I asked and the folks over on Instagram have spoken (reminder I have an Instagram where I post polls and other content related to the stories I write; its starrynights513 FYI lol) This is a double chapter Friday because I will be out of town this coming week and I don't know how much I will be able to write. So, I have posted chapters 21 and 22 today (8/20) so if you haven't read chapter 21 yet, please do. Or don't but you'll just be confused haha. Chapter 23 will be posted on next Friday (8/27) because I strongly doubt that I will be able to post on the 24th.
Time skip because I am READY for this ball to happen, and I think that all of you are too! But first, I am gonna treat you all to some...bits that helps to set up a bit of what will happen in the coming chapters. This is all fluff and some toe-dipping into some smut (but nothing too bad). I know y'all are patiently waiting but I swear that it is coming soon, just gotta sit through some plot.
Weeks had passed and Flora had been working hard on her reading lessons with Helia and working hard on his mouth as well. She had taken Saladin's advice to heart, to try and banish all feelings of guilt and shame from her head when she was with Helia. She had been hurt in the past, but Flora knew that if Helia were going to hurt her, he would have done so already. He could have told Krystal but every day at tea, he hadn't let on that there was anything between them. His conversations with Krystal were more relaxed and everything had seemed so at ease.
Flora knows that she should tell Krystal about her and Helia but whenever she saw Krystal smile because of him, it was so hard to say something. Flora knew that she and Helia had no set future together. He hadn't talked to his father and come the spring, he and Krystal were still destined to be married. It was now the first of September and the spring inched closer and closer. If she told Krystal about her nightly tutor sessions with Helia, she didn't know how Krystal would handle it. Flora could live with Krystal hating her, she was used to the people of Linphea hating her. But Flora did not want Helia and Krystal to be stuck in a loveless marriage with Krystal resenting Helia for having spent his evenings kissing her and not the princess. Flora would not ruin Krystal's marriage and come the spring if Helia had not talked with his father, Flora would step aside for Helia and Krystal to get married as planned.
It was the night before the ball to celebrate Duncan's deployment to Koria and Flora was in the kitchen, making a cake for Helia. She was grinding down cinnamon sticks with a mortar and pestle as Saladin had told Flora that Helia's favorite flavor of cake had been cinnamon. Helia stood in front of Flora, the large kitchen table separating them. He was busy writing down short and simple sentences for Flora to read aloud.
Helia set down the small stick of lead and held up the sheet of paper, "Alright, and this one?"
Flora looked up from her grinding to the paper that had been held in front of her.
"The sun set be..." Flora squinted her eyes in concentration as she stopped grinding down the cinnamon sticks, "behind the mou...moun...mount...Helia..." Flora looked to Helia with pleading eyes, and he gave her a small smile.
"Mountain." Helia came to her rescue, "The sun set behind the mountain."
Flora pouted as she returned her attention to the cinnamon and Helia pulled the piece of paper back to write another sentence.
"That one was hard," Flora remarked.
"We have been at this for three weeks, Flora. I have to challenge you." Helia shrugged as he wrote down another sentence of the paper. "You won't learn if I don't keep pushing you."
"You sound like my father." Flora scoffed as she finished grinding the cinnamon and set down the pestle on the counter. She grabbed the stone bowl of ground cinnamon and scooped the proper amount into the large bowl of cake batter.
"Smart man," Helia smirked as he set down the stick of lead.
"He was," Flora smiled as she mixed the cinnamon into the batter, "he was the smartest man I knew. He..." Flora looked up at Helia and blushed, "I think that he would have liked you."
Helia didn't know how to respond. He wouldn't really know how to act with Flora's father if he were still alive. He knew that he would have liked her father. They both loved to read and they both loved Flora, though Helia definitely loved Flora in a different way. However, Helia did not have the best experience when it came to fathers, and he didn't know if Flora's father would truly like him or not. Weren't fathers supposed to hate the men who tried to take their daughters away from them? And Helia knew that there were far better men than him, far better men for Flora. Her father would know that too.
"Next one."
Flora stopped stirring and stilled the wooden spoon in her hand, "Prince Helia would really like to kiss Flora right now."
"It doesn't say that, and you know it."
"I know," Flora smiled as she resumed her stirring, "I was just hopeful."
"You aren't going to distract me that easily. I have been trained to ignore distractions in order to carry out a mission." Helia rolled his eyes.
Flora looked at Helia's smooth handwriting on the paper and once again squinted her eyes in concentration, "The h...horse ran in the gr...gr...grass."
"Very good." Helia smiled, "You are my fastest learner."
