Eros returned to his human form and sat on the windowsill. He bent his left leg and placed his hand on his knee while the other dangled freely. The night wind ruffled his golden curls, which contrasted with the quiet, dark night.
His eyes are glowing with a shade of orange that hasn't yet turned back to their usual blue one. He looked at the dainty woman sleeping on the bed with a predatory gaze. Even after nightfall, his eyes refused to close, his senses drifting away to the alluring scent of the woman he stumbled upon on Aerie isle and in the capital.
Eros took a deep breath, inhaling Mirabella's scent that filled the room. His eyes darkened further and a small tuft of feathers emerged from his spine. His fist clenched above his knee as he tried to rein his tempting desires.
He got down from the window and walked over to the bed before crouching down on the floor. He raised his hands and caressed the soft cheeks of the woman who was sleeping peacefully on the bed, unaware of the lurking danger before her. Eros's eyes roamed all over her face, imprinting every detail of her face in his heart.
Mirabella's delicate brows furrowed in her sleep and scrunched her nose before pulling the blanket closer to her neck and falling back asleep.
"How defenseless?," Eros remarked before tucking the blanket down from her loose grip.
The blanket slides down from her body until the end slides off her feet. Eros stood up with the blanket in his hand. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips only when he smelled the familiar scent of the woman on it.
"It will do until then," he murmured and just as he was about to leave, his eyes fell on the monkey who was looking at him with his eyes wide open.
"STEAL! STEAL!" Pipo squealed, jumping in place.
Mirabella stirred in her sleep at the noise. Eros was not pleased with Pipo's action. He narrowed his eyes but suddenly smiled maliciously and said to Pipo. "I have wanted to play as a juggler for a long time now. Interested in being my trick monkey?" he asked Pipo.
The smile on his lips made Pipo shiver in fear. He immediately grabbed his tail and climbed into his small bed at the side rest and covered his head with his blanket, leaving his bum exposed to the air.
Eros climbed the window and took one last look at her sleeping figure. "Deep sleep, Little birdie," he whispered and jumped out of the open window, landing stealthy like a cat before leaving the place.
Achoo! Achoo!
Mirabella sneezed and covered her nose with a piece of soft cotton cloth. Her nose turned red from continuous rubbing and her eyes looks dull, covered with a sheen of water. Gideon frowned and went inside the kitchen, returning with a jug of hot water.
"How did you catch a cold, little egg?" he questioned and handed over a new set of cloth strips to her.
"I don't know. When I woke up this morning, I found my blanket was gone," came her muffled reply as she wiped her nose with the new cotton strips.
"Your blanket? But how did it disappear? Don't say someone stole it while you were sleeping," Gideon asked, narrowing his eyes.
Pipo, who was silently eating his breakfast in his bowl, hid his face behind it.
He didn't want to jump up and down like a trick monkey!
Mirabella shook her head and scooped up a spoonful of the rice porridge that Gideon had cooked for her. As she swallowed the warm porridge, she felt her sore throat being eased. She could feel her increasing body temperature and felt a little muddleheaded. All she wanted to do was rest.
"Sleep after eating, little egg. I'll make some chicken broth in the afternoon to replenish your energy," Gideon said and left the house to carry on some work at the capital's port.
She nodded her head and continued to eat porridge. After finishing the contents of the bowl, Pipo helped her clean the bowl and wiped it dry before placing it on the shelf. Mirabella returned to her room and lay down on her bed to rest a little.
The warm porridge inside her stomach helped her sleep, and she fell asleep quickly as soon as her head hit the pillow.
In one of the guest rooms of Everdale castle, Silas and Kael stared at the man before them with an incredulous look in their eyes. Kael's eyelid twitched at the sight before him and he couldn't help but scoff at Eros, who lay on the bed with his chin propped up on his knuckles.
Silas' eyes were drawn to the vibrant floral patterns adorning the thin blanket that barely covered the lower half of his majesty's sculpted body, while his upper half remained exposed. What was even more outrageous was the size of the blanket—it was too small that it barely reached below his knees.
His bare leg was enough to tell them both that the man was completely naked beneath the blanket. When the sun rose that morning, Silas had searched for his majesty. Unable to find him, he went to the young prince Kael's room to inquire. It was unusual for his majesty to sleep in, as Silas knew well—his majesty never slept well unless he disturbed someone early in the day.
Kael, who was already awake and dressed to finesse, heard that the infuriating uncle had disappeared in the morning and felt secretly rejoiced, but was still curious to find out where he went. So he decided to join Silas in his search. The maids surprised them with the information that Eros hadn't come out of his room until now. And when they entered the room, the sight that greeted them was Eros La Velle, the king of Dusthaven, a poor man who can't afford a blanket that covers his whole body.
Seeing their dumbfounded expression, Eros's lips hooked up into a seductive arc as he pushed up, letting the blanket slip down from his waist a little. Kael's eyes widened, and he blushed in embarrassment. He immediately turned around to shield his eyes from possible blindness, while Silas stood still and calm.
He looked sideways at the blushing young prince which reminded him of himself when he first met his majesty.
His majesty was fucking bathing naked in the fountain of Dusthaven's castle garden!.
The man who faced the dragon of the deep sea was barely fazed by the shark in the shallow water.
"Your Majesty" Silas greeted him with a polite bow.
"What majesty? He looked like a beggar with that ridiculous blanket," Kael replied with a snort.
"You should not talk behind people's back, Kael," Eros advised him like a wise elder.
"I am standing right in front of you. How is it considered talking behind your back?" he asked with a frown.
"Your back faces me," Eros replied nonchalantly.
"You!" Kael gritted his teeth in anger and turned to point his finger at the man, but soon regretted it when he saw the man standing next to the bed in his naked glory. His face turned completely red with anger and shame.
"You are shameless!" he shouted and ran out of the room before slamming the door shut.
Eros' laughter echoed through the room as he walked over to the wooden cabinet and grabbed a towel, which he wrapped around his waist. Silas, as the dutiful advisor, once ensured that his majesty was covered, called the maids to prepare the bath.
Eros ran his hands through his golden locks and titled his head to examine his face clearly in the mirror on the wall. He saw one of the maids who was arranging the bed took the flowery blanket for washing. His eyes narrowed, and he immediately ordered the servant to stop.
"Leave the blanket, take the rest," he said.
The maid replied with her lowered head. Once the maids went out, Eros made his way to the bed and folded the blanket neatly and placed it on the pillow. Seeing his majesty's action, Silas wondered why he would protect a mere blanket like a treasure. Even so, he reminded himself to warn the maids from touching it, unless they want to face the wrath of his majesty.
In the grand dining hall of the castle, the guests gathered around the tables for breakfast. Eros was seated beside Evander Dawnwing, the current king of Everdale, and to his left was Crown Prince Orion. As the maids served the first course of breakfast, the feast officially began.
"Orion, have you found an interesting book lately?" asked the woman sitting next to the Queen of Everdale, who was none other than Evangeline Mistbourne, the princess of Aerie Isle, the one who was betrothed to Orion.
After hearing the question, Orion stopped eating and looked at the woman, who was smiling at him with innocent eyes, waiting for his answer. He frowned and answered with a simple no and went back to eating. The woman's smile faded at his answer and she looked at the queen sitting next to her.
The Queen gave her a reassuring smile and asked Orion, "Orion, Eva just heard that you spent quite a lot of time in the castle's library and was curious to know which book caught your interest," she said in a light tone.