NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11: In the garden
'Actions speak louder than words, huh…?' Kai repeated her words in his mind as they walked through the vast garden. The only sounds were the soft rustle of the leaves mixed with the occasional hum of distant insects and their footsteps.
The loudest sound by far though, was the sharp, rhythmic click of Morgan's heels against the stone pathway.
Kai was lost in thought, her words repeating in his mind over and over. Various ideas appeared and disappeared just as quickly, his sharp mind practically running in circles. He was deeply engrossed, trying to find the best way to satisfy her.
'She's a Saint, goddamn it. What could possibly impress a Saint…' He suppressed a frustrated groan.
Shaking those thoughts away for now, he forced himself to focus on Morgan instead. He was finally here with her after one painful week, everything else could wait the same way he did.
Gathering his courage, he stepped forward, falling into stride beside her, seeing her not as the Princess of Valor, but simply as Morgan. Just the way she wanted him to.
"Can you imagine how uncomfortable these heels are?" Morgan groaned suddenly, her frustration spilling out without any care. Kai couldn't help but smile, feeling a little more at ease as it reminded him of the last time they had dined together, when she'd acted the same.
Until he ruined it by being dense of course.
Kai chuckled softly, his mind gradually growing more used to being around the princess. "Not really," he said, glancing at her with an awkward, almost apologetic smile.
Morgan stopped abruptly, leaning down to unfasten her high heels. With a satisfied sigh, she slipped them off, standing up straight once more and immediately losing a few inches.
Kai didn't quite know how to react, everything was already overwhelming enough, and now her carefree behaviour was only making it worse somehow.
Without sparing Kai a glance, Morgan casually extended her hand toward him, the high heels dangling from her index and middle fingers.
He stared at the shoes for a moment, his face clearly confused. "You want me to wear them…?"
Morgan didn't respond immediately. Her confusion matched his, leaving a brief, silly silence between them.
"Are you stupid?" she asked, her gaze shifting to him, her tone sharp but still playful. Without warning, she tossed the shoes toward him. "I want you to carry them for me, genius."
'Are you stupid, Kai?! What was that?!' His face and neck flushed a deep pink as he quickly caught the heels.
Morgan chuckled amusedly before stepping off the stone pathway and onto the soft, dew-kissed grass. She lifted the hem of her red dress just enough to keep it from brushing the damp ground, careful not to let it get stained or wet.
"I really hope you aren't this slow in the midst of battle," Morgan chuckled, her voice laced with that familiar mockery that she didn't even try to hide.
Watching her stroll away across the soft grass, Kai hesitated for a moment before leaning down to remove his own shoes as well. With both pairs now in hand, he quickly followed after her, the cool earth beneath his feet feeling surprisingly pleasant
"As an archer, I always have to be focused in battle," he corrected, catching up to her awkwardly as the damp grass brushed against the soles of his feet.
"Bah, archery," she scoffed, rolling her eyes -at this point Kai didn't need to see it to know. "I prefer a sword, but I've mastered most weapons," Morgan added smugly, obviously proud of herself.
Kai clapped his hands together in a sarcastic applause, the shoes swaying slightly in his grip. "Good job. I also know how to wield a sword-" he mumbled, carefully hopping over a delicate flower, "-but not as well as you, obviously."
"Are you seriously trying to win me over by talking smoothly?" Morgan chuckled, amusement lacing her voice as she came to a stop before a large tree.
Nearly stumbling face-first into the grass, Kai instinctively activated his Aspect, quickly regaining his balance. "W-Win you over?" he stuttered as he fought off the blush creeping back onto his face.
Morgan leaned against the tree behind her, her dress still slightly lifted around her ankles.
"Nothing, nothing," She waved her hand dismissively, then glanced up at Kai who stood a few feet away. "Either way, I've had more men shower me with compliments than I can count. You'll have to do more than that, dragon." Her voice was smug again.