"I am your only learner, or have you been tutoring someone else, Your Highness?" Flora pulled the batter-coated spoon out of the bowl and placed her finger in her mouth to lick away some batter that had gotten on her hand.
"Not at all, I don't think that I would have the patience for anyone else. You will come to find that I don't like very many people around here."
Flora laughed as she handed Helia the spoon and began filling metal pans with the batter, "You don't say."
Helia looked at the spoon and to Flora, "What am I to do with this?"
"Lick the batter off."
Helia brought his eyes up to look at Flora, his gaze full of confusion.
"What?" Flora giggled as she grabbed the pans filled with batter and put them in the oven, "You have never licked batter off of a spoon before?"
"No." Helia replied, "I was lucky enough each year for Saladin to bake me a cake and I never was with him when he baked it. I haven't spent much time in the kitchen before you came other than to...well..."
"Drink?"
Helia cleared his throat not wanting to respond.
"I remember the first night that I had come down here. You were at the table, a bottle in your hand and you were eating grapes. You yelled at me."
"I..." Helia exhaled, "I was really struggling with my attraction towards you in addition to my father's and Duncan's attraction to you."
"You were? Your father and Duncan didn't-"
"I have been attracted to you since the minute you stepped off that ship and my father and Duncan couldn't keep their eyes off you the whole night. It drove me insane and all I wanted was for my attraction to go away, or for you to get back on that ship and sail back to Linphea. But now I am so glad that you didn't. I don't think you understand the effect you have on men, and it makes me wonder every minute of the day how you could love a drunken prince like me."
"Because who else would teach you about licking spoons?" Flora teased as she took the spoon out of Helia's hand and licked the back of it. She gave the spoon back to Helia as she licked her lips of the residual batter that had landed on her mouth. "And because I find myself missing you more and more when we aren't together, you are sweet and kind when you want to be, you're very handsome, and I haven't been this happy in a long time. All thanks to you. How could I not love you?"
Helia looked at Flora and then back to the spoon and ran a hesitant tongue over the battered surface. It was weird but he had to admit that the batter was delicious. He took another lick, much more confident and sure than the other. Who would have thought that the daughter of a poor Linphean farmer and housewife would have the future king of Hademort licking batter off of spoons or teaching her how to read or have him wrapped around her finger?
"Does His Highness approve?" Flora asked as she reached behind her and took off her apron.
"He does." Helia rose from his seat at the wooden table and made his way over to stand next to Flora as she gathered the bowls and put them in the sink. Flora turned around and her nose bumped into the spoon, batter landing on her nose. Before she could rid the batter herself, Helia had reached up and ran his thumb over Flora's nose. Flora was feeling bold as she grabbed Helia's thumb and stuck it in her mouth. But she soon pulled away with a pop and her green eyes widened.
"I am so sorry, Your Highness!" Flora's voice was filled with panic, "I was too forward, and I didn't-"
Helia set the spoon down and bent down to capture Flora's lips with his own, tasting the cinnamon left on her tongue. His arms wrapped around her waist and became lost under the billowing pink fabric of her dress. He slowly backed away and looked at Flora.
"Don't apologize to me for doing something like that but I do have to say that now you have become the overwhelming one." Helia placed his hand under Flora's chin before placing another kiss on her lips. "Granted, you have always been overwhelming to me, hence the need to reach for whiskey when we first met."
"I was still too forward, Your Highness. I have never acted so boldly in my life." Flora blushed as she removed herself from Helia's hold, "I shouldn't have done that."
"And why not?" Helia asked as he moved to stand behind Flora, returning his arms around her waist as she began wiping down the large kitchen table. Helia placed his mouth on Flora's neck, his breath sending a chill down her spine.
"It's not proper nor is it ladylike," Flora answered.
Helia wrapped his arms tighter around Flora and pulled her closer to him. Her backside was now cradled against his crotch and his chest was against her back. Flora did her best to avoid becoming aroused by a part of Helia poking into the rounded flesh of her bottom. Was this his version of glowing green? Her mother told her that men would get like that if they were excited by someone, but she never really elaborated. Alyssa told Flora that she would let her know more when Flora was closer to her wedding day but Flora and her mother never made it that far.
"I didn't fall in love with you because you are proper or ladylike. A proper lady would know better than to treat a member of royalty with such insubordination and a proper lady would not be so obstinate. And a proper lady would not have yelled at a prince and shot ivy at his head. If I wanted a proper lady, I could have my choice of the women on the court, or I would be upstairs trying to get into Krystal's bedroom. But here I am, my arms wrapped around you and longing to kiss every inch of you."
