Maria roamed her eyes around the room, she finally woke up after dozing for hours. She yawned and slowly sat up to stretch her arms. Maria wondered what time it was already. The lights in her room were turned off and there was barely any moonlight that was peeking between the curtains. She can't remember when she ever fell asleep. The last thing that she could recall was she was helping Alice with something, then Alicia came and told her something about Alaia. Maria's eyes widened when she finally remembered everything before she fell asleep. She cursed in frustration as one of her hands covered her mouth in surprise while the other ran through her hair.
Alaia is such a cheater. I'm so close to finally seeing her eyes but she stole my consciousness again. Jeez.
Earlier that day, Alaia predicted that Maria wouldn't obey her. She saw that possibility, so she had to think of ways to prevent Maria from getting what she wanted. Then she remembered that she was capable of doing some magic, so when Maria walked towards her and lowered her head to look into her eyes, she blew some air into her face, which immediately sent Maria into the dream world. She doesn't want to do that. She needs to do that. She wasn't ready yet and she didn't know how she would react if their eyes burned at each other longer than 1 second. She's afraid that she will melt and do something that she wasn't supposed to do. She's the one who brought Maria to the girl's room. She carried her in her arms and even though Leo offered help, she insisted that she could do that. That time, there was a weird thought circling in her mind, saying that she was the only one who should hold Maria like that. She just didn't expect Maria to sleep for the rest of the day.
Pursing her lips in frustration, Maria got off the bed and walked towards the door. She's planning to confront Alaia. Miraculously, when she opened the door, Alaia was about to walk past her room to go to her room. Alaia immediately looked away and continued walking as if she didn't notice Maria at all.
"Your Highness!" Maria cheerfully called, smiling widely, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be annoyed at Alaia's dirty tricks.
"O-Oh Maria, why are you still awake? It's already nearing midnight." Alaia responded without looking back at Maria, but she at least stopped walking.
Maria pouted her lips and walked towards Alaia. She stood beside the taller girl and tilted her head to peek at Alaia's face. "I just woke up from being under someone's magic again. I doubt if I would ever catch some sleep for the rest of the night because of how long I dozed off."
Alaia was quick to close her eyes and turn her back against Maria before she replied, "Is that so? Then I should go to sleep. Good night."
Alaia attempted to slip out of the scene by continuing her way to her room but Maria grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Wait, Your Highness. Where are you going? Why would you sleep already? Won't you stay with me a bit more? After all, this was your fault."
Maria whispered the last part, but Alaia still heard it loud and clear. She wasn't insulted though, because Maria was right about her being the reason why Maria probably wouldn't get some sleep for the rest of the night.
"Maria, don't you know what time it is already? I need to sleep now. Leo and the others are still up, you can hang out with them until you feel like sleeping again." Alaia responded but didn't remove Maria's hand on her wrist. She kind of loved the feeling of Maria's hot and soft palm against her skin. Again, she would never admit that she had ever thought about that.
"But I don't want to hang out with them. I want to hang out with you." Maria stated in a childish tone.
Alaia felt like her cheeks were burning. She no longer needs a mirror to confirm that her cheeks are as red as a tomato already. Thanks to her mask, her blushing cheeks would never be discovered. Alaia bit her lower lip as she took a deep breath to calm herself. She begged her heart to calm down in fear that Maria would hear its loud beats, but her heart said that it was impossible to do that. Maria's presence would never allow her heart to calm down.
Alaia didn't say anything and kept her mouth shut. There's no way she would be able to say something without stuttering after hearing that.
"Your Highness come on, please accompany me, even if it's just for a brief moment." Maria again begged, sounding so downhearted.
Alaia closed her eyes and gave it some thought. She can't do that. She can't give in just like what Maria is telling her to do. She was certain that Maria would just use that opportunity to see her eyes. She can't let her mind lose to her heart. She needs to stand her ground. She needs to refuse the invitation no matter how much Maria begs. She needs to go to her room already and sleep while thinking of Maria.
"Just for one hour." And so, Alaia responded. No matter how many reasons her mind formulated to convince Alaia to refuse it, she still ended up agreeing. She wanted to slap herself due to disappointment, but on the other hand, she was excited about the thought that she would be able to hang out with Maria for another hour before the day ended.
Maria smiled widely and tugged Alaia's arm in the opposite direction of Alaia's room, squealing on the inside.
"Where are we going?" Alaia asked, following Maria.
"I discovered a good place where we could kill time while staring at the night sky." Maria excitedly squealed.
At that time, Alaia no longer felt the wall between them that was supposed to remind them of the difference between their social status. She didn't know if Maria had managed to bring it down or if she had put it down herself.
Alaia just let Maria pull her. She was too busy calming her heart. She was so conscious of the sparks that she was feeling against Maria's skin. Her mind was too occupied with imagining what would possibly happen tonight.
Maria took her outside the palace using the door in the kitchen. Alaia thought that they would need to walk for a few more minutes before they reached the place that Maria mentioned, but when Maria had the door opened, she only sat down at the top of the 3-step stairs. Maria patted the space beside her, asking Alaia to do the same.
Alaia was disappointed at first, expecting that they would go somewhere romantic, but when Maria pointed her index finger at the night sky, that's when she only realized what Maria wanted her to see.
"Isn't the sky so pretty from here?" Maria stated, keeping her eyes on the sky.
Alaia sat down beside Maria and answered, "Yeah, it is" while looking at Maria's face and not the sky.
Alaia immediately looked away from Maria when she noticed that the younger girl would look back at her, afraid that she would be caught staring at Maria's face.
Maria smiled and hugged herself, "Though it's kind of cold here."
Alaia stood up upon hearing that, "I'll get some blankets, wait for me here. I'll be quick."
Maria was about to stop her and said that she would take blankets instead, but Alaia was quick to move so she just shrugged her shoulders. The corners of her lips perked up while looking down at her hands, thinking about the days that had passed. She was growing closer and closer to Alaia. She didn't know why Alaia changed in the way she was treating her, but she was more than grateful.
Less than three minutes later, Alaia was back with two blankets in her hands. She put down one of them and then descended the 3-step stairs, confusing Maria as to what she was going to do. Without warning the younger girl, Alaia casually and sweetly wrapped the blanket around Maria's body. When she was finally done, she looked up, allowing Maria to finally see the pair of forest green eyes that she'd been dying to see.
Maria was surprised not only because she finally saw Alaia's eyes but because of Alaia's action. Maria's cheeks turned bright red as she lightly bit her lower lip. She tried to gulp the lump in her throat but failed as it was too big already. She didn't expect that action. She had never imagined that Alaia would ever do something to her that would show how much she cared for Maria. Her heart can't help but hope that this isn't just a friendly gesture. Maria had been waiting for an opportunity to finally see Alaia's eyes, but now that the opportunity arrived, she was the one who averted her eyes first. She felt like she was going to melt at Alaia's stares. Alaia's eyes are drowning her in a good way.
Alaia only came back to her senses when Maria looked down. She retreated her hands from the blanket and put some distance between them. Alaia felt like that saying something would ruin the moment and it was not like she had something to say, so she just sat back beside Maria again. Alaia smiled to herself, feeling proud at the fact that she made Maria blush.