The Royal Revenge
Chapter 156: Mumblings

Chapter 156: Mumblings

A person’s subconscious is a dangerous place to be for someone who wasn’t supposed to be there. Aleksander knew the risks if he tried to enter forcefully, especially the fact that Elys’ mind seemed to be more guarded even compared to most vampires in the kingdom.

The young king’s hand hovered above Elys’ forehead.

A second ago he had tried to enter her head, but then he hesitated and now his hand was stuck motionless for almost five minutes already.

’This feels wrong,’ he thought to himself, ’I vowed to protect her safety if she agreed to rest here where I can watch over her, and yet here I am trying to invade her privacy.’

Suddenly, Elys’ words from when they argued ringed inside the vampire’s head.

’You can always just speak to me, you know?’ Elys had told him.

She was right...

His wife was the master of her own mind and body, and Aleksander shouldn’t be deciding on his own about anything regarding Elys. He needed to remind himself that over and over again, until the time that he didn’t need to anymore.

Aleksander withdrew his outstretched hand, and then pulled the sheer fabric of the canopies to close them. He leaned back on his chair and just decided to watch over Elys as she slept.

"Father..." she mumbled, "it was all my fault... I am so sorry."

’No, it was the fault of my people,’ Aleksander bit his lips, ’the fault of pride and greed, the fault of a crazy king, an intolerant queen, their son who was so hungry for power... and perhaps a coward prince who wallowed in his own self-pity.’

An hour passed by and Aleksander sat still as he waited for the sun to rise. It was five hours well before sunrise, and the vampire was as alert as ever.

Their aversion to the sun made vampires nocturnal beings, most active during the night and sound asleep during the day. Although they didn’t really perish with sunlight, the bright rays were extremely annoying to their eyes that they’d rather not waste their time out during the day.

Aleksander heard Elys turn for the nth time in the bed, a pillow knocked over the edge and stumbling towards the floor. It dropped near Aleksander’s foot, and he reached out a hand to grab it.

The young king stared at the pillow for a while, noticing the intricate embroidery that was designed into the item’s cover. A bloody rose... the royal family’s emblem to which he had hated for the longest time.

How funny the world has turned around and now he was the one who could use it however he wanted. Aleksander let out a soft smirk, but quickly regretted his action as Elys jerked in her bed. This time around, she had kicked another pillow down, this one a bit larger than the first.

Aleksander smiled at how silly she slept. As if by cue, she would toss and kick or punch one pillow after another over the edge of the bed. He bent down, picked up at least two pillows and then padded his way to return the pillows by Elys’ side.

"Pardon me," he whispered as he pulled the sheer canopy aside to see where he should put the pillows back.

Just as Aleksander leaned forward to arrange the pillows, Elys turned and accidentally smacked his face with her hand. Aleksander held himself back from reacting. Although Elys was asleep, her hand still packed at least a punch with its force.

The young king was amused with the both of them. He would have never thought in his entire life that he would be able to tolerate anyone who would hit him. Not even someone who would do it repeatedly - although partly it was his responsibility to take.

"..."

Aleksander caught wind of something Elys mumbled in her sleep. He was not able to catch up to what she said, and out of curiosity, the young king leaned his ears towards his wife’s mouth.

"Why can’t I get a hug?" Elys mumbled softly.

Aleksander felt his ear burn with the words Elys said. He was about to move away when out of the blue, Elys’ hands raised and reached for the nearest thing they could get their hands on.

"Give me a hug..." she groggily said.

Aleksander stiffened as he didn’t see it coming at all. He was proud of his reflexes and reaction time, but even he wasn’t able to escape the lightning speed of his wife’s arms that had now surrounded him.

"Elys?" he asked, the burning in his ear spreading all around his head and face now. "Are you even awake? W-Why..."

He couldn’t talk coherently, dumbfounded by the fact that Elys initiated a hug with him. The warmth from his ear has now travelled down his neck and torso. If he let this thing be until his wife would release him, then it might become a big problem.

Not only for him, but that for Elys.

’Well, at the very least she isn’t using her magic in her sleep,’ a voice spoke at the back of his mind.

Now that would be one painful disaster they could never want to happen.

Aleksander tried to wiggle himself out of the hug. Slowly he twisted his body to get himself out, but then Elys would tighten her arms around him – particularly on his waist which made things down there a bit... excited.

If the king could have looked at himself at the moment, then he would see that his face had already turned into a ripe tomato with embarrassment.

"Don’t go away, please," Elys whispered, a sad tone in her voice.

Aleksander glanced at her face to convince himself she wasn’t playing around with him. Elys’ eyes were closed, her mouth half open and already spouting a few nonsenses in between her coherent ones.

She was indeed asleep.

Why did she suddenly want a hug? And from who was she addressing her mumblings at? Her father?