Alexander sat at his desk alone after he had spoken to his father that morning. The preparations for the wedding were officially underway, and he wondered if he could convince Corina to visit the tailor again to choose the material for the dress. He was well aware the previous attempt had not gone over well.
The thoughts reminded him of how the princess had been frustrated with him and given him the silent treatment. He hoped that, in time, she would come to see him so they could discuss the issue. He also wanted to introduce her to his father, who had arrived that morning.
As he began to leave the room to visit the library, he was surprised to see Corina standing outside the door with a bundle in her hands. "Corina?"
Corina had a big grin on her face as she shoved the container into his chest. He took it from her and stared at her in confusion.
"That's for you," she said.
Alexander smiled and led her into the room to take a seat on the sofa. He sat down with the container in hand.
"Are you busy?" Corina inquired as she sat beside him. "You were about to leave the room, weren't you?"
"I'm not busy. I was going to the library."
Alexander saw Corina looking at him expectantly. She gestured toward the container. When he opened it, he saw a small pile of cookies. "What's this, dear?"
"Well, I just made them today," Corina said while shyly looking away.
"You bake?" Alexander seemed impressed with the blonde.
"No, I don't," Corina admitted. "Carol taught me how to make them. So, she mostly made them, but she guided me through it!"
Alexander smiled and patted the top of her head. "I'm still impressed."
Corina clasped her hands together as Alexander tried one of the cookies. "Are they good?"
Alexander's face lit up after he ate one. "Yes, very good," he replied and set the container on the side table. "I'm going to eat all of them."
"Yay!" Corina cheered and clapped. "Maybe I could make us lunch sometime! We could go on a picnic! I remember Mama and Papa taking us all on picnics when I was small!"
Alexander nodded in agreement. "I'd love to go on one," he sighed contently, then leaned back on the sofa, resting an arm across the back of the sofa behind the blonde. "Sounds like fun."
"Oh, yes. Let's do that soon."
"So, why did you decide to bake?" Alexander asked.
"Well, I..." She paused and looked down. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because I got mad at you!" Corina replied. "I shouldn't have gotten jealous."
"Why did my speaking with the noble ladies upset you?"
"It made me think about us," Corina admitted. "I'm not like those women at all. I can't even produce children! Those women could! I thought about the possibility of me being unable to do normal things other women could, and I-I just..." she sighed and glanced up at him. "I was so angry! I thought about you taking one of them as your wife instead of me!"
Alexander frowned, then pulled Corina against him. His fingers brushed through her long hair as he kissed the top of her head. "I don't care about such a thing," he assured her. "For my sake, I don't need you to have children." You're perfect for me the way you are. Those women don't interest me at all."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. In fact, I had gone on dates with a few of them prior to our arranged marriage. I wasn't interested then. I'm definitely uninterested now."
Corina gasped. With both hands, she held onto his forearm and leaned forward. "Did you date them? Really?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "One I went on a picnic with. The occasion couldn't have ended soon enough."
"That's it!" Corina said in a confident tone. "We'll go on one, and it'll be the best ever. Ever! I mean it! You'll never have a better picnic in your entire life! I promise!"
Alexander laughed in response to her enthusiasm over the subject. "I'm looking forward."
Corina removed her arms, then sat back. She fiddled with the fabric of her dress, tilting her head. "What if it's boring? You'll want to run away."
"I couldn't ever be bored when you're around."
"Yeah-huh," she sighed in response. "You're going to be around me so much that you'll get bored out of your mind!"
As Corina made her way to the door, the duke stood and followed her. Before she could leave the room, he gripped her wrist. "Where are you going, wifey?"
She blushed and opened the door with her free hand. "I don't know!"
Corina was grinning as she broke free. She quickly left the room, leaving Alexander there to laugh to himself. He wondered if she was upset or was acting playful. He followed her out of the room and saw her at the end of the hall. "Corina!" He called out.
She turned around to look at him. When she saw he had followed her out of the room, she gasped, then quickly ran through the long halls.
"I'm going to catch you!" He let out a cry as he chased after her.
"Nooooo!" He heard her yell out to him.
The couple ran through the palace, Corina laughed as a couple of knights attempted to get her attention.
Alexander had never run inside the palace before. It was bad manners to run inside a building, so he never dreamed he would become engaged to a woman who had no qualms about performing such an impolite action.
"Y-Your grace?!" As the man ran past, a knight called out.
Alexander waved as he passed the guard. As he moved past, the knight gave the sprinting duke a strange look.
Eventually, the Duke arrived at the library where he had witnessed the princess running off. When he stepped inside, he could hear the princess' heavy breathing coming from underneath a desk. His eyes narrowed on the spot, and a smirk graced his lips.
"It seems I've lost Corina," he called out.
He could hear light giggles coming from the direction. He walked to the desk and took a seat there. He placed his elbows on the surface and rested his hands in his palms. "It looks like she got away from me."
Corina sat still for a moment as she watched Alexander's left foot tap repeatedly close to her. All she could see were his legs from below the knee as she sat quietly as he exaggeratedly sighed several times.
She reached up and put her hands on his knees. As she did so, she sensed a slight shift in his position. She crawled up from underneath the desk and sat on her knees, her chin moving to rest on his leg. "I'm right here."
He looked down with a wide smile. He reached down to caress her cheek. "What do you think you're doing, princess?"
Corina grinned up at him. She stretched out her arms so that her fingertips grazed his waist on both sides. "I don't know! I just wanted to hide from you!"
Alexander raised a brow. "Oh, so I'm scary now?"
The princess shook her head. "Of course not," she sighed, her blue eyes focusing on his face.
Alexander shivered when he felt her fingers trail up his side to his chest. When he looked down, he noticed her gaze was rather unintentionally seductive. He felt a shiver down his spine, and his mind inappropriately wandered as he thought of the things she could do in such a position with her head essentially in his lap.
"Corina, let's uh, stand, please," Alexander said as his cheeks flushed pink.
She tilted her head and nodded. She pulled her arms away as he pulled back, standing and walking to the front of the desk.
As Corina stood, she brushed off her dress then ran to his side, wrapping her arm around his.
"Would you like to come meet the King and Queen of Luminairea?" In an effort to distract himself from his thoughts, he asked her the question.
Corina gasped. "They're here?"
"The King in particular is curious about you."
Corina nodded, then looked to the floor. Her head spun as she thought of meeting Alexander's parents. Jeffery had told her the day would come, but she didn't think it would be so soon.