Flora let out a soft moan as Helia's lips grazed over her shoulder and neck. She felt herself growing hotter and she looked down to see the top of her chest began to emit a light green tint. She had heeded Saladin's advice to not get caught up in what was wrong or right and to focus on just being in love with Helia. However, this was the first time that Helia had kissed her so indecently and had felt the trace of Helia's attraction towards her pressing against her. It felt so good and caused her head to spin and her knees to grow weak. Flora was close to losing it but not because she felt bad but because she felt so good. She should push Helia away from her to avoid a moment like their first night. She really didn't want to hurt him.
But there were a lot of things that she should do that she had ignored. She should have told Helia "no thank you" when he had offered to read to her, she should have held fast to her promise to keep Helia away after her rejection and suffer in silence. Flora was good at suffering.
Helia's hands slid up Flora's flat stomach and to her sternum. He wanted to touch more but he wouldn't, not without Flora's permission. But when his fingertips grazed the underside of her breasts, Helia was finding it so hard not to move up further. He was saved when Flora turned around, her eyes were once again like gems and her skin was alight with a light coating of green. It was nice to know that he had the same effect on her as she had on him.
Flora grabbed the end of the ties of Helia's tan shirt between her fingers and pulled, exposing the top of Helia's toned chest. Her hands roamed over the expanse of exposed skin and felt as Helia's chest rose and fell with each breath. Flora brought her hands down from the top of Helia's chest down his torso and resting where his shirt was tucked into his dark pants. She tugged on the shirt and Helia stepped back, Flora dropping her hands.
"Sorry." Flora blushed.
"Stop apologizing." Helia couldn't help but command as he reached down and replaced Flora's hands with his own. He knew how much Flora hated being told what to do.
Helia grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, pieces of dark hair falling on his pale face. Flora reached up and brushed back the hair that had fallen out of his low ponytail. Her hands lowered to his bare chest and traced the ridges of his muscles. She had seen him shirtless when she and Krystal had been at the arena to watch the men train, an activity that Krystal maybe enjoyed a little too much, but touching Helia's skin was so different. So much better.
Flora pressed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Helia's neck. Helia returned his arms around Flora's midsection and pulled her up, her legs once again wrapping around his slender hips. Helia placed her on the kitchen table, grabbing the wet cloth that Flora had used for cleaning after her baking, and tossed it away. He didn't know where it landed, and quite frankly, he didn't care.
"Helia," Flora exhaled in a voice no louder than a whisper, "I want you to touch me."
Helia felt his chest tighten and his body shake as his head registered what it was that Flora had asked of him. He bent down and met Flora's lips with his own in a soft and tender kiss. Flora's hands returned to Helia's chest and Helia's hands moved from Flora's waist and up her sides. He could feel the indentation of her ribs underneath the fabric of her gown, briefly worried about how thin she really was but he had supposed that Krystal too was fairly thin seeing as Linphean women did not need to develop a fatty layer to deal with a harsh winter like the women of Hademort. Winter was just a few months away and Flora's body would soon learn to adapt and Helia would be ever thankful for more of Flora to enjoy. Still, his hands traveled further, until his fingertips once again met the curve of Flora's breasts. Helia chuckled to himself as he thought about this had been the place where the missing fat from the rest of her body had been stored.
His hands quivered as they inched closer and closer to Flora's chest, desperate to touch her, but also hesitant of crossing a line that would make her uncomfortable or upset. But when Flora leaned into Helia's hands, Helia breathed in through his nose and moved his hands on top of Flora's breasts.
The kiss became more heated and passionate as Flora's hands moved lower down Helia's chest and onto his strong abdomen and Helia's hands began to move above Flora's clothed breasts. They felt so soft and Helia was desperate to rid Flora of the pink cloth that covered her body. Flora let out soft moans as she kissed Helia and felt his hands massage her breasts, she was desperate for more.
Flora bit down lightly on Helia's bottom lip before sticking her tongue further into Helia's mouth. She brought one of her hands up to his and guided it down to the side of her thigh.
"Helia..." Flora sighed as one of his hands now held her left breast and the other on her thigh.
Helia moved aside the fabric of Flora's dress and buried his hand under the pink cloth and placed it on her warm thigh. Everything about her was warm, smooth, and perfect. Helia pushed more into the kiss, causing Flora to fall back onto the table with Helia hovering above her, his hands still on her breast and thigh.
