章 28: King Ronan Needs Rest
Ronan let go of their embrace when there was a knock on his door. Hearing William's voice asking for permission to enter, Arielle took a few steps back to keep her distance so William wouldn't think there was anything inappropriate between the king and her.
Ronan who was still feeling a little dizzy had no intention of moving from his place. William entered the king's study while watching the two people in front of him. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why Princess Arielle's face turned red?
Ah, he cleared his throat when he realized what had just happened. Maybe he was interrupting something he shouldn't know.
"Ahem, sorry for interrupting your time, Your Majesty. I brought a report about the damage to the underground cathedral last night."
"Put it there," Ronan ordered quietly.
Arielle was still worried because Ronan didn't look fine.
"William," Arielle called making Ronan turn his head. "I think… His Majesty is not feeling well. Maybe you can help him rest?"
"I'm fine, princess," said Ronan stubbornly.
"No way… Your Majesty looked in a lot of pain earlier."
William lowered his head asking for permission to approach and Arielle gave way for the man to approach his king.
"Your Majesty, you need to rest. The last two nights must have been exhausting."
"I'm not that weak," Ronan growled and William just nodded with a serious expression.
Ronan shooed William away but the man didn't show the slightest bit of trepidation. Ronan clucked once more and then William backed away.
"Princess Arielle, may I say something?" William asked as he turned to her.
Arielle peeked at Ronan and felt the man was looking at her but she was not sure because the mask worn by Ronan prevented her from seeing the man's face.
"You stay here," Ronan ordered. Arielle glanced at William who looked at her pleadingly.
"Just a moment. I'll be right back," Arielle said then pulled William's hand out of Ronan's study making the man call her name.
"Princess Arielle!" called Ronan but Arielle pretended not to hear himl and closed the door behind her.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Arielle asked William who was still amazed by Arielle's courage to make Ronan wait. He decided to take advantage of this situation to ask Arielle to ask Ronan to take his well-needed rest.
"Your Highness, please help me talk to His Majesty. I beg you to persuade King Ronan to rest. The last two nights were the most tiring nights for him but this morning he didn't even rest at all because he wanted to check the damage to the underground Cathedral section."
"Why me? I even asked you earlier because King Ronan didn't listen to my words."
William thought for a moment. He snapped his fingers when he came up with a brilliant idea. He asked Arielle to come closer then whispered something to her ear.
"Ish… Why not you do it, William?"
"If I did, King Ronan would behead me right then and there."
Arielle looked at William in horror.
"Then what about me?" she asked frantically. "Do you want me to court death too???"
William chuckled. "I promise it won't happen."
Arielle still looked doubtful but William continued to plead with her until the girl agreed to the idea.
Arielle opened Ronan's door and peeked inside. The man was now sitting on his chair. His body leaned against the back of the chair waiting for Arielle to come back. The girl just laughed awkwardly and walked over. Her heart was beating fast because William had asked her to do something.
Arielle didn't say a word. She ventured to touch Ronan's hand and gently tug on it.
"What is it?" asked Ronan. He found Arielle's attitude suddenly become so awkward.
"Your Majesty, please come with me for a moment."
Ronan deliberately held his hand so that Arielle needed more strength to pull him up from his seat. The king still wouldn't stand up.
Arielle bit her lip and tried to pull him again, but Ronan pulled back and suddenly it turned into a tug of war. With the big difference in strength, Ronan easily pulled Arielle's body toward him and the girl almost fell on top of his lap.
Arielle immediately got up and put on a pitiful face. Her expression managed to make the king decide to stop teasing her.
"Tell me what you want," he said.
Arielle shook her head. Ronan understood that she wanted him to follow her. So, he got up from his seat. Arielle sighed in relief to see Ronan finally relented.
The two of them exited the king's study and walked down the hall following the directions William had told her earlier.
Several maids, as well as soldiers on guard, were confused by the arrival of the two people. Lucas who also happened to appear wanting to report something was chased away by Ronan from a distance.
The man could only stay where he was, wondering what was going on. He was too confused by the dynamics that occurred between the King and Princess Arielle. One day they avoided each other and the next day they were walking together, holding hands.
Lucas already had a lot of work to do. So, he decided to stay out of the king's affairs. He wasn't William who liked to meddle in the King's private life. Lucas turned around to do another work.
Ronan looked around and found it strange that Arielle had brought him to his bedroom. He suspected that she wanted to make him rest.
His suspicions were proven, when Arielle asked, "Is this Your Majesty's room?"
Ronan who was too confused just nodded, letting the girl take him in.
"I thought you said you didn't want to be Queen of Northendell?" asked Ronan reminding Arielle of their conversation a few nights ago.
"I did," Arielle replied.
"Then why did you invite me here?" Ronan raised an eyebrow.
Arielle told Ronan to sit on the bed and the man obeyed but when Arielle tried to release her grip, Ronan tightened his clutch on her.
"Since we're already here, I beg Your Majesty to rest for a while. I will return to my room so that Your Majesty can rest in peace."
One of Ronan's eyebrows raised when he heard her request. He pulled Arielle's hand and brought the girl's body closer. One of his hands was free to touch Arielle's hips making the girl panic.
"Um… I think I should head back soon," she mumbled.
"But we're not done talking yet," said Ronan with one side of his lips lifted. He was amused by the nervousness of the girl in front of him. It made Ronan forget his head was throbbing in pain.
"But Your Majesty, you looked like you were in pain just now."
"Hmm? Was I?" asked Ronan pretending to remember.
Arielle nodded quickly. When Ronan let go of her hand, Arielle dared to touch Ronan's shoulders to make some distance but Ronan quickly wrapped his arms around her to remove all the empty space between their bodies.
"Are you worrying about me?" asked Ronan in a teasing tone.
Arielle was really frantic right now. Her heart was pounding. Ronan's face was only inches away from her chest. Arielle was afraid that the man would hear her heart racing.
"O-of course I'm worried about you…. Your Majesty is a king and the health of a king must come first."
"And you brought me here to ask me to rest?"
Arielle nodded once again. "Your Majesty looked in pain. William said you haven't taken any rest since the events of these two nights. I'm really worried that Your Majesty will fall ill if you keep forcing yourself to continue working."
Ronan smiled. "Is that what you think? Are you worried about my health?"
"Hm-hm… Yes. that's why I want Your Majesty to rest for now."
Ronan raised his hand to touch the blushing cheek of the girl in front of him.
"Sorry for making you worried. I'm fine…"
"But you look in so much pain…"
The man chuckled and grabbed Arielle's body once more. Ronan smiled widely at hearing the girl's racing heartbeat. At least he wasn't the only one whose heart pounded so hard every time they were around each other.
"How can I feel pain when a princess is worried about me?" Ronan teased her again.
The two of them stayed in the same position for a while. Until the bedroom door was knocked again but this time Ronan did not give Arielle a chance to leave his arms like what happened in his study earlier.
Arielle panicked when Ronan asked the person knocking on her door to come in. William, who came with a headache reliever potion, dropped the tray he was carrying when he saw the two people in front of him hugging each other.
"Can you do it more gently?" Ronan protested, annoyed at the sound of the tray dropping.
Luckily William's reflexes were quick enough to save the pot of potions along with the glass. His head was raised to see Princess Arielle covering her face with both hands while the King was still hugging the Princess tightly.
"Put it over there," said Ronan, pointing at the table. After placing the potion for the King on the table, William was allowed to resign. Before he closed the door, he stole one last glance. William bit his lip to suppress a smile.
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