Before she could continue, Kai raised a finger confusedly. "Didn't you recently get rejected by a Saint from the House of Night though? I heard he declined your father's offer to wed the two of you."
Her face immediately flushed a light shade of red at his words, her eyes widening before narrowing again in frustration. "It's his loss anyway. If that no-name hadn't rejected the offer, the House of Night would be in an alliance with us," Morgan muttered.
She might not have shown it, but it did annoy her in a way, that he'd refused to marry her so easily. It didn't irritate her because of love or anything like that, but because she just couldn't understand why he wouldn't want her.
The only reason she could come up with was her Flaw, completely ignoring the fact that she had a crazy family and she herself was kind of hard to handle.
'Who would want to be Anvil's son-in-law anyway?' Kai thought, but wisely kept it to himself. He had no intention of disrespecting the King of Swords in his daughter's presence.
He also had no intentions of hurting Morgan in any way with his words.
"And if he hadn't rejected me, you wouldn't be standing here before me," Morgan scoffed, her tone mocking again, the flush already gone from her cheeks. "So be thankful."
Kai chuckled, covering his lips with a fist. "Maybe I should write that Saint a letter, thanking him for his rejection."
She rolled her eyes again, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips at his sarcasm. "Stop being a smartass and follow me," Morgan said, pushing herself off the tree's bark.
With a quick step, Morgan strode deeper into the garden.
To their left, Kai caught sight of a long row of vibrant flowers, their petals nearly glowing under the moonlight. He could only recall a few of them off the top of his head.
But there was one thing they all had in common: their colours. Every flower, no matter how unique, was a certain shade of red -some pale and delicate, others deep and intense.
Looking away from the flowers and back at Morgan, Kai couldn't help but remind her, "As much as I'm enjoying this walk, Morgan, I think it's time you show up for the guests again. Don't you think? The main event should be starting soon."
Addressing her by just her name still felt a little strange, but Kai was starting to get used to it.
"I'm the host of this Gala," Morgan said casually, "I can decide when it's time to face the guests. But thanks for the concern, I guess?" She shrugged off his words nonchalantly before adding with a teasing smile, "Or could it be that our famous Dragonslayer got bored of me?"
Her words caught Kai off guard, halting him for a brief moment as he felt the cool dampness of the grass against the sole of his feet.
"N-No, that's not what I meant, I'm not tired of you in any way," Kai sighed nervously, taking a second before continuing.
"And you're not really the host, your cla-" He tried to correct her, maybe to change her opinion, but she silenced him with a intense glare. The air between them tensed up with sharp pressure. Small, sharp cracks echoed from the nearby tree bark as cuts appeared on its surface.
"Why is it that I always have to repeat myself with you?" she raised an eyebrow, her eyelid twitching slightly. "Stop being a smartass."
cough
Clearing his throat, Kai quickly shifted the topic, his gaze nervously darting to the cuts on the tree next to him. "Anyway, where exactly are you leading us, if I may ask?" He asked, watching the princess turn around and press deeper into the garden.
Morgan didn't answer right away, her bare feet softly tapping against the grass with each step. Surrounded by trees and flowers, Kai couldn't help but glance back at the Estate which towered behind them.
"There is a lake that we made in the image of Mirror Lake," she said, pulling his gaze back onto her.
Her tone much calmer now. Even though for others it might've still sounded harsh. The earlier frustration had vanished as quickly as it had come, replaced by something else.
Kai felt like it was excitement in her voice...?
'It's not like she's some monster who doesn't feel emotions, Kai,' he mentally face-palmed at his ignorance.
Shaking off his thoughts, he quickened his pace and nearly jogged to catch up.
Noticing his shift in pace, the princess smirked and picked up the speed herself.
And soon, without either of them realizing it, they were racing toward the lake with stupid smiles on their faces.
The spark that had been quietly smouldering inside him suddenly flared up, burning hotter and more intense than before.