The Duke wondered if he should allow her to call him by his name. He acted as her guardian, that was the deal he made with her father. He did not predict he would be this involved in caring for her. He would scold them if this were anyone else, but she was fragile and gentle. He decided to grant her permission to call him by his name but would be sure to scold her for any bad behavior. The line should be clear for them, no matter what they call each other. Her habit of touching his hands was also getting noticeable. He made sure he did not squeeze her hand and let it be open loose as she held him. He would not deny her such contact but would not encourage it.
"I-I-I know y-you didn't m-mean it in a b-bad way," she added softly, then slowly let go of his hand, then brought her legs close to her chest, not taking off the shoes he had made just for her.
"I feel relieved you did not feel insulted." He replied as she took her hand away.He wanted to take her shoes off the bed, but she seemed to like them, so he let her be. Richard then realized he was allowing the girl too much, considering his principles and rules. He hoped it would not backfire in the future. She was his guest for life, after all.
She touched the shoes with her three fingers while resting her head on her knees. "D-do you h-have pets?'
"No. I do not have time for such pointless responsibilities. However, on my estate, many cats wander around, and some of my staff have friendly dogs. "
He answered and stood up, heading towards the heavy wardrobe. The Duke removed his armor and, piece by piece,and the elegant clothing under it.
"C-C-can y-you keep th-them away f-from my c-cage...? Th-they th-"
Richard sighed as he heard her question. He placed the last piece of the armor on a rack before turning to her. "Princess, you will not live in a cage." He corrected.
Then a frozen silence followed. The barks, the bites, and the screams of war started to play on repeat in her mind, causing her a horrible headache, making her cover her ear and bite her lower lip, almost causing it to bleed. She was strong...not only in magic but in the body too. Her hands were trembling, then her breath quickened. She tried her best to control everything so she wouldn't cause anything, not only to Richard but also to everyone else. She quickly bit her hard hand to wake up. The blood drops started to fall on her black dress while still having her hand in her mouth. Tears were falling from her eyes.
'I messed up....he will think I am a monster...'
Her hurt ankle was exposed and there was a huge bite from a dog and scratches that probably were following all her leg... That was one of the reasons the maids chose this dress because it was long enough to hide those "accidents".
"Princess are yo-"
It was then that he turned around to see the blood-show.
"What are you doing?!"
He shouted with anger and concern. Richard quickly rushed, confused, to her. What was happening? She hurt herself and cried for no apparent reason. He knelled and, without touching her, analyzed the situation, it was stressful as he was not used to such things, but he kept his head level. He noticed her scars and hurt her ankle.More or less he realized what had happened. Duke gently reached for the hand she was biting and touched her cheek.
"Stop this at once, Princess." He demanded with a softer tone.
She slowly released her hand, letting it fall on her dress as tears kept falling from her eyes and blood dripped from her mouth. Her hand seemed fine, unlike her teeth.
"...."
A soft sniff broke the silence. Aravis moved away from the Duke, worried she would hurt him.
"I am so-so-sorry..."
She used her magic to speak. She took off the shoes and quickly placed them on the ground, after that the princess just reached out her hands with her palms facing the ceiling, ready for her punishment.
He looked at her in silence for a moment. Staring at the girl with the broken body but with god's power within. He did not understand her pose, but her wounds should be treated. Duke sighed and took her hands with his, slowly placing them down. He examined the bit she inflicted on her.
"Show me your ankle." He demanded after letting her hand go. His voice was stern but was not hinting any anger in it.
She shook her head as she kept facing the ground. Once again, she lifted her hands to the same position waiting to be hit there or something similar. She was scared that if the Duke wouldn't relieve his anger on her, probably one day all this anger would explode out of nowhere and could be worst... She had witnessed it happening, so she was not going to take the risk again.He looked at her hands again in confusion. Duke had no idea what to make out of this gesture and her dripping blood was starting to annoy him.
"Why are you showing me your hand like this?"
He asked, deciding it would be better to ask directly rather than guess her intentions.Slowly she raised her head, facing him with the blood coming from her mouth and the tears from her eyes.
"W-wo...won't...you...Pu-punish...me..?"
She questions him softly, yet those words, that tone... Were filled with terror about what would follow next. As she answered it all made sense, the girl was so used to the abuse she knew how to prepare for punishment when she did something bad. Duke had mixed feelings about this. Discipline should be delivered when necessary, but the form should be adequate to the deed. Those around her pointlessly abused her.
