since Elenor's journey to Vaidia began. At first it was exciting seeing different sceneries but it soon became tiresome and a bore. What's worse is that she could feel her butt getting flatten against the carriage seat even if there was a soft cushion under it.
She had been sitting in this carriage for far too long! The only time she was able to get out was when they stopped to rest, take a loo or camp for the night. Other than those three times she will be stuck in that stuffy box. There weren't any towns or villages to rest at as it was mostly roads and forests.
"When will we arrive?" she mumbled, lying horizontally on the seat, not caring how she looked at that moment.
"Milady please sit up straight." Alec sighed, looking at her listless body.
With lazy energy surging through her body, she carelessly glanced over at Alec before looking away, ignoring his words.
She heard Alec sighing at her but she ignored that as well. She was bored and this ride was anything but smooth. She thanked the gods for not having any kind of motion sickness.
Forgetting her surroundings, she lifted her leg up and rested it onto her other leg, letting it swing back and forth due to the carriage movement.
"...Are you trying to seduce me?" Alec's voice rang through the carriage. It was a deep low throaty tone which almost came off as a soft growl.
Elenor paused her movement. She glanced at Alec then at her leg. Her ankles were covered up by her socks but her dress she had worn had riled up, exposing her legs till her knees. Elenor easily forgot how improper it is to show too much skin around this era.
"Ah.." Elenor took a small peek at Alec whose ears were flushed red but his eyes were sharp like a beast eyeing on its prey.
A surge of playfulness came to her body. She wanted to tease him more.
Tilting her head to the side, she innocently asked, "How am I seducing you?"
Alec: "..."
Elenor didn't do anything and smiled brightly, "Aren't my ankles covered with my socks already?"
Without warning, Alec pulled her towards him, crashing his lips onto hers, biting her bottom lip harshly, sucking on it until it was swollen. He released her and smirked in satisfaction as her face grew red.
"You brought this upon yourself." he pointed out, squishing her cheeks in his palm.
Elenor wanted to speak but the carriage suddenly came to a halt. The two looked at each other before checking out the window. It wasn't only her carriage that halted but her brother's as well.
Loud voices broke the silence. Elenor squinted her eyes and not far from them were a bunch of bandits, hiding in the shadows waiting until a carriage came past. She could hear how cocky they were as there weren't many guards with them.
Elenor couldn't help but snort at their stupidity. She side eyed Alec who was waiting for her signal.
With a big grin, she ordered, "Alec, go and get rid of them."
Alec nodded, his eyes flashing with killing intent as well as excitement. "As you wish."
In a flash, he left the carriage. Elenor gazed out of the carriage, watching the whole scene unfold in front of her eyes. Alec easily fought against the group of bandits which had more than 10 people.
His form was refined and elegant, never wasting a second or his energy. Elenor found it fun watching him. At last after three days of boredom, there was something interesting to watch.
Without a single scratch on him, he finished dealing with the bandits and came back into her carriage.
The carriages began moving again not caring if they rode over the unconscious bodies. Elenor clapped her hands in joy.
"You did well." she praised.
Alec nodded, cleaning himself up from the dirt and dust from the fight. Noticing this, Elenor took out her handkerchief and wiped the dirt off his face.
"Thank you." he mumbled, his eyes never leaving her figure.
She rolled her eyes and slapped one of her hands over his eyes. "Stop looking or I'll smack you."
A smile formed on his face but kept quiet, letting her clean the dirt off his face.
A week passes and Elenor could finally see large buildings in sight. She arrived in Vaidia Kingdom. Feeling giddy, she stuck her head out before Alec pulled her back in and frowned.
"That's dangerous and you'll gain people's attention." he scolded but Elenor paid no heed to his comment and tried to do the same thing again.
She heard him sigh then suddenly her waist was wrapped around by his arms and thrown far away from the carriage window.
He pulled the curtains shut letting nobody from outside the carriage to see inside and vice versa. Elenor wanted to voice out but Alec hovered over at.
Her body visibly shrunk back, staring back at him with wide eyes. Alec couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her.
"I told you it's dangerous to do that. You're going to show people your face." he whispered in a hushed tone as he placed a featherly kiss on her eyelids.
"I don't like." he possessively said before his lips pressed on hers, only pulling away once she was running out of breath.
"Don't do this in the carriage!" Elenor exclaimed, pushing him away but he wouldn't budge.
"I already drew the curtains closed. Nobody can see us or hear." he replied.
"It doesn't matter! Get off of me!"
Alec stared at her and didn't move. Elenor gritted her teeth before biting his lip harshly.
