Evageline paces back and forth in front of the closed door, her heart hammering in her chest and she rubs her sweaty palms on her dress before glancing around to make sure no one is around. They had gotten a little while back from the cake tasting and it was…nice but then Queen Charlotte insisted they do some shopping in the city where things got a little messy between her mother and Clover's. If they weren't arguing about sparkling mirrors then it was about diamond jewelry or extravagant ball gowns. But that is not the reason she's here right now, no she's here because her brother made it known he saw a maid coming from Clover's bedchamber. She did not think much of it but then he said matter-of-factly that she smelled like sex when she walked past him. Evageline knew her brother was far from innocent and if anyone can smell that stench then it would be him. Unfortunately for her, Edward had told their father before telling her and King Lucien all but demanded that she do something, because if she doesn't keep Clover satisfied then another woman will. And she can't have that. She knew Clover's heart belonged to another and she's positive her father would ring her neck if he found out.
She swallows past the lump in her throat and knocks three times on the closed door.
"Enter" came from inside the bedchamber.
She bites the inside of her cheek as she looked around again, she knew that she could still run away but instead she opened the door and walked inside "Good afternoon. I apologize for dis-"
She cuts herself off when she sees the bath in the middle of the room with him sitting in it. Clover too was startled to see her, he thought perhaps it was Mia who had come back because she forgot something. "What do you want?" he barks out
She tenses at his tone before scoffing "Is that how you speak to your future wife?"
"I'll speak to you however I please, now tell me what do you want."
Her hands clench into fists at her sides because this is not going how she had planned and she rakes her brain for a back up plan "Well I wanted to inform you that we chose a cake"
His eyes narrow as he questions "We?"
"Our mothers and me. I told you they were going with me"
"I know that but I want to know if they chose the cake or did you?"
"The latter."
He scoffs "I don't believe you. I know my mother enough to know that she wants the wedding to go according to her way."
So does her mother. She shrugs her shoulders "We came to an agreement together"
Half true, what she doesn't mention is that she wanted a vanilla and strawberry cake but both their mother's convinced her it was too childish so they settled on chocolate. Which is her least favourite.
He stares at her for a moment and for the first time since he met her, she seems out of her element. "Why are you really here, Princess?" he asks in a low voice that made her stomach flip.
She holds his eyes as she reaches behind her and start undoing her dress, kicking off her heels at the same time. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and shock shoots through his body, making him sit up straighter "What are you doing?"
"Joining you." her voice drops an octave "I need to freshen up for dinner either way and it's best if we save water, right?"
He grits his teeth as her dress drops to the floor, leaving her in undergarments which she starts taking off as well "Stop." he murmurs
But she doesn't. Because all she can hear in the back of her head is her father's words that another woman will please him.
Clover stares at the wall to avoid looking at her as she climbs into the bath as well, taking a seat opposite him so she's facing him. He can't help but let out a laugh that's void of humour "You do know your reputation will be ruined if anyone came in right now, right?"
"Then let's hope no one comes in."
He watches dumbstruck as she takes the sponge from him before scrubbing her skin, the water is high enough that it covers her breasts from his view but he's still seeing way too much of her.
Collarbone and arms.
She hums a song to appear unbothered but her heart is beating so fast she's afraid he might hear it, so she tries to distract herself from her nerves "You know, many people questioned why I do not have an engagement ring on"
"Probably because I didn't propose to you, techinally my parents did so they should get you a ring"
She bites her bottom lip to hide her smile, because she refuse to let him know she finds his sarcasm funny at times. She startles him as she puts a foot on his shoulder "What the hell are you doing?" he hisses
"Washing my legs" she says unbothered as she starts scrubbing her legs. He grits his teeth and he clenches his hands under the water to keep himself from doing something stupid.
When she feels satisfied that she's clean, she passes the spondge back to him. He watches her for a moment before saying "I did not take you as someone who shares."
Her eyes snaps to his "I don't."
He was referring to the sponge of course but she's clearly referring to something entirely different. Or someone. Heat pools low in his stomach when he sees a hungry look in her baby blue eyes that wasn't there before and he knows damn sure she's not starving for the food downstairs.
She raises a leg and puts it on his muscular chest before using her toes as she moves downwards and he tenses before grabbing her ankle "Stop being a brat"
She huffs out a laugh "I am not doing anything"
He glares before dropping her foot back down next to him and she stares at him for a moment before she suddenly moves onto her hands and knees, bringing her face so close to his that he can feel her minty breath on his cheek. He gives her a firm look "Stop playing around, Princess"
"Eva" she whispers and he raises a questioning brow "Call me Eva"
He doesn't.
But she doesn't let that crush her spirit, her eyes roam over his face and there's something in her eyes that looks almost like…awe. When her eyes land on his lips, she swallows heavily which makes his heart start hammering against his rib cage and he knew what was coming before she closed her eyes and leaned forward.
His eyes dart to her lips for a milisecond before he turns his head away, which makes her kiss his cheek instead and his entire body feel like it's on fire. She opens her eyes and lets out a soft laugh "Stop teasing me"
"I'm not." he says sharply which erases all humour from her face "From the moment you started undoing your dress I told you to stop but did you listen? No. Not that's a surprise, because you never do listen."
"Oh, I just thought-"
"Thought what?" he demands but doesn't give her a chance to reply before he says "That we would chat and giggle like old friends then we'd kiss, touch each other and then live happily ever happy?" he lets out a dark laugh which makes dread shoot through her "Let me make this as crystal clear to you as possible, Evageline. You and me? We are not lovers, hell we are hardly friends. Acquaintances at best. I do not want to marry you and the thought of having to be intimate with you makes me sick to my stomach, I only want one woman and you're not her"
She feels so pathetic with her shoulders slumped and tears pricking the back of her eyes but she loves a good torture so she sits for a moment and let his words sink in. When they finally do, she tips her lips up in the smile she has come to perfect "Got it, Crown Prince Clover"
He almost winces at the full title she used but chooses to focus instead on the wall as she climbs out of the bath again before he can tell her where to find a towel, she's already heading toward the door wearing her dress again and her undergarments in a ball in her hands. Clover feels a pit in his stomach as he watches her walk out, slamming the door shut so hard that his windows rattle and he lets out a soft curse as he rubs a hand down his face. He thought putting her on her place would bring him satisfaction but right now he feels anything but satisfied. And that feeling worsened when she didn't join them for dinner that night.
Over the next few days Clover finally understood why Princess Evageline got the name 'Ice Princess', because she icy oh right. He thought she was a mouthy brat before but now she's as cold as ice. He hardly saw her and that made him realize she was always the one soughting him out now that she's not, he don't get to see her. When he did get her she was either with her brother or her lady in waiting which made it not easy to talk to her. Whenever they sat down in the dining hall with their families she would not once look his way and when he tried to make conversation, her answers would be clipped. She went from sarcastic and mouthy to polite and stiff. Everyone can see the change but nobody knows how to break down her walls. Although he has been using the time to sneak off with Mia whenever he can, the other night the two of them had a date on the palace rooftop and he was reminded just how much he loves her. He has been tense the past days but the moment he heard her laugh and she saw her bright smile, the knot in his stomach disappeared and he felt lighter. He always did when he was around Mia. He knows he should probably tell her of the night Evageline was in his bedchamber but he didn't want to sour the mood with negativity. Because in his eyes that's what Evageline was for them, a negative thing in their lives.