The Fairy King and his Cursed Queen ✔

7 | MY DRESS

The princess's skin was nearly as cold as the snow itself when she took my hand. A sadness fell over me for I supposed it would not be long before Manoj sent for her.

It would be no summoning of the physical, but rather of her power, power without which she could not sustain her corporeal form.

This would not do. She needed to warm up. I found myself acting more human than fairy as well as I rubbed her shoulders gruffly as I remember having done in my youth.

"Come on. You must will your wings on your own now."

To my surprise, she opened my arms then came into my embrace. Such boldness.

With a sigh, I held her then warned, "I cannot warm you without using my wings and that will attract the night Fae. Come. You do not shed fairy dust. It's safest if you do this instead."

But instead, she held me. It was a foolish thing for I suspected that I might have felt nearly as frigid as she did herself. I did not mind the cold as I knew how to retain some of my warmth and slowly use it. So there was nothing about me that should have fueled her to hang on.

Manoj would take her, I reminded myself. And then I tried to answer the question of Why would that be so bad? Manoj had a right to do as he saw fit, with either of us.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

Had I laughed? The thought occurred again, and a chuckle left me. "Just, anyone seeing you from the front will see a regal queen. But from the back?" I said, slipping my hands down to cup her bare ass.

She eased back, striking me across the chest. But then she stared up at me.

"Have you changed your mind?"

I had not. A simple shaking of my head said as much. She was not angry, however, instead, she retrieved the kilt and handed it over to me. "We'll match."

Again, her focus lay on strange things.

"Princess...." It was hard to admit but I owed her this honesty as I hadn't been forthcoming in warning her about Manoj. "Do you think perhaps, your lack of rage against me is why you haven't fully realized your fairy powers yet?"

She leaned away. "I'm sure it's not."

The next attempt at climbing was the worst yet.

I went behind her and held her waist. It was rather easy to lift her. I even considered throwing her out into the snow, but another thought occurred, could she survive with nothing to block her from the wind?

"Just hold still," she said, gripping the wall. "You've been a big help.

I looked up at her and blinked myself awake. As per my words, from the back, nothing was left to the imagination. Especially when she put one leg up and gripped the snow wall for dear life.

"Where have you gone?"

Despite my better judgement, I put a hand on her backside and she looked down at me.

"Perhaps I can catch the top if I ride your shoulders."

She didn't see the eyebrow I raised at her, but it was there.

Instead of arguing, I allowed just that. It was in this that I came to find that she wasn't entirely cold. The warmth pressed to the back of my neck had me chuckling to myself.

I wondered how we'd appear to someone else.

"Princess?"

"Go a bit to the left. It's so close."