"Happy? Now get off of me before this carriage stops!"
Alec pressed his lips into a straight line before moving away. Elenor sighed with relief as she finally got him off of her.
Soon the carriages came to a stop in front of a large building. She got off and looked up. The place that had arrived in Vaidia for their stay was a large mansion. She could tell it was larger than her house and way more servants.
Her eyes darted around before it landed on her brother who got down as well. He turned to her and engulfed her in a hug.
"Sitting in the carriage must have been a bore right?" he lovingly said, stroking her head.
Used to his random skinships, she wrapped her arms around Richard and laughed. "Yeah but it was alright brother."
Richard wanted to say more but a voice interrupted him.
"Vaidia kingdom welcomes Sir Richard and Lady Elenor." a butler in his forties spoke as he bowed.
Elenor glanced around before turning to Richard again, "Where is this place?"
"This is the west building, Lady Elenor. This is where most guests will be staying." the butler answered swiftly as if he knew she would ask.
She nodded at him. He outstretched his arm towards the estate, "We have prepared both of your rooms already. Please follow me inside."
As they followed the butler inside the estate, Elenor was pulled closer to Alec without anyone noticing. She glanced at him who only looked straight ahead.
She knew he kept his guard up since they left the estate but once they reached here, she could feel that it increased by more than a dozen. She tugged on his sleeve.
He turned to her only for a short second before turning back forward, keeping his eyes on almost anyone they passed.
The butler stopped in front of two rooms which were only opposite each other. He politely pointed to the room on his left,
"This is your room Sir Richard." he then pointed to the room on his right,
"This is your room Lady Elenor. If you need anything please do not hesitate to call me or any of the servants. We are all delighted to serve you until your final stay here." he showed a small smile.
"Thank you." Richard nodded.
"You should head into your room and get some rest Elenor."
"Alright brother, you should as well."
"I'm already all energised just by seeing your face." he smiled brightly, pinching Elenor's cheeks.
"Brother please get some proper rest." Elenor said in a deadpan tone.
Richard nodded quickly, "Anything for my baby sister." he pinched her cheek one last time before disappearing into his room.
Elenor turned to the butler, "...Where will-"
"We have prepared a room for your butler, my lady. It is not far from your room." he answered.
Elenor showed a smile. She thanked him and the servants before heading into her room together with Alec. When the door closed shut, she exhaled a long sigh before falling onto the bed.
"At last! A comfy bed to sleep on!!" she pressed her face against the pillow in delight.
Elenor noticed Alec wasn't speaking. She was going to question him but remembered he never really spoke that much anyway. She shrugged and decided to take a short nap but before she could close her eyes, she felt a hot breath on her ear down to her neck.
"Al-"
"This is revenge." he muttered into her ear, nibbling on it before pressing a kiss on her neck.
Elenor could feel her face turning hot. She tried to push him away but her hands were caught in his making her unable to do so. He continued pressing kisses on her neck, blowing air into her ear causing her to shudder.
"Hyejin." He sang her name so sweetly, Elenor thought she was hearing things.
He bit her cheek causing her to glare at him in pain. "Why did you bite me!?"
"To get rid of his marks."
"Marks..?" she blinked at him before realising.
She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face. Again, he was jealous of Richard. Seeing her smile, Alec mistook it as she was mocking it.
A small frown formed on his face before kissing her roughly on the lips. He kept biting and tugging on her lips, she could already tell it was going to be swollen until the next day. Running out of air, she weakly punched him on the chest.
Licking her now swollen lip, he pulled away allowing her to breathe. She glared at him as she gasped for air.
"You-"
Alec didn't allow her to speak, capturing her lips once more. This went on until Alec was finally satisfied. Elenor's lips were throbbing and swollen. She felt too drained out from being kissed like that by Alec, she fell back on the bed letting her head rest on the pillow.
She turned and patted the spot beside her, "Lie down beside me."
Alec didn't refuse and laid beside her. He wrapped his arms around and pulled her close to him. He nuzzled his face into her shoulder, breathing in her scent. The two lied beside each other silently, basking in one another's warmth.
"I want to kiss you again." Alec abruptly spoke.
Elenor had her back pressed against his chest. She flipped around and smacked his face.
"No. Enough."
Alec stared down at her before putting his head back on her shoulder, hugging her tightly. Elenor heaved out a small sigh, pressing her cheek against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat.
It was loud and fast as if he went for a marathon for days. Elenor couldn't help but chuckle as she listened to his heartbeat. After all,
Hers was the same as his.