Harriet proposed a toast to the new lady on her feet.
King Wayne nodded obediently which meant he gave his consent to the toast.
Maybe it had been only Elsa, but she couldn't let her mind relax and not wander off.
" Let's share a toast.... To childhood friendship.... To princess Nessa of Jagu..." Harriet repeated and lifted the cup which contained wine.
Elsa watched them share a cheer and it seemed like the wine in the cups would pour out at the sudden collision of the cups.
She joined them too at the toast, making sure the wine didn't spill from her cup.
Ivan cupped Nessa's chin as he fed her.
Now, Elsa understood.
They used to childhood friends back in the days, no wonder the closeness.
Elsa stiffened when Nessa flashed her a smile.
Ivan didn't even look at her.
Elsa bit her lips to suppress the urge to cry as she continued to roll out the meat in the chili.
King Wayne rose from his seat after one of the guards had whispered softly in his ear and proposed another toast.
" To oneness....." he rattled on.
He announced to his family that he would be leaving them to attend to a crucial matter.
He strode off with his arms clasped behind his bulky body, and the guards rushed out after him.
Elsa watched him canter away in her drowned thoughts.
Maybe she hadn't been listening to Harriet's rattling, but her loud chuckling snapped Elsa out of her thoughts.
" We will play a game," Harriet repeated and flashed Elsa another smile as she dropped her cup on the table.
Harriet's smile seemed to tell her that this was far from a game.
Her violet eyes which matched her gown had flashes of deceit in them.
Harriet trudged towards Elsa and undid her hair that had been packed in a bun.
" It's a very simple game and you will play with Nessa," she whispered softly into Elsa's ears and adjusted the sleeves of Elsa's purple gown.
Elsa lowered her eyebrows and dropped the cup.
Her mouth pinched shut as though holding back what she really wanted to say.
She stood up in a sudden hurry and walked away.
The mild breeze outside brushed past her face, and it reminded her of a tale she had once been told in her childhood.
Thunderstorm rumbled in fury.
Elsa rubbed the nape of her neck slowly as she contemplated whether or not to go in.
The breeze was slowly becoming intense and severe.
She twisted her mouth in aversion.
She had been too expectant, and this was where it landed her.
She had thought he would be different; she had thought he would turn out different.
She had thought he would be all she had ever dreamed of.
She had thought he wouldn't be like other men.
Here he was, frolicking with another woman right in her presence, without the fear of what she would think.
Men would always be what they were.
It simply was unfair.
A sudden movement behind startled her as her breath quickened.
" I knew I would find you here," Ivan said as he ambled towards her in the dim light.
Elsa turned around with a start and tried to dodge his grip, but he pulled her closer before she could escape.
He lifted her chin and caressed her soft, fragrance filled hair.
He held a full of her hair in his left hand and sniffed it.
He kissed her hair.
Elsa grunted as she struggled to get away from his grip.
" Do you have any idea how beautiful you look when you get angry?" Ivan uttered.
He tightened his grip on her waist as he let their bodies collide.
He looked on with a tender expression when she let out an exasperated hiss.
Her lips invited him to steal a kiss.
Her body invited him to take its fullness.
" Hmmm. Is it jealousy I perceive, wife?" he teased.
Elsa didn't reply.
" Don't you like Nessa?" he teased again.
Elsa's lips pursed in suppressed fury.
Did he need her to speak before he would know she didn't like her?
" I'm not jealous," she pointed out calmly and stood still — in terror?
She didn't know.
Her fingertips turned cold as she felt his hands on her back.
Her zip was slowly making way for him.
She gasped as he kissed her neck.
Her stomach churned as the knots tied up.
" No one has any right over me except you, Elsa, and I promise to have nothing to do with any other woman."
Elsa smiled inwardly.
He had promised, and that was more important.
Ivan swooped on her and lifted her up.
Elsa imagined what could happen from here — the fullness of passion, and she began to feel hot.
______________________
The ray from the sunlight sipped in through the slightly parted curtains.
Elsa opened her eyes and met Ivan's calm state.
Her gaze softened.
He looked full of tranquility like the serenity of the environment — one she had never seen.
His lashes stood out gracefully above his brows.
His lashes were long and polished, shiny.
His thick hair sprawled over his broad shoulders.
Elsa raised her hand and tried to remove the hair sprawled over his body but she stopped.
His lips invited her to steal a kiss.
Elsa blushed and drew a sharp breath when he flickered his eyes open and suddenly snuggled over her.
Those brown eyes were all over her now, ogling her.
Ivan smirked.
" You know you could steal that kiss if you wanted," he uttered.
Ivan bent over her, waiting for her to carry out the instruction.
He was waiting for her to take the lead and let him finish it up.
He was waiting for her to take the initiative and let them consummate the marriage.
He was waiting for her to crush her lips against his and let passion take over.
Elsa smiled coyly.
His eyes burned with flames of hunger, not fire.
They burned with flames of hunger for her.
Another coy smile tore across her face as she held him out gently by placing her cold hands on his bare chest.
" I could steal it next time."
Ivan chuckled and pulled her hands away. He pinned her gently on the bed while making sure he didn't hurt her wrists.
He searched for permission in her colourful eyes.
Was she going to weep again?
Was she going to struggle underneath him like before?
Was she going to deny him his right again?