Royal Renegade

Chapter 46: He Understands?

Princess Axelia

A gentle breeze carries the sound of chirping birds, stirring me to consciousness.

I take my time sitting up when my muscles ache and eyes feel swollen. Rubbing the corners, I clean my face of tear residue and blink until my eyes adjust to the sunlight pouring over me.

I'm surprised to find that Leonidas remained sleeping with his upper body leaned on the bed and lower on an ottoman the entire night.

After my motion, he slightly shifts his arms, crossing them to bury his face as he continues to sleep. He's just outside of the sun's reach, so I get up and close the door to his balcony pulling the curtain shut along the way.

Then I return to the bed.

I'm not sure how he found me but every ounce of my being is grateful that he did.

He rescued me.

He always rescues me.

Pulling my legs up to my chest, I cry softly thinking about my father sending me away, abandoning me for my honesty without even attempting to understand or listen.

Has he been this way for longer than I can recall? Or is it just hatred turning him into someone so heartless?

With a sigh I tremble as I recall all the women who got attacked in the prisons. How long has that been going on?

Am I so ignorant that I never even thought men would do such horrible things?

Clutching my legs tighter, I feel embarrassed that my body chose to have its period here in Rerimas of all places. I must smell awful and all the vampires will know it. Gosh, Leonidas nearly saw me naked as well. How awful.

Clearing my mind, I choose to wonder of what could have been if my mother was alive, and my soft cries turn to sobs the more I struggle to even remember how she was as a person.

Something touches my ankle and I flinch so hard I almost fall off the bed. I have to blink my vision clear to see that it's just Leonidas extending a hand for me to hold even though his face is still tucked away in his arms.

I definitely stink.

"You don't have t-to t-touch me," my voice chops with my ragged breaths. "I'm di-disgusting."

Head popping up, his expression is a mix of anger and tiredness. "You're not," he states, eyes earnest. "Rest." Still offering a hand, it isn't until I slip my palm into his that tension escapes him in the form of a long sigh. "For the record, you smell delicious to me," he shares, a tint of pink dashing across his nose as he averts his gaze to the bed sheets, a quick withering of his cheeks proving his words.

Right, I guess the odor of my period is more of a fragrance to him.

"Okay," I whisper, choosing to believe him and allowing the compliment to wash away my insecurity about it.

Laying back down leaves my head nearly resting on one of his shoulders, but it doesn't bother him that my tears trickle onto his skin or that I occasionally snivel as my sobs reduce to cries.

"What are you thinking about?" his low murmur eventually breaks the silence in the room once I've calmed down.

It's probably the best question he could ask but I don't want my answer to hurt him. Still, I'd rather not lie either.

"M-my mother," I whisper. "I miss her. I just wish--" trailing off, I decide not to continue as a fresh stream of hot tears run down my cheeks.

Slowly, he lifts his head from his arms so that he can turn to face me. There is a slight red spot on his forehead from how he was laying and his hair is completely frazzled, but those chestnut brown eyes of his shimmer with empathy.