~Corrin

Showing Lilliana around the castle was rather thrilling. It wasn't often that I'd meet another royal who was as down-to-earth as I am. The last time had been... no.

No bad thoughts.

Anyways, Lilly was proving to be a delightful companion. She didn't hesitate to ask about Aellan customs—especially magic— even though other kingdoms found them to be evil and demeaning. I was even surprised by the amount she already knew.

Apparently her friend, Isabella, had been teaching her all about Aella long before the alliance had even been considered.

It hadn't slipped my notice how Lilly would blush every time her friend's name was mentioned either. Does the mysterious little princess harbour some unrequited feelings?

I also noted that the name did ring a bell in my head. Lilly mentioned that  the girl had lived here so perhaps we have crossed paths in the past.

Finally, we came to a stop in front of the final room left in our tour.

"And this room..." I announced as I moved to open the door. "Is my bedroom."

I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively and she giggled before peering inside curiously. 

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

~Lilliana

Corrin was... different than I'd imagined. I already knew that most of the rumors about him were false, but hearing stories and seeing it myself are two completely different things.

He's far more handsome for one. All those talks about him having one eye and a huge scar that ran the length of his face made it sound as if he looked like some kind of monster but that couldn't be further from the truth.

An eye patch covered his left eye, providing him a sort of mysterious allure. His scar, while big, wasn't anything too gory. It was an angry mark, starting at the top of his left brow and disappearing under the eyepatch. It continued a little way down his cheek before curving back towards his ear. But it didn't make him look ugly. Dangerous? Yeah. Sexy? Hell yeah. But definitely not a monster.

The second surprising thing was how easy going he was. Although Isabella told me about how he always treats his people with respect and as if they were all on the same level as him, I didn't expect him to treat me, a Tarkan princess, the same way. It's no secret how much Corrin hated the other kingdoms, Tarka especially. And with good reason. They'd all turned their backs on Aella ages ago. I had honestly thought he was only accepting an alliance with us in order to exact some kind of revenge.

If not for the cold look I had seen cross his face for that brief moment when Lord Decibal had decided to open his stupid mouth, I'd have thought those rumors were about a completely different man. But I had caught that. And it was enough to send a spike of ice through my bones. Luckily, it doesn't seem as if I'll ever land on the receiving end of that glare.

"And this room..." He spoke up suddenly, cutting off my thoughts."...is my bedroom." He wiggled his eyebrows goofily before opening the door to reveal a rather massive room. It, like most of the castle was designed in several shades of red, black and gold, the royal colors of Aella.

There were two doors on the right and one to the left. I'm guessing two of them must probably be a walk-in-closet and bathroom but I wasn't sure what the third might be. An office, maybe?

Next to the door on the left was a huge vanity made of what seemed to be mahogany with a huge mirror, so clear I felt like I could just step through it.

Lastly, there was the bed and holy cow bells was it big! I'd bet at least 10 people could fit there comfortably without anyone having to squeeze or fall off. What on earth could one man need a bed of this size for?

I was suddenly reminded of one of the other rumors about the people of Aella. One of the more scandalous ones. Apparently, most people here were rather promiscuous and non-monogamy was nothing to bat an eye over. Things such as having multiple partners and even... group sex were actually quite common and sometimes, even encouraged.

Although I'm not sure how much of that rumor is true. Amina knows I'd be far too shy to ever ask Isabella that, much less Corrin, himself.

"If there's anything not to your liking, I'd be down to make a few changes. As long as you're comfortable. That is, of course, assuming you'd be ok with sleeping in my room once we're married? If not, that's ok too. You're free to remain in the guest room I showed you earlier."

"And pass up the chance to stay in this bigger, much better room? Yeah, not a chance."

"Oh? Is the guest room not to your liking, then? You know, we don't exactly hold the same values here as in Tarka. You don't have to wait until our wedding night to stay here. I promise I'll be the perfect gentleman."

The wicked grin on his face suggested otherwise and I could feel my face heating up at the implications.

"I don't think the officials who came with me would appreciate that very much."

"To hell with them and their conservative views. As long as you're in Aella, none of that matters. Your officials can run back crying to your parents all they want but it won't change anything. As much as they hate the fact, your kingdom needs me and they won't be cancelling the alliance any time soon."

It was only then that I realized. I truly was in Aella. The land of the lost. Home to the sinners. Nothing they said could affect me anymore. I could be free. I could be myself. And they'd handed me such freedom on a silver platter thinking it was a punishment.

"I guess you're right." I replied finally. "I think I'd like to take a closer look at my new bedroom, now."

"By all means, my dear." He replied with a smirk, pushing the door wider open so that I could step inside.

He guided me towards the doors on the right first.

"This one here is the bathroom." He opened it to reveal another large room. Equipped with some fancy looking shower, a bathtub that might have well been a pool, a slightly smaller jacuzzi and another huge mirror—this one taking up the length of a whole wall. Before I could ask about the reasons for such a large mirror, he had already turned away, pulling open the other door.

"This is our closet. I do hope it's spacious enough for you?"

"Enough? This is twice the size of my bedroom in Tarka!" I said, peering inside. All of his clothes together barely took up a tenth of the space.

"It is rather excessive, isn't it?" He muttered, seemingly to himself. "Well nevermind that. It'll make it all the easier to spoil you in our coming future together."

"That's not really necessary." I insisted. "I'm not really one for glamorous dresses and the likes."

I pointed down to my rather plain dress. It was a dark grey piece that did little to show off my figure and fell just above my knees, scraping the lines of what was considered appropriate for a princess. No frills and ribbons or laces and bows. Just a plain grey dress. A complete contrast to the bright colors and designs Tarkans loved to include in their outfits.

Mother had been ready to throw quite the conniption fit when she'd seen me. It was one of my older brothers Gregory, who had pointed out that the king of Aella might appreciate the dark color of my dress as it might prove to him that I was ready to leave Tarkan customs behind and stand by his side as queen of Aella. What a load of bullshit. I dressed for nobody but myself. But it had seemed to appease mother so to small victories, or whatever.

"That's what was so off about you!"

"Pardon?" I asked, confused by his sudden outburst.

"For the longest while, I've been trying to figure out why you seemed so different from other Tarkan women-aside from not being a total prude, of course. To think that it was a simple dress all along."

"uhm..." I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to respond to that.

"Oh. I mean no offense. It fits you perfectly. Which must have been the reason it took me so long to notice."

Oh.

"Anyways, I'm sure we can figure out something to do with all the extra space. So? What do you think?"

"Well, I think it's all amazing. But... aren't you forgetting something?" I ask, gesturing to the third mysterious door.

"Oh, that one... I don't think you're ready to see that yet. Well, come along then. Let's go outside. I want to show you something."

I looked at the door in confusion wondering what it could possibly be hiding that I wasn't ready for. I didn't have much time to wonder though, since Corrin had already walked out of the room.