The only marriage request

Five broken hearts, three kisses, and a little bit of Meilani's magic later, I was lying on top of a tower of soft pillows. A satisfied sigh escaped my lips. Finally. The bed inside of my chambers was even more comfortable than I had remembered and the sheets smelled so nice and like... home. I rolled around like a little child and stared at the ceiling above. The palace's walls as well as the ceilings had been painted with gracious images, that each told the story of the most well-known and important persons or events. The paintings on the ceiling and walls of my chambers were dedicated to Illia, the mother of gods. She was never directly shown in the paintings though; scholars had searched document after document of ancient times with no success. It was nowhere said nor shown how she looked like, all we knew about her were the things she had done for this world, but that was all we needed to worship her. None of the painters dared to think about drawing Illia, fearing they could insult the goddess above.

I closed my eyes and relaxed my muscles. Sneaking into the palace was more exhausting than I had thought and it had tired me out — though that was probably mostly because I had barely slept. Even the pills couldn’t do anything against the pain caused by nightmares. I was more than ready to fall asleep, but then I heard a loud knock on the door. I jumped. My eyes widened, looking confused. Holding my breath, I froze still, not making a sound. Another loud knock. What? Nobody could know I was already back, how-

“Zian, I know you're in here.”

The voice — so soft yet manly and filled with noticeable amusement — sent a shiver down my spine. I almost dropped the vase I had grabbed in case of a fight, I knew who the person in front of the door was. I would never forget the voice of my first crush. Jumping from my bed in a hurry, I ran to the mirror to adjust my hair and clothes, but to no avail. Aerin had already opened the door and was now leaning against it, watching me with an unreadable glint in his amethyst-colored eyes. I cleared my throat and straightened my back in a failed attempt to seem grown-up and more presentable. The black-haired man chuckled, approaching me. Aerin was one of the orphans who had been taken in by the palace. He and I used to spend a lot of time together, he was there for me when my older siblings left this place to go on their journey.

His cold hand carefully touched my right cheek. I flinched at the sudden touch and couldn't help but look away. Urgh, he was too good-looking for his own good. Aerin smiled as if he didn't notice the way I was reacting to him. My cheeks were burning hotter as he was touching my nape.

“U-uhm, nice seeing you, but how did you know I was here?”

He got suspiciously close to me and stared at my exposed skin. The corner of his lips twitched a little. He tilted his head and looked up to my face.

“I sensed a little amount of Mei-ji*'s magic and figured you'd be here. Now, look at you. You are taller than me now.”

I sweat-dropped. I should've known that someone would notice at least Meilani's presence. Nodding, I tried to move as little as possible. Aerin didn't have a sense for personal space and I started regretting not listening to my teacher; he'd been staring at me from top to bottom for a couple of moments now. He finally let go of me — thank god, my poor heart — though he had no intention of stepping away. He smirked.

“And you've undeniably become a handsome young man, my prince.”

I blinked. Once, twice and almost dropped to my knees. I hid my face behind my hands and shook my head. Oh god, this man was pushing me to the cliff of emotions enhanced by hormones. Aerin laughed and patted my head.

“There, there. Don't be embarrassed, I'm just telling you the truth. You'll get many marriage requests after your official introduction to the public.”

I looked at him through the space between my fingers, still flustered.

The only marriage request I would want to get and accept was yours. Of course, I didn't say that out loud.

*using the syllable “-ji” after a person's name is equal to the Mr./Ms./Mrs used in modern English