"Would you be interested in a tour of the palace princess, we could go ahead now if you want?"
Avien's ears nearly split in two from the loud squeal Euphoria gave.
"Hell yes, I've been dying to see every nook and cranny of this place "
Avien motioned for Euphoria to walk along with him.
"It's going to be a long walk princess, are you alright with that"
Euphoria nodded excitedly with her hands on her feet strapping her sandals.
"Yes, I can walk longer distances than you can imagine, I might not look athletic but my body is as strong as that of an athlete"
Avien watched in amusement as Euphoria flexed her arms trying to show him her imaginary muscles.
*********
FEW MINUTES AFTER
*********
"Oh heavens, my knees feel like jelly, gosh I feel so light headed I might as well just pass out, go on Avien save yourself, go without me, live on"
Avien pursed his lips trying as hard as possible to contain the laughter that was rising up his throat.
"Euphoria we haven't even walked halfway through the garden, we've only taken like twelve steps"
Euphoria turned to Avien with a 'speak for yourself' look, Avien clamped his mouth shut at Euphoria's killer glare.
"Should we go back and maybe complete the tour some other time, when your legs feel stronger than jelly?"
Euphoria pouted at Avien while she was dramatically rubbing her knees.
"Well my knees say yes, but my ego of proving I'm as strong as an orc says no, so...ego it is".
Avien felt Euphoria nudge him to move forward to which he complied without question, he noticed the way her leg slowed down after each step and he figured the problem must be with the sandals she was wearing.
"Stay still for a minute"
Avien ordered as Euphoria watched him squat and reach down to her legs, he parted the slit of her dress to get a clearer view of her feet.
"What are you doing?"
She asked feeling his thumb graze her heels.
"Place your hand on my shoulders to support yourself, I want to examine your feet"
Euphoria fell silent, she had noticed a slight discomfort while walking and she knew that the strap of her sandals had become tight as they caused a burning sensation, she refused to say anything because she felt she could easily deal with it back in the chambers, she didn't expect the pain to become too obvious that Avien would notice.
"Careful, it stings"
Euphoria hissed when Avien slipped off the sandals from her feet.
His eyes darkened as he stared at the red marks on her feet.
"Why didn't you tell me you were injured all along?"
Euphoria could feel the air around them becoming thicker as she stared into his silver orbs that were now lined with dark freckles, she could see how serious his face had become and it alarmed her.
"Take it easy okay, it doesn't matter that much"
Avien had to force his emotions in check so he wouldn't scare her, he could already feel his eyes changing, so he stood up straight and held her wrist with one hand supporting her balance.
"I'm taking you back to our chamber, can you walk comfortably by yourself?"
Euphoria snickered turning to Avien waving him off.
"What do you mean if I can, of course i-----"
Euphoria's sentence got cut off midway as she suddenly yelped, she had attempted adding pressure on her left feet to aid her balance but it stung like bee crazy and she almost fell backwards if not for Avien who his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders.
"Would you prefer me to carry you in a princess or piggyback style?"
Avien knew she was about to oppose his suggestion so without waiting for her permission he scooped her up in his arms as she swung her legs, half giggling and half yelling on him to put her down.
Avien turned back inside ignoring her yells and punches on his chest, he figured it would be slower to walk up the stairs so leaping his way up would be a better idea.
Avien held Euphoria firmly in his arms as he bent his knees and leaped forward precisely landing on each staircase railing till he reached the door of the chambers.
Euphoria clamped her eyes shut during his leaping exercise and only opened it when Avien had entered inside their chamber with her in his arms, it was amazing to see someone leap as far as that, she was stunned at how efficient and incredible Avien's abilities were, if she had that kind of ability to leap from distance to distance then the word 'walking' would be arrested.
Avien placed her on the edge of the bed as he called for one of the female maids to come in, she stepped in looking as timid as an ostrich with it's head in the sands.
"Greetings your highness and to you too princess, what can I do for you?"
To be frank Euphoria didn't even know why Avien called for a maid so she just sat back and left him to do the talking.
"Get me a bowl of herbal water, some mild medicinal ointment and the royal physician"
Euphoria laughed on the mention of the royal physician, she pulled Avien and explained to him that it was just a few sandals strap marks and not bone destruction.
Avien could sense her discomfort as he mentioned being examined by the physician so he just told the maid to bring the herbal water and some mild herbal ointment, she left immediately and came back with it while Avien who waited at the door collected it and bolted the door.
Euphoria thought he was going to place the bowl of herbal water and the ointment beside her so she could apply it but Avien sat on the bed pulling her to sit opposite him.
"I can't do it myself, don't bother about it"
Avien gave her a little smile as he still tugged her ankle towards him showing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, surrendering Euphoria stretched out her feet to him as he grabbed a fresh towel and dipped inside the herbal water using it to press slightly on the marks on each feet while slowly massaging them.
Avien's fingers felt so good as they massaged Euphoria's feet soothing the pain.
"Ahhhh, this feels so good"
Euphoria clasped her mouth with her palm as Avien's stilled, the unintentional moan she had just let out sounded so.......naughty.
Avien's breath hitched as her scent busted through his nose again, the urge was racking through him as he fought for compusure.
"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to.....uh, sound like that, it's just your hands felt so good"
Euphoria ducked her head trying as hard as possible not to faint from embarrassment while Avien applied the ointment, that again felt so soothing but of course she had to clamp her lips together in order not to let out another naughty sound.
"I'm all done, it will completely heal in a couple of minutes"
Euphoria smiled appreciatively wiggling her ankle, he worked on it so good that she could barely notice the marks.
"You treated the injuries so well, thank you"
Avien called for the maid who came to retrieve the basin and towel, for the ointment he placed it on top of the cupboard just incase he needed it.
Avien's turned to Euphoria who was still wiggling her ankle as if she got a premonition that it would fall off later on or something.
"Euphoria I think it'd be better if i move to a different chamber for the time being"
Euphoria's expression turned serious as she glanced at Avien.
"I thought we agreed it was okay for both of us to share this chamber, didn't we?"
Avien had to explain it to Euphoria so that she could see reason with him, the urge was growing stronger day by day and he didn't want a situation whereby he would spring on her one day with his talons out.
"Yes we did, but-------"
Euphoria scoffed, at the back of her mind she knew Avien was doing this so he wouldn't leave her vulnerable to the preying nature of the claiming urge.
"It's the urge, it's getting stronger isn't it?"
Avien nodded briefly and stood up to leave when he noticed how quiet Euphoria had gone, wasn't she going to say anything or....
"Euphoria what's wrong?, I'm not ignoring you, it's just us living and co existing in the same environment but in different rooms".
Euphoria dug her palms into the bed sheets as she dragged herself up comfortably balancing her feet on the door walking towards Avien whom kept walking backwards.
"I keep making decisions and you keep being understanding with me even if you're the one suffering the side effects all on your own, and yet I was the one deeming you a monster, when I'm much worse"
On a normal case having someone who puts your safety and comfort before his is really sweet but Euphoria's case was different, the more Avien pushed himself away from her to keep her safe from him the more he got hurt and Euphoria couldn't help it as a wave of guilt washed over her.
Avien stepped closer to Euphoria knowing exactly what was going on inside her attractive brain, Euphoria felt a finger pushing her chin upwards as those bewitching silver eyes towered above her.
"You sacrificed your will of freedom of marriage for the peace of your kingdom, monsters don't do that"