Bewitching The Alpha King

Chapter 21

"Hi, Nadine" Elise greeted that beautiful woman with a friendly smile during breakfast, "I was wondering if you can take me to the nearest mall here? I have to get something" She asked, hoping Nadine wouldn't feel awkward at her sudden request.

Nadine and Elise only talked to each other a couple of times and it wasn't actually enough to go out shopping together but Elise doesn't have a choice. She really needed to get some toiletries and maybe a few training clothes if she is lucky enough to find them at the mall.

Nadine was actually excited to go out with her, "Oh, sure I can bring you there" Nadine agreed without thinking much about it but then she frowned, "Did you ask the King's permission yet?" Nadine asked Elise worriedly, afraid the king wouldn't approve of their little time away from the castle.

Elise frowned as well, "Was I supposed to do that?" She asked Nadine, unsurely. "I didn't know that I have to ask his permission to go out" She bit her lower lip in hesitation.

She didn't like the idea of asking permission for someone to step out of the castle. Especially him. She didn't want to approach him for mere things like this. She rather stays at the castle then. Maybe she can do some online shopping...

"Haven't you gone out yet?" Nadine asked Elise, snapping her away from the train of her thoughts, "It has been two weeks since you came here" She pointed out. Nadine couldn't believe that Elise never went out to the nearest mall in that two weeks. The kids at the academy will always go out during the weekends as a group.

Elise smiled sheepishly at Nadine, "I only went to the mall once with the King" She said, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. Elise remembers that day vividly. That was the day the king had declared his interest in her.

Nadine noticed the pink on Elise's cheeks and smiled to herself, "Okay" She said, "Let me ask him first real quick" Nadine volunteered to make Elise let out a breath of relief.

That means Elise didn't have to be the one who has to meet him to ask permission, "Good, thank you" Elise grinned at Nadine, "You can ask him after your breakfast" Elise added, not wanting to delay Nadine from having her breakfast.

"I already had my breakfast" Nadine informed Elise, standing up from her seat, "This wouldn't take long. I will be back in a second" Nadine said confidently before skipping out of the dining area.

Elise sighed and started to scoop some food onto her plate. On days like this, she misses her family the most. She hated to eat her food alone. The King would usually accompany her but he couldn't do that always and she knows he had other important meetings to attend.

After all, being a King means being busy as well.

She absentmindedly munched her food, wishing she was back in Red Pride to have her mother's famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. Of course, it wasn't as extravagant as here in the castle but it was special to her.

Nadine came back after a few minutes with a frown on her face making Elise's hope to go out diminish just like that, "Well, what did he say?" She asked Nadine, expecting Nadine to shook her head and say that the King didn't let them go out.

And just like she had expected, Nadine shook her head, "He said you can't go out" Nadine sighed.

Elise tried her hardest to not look disappointed but she couldn't control her facial expressions, "Oh" She said, "Nevermind, I guess I could do some shopping online. It's easier anyway" Elise frowned towards the end of her sentence, stabbing a piece of sausage with unnecessary force.

Nadine suddenly squealed in excitement,

"Don't look so downtrodden" Nadine grinned at Elise when Elise looked up at her again with surprised eyes, "He said we can go out but we need to take two royal guards with us and we have to come back before five" Nadine said, showing five fingers at Elise.

Elise was okay with the curfew. She didn't have many things to buy so it wouldn't take long but, "Why the royal guards?" Elise made a face. Can't the two of them have some private time at the mall? What if she wanted to shop for some undergarments? Would the guards follow her to intimate shops as well? "Can't we go out without them?" Elise furrowed her eyebrows together.

Nadine shook her head, "Believe me, I would have negotiated if I could" Nadine said, brushing her free hair behind her shoulder, "It's either that or we couldn't go out at all" Nadine grunted, "It is very hard to change the King's mind once he made a decision" Nadine rolled her eyes at her.

Nadine and Arthur shared a brother-sister bond. Of course, they respect each other but most of the time, they jump at the opportunity to annoy each other. Nadine knows that Arthur had granted them to go out because it was Nadine who is the one is asking. If anyone else, Arthur wouldn't even think before saying no.

"Fine" Elise sighed in defeat, "Two guards it is," She said, finishing up the last bits of food on her plate and wiping her lips with a napkin, "When are we going?" Elise asked, looking up at Nadine again.

"We could leave now if you're ready" Nadine smiled. She didn't have to heal anyone today and it would be best to leave as soon as they can because they had to come back before five.

Elise stood up from the chair slowly, "Okay, I have to grab something from my room" She said, "I'll meet you at the entrance of the castle" Elise added quickly, a grateful smile playing on her lips.

Nadine nodded her head in agreement, "What are you going to get?" Nadine asked curiously. The king made sure Elise had everything in the castle so Nadine doesn't see a reason to go out now.

"Some painting supplies and maybe a few clothes" Elise raised her shoulders a little and shrugged at Nadine. She loved to paint during her free time back in the Red Pride if she is not meditating.

Nadine's eyes widened, "Clothes?" She looked at Elise incredulously, "Isn't it enough?" She asked making Elise furrow her eyebrows together in confusion.

What's wrong with getting some new clothes? Elise cleared her throat softly, "I only packed a few sets of clothes when I departed from the Red Pride" She explained to Nadine, walking towards her, "And I didn't know I will be trained here every day except on Sunday so I only took three sets of training clothes with me" She continued.

Nadine shook her head before Elise could even finish talking, "I wasn't asking about what you brought from the Red Pride- wait, don't tell me you never opened the wardrobes-" Nadine's eyes widened. She quickly scanned what Elise was wearing and realized that it wasn't from the clothes that she had stocked up in Elise's room.

