The sun is brightly shining on Leo's face as he grunted, slowly waking up from his sleep. He opened his eyes and let out a yawn, that soon turned into a smile, feeling blissful. Nadia's arm rested tightly around his waist as she hugged the Magician from behind. He turned around carefully, trying not to wake her up. She was smiling softly in her sleep with a few locks of hair on her face, which Leo brushed away gently.
"Mm..." The Countess let out a little noise and slightly opened her eyes.
"Good morning, beautiful." He said and pressed a light kiss on the tip of her nose, letting a gentle touch linger on her naked shoulder.
"Morning, handsome. How fortunate I am to have such a fine man by my side. Leo, you're making me so happy."
"Nadia..." He looked deep into his fiancée's eyes and smiled warmly. His lips brushed against her's as he spoke. "You are the whole package!"
"Using my own compliments against me? How brave of you, but it's hardly working." Her smile turned into a more wicked one, when his hand landed on her bare back, caressing slowly. "You ought to try harder if you want to seduce me."
His hand wandered lower and stopped just above her buttocks. "Who said I hadn't seduced you yet?"
The Countess raised her eyebrows and pulled Leo closer to her naked body. "My, my, you never seduced me,Iseduced you."
"What?" He reached even lower and grabbed a handful of her butt. Nadia made a soft noise, which was like a blessing to his ears. "No, I used my magic tricks on the sexy and smart Countess, and now she's mine forever. She's the best thing in my life, and I'm not letting her go, because I love her with all my heart." Her smirking made the Magician blush lightly, God, what an effect she has on him.
"Well, this must be a coincidence, because I used my tricks on a handsome magician and now he's laying in the same bed as me. It's very easy to make him blush, and I love him." Her hand caressed his chest and shoulder, stroking the soft flesh smoothly.
Leo slid his hand to her thigh and put it around his body, so he could quickly turn them around. With him on top of her, he could do anything he wanted with his lover and ruler. She looked so beautiful under him; it's hard to resist such beauty like Nadia. "By the goddess, you are so irresistible." He leaned down to kiss her, and she gladly parted her soft lips for him. The kiss was gentle and passionate as their hands roamed up and down on their bodies.
"Eager, aren't you?" Nadia murmured as their lips parted. "Then show me how much you love your sexy and smart Countess."
"As you wish, Milady."
Later
"Well..." Nadia swallowed hard as they stared at the golden carpet, which leads them to the entrance of the Pakran rulers' palace. "We're here." She tried to hide her anxiety, but Leo knew she's nervous. He already knows her too well.
"Nadia Satrinava, the seventh princess of Prakra, Countess of Vesuvia has arrived!" A man shouted, and three lines of soldiers immediately rushed to both sides of the carpet, saluting to their youngest princess. The crowd happily cheered and stood still amazed by her beauty. "Accompanying the Princess, her beloved fiancé, Leo the Magician of Vesuvia!"
"They love you." Leo said, smiling at his lover.
"They just haven't seen me in a long time. My parents are the ones they love, not me." Nadia smiled back at them and nodded to both sides. "Shall we?" She smiled at Leo as well, then squeezed his hand. "We're fashionably late already. My parents don't like it when I'm too late."
At the gate, Natiqa welcomed the lovers. She kissed Nadia's cheeks and hugged Leo. "Ahh, there you are, dear sister! And you brought Leo with you as well! Now, people! Please hold your applause until the lovebirds get inside the palace. Thank you!"
"I told you, Nafeesah, our daughter is always late!" The Emperor walked back and forth, while the Empress sighed and continued sewing that little piece of cloth.
"My dear Nabil, please calm down. Didi isn't a baby anymore; she'll be there soon. Who knows, maybe she wrecked her carriage again."
"Wrecking carriages seems like a new habit to her." Nasmira added in a soft tone.
"Father, Mother, dear sisters." Natiqa walked into the throne room, followed by Nadia, Leo and Portia who joined them at the entrance.
Leo looked around, feeling amazed by the palace's looks. Everything's made from expensive goods, emerald, marble, gold, amethyst, and a thousand more treasure. The rooms are tall and bright, like heaven.
"Oh my..." Nadia's mother put down the little cloth she just sewed and rushed to her youngest daughter, hugging her tightly. "Look should look at yourself, how beautiful you are, sweetie." The behaviour of Nafeesah filled Leo's heart with warm happiness. God, how much he wished for a caring mother. "Ahh, and you must be Leo, my future son-in-law." She looked over Nadia's shoulder, smiling at the Magician.
"Yes, Milady. It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed to the Empress.
"What a charming, handsome man you found for yourself, Nadia! You have an excellent taste in men lately. Hope this one is better than Lucio." She paused for a moment. "My, of course, he's better than that hooligan!" She chuckled softly, making Leo smile. "He must be a good man; my daughter fell in love with him after all."
