<h4>Chapter 93 - Warm And Fuzzy</h4>
"What tea is it?" Lina asked.
"A new blend," An said.
"Oh, alright," Lina responded with a feint nod.
For starters, An knew the Princess was naive. The Second Concubine didn''t educate her children on the virtues of a woman.
Lina''s mother had always been too sickly to properly care for her daughters, but was stubborn enough to not get any of the nannies involved. Hence, when it came to rtionships with men, Lina was practically clueless through no fault of her own.
Thus, An knew the Princess grew up without knowing what making love was, nor did she understand that a woman could bleed on her first timet.
An''s heart grew heavy at the thought of his dear Princess being taken advantage of by another man. She was too young and innocent. Her white sleeves were bound to be tainted in dirty sins.
"What did you want to talk to me about, An?" Lina questioned, with a rush towards the end.
Lina was eager to ask An to aid her escape, but needed to hear him out first. How could he help her if she couldn''t even listen to him? Thus, she patiently sat in her seat.
"Drink your tea," An softly said.
An gestured tor the porcin cup filled with piping hot liquid. The cup was rimmed in gold with flower cut outs that revealed the beautiful color of the red tea from a nce.
The cut-outs were filled with ss, to give a stunning illusion. This kind of tea cup was expensive and would cost an average family their entire year''s worth of food.
Yet, Lina raised it to her mouth,pletely oblivious of the value. She''d often skip meals, not understanding that the ingredients of a single meal cost more than what the average family spent in a week.
If a young girl like her didn''t even know prices, how could An trust her to get married to a ruthless Prince from that barbarian country?
"It''s delicious," Lina said with a soft sigh.
The tea made Lina feel warm and fuzzy inside. Her eyelids felt a bit heavy, but she supposed it was the tea''s soothing properties.
Compelled by the sweetness, Lina drank it until the cup was empty. A fire slowly grew in her stomach, her skin humming.
"Princess," An slowly began, pouring more tea for her.
An watched her tiny fingers curl around the cup. When he met her gaze, her eyes were no longer sharp. They were a bit distant. She was in a daze.
"I love you," An professed, sliding his hand over one of hers. "As a woman."
Lina wentpletely still. She was surprised by his words. His words snapped her back to reality.
Unable to say anything, Lina quickly downed another cup of the tea, in hope, it would buy her more time to think.
"An, I-I don''t know what to say," Lina confessed, her gaze trembling.
Lina lowered her eyes to the tea cup, her heart beating erratically against her chest. She felt her skin burn hotly, her breathing growing heavy with anxiety.
"I don''t think I''ve ever thought of you as a man," Lina murmured, her voice cracking.
Lina pitied An. He had grown up with her, without family, without siblings, and he must''ve mistaken his feelings for her as love.
Despite that, An stared at her like she was the only reason he was alive. There was passion in his gaze, love on his face, but his palm on her knuckles was cold.
"I''m sorry," Lina whispered, raising her head to look at him. She was startled.
Lina held back a gasp. An looked like his entire world had shattered into nothing. There was a dark glimmer in his eyes that suddenly sparked… red?
Lina heard of creatures from the night whose eyes were red. They were supernatural monsters of fables. The West called them Vampires.
When she blinked, his eyes were back to normal. His shoulders caved in, making him small and vulnerable. The proud soldier resembled a little boy. Her chest ached at his pain.
"Does your heart belong to the Prince of Ritan then?" An asked.
Lina slowly blinked. "I don''t know…"
"Then, at the least, can your body belong to me?" An uttered.
Lina''s heart froze right then and there. Startled, Lina pulled her hand away from his. What did that mean?
"But my body already belongs to you," Lina naively said. "You''ve trained me into a skillful swordswoman, I-I don''t—"
"Can it belong to me in the way a man and a woman''s body connects as one?" An desperately said, his voice dripping with depression.
Lina didn''t know what he meant.
Lina was confused and the fuzzy feeling in her brain only baffled her more. How could a man and woman''s body join together as one? Did kissing count?
Lina pondered his words; she tried to imagine how a man and woman would be joined. She concluded it''d be impossible. How could a body possibly join together? How naive she was!
"The Prince has slept with a lot of women and has joined his body with many. I''ve saved myself for you. I''ve never touched any other woman, I''ve never nced in their direction," An continued.
An reached for her hand again, but she pulled away like a hesitant child. His gaze softened.
The Princess was befuddled.
An wished the Second Concubine had ensured the Princess knew about such things. She was turning seventeen this year, and none of the maidservants even bothered to check if she was educated on the subject.
Lina had boldly wished for marriage without understanding what it entailed.
Truly, the Princess was innocent.
"Just this once, please let me hold you like a woman," An pleaded, rising out of his chair and crossing to her.
Lina raised her head, her brows tightly knitted together. "But how do a man and woman join their bodies? I don''t understand…"
An''s conclusion was right. The Princess most likely didn''t even know she''d bleed during her first time.
The Prince of Ritan would know.
Once the Prince found out his wife waspromised, Lina would be sent back to Teran. Only after the fierce rejection would Linae back into his arms.
"I can teach you, just as I''ve taught you swordfighting. You''ll enjoy this activity much more. I''ll be gentle," An said.
An chastely took her dainty hand in his.
Lina stared at their hands. His fingers were rough from the calluses formed by his sword.
An pulled her out of her seat and she was on her feet.
"Lina," An urged.
Lina realized he had dropped the titles.
In this room, alone, they were Lina and An. They weren''t Princess and soldier. Her lips trembled.
"An, I-I don''t think I want to know—"
"Please. We might never see each other again. We should let our departure be a good one," An begged, his voice dripping with desperation for her.
If An couldn''t have her hand in marriage, then he''d have her virtue—the one thing that could never be returned.
Lina''s heart was heavy.
Lina wanted to reject An, but couldn''t. She didn''t want them to end on a sour note. This was her best friend and mentor.
An was there for her when no one was. When Lina''s sister was away at war and her mother was sick, An was always there to cheer her up.
Most of all, Lina trusted him.
"Drink," An said, suddenly pressing the tea cup to her mouth again.
Lina hadn''t even noticed that he had refilled her cup a second ago. She brought her lips to the cup and drank the tea. The hot, bubbling feeling in her stomach grew and spread across her entire body.
Lina felt a sudden desire to take off her clothes. It was hot and An''s hand was the perfect temperature against her skin.
"Just once?" Lina timidly asked. "A-and then, no more?"
"Just once," he agreed.
An''s lips curled into a soft smile. He pulled her close to him, settled the tea cup down, and nodded his head. His fingers were beginning to clumsily pull at the ribbons holding her clothes together.
"Now,e," An said.
An led the Princess to the bed. He felt her hand shiver with fear, but he tightened his grip.
"It''ll feel good, I promise." An lowered the Princess upon the bed, closed the curtains around it, and took off her clothes.