Elise shook her head, seeming embarrassed now, "No I didn't" She shook her head, scratching the back of her neck again in uneasiness, "I actually didn't unpack yet- yes it has been two weeks but I don't-"

"I think you should look into the wardrobes before you buy some new clothes" Nadine interrupted Elise abruptly with a small smile on her face, "I'll be waiting at the entrance of the castle" She nodded her head at Elise before rushing out from the dining area again, leaving Elise confused.

Elise didn't open the wardrobes thinking that they would be empty and she was too busy last week to unpack and arrange all her clothes into the wardrobes properly. So she had procrastinated until now.

Elise was still confused but she decided to look into the wardrobes just like Nadine asked. She left the dining area and made her way up to her room and went straight towards the wardrobes and pulled it open to let a gasp at the sight of what she was seeing.

A mind-blowing amount of designer gowns were hung in there. Elise pulled one of the dresses out curiously and found it to be in her size, "Oh gosh" She gasped, putting the gown back into the wardrobe. She went to the next wardrobe and flung it open as well and just like the previous one, it was filled with clothes too but it was more to everyday apparels.

Elise cupped her mouth with her hand, stepping away from the wardrobes. There was one more to open but she was afraid to do that. She could faint if she found any more clothes inside of that closet as well.

She could see all the colors in her wardrobes. Whoever stocked this up sure wasn't thinking twice before grabbing everything they thought would look nice on her.

Braving herself, she pulled the last wardrobe open and almost let out a screech when she found pieces of jewelry, shoes, and handbags were stacked in it.

What in the world?

Most of the other girls would love to be in her room now but she feels suffocated by the number of goods staring back at her. There is no way everything was meant for her.

She quickly shut all the doors and grabbed her purse before dashing out of the room and went down to meet Nadine at the entrance of the castle just like they had agreed, "Why did he stock up clothes that worths for five years in the closest?" Elise asked Nadine, her eyes were still bewildered.

The King doesn't plan on keeping her here forever, right?

Elise knew that the king had some soft spot for her but this was beyond what she thought of.

Nadine grinned at Elise, "I can't believe you didn't open those wardrobes until now" She shook her head at Elise, "He said he didn't know what kind of clothes you liked to wear so he asked me to get a wide array of clothes" She answered Elise's question with a smirk.

Elise shook her head in disapproval, "That's just a waste of money" She said. There is no way she could accept that from the King. It was just too much. If she received a dress from him then she would have accepted it. This was a whole shop lot in her wardrobe! "Can I ask him to return it back to the place you bought those clothes from?" She looked at Nadine with hopeful eyes, hoping there is a way to return those clothes.

But Nadine shook her head, "Goods sold are not refundable, Elise" She said before linking her arm into her arm, "Let's go" She said, pulling Elise towards a car that was already waiting by the fountain for them.

Elise sighed and let Nadine drag her. Elise would confront the King about this once she got back from the mall.

"Besides the king has a soft spot for you," Nadine said, gaining Elise's attention again, "He likes you more than you know" She winked at Elise, getting in the car.

"How do you know that?!" Elise whisper yelled.

"I think the whole castle knows about that" Nadine grinned, "It's not every day the king would bring a guest and spend time with her as much as he can," Nadine said, glancing at Elise's wide eyes.

"Oh god, this is embarrassing" Elise gasped.

The guards get into the front seat and started the drive. Nadine pushed a button and just like that, the area between the front and the back of the car was separated by a partition, "Well, I thought you would be comfortable like this" Nadine muttered under her breath before looking at Elise again, "The guards won't be able to hear us now" She added with a sly smile.

"Aren't you mad at me?" Elise asked Nadine suddenly.

Nadine blinked, "Why would I ever be mad at you? You didn't do anything bad to me-"

"Aren't you mad that the king is showing some interest in a fox?" Elise interrupted Nadine, "He should be reserving his interest for his mate right? Who I am sure is a werewolf too" Elise rambled, ignoring a pang of jealousy in her heart.

Nadine chuckled softly, "The king had sacrificed so much for his people and I am sure no one would ask him anything if he dated anyone" Nadine smiled, "If anything we would want the king to be happy, it doesn't matter with whoever that might be" She continued.

"But this is unnatural-"

"There are wolves out there mated to humans. Some of them even mated to vampires and other creatures of this supernatural world" Nadine interrupted Elise, "What I am saying is, your mate can be other kind and if you two were fated for each other, then you will fall for him no matter what" Nadine looked at Elise.

"I thought I didn't have a mate" Elise admitted after a few seconds of silence.

"Your mate might be closer than you think, Elise" Nadine smiled at Elise knowingly.

Elise looked up at Nadine in confusion, "What's that supposed to mean?" She looked at Nadine in confusion again, her eyes swirling with a lot of emotions and questions.

Nadine inhaled deeply before speaking again, "It simply means that you should enjoy your life now" She said, putting a hand over Elise's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze, "If you feel anything towards the king then know that it is okay. Go with the flow, nothing is wrong here" She smiled at Elise reassuringly.

Elise watched Nadine for a few seconds and bit her lower lip in hesitation, "So it is okay to feel for him as well?" Elise asked in a small voice.

Nadine shook her head, "If two people are happy by being together then nothing is wrong with that" Nadine smiled at her.

Elise thought about what Nadine has said for a few seconds before finally nodding her head to herself.

Nothing is wrong, she repeated to herself and looked to the front. Her heart somehow felt lighter that she finally spoke about this to someone, "Okay then," Elise sighed. She will go with the flow then.