Clover leaned against the dresser in his bedchamber as he watched Mia change his sheets. It's almost been a week since the Princess and her family got to Harmpton and he's still undecided on whether or not he wanted to go with her to the cake tasting tomorrow. He has been avoiding her as much as he can which is quite frankly not that much, because whenever he looks around then she is there. The two of them could barely have a conversation without it turning into bickering and he doesn't know how to feel about the fact that his fiancée has a sharp mind and even sharper tongue.
He watches as Mia finished changing his sheets and he asked "Do you read?"
Her head snaps to him at the out of the blue question "Uhhh…no. Why?"
"Just curious" He should probably be a little embarrassed that Mia has been his best friend for years and his girlfriend for almost one year now and he didn't know she doesn't read, but he's not. He likes that even after all this time of them knowing each other, he can still learn new things about her. "Is there any specific reason why?"
A frown makes it's way to her way, because she's not understanding where this is going but answering him honestly nontheless.
"Father didn't exactly want me and mother to spend our time reading books. He thought it was more efficient if we learnt how to cook and clean"
He grits his teeth at her words. Okay, so what if Mia's father didn't want her to read? That doesn't mean Evagenline was right about men not wanting women to be smart. And before he got to start thinking about the Ice Princess again, he asks "Did you get my flowers?"
Mia smiles as she walks over to him "I did. I quite enjoy getting roses almost everyday, it makes me feel special"
He puts his hands on her hips and pulls her closer to him "You are special"
And she is special, well to him at least. He knew that seeing him with the Princess could not be easy on Mia so he's been trying to show her that no matter what, it's always going to be her for him.
Her cheeks heat up and her eyes dart to his lips which makes him lean forward and capture hers in a gentle kiss. After a moment they pull away and she looks up at him with a bright smile "I wish I could stay with you but I need to change the sheets for King Lucien and Queen Amber"
He hums and reluctantly lets her go "Very well then"
She licks her lips to hide a smile and says "Tomorrow is my off day and then I'll be all yours"
His body heats at her words and his eyes darken as he stares down at her "Good."
She presses another kiss to his lips before taking his dirty sheets and walking out of his bedchamber.
Clover was walking toward the staircase but when he saw his father climbing it, he discreetly turned around so he could walk away from the king. He didn't get far though "Clover."
He paused and turned to face King Henry "Father"
His father caught up to him and looked at him assessingly "Where is your fiancée?"
Probably finding a new way to annoy him.
"I do not know, I haven't seen her since breakfast this morning"
That made his father suspicious "And you are not looking for her?"
He jaw clenched, of course he wasn't looking for her but he can't exactly admit that to his father "I am"
Henry's eyes narrow and he nods, starting to walk away but stops short next to Clover and whispers "Perhaps if you looked away from the maid for more than five minutes then you'll see that your fiancée is in the garden"
He tenses but before he can try to defend myself, his father is ready walking away and he has half the mind to ignore his words but choose better of it "Father." Henry glances over his shoulder at him "Do you like that mother reads?"
He tilts in head in confusion "I do."
"Because it makes her smart?"
Henry's lips twitch "That yes and because I enjoy knowing she's enjoying it."
He walks away then and Clover watches him go before reluctantly makes his way to the garden.
Clover does in fact find Evageline in the garden, she's sitting under a willow tree as she reads a book. Her lady in waiting sitting not that far from her reading a book as well, over the past few days he's come to see that the two of them are thicker than thieves. He steps closer and clears his throat, gaining both of their attention and the Princess raises an eyebrow "Prince Clover"
He resists a shiver at the way she drawls his name in that raspy voice of hers "Princess Evagenline."
"Have you finally came to the conclusion that I'm the woman of your dreams?"
She's joking and he knows it but it doesn't stop a scoff from escaping "If you meant of my nightmare then yes."
Her blue eyes narrowed before she closed her book and stood up, ignoring the hand he was offering her. Any other woman would've taken it but of course his mouthy fiancée didn't.
"Lucy" Evageline speaks to the other lady but she keeps her eyes on him "Leave us"
He doesn't take his eyes off from her as the other woman bows before leaving and he scoffs once again "I do not know how to feel that your chaperone is leaving you alone with a male"
"You're my fiancé."
Now it's his turn to narrow his eyes "Not by choice"
Her lips lifts into a smirk "Still bitter about that, I see."
"How are you not bitter about it?"
She rolls her eyes "Because I knew from the age of six that because Marcus is a boy he'll stay in Dunstead and because I'm a girl I'll be married off." she steps closer to him and he tenses when he catches a whiff of her scent, she smells like cinnamon and oddly….sunshine. "Either your parents kept you sheltered your entire life, which I highly doubt they did or you are just trying to be a brat by reminding everyone you're marrying someone you don't want."
He growls low in his throat "The only brat on this land is you, you're constantly a pain in the ass."
She glares "Well I'd rather be a pain in the ass than a plain asshole and in case I wasn't clear enough, you're the latter"
His body goes rigid at her words "I'm an asshole? You're the one constantly forcing your way into my line of sight to the point I wish I blind"
She lets out a huff as she crosses her arms over her chest which pushes out her breasts and he forces himself to keep looking at her infuriatingly beautiful face "Well I am not going to apologize for trying to get along with my future husband, because that is what you are, Prince Clover." she shakes her head before saying "Clearly you do not understand the full concept of this marriage so let me break it down for you. I'm not going anywhere, we will wed then we'll bed and after that we'll have heirs and rule Harmpton together." she shrugs "Preferably in that order"
He tenses at her words, because so far he's been trying to not think about the fact that he has to bed her on their wedding night and impregnate her. The thought makes him sick to his stomach and she can tell by the look on his face that he didn't like anything that she just told him and she lets out a sigh before saying "You do not have to join me for the cake tasting tomorrow, I'll ask my mother to join me."
He's relieved she's giving him an out, this way he can spend the entire day with Mia locked away in his bedchamber. He clears his throat "If you insist."
"I didn't" she says dryly before adding "I'll find out by your mother if she'd like to join us as well"
She would like that. Out of everyone Queen Charlotte is the one most excited for the wedding and more than happy to spend time with the woman her only son will be marrying.
It was late afternoon of the next day and Clover had spent the entire day just how he imagined it. Him and Mia locked away in his bedchamber. It was close to dinner time and he wanted to bathe but first he needed to do something. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Mia closed the door when she left before rummaging through his drawer and he pulled the familiar light pink letter from it. A half scoff and half laugh escapes his lips at the colour before he read through the letter again. Mia has read every single one of the letters Evageline wrote to him…well except this one. In all the other letters she wrote, he found the words shallow and she came off desperate like she was trying too bad but this one? This one is different. Sure it's the same silly colour letter and she even signed her name with a heart in the 'i' instead of a dot. But for the first time the words she wrote sounded genuine, she was complaining about how she couldn't sleep and decided to write him instead, she ranted about a book she adored and begged him to read it and she opened up about her biggest fears. And it wasn't things like the dark or spiders, it was those deep sated fears. Where she was afraid she'll one day lose her brother who she considers her best friend, her desires for children but being fearful she'll be a horrible mother because she doesn't have parents who are good to her and her fear of never going to experience being in love.
He had considered writing back to her after that letter but he knew that would be the start of something new and he wasn't sure if he was ready for it. Clover does feel a pang of guilt for hiding this letter from Mia but he didn't feel comfortable showing it to her considering Evageline shared something so personal about her with him.
That's all. Nothing more, he tries to covince himself.
He shoves it back into his drawer and gets rid of his robe and lets out a sigh of relief when he sat in the bath and the hot water immediately released the tension from his body.
Just what he needed.