I was used to get hit by Father, so I could learn to stay silent and follow our ways. I still bore those marks on my back every day, but I didn't mind, as long as I could hide them.
As I was talking to the man, Taeyong was all that time watching from afar, to interfere in case of problems. But as he heard me accept the beatings, he just ran and protected me. He was stronger than I thought.
He faced the man and coldly talked to him.
“Unless you want to deal with me, I suggest you keep your hands off canes, and feed the child. If I know that you treated him wrongly, I give my oath that I will follow you to the end of our lands to punish you. Understood?”
He didn't answer. He just gave the apple to the child and walked away. While everyone were scattering, I lifted the child and ran to Taweret.
When she saw him all bloody and battered, she didn't waste a second.
“Take him to the bed. And clean your hands, today you'll be helping me.”
I wanted to protest, since I knew nothing about treating patients, but it wasn't the time to argue with her.
I stood next to her, cleaning small wounds and applying viscous concotions, while she stitched the severe ones.
The child didn't move all that time. He just held his breath while we did our work.
“- This should be enough for now. Excellent job, Iahe.
- You did the hard work, I just cleaned the scratches.
- Not cleaning them might have caused him a deadly infection. And what you did today was honorable. You are a true queen.”
A true queen?
…
I walked outside with a bag of empty dirty vials. Those were too used now and needed to be thrown.
The sun was already setting, and it felt so good to watch it again.
“I was wrong.”
I almost dropped the vials when Taeyong spoke behind me. Trying to recover quickly, I stood taller and raised my chin.
“About what? Remind me.”
As he was ready to answer me, a cat jumped out of nowhere. I squealed (yes, her Highness just squealed), and jumped in Taeyong's hands, dropping the now broken vials. When the ‘scary creature’ got farther, Taeyong put me back on my feet.
As my feet barely touched the sand, I knelt, picking up the broken vials.
“- Iahe, get a broom, you'll hurt yourself like this.
- It's fine, I'm almost done.
- Iah-
- Ouch!”
A piece of glass cut my finger, immediately letting blood flow. I stood up so I could go to Taweret, but Taeyong immediately took my finger and put it in his mouth.
“Taeyong!”
He didn't answer. His mouth was busy speeding the blood flow, letting any possible germs away of the cut. My body shivered every time his tongue the cut. Usually, men should have permission even to look at the princess, not to mention talk or touch. Taeyong just threw the rules away and broke them. I stood there, speechless, shocked, until he finally removed my finger from his mouth.
“Here, this should do.”
I stood there, staring at him.
“Go now, let Mother treat you.”
I didn't move. So he just sighed and pushed the confused me towards the door. Taweret saw the cut and sighed, but she silently cleaned it and wrapped my finger. I still thought of Taeyong. The problem wasn't that I loathed what he did. The problem was that I actually kind of liked it.
Wait. WHAT?!
I LIKED IT?!
That's impossible! I'm still a pure maiden, and never in my life I was lustful towards a man. Either I spent too much time in the sun, or some of Shezmu’s lust rubbed on me.
“Iahe?”
Taeyong’s voice snapped me out of my daydream.
“- Sorry for startling you. I just came to apologize for what I’ve done this morning.
- It's okay, but you were right. Pitying myself won't bring back my parents, or the throne, nothing will. I need to stand up and fight back. Thank you for protecting me.
- I'm here for you, Iahe. Whether it's an army… or a cat.”
He then looked at me and started laughing. I glared at him, but he kept laughing harder.
“- Who would believe that the one who wasn't afraid of facing a strong man was terrified by a simple cat?! Oh, Iahe, you're quite a funny riddle.
- That's it! You’ll call me Your Highness from now on. And you better bow!”
As he doubled in laugher, he came closer and hugged me. His beautiful voice was melody to my ears, not to mention that I could feel the contagious happiness in it. And his smell! Unlike Stellara’s jasmine smelled lotions, he smelled like a mixture of authentic incense and lavender, the latter an aroma I secretly kept in a small vial back in Stellara, since it was believed to be “greedy” next to our modest culture. His arms were strong and warm around me, pulling me closer, but not intimately. He felt like moonlight and stars and cool wind in lavender fields, and like a silent praying night in the temple. This time I didn't wonder why my heart was beating so fast. Many men hugged me before, but it was my first time having this burst of life inside me. And now that I think of it, there wasn't anything wrong with Taeyong. Though he was mostly cold and serious, his little specks of humanity were like precious pearls outshining the coldness. His unique traits, white hair, blue shining eyes and proud high nose, were what made him fatally charming.
And that was when I realised that I, Iahe, Princess of the Night, fell in love with a moonlight kissed Warrior of the Sun named Taeyong.