Dalia looked away, biting her trembling lips. The king was warning her not to try this again, but that was not what was troubling her.
How could he save her when he was a killer? How could he promise to protect her? No one goes about making promises, for it is very important not to break them. But he was the most powerful king in all lands; he could break his promise.
'No, Dalia, it is far too early to trust him. Do not trust him.'
"We should return," he said, still staring at her. She nodded, but when she took the next step, she felt her legs wobbling.
Her legs gave way, and she had almost fallen to the ground, but the king was so fast to hold her waist.
"Careful," he whispered. Despite the irritation in his voice, there was a hint of concern, or maybe she had just been mistaken. "You cannot walk," he mumbled, almost cursing.
She just blinked at him; she could barely speak as her whole body trembled. "Hold me tightly, here, on my shoulder," he said, his strong hands still gripping her waist.
She managed to nod but could barely move her hands towards his shoulder. She heard him mutter something under his breath, then sheathed his sword at his waist using one hand before carrying her up, princess-like.
"There, you are in safe hands now," he assured. But she could barely hear anything; she couldn't even see properly, and just like yesterday, she was soon greeted with darkness.
The moonlight was still pouring its light on them, the night wind caressing cold to seep in but barely reaching the king.
His eyes were locked on the princess nestled in his grasp; he had hardly shifted a muscle. Rather, he found himself captivated by the young woman who intrigued him. Her luscious brown lips were delicately parted, her olive skin glistened under the moonlight, and her black curly hair cascaded down.
She was so tiny that he feared he would break her, but that wasn't the reason he felt stiffened and rooted to the spot. It was the closeness he had never experienced with anyone before; it was intoxicating and entirely new to him.
He shook his head, cleared his throat, and began to walk out of the forest; it was better to take this little trouble out of this forest before more hideous animals came out to hunt and attack. How lucky she was that he had reached here in time.
He was almost out of the kingdom before he felt it, the constant nagging of his heart as if something was wrong somewhere and that was the force that drove him here.
How she had managed to summon him was still unknown to him, since no one who wasn't their kind could do that. That was why he watched her with intrigue.
Or perhaps had he only been bothered about her wellbeing that he came here? However, he wasn't one to bother about anyone's wellbeing, most especially humans.
He hated them to the core, and yet, he was here protecting a human girl he had just married. He shook his head, looking ahead instead of her petite face.
He should never have married anyone; he never wanted to be close to any human no matter what. However, her parents pleaded with him, even shedding tears as they begged him to save their kingdom, offering their daughter in return.
It truly repulsed him how desperately they begged, despite the rumors that they were not afraid to give their daughter to him.
It was as if they didn't care about selling their daughter to a rumored monster, as long as their kingdom remained safe.
This was one reason why he had agreed - he wanted to know more about the daughter who had been used as a bargaining chip by her parents.
As it turned out, she was a very troublesome woman who had fear in her eyes when they first met and ran for her life on the second day.
This only fueled his anger. How dare she despise him and judge him without even knowing him? But then, that was what their kind is good at, being judgy.
The night wind swayed harshly, and looking up, he could see the clouds forming. Soon, a huge platter of rain would fall.
He stared at the sleeping princess in his hand who was now his wife. "Who are you?" he whispered, still watching her with intrigue.
There was something about her; he had felt it on the first day of meeting her. She looked no different from other humans, but then there was still something about her that he couldn't put his mind on.
She was the first human who made him angry easily, an emotion he usually didn't feel anymore.
Humans don't do anything to him; they were just very weak creatures whom he could crush like ants. So when they talk, he was usually calm, but not this girl; she was making him easily irritated, fueling him with so much anger, just like now that she had escaped to this deadly forest.
How was he to know that the princess would have so much mind to run into the forest? Was she so clueless not to know the potential danger of being in the forest this late at night? Unless she only wished for death.
Fortunately, before the rain could fall, he had reached the palanquin and placed her on the seat.
When he came out, he glared at his guards. The three of them had their heads bowed. "Why did you let her off?" he barked, his voice enraged, sending chills down their spines.
"Your highness, the queen wanted some moments alo..." the guard's voice trailed off when he saw the hard look from the king's visible mask.
"If this repeats itself, have in mind that I shall slit all of your throats."
"Yes... ye... y-your highness," the frantic guards said, rushing towards their horses. With the king's command, they rode off carefully back to the palace.
The king stood there, staring at the departing palanquin. It didn't take long before someone who had leaned on the tree behind him began to clap.
"My lord, you frightened me with how caring you were with your human wife."