It was like a force was pulling them together and Flora felt like there was a force pulling her legs apart. Helia's body fit so perfectly between them, his cock straining in his pants as it bumped against the warm junction between Flora's legs. Helia's hand traveled further up the side of Flora's thigh and landed on the side of Flora's ass. He reached around and cupped the swell of her behind, feeling the soft and fatty flesh in his hand. Another place where her body stored the fat that had been missing from her torso. Just being able to touch such an intimate place on her body without the barrier of clothing was causing Helia's head to spin more than it already was and he was finding it harder and harder to find his breath as he continued to pour himself into his kiss with Flora.
Flora instinctively began to move her hips, grinding against Helia's clothed erection, causing the light green surrounding her skin to glow even brighter. Helia's breath began to become more and more labored as he felt Flora's body against him, and her kiss become more and more hungry and fevered.
He was going to kick himself about this later.
"Flora..." Helia groaned against Flora's mouth as he reluctantly removed his hands from her breasts and bottom, "...Flora."
Helia quickly disconnected the kiss and shot upright. The thick cloth straps of her gown had been pushed down to her shoulders and her breasts pressed against her dress as she caught her breath. Her messy hair, swollen lips, and hooded eyes were more than enough to tempt any man to her. Helia swore that she had a magic that went beyond the power of nature. But the glow of green dimmed and her blissful expression turned into one of worry.
"I...I didn't hurt you again did I?" Flora asked as her eyes frantically roamed over Helia's bare torso.
"No," Helia placed a kiss on Flora's cheek and helped her to sit upright on the table, "I am fine. More than fine actually. I just...I..." Helia sighed, "you deserve better than a kitchen table. And I needed to stop myself before I got carried away. You aren't the only one who needs help controlling themselves."
Flora nodded, her head held down and too ashamed of herself to meet Helia's eyes. She suddenly felt unconfident and embarrassed for how she had just conducted herself. Anyone could have walked in and seen her with the prince...under the prince moving her body, asking him for more. There were a lot of lessons that her mother hadn't taught her, but she knew what sex was and what it might feel like when she would finally want it. She had learned about it when she had gotten her first Rose Day and she had been taught about how important it was supposed to be. If it was supposed to be special and intended for the person that she loved and trusted most in the world, she wanted to experience it with Helia. She had never felt this way for anyone before and all she wanted was to physically show Helia how much she really loved him.
"I wanted..." Flora's voice trailed off, too nervous to finish her sentence. But Helia didn't need the whole sentence to know what it was that Flora had wanted.
"And I wanted to as well." Helia smiled as he tucked a section of hair behind Flora's ear, "Trust me, I have for a while now. You have no idea how long I have been fantasizing about having you in my bed and…" Helia caught himself and cleared his throat, "Not in a kitchen, Flora."
Giving a more confident nod, Flora kissed Helia's cheek before hopping down from the table and going to check on the cake. She grabbed two tea towels, took out the now-baked cake, and set it on a wire rack to cool. The warm scents of cinnamon and sugar filled the kitchen and Helia was hungry for both the cake and still hungry for the woman who baked it. He would always be hungry for her. He needed to get a fucking grip.
Helia reached forward and made a move to grab some cake, but Flora smacked the top of his hand.
"You are going to burn your hand if you touch that!" Flora scolded. "You can have some tomorrow. You know, on your birthday."
"Alright, alright." Helia held up his hands back as he conceded to the feisty handmaiden, "I will wait."
"Good." Flora giggled as she folded the hot tea towels and placed them on the counter next to the wire rack holding the cake. "You can have some cake at the ball."
Helia's face fell, "The ball isn't for me, remember?"
"Well I certainly will be celebrating you and I think that you should enjoy some cake tomorrow night."
"My father won't allow for a cake to be at the ball, especially not for me."
"And I am pretty sure that your father would not allow for a poor farm girl from Linphea to be at a royal ball but thanks to Krystal I am attending and my gown, unfortunately, is not nearly finished thanks to you."
Helia smirked, "I wasn't the one who told you to spend half of the night for the past three weeks kissing my face off instead of working on your dress for the ball."
"You could have pushed me away."
"I had a hard enough time pushing you away now." Helia chuckled. "And you know how stubborn and selfish I am, especially for you."
A small clock on the wall of the kitchen chimed and Flora turned her head to look at the time. It was midnight and Flora smiled as she turned back to the prince.
"It is getting late," Flora announced, "Her Highness will need an early start to her day to prepare for the ball. I must go to bed."
"Of course," Helia nodded before he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Flora's lips, something that he had done every night before departing the kitchen for the night. "I will see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Helia." Flora blushed.
"Goodnight, Flora."
Helia turned around and made his way out of the kitchen but stopped when Flora's soft voice called out to him.
"And Happy Birthday."