All I Need ✔️

Chapter 16

Third Person POV

"These are the guest suites," the prince said, gesturing to the rooms near Safania's. They were all bright and cheerful-looking, but the other suites had colorful themes where Safania's was plain.

"If there's one that you prefer, let me know and I can move you," Prince Cassius told her.

"I like my room very much your highness," she responded. The Prince surveyed her to try to see if she was sincere, or just trying to smooth over the argument from earlier. She seems sincere, he thought, though he was a little surprised she preferred her plain room over the more colorful ones.

"Who stays in the guest suites?" she asked.

"Not many people," the Prince replied. "I definitely use the rooms less frequently than my brothers. I don't have many guests. When I have a date for some event though, I'll usually let her stay in one of these rooms."

"Not with you?" Safania asked bluntly, immediately regretting the question as it left her mouth. Prince Cassius looked at her, seemingly amused.

"I suppose I also don't like people watching me while I sleep," he replied. "If a woman is in my bedroom, it's not because she's going to sleep there."

Safania's eyes immediately widened before she dropped them to the ground, a reaction that Prince Cassius seemed to enjoy.

"Over here are the maid quarters," he said, gesturing to Emalina's room. "I really only have Emalina because I haven't found anyone else suitable. And I don't need as much housekeeping as my brothers do, so the arrangement works just fine."

He turned Safania towards a room across the hall. "My personal guards stay in here. There are six of them. You've already met Eli and Alton. Other guards may come through occasionally, but only the six stay here. If you ever need anything and Emalina isn't around, you can ask them."

He continued wheeling Safania down the hall, pointing out the dining room that Safania had already been in and the greenhouse. He pointed out the parlor as well, a small, cozy room with a few couches.

"This is my bedroom," he said, gesturing to a large, closed door. Safania nodded, afraid to ask to see inside, despite her curiosity. Before she could build up the courage, the Prince turned her to the last room at the end of the hall. "And this is my personal library," he said, throwing open a set of double doors.

Safania gasped. Inside was the biggest room she had seen so far, filled with stacks upon stacks of books. The wall opposite the door had massive windows with criss-crossing patterns, allowing the midday light to stream in. "You like it?" the prince asked, enjoying the obvious excitement Safania couldn't conceal on her face. Safania looked back at him speechless. "You think you like it now, wait until you see this," he said, wheeling her to a corner. At first, Safania didn't notice anything about the bookshelf Prince Cassius had put her in front of compared to the others in the room. Then she noticed the titles of the books.

"Are . . . are these all in Eirlin?" Prince Cassius nodded. "I'm sorry it's not a larger section. They've stopped printing a lot of them so they're a little difficult to come by."

Safania's eyes welled up with tears. To see something so familiar in a place like this . . . to have books from her childhood, books she never thought she would see again.

"Is something wrong?" the prince asked.

Safania wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, no, it just brings back memories."

Prince Cassius nodded. "Well, you're welcome to spend as much time in here as you would like"

"Really?" Safania asked, turning to him with a sparkle in her eyes that the prince hadn't seen before. He smiled and nodded.