Corina's eyes were closed tight as she braced for impact. It was going to happen—her lips were ready to meet their fated destiny against those of the handsome Duke. Her lips would be thrilled to receive a kiss. A wonderful kiss.
It felt as if a meteor was about to hit her lips.
Or something. It wasn't at all similar to a meteor impact.
He was going to kiss her.
He really was!
"Huh?"
The princess opened her eyes when she felt the sensation of Alexander's lips against her cheek.
Sure, it was a kiss, but not that kind of kiss. He completely bypassed her lips.
As he drew back, he smiled and observed that Corina had a frown on her face. She folded her arms against her chest and tapped her foot rapidly on the ground. "What was that?" She asked him.
Alexander's eyes widened. "Did I annoy you with the gesture?"
Corina raised her arms in the air, then let them fall dramatically to her side. "Yes. Yes, you did."
Alexander hung his head, his eyes staring at the carpeted floor. He felt his heart break when Corina said she was upset by his action. He felt a little frantic. He needed to find a way to make it up to the princess. "I'm sorry, Corina," he whispered, unsure of himself.
Alexander had the wrong idea, but as far as Corina was concerned she had the right idea. Neither of them understood the other's thought process in the moment.
A prince thought he had messed up, and a princess wanted more than he had given her. They were a pair of inexperienced imbeciles standing awkwardly in the palace's hallway.
Corina snatched the book from Alexander's grasp. The book was important. She needed to learn life lessons inside. She felt her new life depended on the book.
"That was terrible," Corina sighed as she stormed off, leaving the Duke to wallow in his thoughts of self-loathing.
They would resolve the issue later, but for now, they remained stupid.
Corina huffed and stuck her nose in the air as she headed back to her bedroom. When she made it inside, she tossed the book onto the bed.
She frowned and fell backwards on the bed. Her eyes closed, and she took several deep, meditative breaths. She needed to regain her cool. "What a missed opportunity," she mumbled to herself and stuck her feet straight in the air.
She stretched her legs straight up in the air. She stretched out her calf muscles, reaching from the tips of her fingers to her feet. The burn felt good. She felt the burn! "Buuuuuuuurn," she groaned.
Her legs fell back down onto the mattress, and she sighed.
Corina spent about an hour lying on the bed, doing absolutely nothing. Eventually, she began to feel better. She internally vowed that the next time she walked past Alexander, she was going to kiss him.
It would be spectacular. She didn't even care if anyone would be watching! She was going to get that kiss one way or another.
Corina rolled onto her side. Her blue eyes stared at the book's cover. As she began to open it, she heard the door open.
"Princess," Nadine hummed as she entered the room. "Have you read through the book yet?"
Corina shook her head. "I'm getting to it."
"The Duke asked me to remind you of the wedding. We have informed him about the arrival of the king and queen of Crystalia in two days. You will need to review the material soon."
"Oh," Corina sighed. "I guess I should start reading it."
"Please do."
Corina nodded.
"If you will," Nadine began. "I would like you to read the book. I'll prepare a bath for you, and when you finish reading, I will wash you."
"You will?"
"Of course, Princess," Nadine replied.
"Well, if you're washing me," Corina mumbled as she stood from the bed. "I want it to be a cold bath."
"Cold?" Nadine questioned.
"Yes," Corina nodded. "All day long, my body has been overheating. A cold bath would help a lot."
Nadine smiled. "Very well. A cold bath will help. Afterward, I'll massage your back."
Apparently, Corina was frustrated. Corina's ignorance about her body hindered her from understanding that the problem she was facing was an erection. If her mother hadn't kept her gender identity a secret, she would have been aware of this issue. All she knew was that cold water helped ease the trouble.
She sighed as she looked through the book. The images were graphic and detailed, but Corina had no idea what was actually going on.
After a while, Nadine returned. She saw the princess holding the book upside-down, staring intently at the page.
"Is everything all right, your grace?"
"This is so embarrassing!"
"Why is that?"
"Look," she said, pointing to the book.
"Oh, that is a very graphic depiction," Nadine laughed. "Your grace is very common. It's no reason to be embarrassed. It's the nature of men."
"But why is it so...big?"
Nadine placed her finger over her mouth, hiding a smile. "It's normal for a man to have an erection."
"That's what that's called?"
"Yes," Nadine confirmed.
"How does it go away?"
"It depends on the man," Nadine answered. "Sometimes it goes away on its own. Other times, a man has to..."
"What?"
"Take care of the issue."
"How?"
"With his hand," Nadine blushed.
"How does he do that?"
Nadine placed her palm against her forehead. This was not how she imagined giving a sex education class to the princess. She anticipated that she would be a bit more mature and knowledgeable. Instead, she found the princess to be completely unaware of any human anatomy's workings.
"I want cake," Corina sighed, overwhelmed by the book.
"I think it's best you bathe first," Nadine suggested. "I'll be back. I'll find something sweet," the woman sighed, then left the room.
Corina frowned as she looked at the woman's picture. She wondered why her body looked like the man's body.
She closed her eyes and placed her index fingers against her temples. She needed to think hard about this.
Corina suddenly opened her eyes. Corina narrowed her eyes as she studied the picture of the woman. "So, a woman must tuck her erection into her body. When she does that, the man must place his inside of hers. That would make sense."
"That's a lot of stuff to keep inside."
She frowned as she flipped the page. There was an illustration of the man laying on top of the woman. He had his mouth on her breast.
"Oh," she gasped. "What is he doing? Is he sucking the milk out of her? He can't be. There's no milk. It's just one breast. It's just a lump of skin. What is he doing? Women shouldn't produce milk until they give birth. That's gross. This book is gross. She has her thing neatly tucked in. It must be between her legs."
She continued flipping through the pages. There were some images that didn't make sense, and others that didn't match the text. "There's a lot of things I need to learn," Corina sighed, closing the book.
After a few minutes, Nadine returned to the room. She held a plate of chocolate-covered fruit. It wasn't cake, but the woman hoped the princess would be pleased with the finding.
"I found the fruit and dipped it in chocolate."
"Fruit!" Corina exclaimed. "I love fruit. Thank you, Nadine."
"Your grace is my pleasure."
Nadine set the platter down on the vanity, then looked at the princess. "Are you ready for your bath?"
Corima nodded. She glanced at the fruit before turning her gaze to Nadine. She would rather have the fruit, but she followed Nadine.
The princess sat on the tub's edge and looked down at the water, her cheeks puffing out.
"What's wrong, dear?" Nadine asked.
"I thought the Duke was going to kiss me," the princess began, "but he just kissed my cheek! Can you believe that?"
Nadine laughed. "Well, maybe you should kiss him. He's probably shy."
"So, you don't think he hates me?"
"Why would he?" Nadine asked. "The Duke was probably trying to be gentlemanly. It's not very gentlemanly to attack a girl's lips!"
"W-With a weapon?" Corina gasped. "I don't want a sword to contact my face."
Nadine shook her head and sighed. "No. I meant, he isn't just going to kiss you without permission."
"Should I ask for permission?"
"Yes, you should. It's the polite thing to do."
"I see," Corina said as she stroked her chin. "Then, the next time I see him, could I ask him for a kiss?"
Nadine nodded.
Corina smiled. She had a plan. She was going to ask for a kiss. She couldn't wait. She thought if the Duke didn't kiss her after being explicit about it, she'd probably have to escape through her window and run away.
It would be much easier if he kissed her. She didn't look forward to running away. It would be dangerous for a princess to adventure in the twilight alone.