"Arielle, can you just stay in the North without going back to the South?" Ronan looked her deep in the eye. There was an expression of longing on his handso face.
Arielle couldn’t give him an answer right away. Her mind was too blank for words. When Ronan kissed her, she beca dazed.
Ronan gently stroked Arielle’s lips with his thumb. He felt guilty for pushing too hard. However, he did not, not even a tiny bit, feel sorry at all for kissing Arielle. If he wanted to, Ronan could even pull her by the neck to get closer to him and kiss her again.
"I got word that the king of Nieverdell has found a pair of wild wolves," said Ronan.
When she heard the news, Arielle was brought back to her senses. She pushed his body to keep the king’s distance in one that was more appropriate for conversation.
"Father has found a replacent wolf for ?" asked Arielle. If her family found a pair of wild wolves, that ans it was only a matter of ti until Nieverdell could get a baby wolf from them and gave it to Northendell.
She looked happy when she heard this good news.
Ronan’s brows twitched in displeasure at the girl’s enthusiasm. So, she was excited about returning to her ho kingdom. Even though Arielle’s situation in the North was only temporary, Ronan wanted Arielle to always be near him.
"Hm," replied the king curtly.
"The north is nice... the people here are also very friendly. I like the north... but I have another life in the south," Arielle said quietly. She felt guilty for not being able to accept Ronan’s request.
"Why? Doesn’t your family hate you? Here, you can get whatever you want. I’ll give you whatever your heart desires."
Arielle got up and stepped back. She smiled at the king, who continued to stare at her pleadingly.
"In the South, I am still the daughter of a king. I also have a lot of friends in the South that I am missing. There are places that I always go to and they hold many mories for . As bad as it is, the South is still my ho. And it will always be the place I go ho to," Arielle replied.
Her hand grabbed so blank paper and pen from the king’s desk.
"Marry , and I will make the North your ho and place for you to go ho to," said Ronan, suddenly.
Arielle stood rooted to her spot for a mont. Then, she turned to leave the king’s study. At first, Arielle wanted to leave without answering Ronan’s proposal, but it felt like it would be wrong to leave sothing without ending it on good terms.
"Your Majesty, I am truly grateful for the offer you made. But kindness between friends cannot go that far. You should think more seriously about the consequences of your offer just now."
"No friends kiss like what we did," Ronan grumbled quietly so that Arielle wouldn’t hear him.
"I hope you won’t say things like that again in the future." Arielle bowed respectfully and withdrew. She was followed by her small family of rabbits as she left the king’s study.
Ronan punched his desk and then cursed softly.
Arielle’s refusal just now left an uncomfortable feeling in him. The man got up and walked slowly towards the glass window. He looked at the figure of Arielle, who carried the rabbits across the palace gardens towards the Whitethorn palace.
His hands clenched tightly. How could he prevent her from going ho? He was not ready to see her go. Not now, not ever.
An idea suddenly flashed through his head, making the man grin. "Hm-hm. I will make you stay in the North longer."
***
Arielle returned to her room to share the happy news she just got to Tania.
"Tania, have you heard of it?" said Arielle while taking off her coat, which was then accepted by Tania.
"Heard of what?"
"His Majesty the King said father has found a pair of wolves."
"Really, Your Highness?" asked Tania in disbelief.
Arielle nodded, and the two hugged happily. Arielle and Tania just had to wait patiently because, in a few months, Nieverdell would get a new wolf pup to replace the wolf that Prince Alexis had killed.
Arielle spent the rest of the day learning to write. When she got bored, she would pick up her brush and canvas to start painting.
***
The next day, Arielle prepared breakfast for the king, but Lucas said that Ronan had left the palace since yesterday. Arielle could only return to her room feeling disappointed.
Strangely, the next day when Arielle wanted to visit, William said that Ronan had not returned. William was alone in the king’s study finishing so of the work Ronan had left off all day yesterday.
"Didn’t he tell you where he went?" asked Arielle curiously.
"Unfortunately, no." William let out a long sigh. "And today His Majesty should go to the western border. It seems we have to postpone it again."
Ah, Arielle rembered, Ronan said he was going to the west two days ago. He intended to take Arielle to see the Frostberry forest that was currently in harvest. Once again, Arielle had to return to her room disappointed.
However, this ti, Arielle didn’t go straight back to Whitethorn Palace but headed to the building in the south, the Cathedral. There were no nobles or other people in the prayer hall. Arielle took off her coat then chose to sit on the back bench.
The girl cupped her hands, then lowered her head to read the prayer in her heart. A priest ca in to make preparations for the morning blessing. When he saw Arielle alone, the priest greeted the princess, to which Arielle replied with a friendly smile.
Several people started to enter the prayer hall. Arielle watched them carefully. So people with better attire indicating they were from noble families sat in the front row seats, and people in plain clothes chose the seats in the back.
Not many people ca, but for Arielle who had always been to the Cathedral in the South, which was always quiet, for her, ten people were quite a lot. Her smile etched on her face when a priest made a trigram and gave warmth to the visitors.
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