Hers to tame

7: Revelation 1

"Excuse me?" Gwax squinted his eyes at her in confusion.

She cared less, wrapping her arms around his neck where he stood. He wondered if the women in the palace were always this desperate.

"You just yelled at me for hurting someone you were, or are clearly in a relationship with today and now you want to use me as a distraction?" He asked her.

She moved away from him, "how do you do that?" She wondered.

"Do what?" He stared at her blankly.

"Your face. Your expressions are dead as you speak. It is almost like you don't care, just spitting your words out like it doesn't matter what anyone's feelings are." Gae folded her hands over her chest.

Gwax only shrugged one shoulder in response. "Princess, listen. I know we are supposed to respect authority and all of that but I don't want you taking advantage of your position with me." He warned 

"Or else what?" A smirk played on her lips. When his response was nothing. She began to circle around him, her hand still over her chest. "Listen, we still haven't said that much about each other but i'm not pushing things. This is good for now." She told him.

"Okay?"

"Now, let's actually talk about the agreement we have. You are to pretend to be my groom until I am crowned queen. That should only take a few days so worry less. The kingdom can't go far without someone on the throne of all of fourteen brothers, and fifteen sisters, I know how best to handle them so trust me." She said.

Gwax lifted his eyebrows at the sudden appearance of a seal mid air in front of her. A quill was self writing as she spoke on. The tip of the seal and quill glowed a bright amber so he knew it was still influenced by her magic.

"You will show me love, emotion and treat me like your queen in front of everyone until the contract is over. In return, you get food, clothing and trust in the palace. No one will harm you, the kingdom will recognize you as the princess' husband and you can polish as many shoes if that is something that interests you." She stopped talking, looking up at the sky as if it would provide the answers she wanted. "Any questions? Any additions?"

"We are signing a contract marriage?" Gwax wondered when the paper floated to his face so he could sign on it.

"That was the purpose of bringing you to the palace in the first place." She reminded him, "and in case you change your mind," she scoffed, an evil smile glaring at him. "You will not only be sent back to your kingdom, you will be punished for trespassing, using the princess as bait for the throne and possibly charged for poisoning the king to attain that goal." She grinned at him.

"But you're using me as bait." He didn't seem phased, and that bothered Gae.

"That's not your place to say. Will you sign the contract or not?" She nodded at the seal that was still floating in front of him.

He had two options, to disagree and begin an instant slaughter or slowly poison his way to the throne and favour the dragon clan. Why choose violence early when he could wait?

"What's your full name?" She required to know.

"Just call me Alex." He mumbled, taking the quill and signing the contract, running his eyes through it one more time to catch whatever he could have missed.

She took her turn and signed her name, Gae Ferri.

"With the moon as our witness, we have sealed our marriage on the fourth day of the fourth month." She said the words as if she didn't believe what she had just done. "I'm still upset with you for hurting Fellon and we have to list these boundaries we must have but in-"

"How about we start from not sleeping on the same bed?" Gwax asked her. He didn't want to find himself getting attached to this woman in the short run. "Or trying to use me as a distraction." He glowered at her.

Even though she assumed command, the evil look in her eyes still scared her. "But in public," she continued like she wasn't just interrupted. 

"What are you going to tell the people about me? Where are you going to tell them I'm from? Where did you find me? How long have you known me?" It was his turn to circle around her. "These are common questions people will ask. Perfect princess." He held mockery to his voice.

"I could find other men to play this part for me, you know?" She frowned, moving around in the opposite direction while maintaining eye contact. 

"Sad life." He scoffed, "you have to find a man to play that part. If you are so perfect, why aren't you in an actual relationship?" He mocked. His mocking smile was wiped up his face and replaced with surprise because she slapped it off with anger boiling through her veins.

He held his cheeks in astonishment.

"What makes you think I have interest in men?" She snapped, "I hate the whole lot of you!"

"Yes, except the one that treats you like garbage." He chuckled.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to bring back the shy Alex I had met, what has gotten into you all of a sudden?" She lifted her eyebrows in worry.

Gwax took the seal from her and tried to rip it in half, failing to do so. "We are bound together until this contract expires." He reminded her. "No need to get upset princess." He shrugged, returning the sealed contract to her. "I'll help you in your journey." He extended his hand to her.

Gae looked at it, then back at his face. She had mixed feelings. It felt like so much was happening in such a short time.

She took his hand after a thought.

He tightened his hold and made his way out of the garden. "We will be on our way to a market tomorrow. I need prince outfits if we are going to show anyone that I'm a worthy groom." 

Gae still had no idea what just happened. She only followed behind him as he led her out. What did she just get herself into?

*

Gae and Gwax walked through the market, earning bows as they walked through. There were three guards in front of them and four behind, keeping the citizens at least six feet away.