"No, I have no intention to hurt you." He said, retaking her hands into his. He was gentle as he placed them down. "I'd rather want to help you if you allow me, Princess."
He explained, looking at her, awaiting her reply. But then her stomach growled, startling the Duke a bit. He looked sadly at her.
"Wait a bit more. The food will come here shortly. In the meantime, can you show me where you are hurting? I saw your ankle, your hand is also bleeding. Do you feel discomfort anywhere else?"
Her lips were trembling. This kindness. This pure act of humanity slowly melted her fears and brought warmth in her heart. She let go of his hand and held his shirt tight. The young princess hugged him out of the blue and cried her heart out. She was hurt... everywhere... Inside out. Both mentally and physically.
Richard was shocked by the sudden embrace and the loud cry that slammed into his ear. When he gripped the situation and was accustomed to her scream, he let her let all her burden out. Richard placed one hand on her back, moving it slightly up and down. He felt it was cruel to hold his hands down as a hurting girl was hugging him. He took a breath and looked at the ceiling as his shoulder was getting wet from her tears. Minutes passed and she finally started to calm down.
A maid barged inside with fear and worry as she looked around the room. She saw the Duke being held by the girl and immediately bowed in apology. "All is well. Bring us a bowl of warm water and towels." He requested and the maid immediately went to fulfill his request. The girl was still calming down when she returned. Duke sent her away, thanking her for service and helping the girl clean her face and hand. All the commotion took around thirty minutes, just as the service brought the feast. "Place the food on the table," Duke ordered as he was still tending to the girl.
The smells flooded the room. So many that it was hard to tell what was served, even to the girl's keen sense of smell.
"We will eat soon; let me just tend to your wounds."
The Duke said that as the last plate was placed, they were left alone in the room. Duke tried to hold his anger as she lied down and showed him her legs. It was a horrible sight to see. He examined the ankle before facing her.
"Do you have any other wounds like this?"
The princess nodded, then slowly stood up and took the dress off, confusing Duke. As it fell and the girl's naked body appeared, she just stood there. Richard wanted to look away since it seemed rude to look at a naked lady, but the amount of wounds and the bastardization of her femininity drew his attention too much. What has she done to deserve such treatment? How strong will she have to receive such abuse and still be able to act like a proper noble?
"You...a-a-ask..."
She mumbled, then turned her back on him moving her hair away, showing more of her scars. Then shamefully picks her dress and wears it without too much trouble. She stood there without saying a word. He looked at her face when she revealed everything and put the dress on.
"Sit down."
He said with a heavy tone. Slowly, with her bare feet, she walked to where the Duke was and sat next to him... Although the food was distracting her attention, the growl of her stomach became louder and louder each second passing by, which was annoying, even for her.
"C-C-can...I eat...?"
She asked him kindly while hugging herself tight, trying to put pressure on her stomach to shut it down maybe.
"In a minute, Princes. Let me just..."
He paused, reaching into a secret pouch of his shirt, concealed behind his leather belt. Richard took out a few tiny pebbles made out of pure gold and looked at her once more before taking four of them into his mouth. He swallowed them... Suddenly, his hair and eyes instantly turned gold and shined like a sun. He reached for her ankle, which healed when he made contact with her skin. The swelling, the pain just faded in a matter of seconds. Richard then reached for her hand and the soothing feeling repeated as the wound was healed. He then placed his palms on her cheeks and his thumbs slowly moved across the stitches on her eyes. The strings that prevented her from seeing the world started to disintegrate. Holes made by the needless were closed instantly, leaving no trace of the wound. The light was gone as soon as his work was done. Duke was pleased by his energy management, but, most of all, was curious to see if his treatment worked.
"How do you feel, Princess?"
He asked her softly and a
bit worried, having doubts he healed her properly.
Yes, he had the knowledge but not the amount of practice. Slowly her eyes moved to the left and to the right; the eyelashes revealed two beautiful, colorful blue, crystal clear eyes that shone under the sunlight coming through the cabin's small window. It might be attractive to others, but still, she had to blink a couple of times to clear her vision and to get used to all those colors, the shine and light.. she felt so dizzy that she picked the pillow and covered her face, feeling safe in her darkness... The only thing she was used to was
"I-I-I am good, my lord. Just...d-dizzy with a-all those f-fussy colors..."
"You must not have seen the world for a long time
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