In retrospect, there was nothing stranger than to be laughing like never since coming to Kielstadt. Riding on the muddy road after an exhausting night, not to count all the surprises and revelations, seemed to her a way to escape the excessive weight of those truths.
Even the Prince's taunts about not being friends were lost at that moment. In that little moment on the way back, they could be themselves.
Alex even decided to show off some of her adventurous tomboy-acquired skills and leaned in her saddle to reach a mud puddle and throw some dirt on the Prince. When could a person have this opportunity again?
"Hey, stop you little pest!"
He laughed, trying to deflect, but the mud still hit him. Still riding the Prince took off his wet cloak and tunic, using the latter to hit Alexa like a whip.
"Ouch!" the wet wool weighed heavily, and it hurt, but she laughed back, deflecting a second blow.
When did the damsel start to find him so handsome?
In different ways, Klaus was as handsome as his sleeping brother. The dark hair of large and capricious waves, now wet and touching the skin of the neck and broad shoulders, freely; the strong chin and chiseled face of Dionysian beauty; the strong and shapely arms...
As he now chased her for more blows with the wet cloth, her vision captured the view from the prince's bare torso. In the middle of his chest, a huge vertical scar, faded with time, marred the perfect harmony of his body.
The maiden had only seen that kind of scar on the dead.
Slowing down, Alexa pointed to the scar, shamelessly asking,
"What was that?"
He knew what she was talking about without the need to look at, and replied,
"I have it for a long time. I don't remember how I got it, I was a child. But as you can see, I survived."
Alexa couldn't believe he didn't remember something like that unless he was just a baby, or a very small child. But would he have survived such a strike if it was inflicted when he was just a baby?
"I don't believe you! It's too big a scar for you not to remember! Was it a very painful defeat to keep in mind?"
"Don't be silly. I'm telling the truth. I have no other scars of note, by the way. I don't lose! Never!"
"Hahaha, the same arrogant prince ever!"
"Well, if you want to know so much!" he hit her with his wet tunic once, but not in a way that hurt her. She raised her hands to defend herself, while evaluating a way to get revenge, and he continued
"It happened when my mother died. They attacked us and killed her. They tried to kill me too. But I don't remember any of that. Satisfied?" he still tried to hit her a few times, but realizing she was trying to take his horse's reins, he maneuvered away from her.
"Ahhh!" Alexa agreed, stopping to disturb him. It was an intriguing story, but now she knew that the Black Queen had been murdered when Klaus was a child, and he had almost died too. Still, that scar was disturbing.
However, they soon saw the entrance to Schwarzenhofhausen, and their childish games ceased.
°°°
A huge, beautiful tub of warm, clean water waited for her, aromatized with flower essences, as promised by the Prince, in a room of his manor.
That definitely took a smile of satisfaction from the Greek girl. It was all she needed.
Alexa let her cold wet clothes fall to the floor, happy to finally be able to take them off, and eager to enter the comforting relief promised by that beautiful luxury object. Only her many-year-old habit of never fully undressing kept her from being totally naked. So she was keeping her inner tunic for protection.
In pleasure, she rubbed the honeysuckle petals on her face, and rubbed her hands, assessing that her nails definitely needed care. Her palms were almost healed, but she needed new clean bandages because for all intents and purposes Alexa should still carry them for a few more days. Who would believe that her 'burned hands' would heal so quickly, even with the best care?
The maiden was almost asleep in the tub of warm water when a different sound took her out of her lethargy. The door was opening,
"Alexa?"
It was Prince Klaus!
Alexa sank into the tub, just sticking her head out,
"Hey! I can not receive you now! Can't Your Highness knock before you come in?" she turned her face away in outrage, hiding she was panicking, in fact.
"This is my house, I don't need to knock," was his reply. If it were anyone else, it would have been unbelievable that he had come in, rather than apologizing and leaving. But this was Klaus von Donnersmarck. She heard his bare footsteps approaching the tub.
Barefoot steps?
Alexa turned to him, her heart pounding fast.
The Prince was at the other end of the tub, rummaging through the toiletries on the side table, and pretending not to pay attention to Alexa. He was still bare-chested, but no longer muddy. Even though the other end of the tub covered his lower body, Alexa could guess,
"A-are you naked ?!"
"I thought you would want to see my other scars. They're a lot harder to find," he teased, throwing a handful of tiny flowers at her.
"No! I do not want to see anything! I don't want to see you naked!"
"Well, I think differently, since you were looking at me so much on the way here," the Prince said teasingly as he poured some more clean water into the tub.
Alexa squeezed her eyes shut tight in response, "I didn't do any of that! I don't want to see your … thing!"
"Hahahahahahaha! Well, stay like this. With your eyes closed! I'm getting in the tub," the Prince warned.
Alexa felt the movement and displacement of the water when he actually did what he promised,
"You can't!" she protested but knew it was a lost battle.
"Alexa, stop protesting so uselessly! We don't need such games, you and me! Don't you understand that you have no choice but to be mine?" the sarcastic Prince threw his head back and leaned back on the bathtub, looking very pleased with himself as she kept sinking to the neck on the other side, her eyes wide open in shock.
"What are you talking about? Your arrogance and presumption in this regard are ridiculous! I don't HAVE to be yours!"
"Silly Lady! You heard it yourself! What do you understand about that prophecy anyway "
Alexa was about to answer when she heard heavy, fast footsteps in the hallway.
Panicking, she stared at the Prince.