"Love is the first condition." The Emperor slowly walked closer with his mysterious figure, making Leo's heart beat faster. "The second is rank." He stopped in front of Nadia, grabbed both of her shoulders firmly and kissed her cheeks. "You can be a gentleman, but if you are just a peasant, you don't have anything to do here or with my daughter." He smiled at her, but somehow it made the Countess scared. "My little daughter. The youngest and the most beautiful of all. Her beauty, kindness and mind are well known across the whole empire. I'm proud of her." He swallowed and let go of Nadia, then turned to Leo. "I'm sure she doesn't want to disappoint me."
"Father-" Nadia tried to speak, but somehow the words failed her. They both know Leo isn't from a noble family, because he has no family at all.This is not going to end well.
"Quiet, my children, let the men speak." There's something fearful in his eyes, t
"I-I'm sure she would never want to disappoint you, Milord."
"Mm...I hope so. Here, people say that a good woman is like wine. The older, the better. Woman get wiser with age, Leo. Year's ago, Nadia made a mistake once by marrying Lucio. But now she's a mature woman; I trust her choice if they are good enough for my conditions. You two are already in love. So, what's your rank, Leo the Magician of Vesuvia? Or you are just a poor magician with nothing?"
Leo's heart raced even faster. He knew the answer wouldn't please the Emperor, but he already came this far. "As I know, I don't have any ranks, sir. I'm not noble either. I lost my memory four years ago due to amnesia, and I don't remember anything about my family nor ancestors. The only thing I know is that-"
"Enough!" The Emperor glares at Leo, and suddenly everyone's heart skips a beat. Silence rules across the room until Nabil speaks again. "You're not good enough for my daughter, Magician. Guards!" Nadia gasps as the words left her father's lips. "Imprison him!"
The world seemed to fall apart, and without thinking, Nadia drew out her sword, pointing it at the Emperor. "Don't you dare!"
"Oh, darling. Think before you act. If you kill me, I let my guards kill your lover. His life is in your hands." He spoke bravely with his daughter's sword at his throat: just one move and his life end.
"Nadia, don't. Please, he doesn't worth it." Leo said, already pinned to a wall by two guards. But the Countess listened to him and dropped her sword, tears running down her cheeks.
"Oh, dear." Nafeesah wiped away a tear from her own face and squeezed Nadia's shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"Father, you can't do this." Nadia said, sobbing painfully.
"My country, my palace, my daughter. I'm the Emperor; I do what I want, and you don't have the right to say anything against my decisions. The story ends here. Guards! Put him in the darkest cell and let the rats share it with him!" He immediately walked back to his throne, sat down and stared at his other daughters. His eyes almost spoke to them, and they said that the should not interfere.
"No! Leo! Don't listen to him, bring Leo back!" The Countess tried to stop them, but another guard held her back from rescuing her lover.
"Nadia!" Leo shouted back, but the doors closed after him, and he suddenly found himself imprisoned.
The rest of the Satrinava family just stood there and watched the tragedy of the youngest princess and the Magician.
Nadia turned to the Emperor and glared at him. "I warn you, Father! If you hurt Leo, I will cause you pain that you can't even imagine!" And she rushed out, straight to her old bedroom. She collapsed on top of her bed and cried like she never did before.
A sudden knock disturbed her loud sobbing. "Nadia, sweetie. Can I come in?"
"I-I want to be alone, Mother." No, she wanted Leo to calm her down, to play with her hair and hold her close. She needed him to bring peace to her heart and mind.
"The hell you want to be." She opened the door and walked over Nadia. "Ohh, dear. Don't cry, sweetie, it's going to be alright. I'll talk to your father, we fix everything, and you can marry your loved one."
"Mom, it's not as easy as-"
She sat down next to her daughter and caressed her face. "You know your father wants the best for you. Well, maybe he overreacted this time but didn't mean to harm you. My child, he's going to release Leo soon, I promise you." Somehow the Empress' words made Nadia's heart soften, but it's still not enough to stop the emptiness in her heart.
"Please, Mother. I really love him." Nadia felt so pathetic for crying and acting like a child, but she couldn't help it. She's missing him so much.
"I know, sweetie. I'm sure he loves you too. Your sisters told me quite interesting stories about you two." They chuckled.
"Well, Leo is my knight in shining armour. He helped me investigating Lucio's death. Without him, I would've never solved it. He's a brilliant man with a sharp mind, humour, good looks and kind heart."
The Empress smiled and kissed Nadia's forehead. "Sounds like someone worth fighting for." Nadia smiled back at her Mother, enjoying the kindness. "Well, are you gonna sit here and cry like a baby, come down and have dinner with your family. We all missed you, dear."
"I don't think that's a good idea." After what happened with her father, she would only feel anger towards her family.
"Ohh come on, don't be angry. We go down, eat and I'll speak with the Emperor. Your Leo's going to be free by midnight." She stood up and walked to the door, slowly opening it.
"Thank you, Mother." She swallowed.
"And ohh, your servant is a quite cute one! What's her name? Umm...The little cat lover lady. Portia! Yes, her name is Portia. Her hands are a little slippery, but she's welcomed in the palace as long as you stay here."
"She's also a good friend. And mom?" The Empress turned back. "I've missed you too." They both smiled, then the Empress left the room, later followed by Nadia. The Countess didn't eat much during the awkwardly quiet dinner, and when she went back, it was still much before midnight.