The Thorn in My Shed-Chapter 39: Hidden Rain

Arlon’s office was much more opulent than Marix’s. It was much larger in size with windows on two of its sides. On the third was a wall with a door that connected to a waiting room and the fourth contained a large bookshelf with a secret passage in the event of a coup.

The floors were white marble and covered in amethyst-colored rugs with gold tassels. His desk was a large oak wood that was neatly adorned with pens, and a few decorations and paper weights.

The bookshelves were lined with books all about the royal lineage, the history of Viraaz, books about politics and economy and a few memoirs from his ancestors and other notable figures in history.

There was a large, detailed globe that sat in the far corner of the room and two large leather seats were placed on the opposite side of his desk.

Amethyst-colored drapes hung from golden rods, open and framing the windows. Bright sunlight shone in, painting the room in an ethereal light.

Arlon sat down in his seat, his back straight and full of tension. He opened the 2nd drawer of his desk, pulled out a file and began to look through it.

It was a proposal about a morale plan for the citizens of Viraaz. Arlon thumbed through the pages and let out a huff.

"Perfect. Just what Viraaz needs; another festival. What a wonderful opportunity to waste more precious money."

He slammed the document shut and tossed it to the side where he typically put the ’veto-ed’ plans.

The truth of it was, he needed a morale boost himself. After the issue with Lord Evans, Marix and Eilownia, he was under immense stress and pressure.

’What was Marix thinking? He could’ve toppled my plans with his stupidity. Put this entire kingdom in danger over that girl. Atrocious!’

The sunlight that lit up the room slowly darkened into a dark gloom as rain clouds crowded over it, plunging the room into a dim light.

Arlon steepled his fingers and pressed his lips against them in thought as his buxom blonde maid entered the room. She practically skipped over to his desk and placed a letter down, sliding it forward as she leaned over.

"Your Highness, a letter has arrived for you~" She cooed.

Arlon’s eyebrow raised with a smile, "Thank you. Shall we see what it says?"

He questioned even though he was already reaching for a letter opener off the top of his desk as his maid nodded with a smile plastered on her face.

His eyes trailed over the words of the first page, and then the second, and then the third.

The smile that was on his face only spread wider as he tilted his head and tapped on his desk with his fingertips.

"What wonderful news~ It seems that I was stressed for nothing. As it appears from this letter, things are going to turn out just fine. In fact, I’ve devised a new plan."

The blonde maid bounced up and down clapping her hands.

"Your Highness is so smart!"

Arlon let out a chuckle as he began to pen a letter in response.

"I want you to send this out as soon as I’m finished, alright?" He asked, not looking up from the letter.

She nodded, "Yes Your Highness~"

Meanwhile, back at Marix’s, Eilownia was on the road to recovery. She’d been given the seal of approval from Dr. Lein to start taking walks around the garden. He wanted her to get plenty of sunlight for this next phase of her recovery.

Marix had new dresses made for her as well, which she had been wearing around his home. To match with the sunny summer day, she wore a bright yellow sundress with white embroidered flowers on it.

However, neither of them had prepared for the sudden unexpected summer shower.

Marix stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he watched Eilownia as she twirled with her arms outstretched.

They’d been taking a walk in the garden when the clouds had covered the sun and once the rain started coming down, Eilownia refused to take cover.

She jumped around and ran through the grass.

"I FEEL SO HAPPY!!!" She screamed, grinning from ear to ear as the rain came down over her.

"You can stay out a few moments longer. I don’t want you to get sick again." Marix said as he watched.

Finally being able to see her up and walking around, with a smile on her face, was causing a heat to spread within his chest.

She simply nodded as she stared down and wiggled her feet in the squishy grass. It was softer than the kind of grass they had back home.

Better yet, there was no disgusting sound of it squishing, just light little plops and splashes.

Marix just continued to stand and watch. His heart was pounding and after some time he found himself feeling a bit anxious that she may fall ill again.

He pushed himself off the doorframe and called out to her, "Alright! That’s enough! Come in now, Little Flower! You’ve been watered enough!"

She turned to him and smiled, "Okay~! Coming~!" Then carefully made her way over to him.

The rain was coming down in sheets, pounding against the windows by the time she had changed.

Marix had the fire in his living room burning with fresh firewood, ready for her to sit by and get warm.

He placed a towel on her head as he sat next to her, rubbing her head a bit with it before allowing her to take over.

Eilownia carefully began to dry her hair, rubbing and grabbing at it with the towel. It was softer than anything she owned and she couldn’t help but rub her cheek against it as she got to the higher areas.

"You seem quite happy today." Marix said as he watched her smile. It seemed to only be growing and he wondered if her cheeks hurt.

"I am! I’ve never gotten to play in the rain before. It would make me sick and..." Her voice trailed off before her gaze met his, ".....there was no one to fix me if I was sick. So I had to make sure I didn’t get to that point to begin with."

Marix stared deep into her big brown eyes as his eyebrows furrowed. "No, you are nothing something to be fixed, Whin. Whether you are sick or not," He grabbed her hand and gently rubbed her knuckles with his thumb before bringing it to his lips, "You are someone to be taken care of."

He pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand.

Her heart fluttered as a light pink hue covered her face. She dropped her towel and broke eye contact to quickly pick it up.

"So then....." her eyes met his again, "Are you going to take care of me?"

Despite the loud rain outside pelting the windows, her frantically beating heart was the only thing she could hear.

Marix nodded and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I am. I’m going to take care of you for the rest of your life. I will never allow you to return to that place, or allow anyone to treat you like that ever again. The smile on your face? I’ll make sure it never falters."

Eilownia gasped and held her breath a moment as she stared at him. Then, without warning she threw herself into his arms and pressed her lips against his.

Without hesitation, Marix wrapped his muscular arms around her waist, pulling her against him tight as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss.

She closed her eyes and melted in his arms, following his lead and tilting her head as well.

Her body was on fire and tingling as their breaths and mouths intertwined.

She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer, god how she needed him closer.

A quiet whimper escaped her lips in between their kisses and she found her fingers starting to dig into the fabric of his shirt.

He gently pushed her down and got on top of her. He kissed along her jawline and down her neck, his heart racing with need and excitement.

Eilownia tilted her head to give him better access, her eyes rolling and fluttering as his lips left an explosive trail in their wake.

As he kissed her, his hand reached down and pushed the hem of her dress up to her waist.

"Marix?"

He froze and slowly looked up. "Did I go too far?"

She shook her head, "I wanted to know if you’ll do that thing again. That thing we did the first night we met?"

Eilownia bit her lip and arched her back, "I liked that thing~"

Marix chuckled and smirked before leaning in to her ear.

He whispered before nipping it, "Oh, believe me, we will~ And I’ll make it even better than that time too."