Gwax thought this was a lifestyle he could get used to. "First, we will go clothes shopping, and then crown shopping." Gae sighed, brushing off invisible dust from her pink gown and adjusting her crown as if it were out of place. "This is good though. I catch sight of murmuring people, so that's wonderful. They think we are a couple." She chuckled.

"But we are." He shrugged. 

"Here we are." She ignored his words with a roll of her eyes and stopped in front of one of the fanciest shops in their kingdom. People from kingdoms far and near usually came by to patronise them, the royal family rarely since they had their own personal tailors but Gae had no time for that formality. 

The guards kept everyone out of the shop and stayed outside to guard the entrance. 

Inside, the floors were made of marble and the walls were carved from the strongest woods.

It was a high building with fabrics lining every wall. The walls were almost more fabric than wood.

"Your highness." The shop owner gave a small bow. 

"Where are your finest outfits? My husband wants new clothes." She owed the woman no explanation but a part of her felt obliged to give an excuse. Gwax held her shoulder to stop her. She looked up at him and caught his negative head shaking.

"Please follow me, your highness." The store owner said, directing them to a new aisle. 

"This one looks like it would suit you, you know I have a blue ball gown that's exactly this shade…" Gae was saying as she admired the tunic she accessed. 

Gwax had other things to admire though. Today, the princess was wearing a sleeveless gown that framed her breasts so tightly. On top of that, her corset was not only showing off her tiny waist, it accented her buttocks. It was like they just developed a swelling he hadn't seen before. 

"...Really think… Alex? Are you even listening?"

He closed his eyes and apologized,"I was. It's just this seems very boring." He admitted, playing with a garment on the rack. "This is a servant's work. You're such a boring princess."

Gae seemed like she was genuinely hurt. She held her hand to her chest with a gasp. "What?! No I'm not." She carelessly placed the outfits she had selected for him back on the rack.

"What with the boring shopping anyway?" He teased her, going after her as she found the shop owner.

"Excuse me, can you take his measurements and find us a hundred royal like outfits that would suit him right?" Gae asked the shop owner. Not waiting for a response, she added, "Give them to the guards when you're done, they will pay you." She said, turning to leave.

"Where are we going?" Gwax raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?" He emphasised on the you word.

"Taylor, I'll be back before dinner time, tell mother I said so." She referred to one of the guards.

"But your highness, we aren't allowed to leave you by yourself, order from the palace." Taylor had his head bowed when he spoke. Whoever poisoned the king could be out there, running freely." He lifted his head to look at Gwax, "we need to be with you everywhere you go, your highness. You already refused to go out with the carriage, I can't grant you this wish as well." He said.

The guards were all in their uniform armoured outfit and each one had a sword by his side.

"These things are too small, but that doesn't matter." Gae frowned at him. "You should be out there looking for who the culprit is then if you really care for my safety." She held Gwax's hand in hers. "My husband and I have a meeting to attend to."

Not waiting for the royal guards' consent, she turned to leave with Gwax, "take the clothes home." She added and hastened her steps.

Gwax kept holding his hand in scrutiny. Whatever he felt from her touch, he didn't want it to end. If it was a place, he would want to be there forever.

Gae didn't respond when Gwax questioned their destination the whole time. She kept walking until they were away from civilization and surrounded by tall trees and bushes.

A small rattle from a bush in front of them caused her to withdraw her hand from his and stop walking.

It felt like a part of his soul had been ripped apart but his focus was on the subject at hand. Gae took him by surprise when she brought out her medium sized arrow and a pack of bows from under her gown where it had been strapped to her underwear.

"Don't move." She whispered to him, her focus on the moving bush.

Gwax held back his laughter. Of all creatures, he was the least to be warned against this locomotion. Every creature of the forest feared his dragon and wouldn't be near him but of course, she didn't know that. 

He pushed a lock of his wavy hair out of his face,,stiffed his hands into his pockets and watched her with a smirk as she made her target for the bush.

"You're doing it wrong." Gwax commented when she was ready to shoot.

"Keep your voice down!"She whispered in anger, knitting her eyebrows into a disapproving frown.

Gwax stood still, letting only his hands be her guide. With a sugh, he moved to stand behind her and took control of both hands. "Lower your arrow," he began to say, taking control of her limbs as he ordered.

He pulled her hand that was in charge of the arrow and added in a whisper, "shoot."

A loud whimper followed her arrow leaving the bow.

She moved towards her victim and it turned out to be a little monkey. Gae felt terrible at that moment. "I thought it was a predator." She frowned.

"I knew what it was, which is why I lowered your arrow. It was only frightened  trust me." Gwax shook his head, "come on, what are we here for?"

"You knew?" Gae asked instead. When he didn't respond, she sighed and admitted, "it's the best lake in the kingdom. It has all the greatest views of birds and multi coloured flowers and mountains around. It's paradise." She described.

When they got there, it was even better than she had said to him.

"You must be so hard to impress." She scoffed when he made no comments.

