All I Need ✔️

Chapter 59

 Safania's POV

I woke up the next morning to Emalina entering my room with a breakfast tray.

"Good morning champion!" she exclaimed. "Or should I start calling you princess?"

"I'm not married yet," I mumbled, stepping out of bed and finding myself extraordinarily sore. I must have winced, because Emalina was immediately next to me, helping ease me into a chair at the small table in my room.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Just sore," I replied.

"Considering the beating you took yesterday, that makes sense. I have some special muscle relaxing tea that should help," she said cheerfully.

"Where is the prince?" I asked.

"He left early this morning. Said he didn't want to wake you," she told me while pouring a cup of tea. "I was really worried when you both came back from the tournament because he looked absolutely furious. But he couldn't have been too mad if he spent the night," she said suggestively.

Emalina brought the tea over to me. "Drink," she commanded. I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet, earthy flavor.

"So did you two celebrate then?" she asked with a slight smirk.

"Not really," I replied, taking a bite of a muffin.

"You're lying."

I looked at her, confused. "How would you know?"

She continued to smirk. "Well, a few things. First, when the prince left this morning, he seemed unusually cheery. Second, the guards may have heard a thing or two last night."

I felt my face flush from embarrassment. Had we been that loud? Who else knew that we were intimate last night?

"And third...actually, for third you should probably follow me."

I changed into a simple dress for the day and walked with Emalina down the hallway to the greenhouse. Emalina opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.

Inside, the previously barren plants had sprouted beautiful, multicolor blooms. Tiny white flowers decorated a plant in the corner, while some bushes in the corner had large, blue ruffled flowers. The two small trees in the greenhouse were covered in light pink blooms. I turned around, marveling at all the colors and the amazing smell.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"They don't bloom in the winter," Emalina said, looking at me expectantly.

"Wait...you think I did this?"

Emalina shrugged. "How else would this have happened?" she asked.

She had a point. I dropped my gaze to the floor, embarrassed.

"I knew it," Emalina said, accusatorily. "I can't believe you weren't going to tell me! What happened?"

"We did...things," I said quietly, sitting on the bench. Emalina sat next to me.

"Did you two finally have sex?" she asked excitedly. "I mean, he knows about your marks, and you are engaged now so I guess it makes sense."

"We didn't," I told her. "We just did...other stuff."

Seeing that was all I was willing to tell her, she let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine, don't tell me the dirty details. But can you at least explain how the prince went from being furious to spending the night?"

Now it was my turn to sigh. "He explained that he was mad that I entered the tournament without telling him. I realized he was right to be mad and that I should have at least told him, but also said that he shouldn't have had the right to stop me. Then I said we should have an equal say in the relationship."