As the sun kissed her pale face, Jasmine stirred in her sleep. She had run away and was already making money for herself on the far north side of the castle, but now feeling the sun's rays and the bed underneath her, her eyes remained closed as she was afraid to open them to the harsh reality that her dream was just a dream.
"What audacity! Refusing to get off my bed after waking up."
That indifferent tone that always seemed to give her a headache had followed her into her dream. Jasmine frowned lightly, still stubbornly keeping her eyes closed. But they snapped open the next second, realizing the voice came from beside her and not in her head.
Her blue eyes fell on the broad ceiling, then she finally felt the softness of the bed, and her back raised quickly from the bed as if it had burned her and not comforted her tired body. This was Master Nikolai's room.
Jasmine turned sideways to see the Prince staring at her as he sat on his knees beside the bed. His two-colored eyes locked on hers intensely, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Prince Nikolai, I'm so sor-" She was apologizing as she tried to get up from the bed, but her body was too weak from yesterday's fall, and she tripped, falling right off the bed beside Prince Nikolai, her hand on his lap as she had tried to hold onto something. Quickly, she pulled her hand away and knelt properly.
"Please forgive my manners, Prince Nikolai," she apologized hastily, bowing her head, and her loose hair fell forward over her face. What kind of morning is this? Jasmine almost cried. This is what happens when you wake up next to the devil staring right at you, but then she was the one who provoked him by sleeping on his bed. How did she even reach his room in the first place? Jasmine asked herself but dared not voice her question as she backed up to fall back.
"Jasmine."
Mm?! Her eyes widened as she heard the Prince call her name, and she looked up.
Nikolai was staring at her hair, the golden-brown tresses that matched her skin color. He saw her look up as he called her name, her baby eyes filled with curiosity and surprise that he mentioned her name but he wasn't calling her. His right hand reached forward into her hair, bringing a few strands to himself, and he smelled it, the scent of Jasmine that he found alluring. This was the scent that his mother loved to wash her hair with.
Mother... mother? Nikolai's face hardened at the name, and he stood up. Jasmine had long hair that still lay on his hand, and he dropped it.
"Leave." The single word fell from his lips as he turned towards the bathroom.
Jasmine sprang up immediately and rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her. She breathed out in relief that she was finally away from that mysterious man. But what was it with him calling her name and then smelling her hair? She could swear she saw a glint of calmness pass across his eyes at that time. But then, his eyes changed to a glare, a heated one that he normally had, and he ordered her out. The man was too strange, Jasmine thought.
As she walked to the entrance of his chambers, the heavy weight of failing in her escape plan fell on her, and she sighed dejectedly. Making her way to the kitchen to get herself breakfast, Jasmine noticed the maids were gossiping more than they used to today. The castle had been thoroughly cleaned and arranged, and everyone was back to living their lives normally as if nothing extraordinary happened yesterday. Were they already used to it? Jasmine thought, as the image of the maid who had been thrown from the upper floors filled her mind. She shivered in horror and forced it out of her mind.
"Have you seen him, Emily?" Jasmine heard one of the maids talking to her friend. She giggled softly to herself as she asked the question.
"I have. I never knew he looked so handsome," a faint color appeared on the maid's face. Jasmine knew this one. She was the maid assigned to Nikolai before he chose her. The maid was pretty, maybe more than her. Jasmine didn't know. She had blonde hair with doe hazel eyes that made her look innocent. But Jasmine realized she wasn't. She had been very furious when she learned Nikolai picked her over her pretty self. She had spat vile words at Jasmine, who didn't understand all the hate because of someone she wanted to run away from.
Had the girl now gotten over her obsession with the Prince? Jasmine thought.
"But not more than Prince Nikolai," Apparently, she had not, Jasmine realized as Emily added to her words. Ignoring them, she went to collect her food from the cook.
"You're lucky. Any more minutes late, you'd have had to stay hungry until night," Jasmine smiled at the woman's words and walked towards where she was going to eat.
"I never knew glasses looked so good on him. It's like it was the first time I'm seeing him wear them," the girl next to Emily said, making Jasmine wonder who this man was. Just then, the kitchen door was pushed open, and Jasmine looked up to see Peter walk in, and then the girls started to giggle.
"Goodness, my heart!" one said, and Jasmine soon realized they were talking about Peter.
Truly, he looked more handsome and younger. His brown hair was combed backward, and his glasses sat on his nose. Somehow, Jasmine thought, unlike before, he could see clearly now without glasses because he wasn't squinting like he used to. None of the maids knew what he truly was, but she did. She had seen him struggling and groaning in pain and watched the wings sprout out of his back, also seen him fly with them.
Why was he still mingling like he normally does as the assistant head maid? Did the Prince trust him so much not to apprehend him?
In this castle, Jasmine had never had as many questions as she does now, but there was no one to answer them. She put it at the back of her mind to always avoid him. Going to sit on a stool, she only took two spoons from the porridge to see Peter walk towards her, and she looked up at him.
"Prince Nikolai calls for you," he said, and Jasmine frowned lightly. Hadn't he just dismissed her? She looked down at the white porridge in her bowl and back at Peter.
"Don't worry, you will get something after you attend to him," Peter said, and she nodded, going to drop the plate in the sink and walked out of the kitchen without waiting for him. Peter watched her, his heart beating really fast behind his ribcage. He tried to conceal his expression, but his eyes gave away his feelings for the girl.
He didn't understand why he was allured by her in her first week. He thought she was just too beautiful to sway his heart that had never been soft to any girl. But now he understood, he thought as he saw Jasmine tie her hair upwards in a bun and finally stepped out.
It was because she is his soulmate.