"What are you doing?" Gwax raised one brow when she stepped out of her clothes staying in nothing but her lace underwear.

"The best part of the lake, the mystery that comes with it, is that it is always warm. It's a big bath tub if I'm being honest." She said, holding his hand and pulling him towards the lake with her.

"I'm not getting in." He shook his head, "there's no way I'm getting myself wet over nothing." He frowned but her touch was too distracting for him. 

"Come on, don't be such a bore." She rolled her eyes, "you said I was one for keeping you at a shop, don't play the cards against me." She giggled. It was the first time he heard such a beautiful sound come from her.

When she was focused on convincing him to get in, he took her by surprise and pushed her into the lake.

With a deafening scream that echoed, Gae lifted her head, submerging herself chest down. "Are you mad?!" She gasped, voiding her face of water with her hands. Her long hair slicked against her body all the way to her buttocks. 

A small smile appeared on his lips. She hurried out of the lake and tried to force him in with her.

Gwax resisted and began to undo the buttons of his shirt. He let it go over his head, before flinging it away. He didn't take his eyes off her the entire time. The water had caused her undergarment to hig her features. She possessed a curve that appealed to his soul and her wet hair portrayed the presence of a goddess.

Pulling her close to him with a hold of her waist, he submerged them into the lake.

Gae swam away while

 keeping her gaze on him.

"What are you thinking about?" He wondered.

"Do you think I'm boring still?" She flashed a mischievous smile, swimming back to his side.

"I don't know, you pretty much haven't done anything to please me. This is credit to nature, nothing of your handiwork." He pushed wayward strands of hair out of his face with both hands, unintentionally flexing and showing his muscular body off.

"What can I do to show you I'm not boring then?" She asked, swimming even closer, breaching the distance between them.

In a low voice, Gwax groaned,  "why don't you show me instead?"

"You want me to?" Gae found her voice fading as she stared deeper into this man's eyes. She couldn't tell if the shiver that was sent down her spine was from the water they were in or his thick voice and the rhythm it possessed.

Not waiting for him to respond. She put her hands around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest, connecting their lips into a small kiss. 

He closed his eyes and let his hands find their way to her buttocks under water. He squeezed so tight, disregarding the pressure from the water and they kept up with the kiss.

He wandered through her thighs with one hand and found his way between them, still maintaining the touch on his lips. 

When his fingertip brushed against her cleft through her garment, she craned her neck backwards, away from his face to grant him her approving moan.

Gwax took advantage of her position and sucked his way from her neck to her stiffened n*****s. 

Panting low, Gae asked him, "do you still think I'm boring?"

"Let's find out." He chuckled. 

She hugged his neck as he took her n****e between his teeth, the slight sting of pain sending signals down her back and every other part of her body. He took over with suckage, greedily refusing to let go of her buttocks. They were soft and the water made it ten times better.

Gae buried her fingers in his wet hair and closed her eyes, moaning against his touch. What was this ? A man making her feel something? 

Gwax lifted his face back to resume kissing her, even though she whimpered in disagreement. He was hard but he had to remember, f*****g a princess was not on his to do list. At least for now.

*

Their make out session lasted at least an hour before they dried themselves up. 

"That was the longest kiss of my life." Gae said, slipping into her gown while a fully dressed Gwax watched her from a short distance, his hands in his pocket, an habit she thought he possessed.

"Does it feel wrong to you?" He wondered aloud.

She stopped struggling with her corset for a short second but resumed again with a nod, "we are married so maybe it isn't." She teased him. "I don't regret it at all." She admitted, "it's nothing. Put no meaning to it, just a desperate princess getting what she wants.

"All done." She announced, extending her hand so he could take it. "The wind will dry our hair before we get to the palace."

Gwax didn't complain. Instead he took her hand and they made their way back through the grassy pathway and tree shadows.

Neither of them said a word through the journey. Each one thinking about the encounter. 

Gwax had a bad feeling about all of it.

By the time they could finally see people, Gae excused herself to get a change of shoes. He had a feeling she was lying but he waited by the stall she had requested he did. Judging by the area, they were surrounded by ill reeking potions. 

Gwax was watching two children chase after their rabbit pet while leaning against a tree trunk when the strangest thing happened. They were no longer moving. The children were still.

He frowned at that and wondered what was going on until he realized in fact, everybody else around was frozen in place.

That was when it dawned on him, the messenger crow was here. 

He looked around, hoping he would catch sight of her.

A crow landed by his feet a second later and transformed into the woman with the nasal voice that had announced Falkor's presence.

"Alba." Gwax called when she shifted into her human state.

Alba was about to speak when she was cut off by a feminine voice from behind her.

"Alex? What's going on?" Gae frowned, a scared expression on her face where she remained glued to the ground.

Why was she not frozen in place like the rest of the people? Gwax panicked internally. That was the least of his worries because he realized just then that she had seen Alba shift from a crow to a human and that could only mean one thing…