The King's Beloved

Make way! Make way!

The dragon roars for our savior has come!

With dress as pure as white,

and eyes burning yet calm.

Favoured by the Supreme, she stands

A maiden that is not one of us will save us…

"Hmm … dress as pure as white?" Selena asked herself as she sat on the chair at the balcony of Clavis' bedroom. Her arms were lazily leaning on the table and one of them supported her chin. She gazed up at the stars - it was night time. The chilly air blew by but it did nothing to make her lose her focus.

"The only person I know that is dressed in white is Rania. The prophecy fits her - dressed as white, a maiden that is not one of us, with 'us' being the Magi, since she's human. And if what I heard back in the chamber was not a hallucination, then that means she's alive! And she will save us … but … save us from what?"

"Hahh," a deep sigh came out from Clavis. He teleported back to his bedroom after a long talk with his sister. A hint of sadness could be seen from his eyes.

Selena noticed that Clavis came back so she stood up from her seat and went back to the bedroom.

"What's the long sigh for?"

Clavis was startled from her suddenly popping up. "Oh, right … I'm not alone in my room anymore". He averted his eyes from her and went straight towards the bed. He touched his chest and suddenly, his shirt and blazer turned into a sleeping robe.

"Hey! Are you ignoring me?" Selena pouted and stomped her feet as she walked towards him.

Clavis was now laying in bed, with the blanket covering his body.

"I'm tired. I do not have the energy to argue with you".

"But you're taking the bed! Where will I sleep now?"

"You made me sleep on the sofa this past few days. Let's take turns. I'll sleep here today, then you tomorrow".

"What?! B-but I can't sleep on a sofa," Selena continued to nag him. "Chivalry is truly dead!"

"Ugh, I told you, I'm not in the mood. So just shut up," Clavis tone got lonelier and lonelier by the minute. He was barely uttering his words properly.

Selena noticed the sudden change of his demeanor. She relaxed her shoulders and hopped on the bed and sat beside Clavis. Then, she touched his forehead with one hand, and her own, with the other.

"Hmm … You don't seem sick," Selena assessed. "But you don't look fine either. Are you okay?"

Clavis smirked at her remarks. "Seriously? You're worried about me now?"

"Aah!" Selena blushed. "N-not really! Haha! Why would I be worried about you? H-haha!" She tried to laugh it off but her laugh was too dry. "You just seemed - sad, that's all! And I was curious. Tsss, not because I'm worried about you. Why would I be?"

Clavis was amused with her reaction. Unconsciously, he reached out his hand and touched her smooth and silky hair. But the sadness in his eyes remained.

Selena's face turned red as a tomato. "W-w-what do you think you're doing with my hair?"

"Ah," Clavis snapped out of his unconsciousness. Then he sighed heavily again, "I don't know. I'm just tired. If you don't want to sleep on the sofa, then you can just sleep beside me. We're basically like husband and wife now, anyways, so it's fine. And it's not like I'm going to do anything to you".

"W-what?!" Selena got frustrated. "So you mean I'm so ugly that you won't dare touch me?" Her face fumed and pouted at the same time. "Fine! That works for me, too! You and your race's unrealistic beauty standards! You might as well just kick me out or turn me into a servant!"

Clavis, now irritated, and with a face that spelled 'annoyed', got up from his lying position and leaned on the bed's headboard. His face now fixed towards Selena.

"Heh," he snickered mischievously. "So … you want me to touch you instead?"

Selena's face paled as she felt the animosity from Clavis' words. Like a rabbit sensing danger, she turned around and slowly crawled out of bed.

"Running away now? I told you I'm not in the mood, but you keep on pestering me. Now, be punished," Clavis said as he grabbed Selena and pulled her towards him.

"Kyaaa!" Selena blurted out. Clavis was now holding her on his arms in an embrace - with her back towards his chest, and his arms wrapped around her waist. "I-I I'm sorry! I was just joking! P-please let me go!"

"Weird …," Clavis thought to himself as he continued to wrap Selena in his arms. "Why … why do I suddenly feel so calm?" he asked himself again as he tightened his embrace. "This feels nice … somehow, I don't feel sad anymore. Truly weird … Is this the work of the hormones? Of oxytocin and endorphins? Books are right indeed, cuddling someone helps relieve stress".

Selena turned her head towards Clavis - she had to look up a bit since he was taller than her by 3 inches. "Hey! Are you not gonna let go of me? You pervert!"

"Selena," Clavis whispered to her ears. His voice was gentle, yet deep and husky.

Selena turned red again, and her body shivered as she felt his breath on her ear and neck. "W-w-what is it?" Her voice started to whimper.

"Just this once … can you ..."

"Can I - what?!"

"Sleep with me …"

Selena's eyes widened in shock and she couldn't respond to his question.

Clavis smirked again. "I'll take your silence as a 'yes' then".

Then, Clavis laid Selena on the bed and tucked her inside the blanket.

Selena's body stiffened as his face got nearer to her. She tried to draw back but she was lying down. There was no escape, too since Clavis pinned her down. Both of Clavis' hands pinned Selena's wrists to the bed.

Closer and closer, he drew nearer to her until they're faces were only a few centimeters apart. Selena held her breath.

And then … Clavis let go of her wrists and grabbed her again to embrace her.

"Waaah!" Selena was finally able to breathe. "I thought you're really gonna -" She stopped when she noticed Clavis was already sound asleep. She heard his soft breathing.

She wanted to push him away from her …

But somehow, somewhere in her heart ...

She didn't want to …

"Fine, I'll forgive you this once since you looked so lonely," Selena whispered to him and patted his head gently. Afterwards, her face turned to worry. "I wonder what happened?" she thought to herself.

And so the night continued on, and Selena and Clavis slept together in the warm embrace of each other.