A knock on the door was never enough.

I knew I shouldn't go in, but there was no earthquake that woke that woman up from the other side of the door. I wondered what kind of magic Kai would use to pull her out of her sleep every day. But my voice certainly didn't have that effect on her.

I thought about going in and waking her up by touching her cheek like last time, but I assumed that I was breaking a few laws by doing so, so I let my imagination run wild and created a repertoire of awakenings that were undoubtedly invasive but less intimate than that touch that shook my heart that morning.

To begin with, why not put the true effect of an earthquake to the test?

The second morning, after the rigorous ten fruitless minutes of knocking on her door and requesting her awakening, I made sure there was no one else in the corridor and went back into her room.

Anna lay there. In her bed, one leg dangling, the other completely crossed by the mattress, and her arms over her head. Her hair was the most tangled thing I had ever seen and I figured that after that morning, she would have to cut it off. No one could undo that tangle without spending a few hours on it. And her face… The morning light that filtered through the curtains illuminated the tip of her tiny nose that peeked out from under her arms; and also her chin; and her lips. Her mouth remained ajar and totally relaxed. I would have paid to continue having that disastrous yet endearing image of her every morning.

I smiled to myself and wondered if I should try to wipe the trickle of drool that ran down her cheek before waking her so she wouldn't feel embarrassed. But I figured waking up while I was cleaning it would have made the situation a lot more embarrassing, so I just got down to business.

"Forgive me, Anna," I whispered standing at the foot of his bed.

The time had come. If after that I wasn't fired or convicted, I might consider myself a lucky man, but I had to do it.

"Earthquake!"

I started screaming loudly as I shook hard her bed as if it were a real earthquake until Anna suddenly opened her eyes, sat up, and jumped out of bed. Then, seeing how the floor was not moving at all and how I carefully let go of her bed with an irrepressible mocking smile on my face, she became like an adorable tomato, approached me with a frown, and kicked my shin.

"Ow!
"You asked for it! If there is another earthquake tomorrow, the kick will be a little higher up."

And, with that note that made me cringe just imagining it, she went with a dignified air to her bath chamber.

On the third morning, I made sure to treasure one of my few prized possessions by stopping by the castle kitchen before going to wake her up. There, the cooks told me that Anna was passionate about chocolate, so I assumed that some chocolates would be a good choice. I thanked them for her help and, with a small tray full of them, I set out to spend ten precious minutes of my life knocking on her door and coming in to give her a sweeter and safer awakening.

I approached her slowly. That time she was sleeping face down, completely sprawled, as if she had fallen from the ceiling, and with the pillow over her head. Needing a hole through which to make it reach her, I slowly lifted her pillow, letting me see how her expression wrinkled when the light touched her, and I brought a small chocolate to her nose.

"If you don't want them I guess they can brighten my morning."

Her nose moved gracefully from side to side, as if trying to discern what was that wonder that invaded her space, and, once the doubt was resolved, still without opening her eyes, she raised her arm to hold my hand and guided the chocolate to her mouth.

That shouldn't have seemed so exciting to me, but to feel her hand direct mine towards her mouth, to feel the brush of her lips on my fingers, and to see her teeth dig into the chocolate and her tongue slowly lick her lips just right after… I had to take a deep breath to keep my composure, but I almost lost it again when her lids slowly opened and her eyes met mine. I couldn't prove it, but I bet the blush was mutual.

"Uh… fine. With this I forgive you what happened yesterday," she said, sitting up slowly and slightly hiding her face to the side.
"So did I buy your pardon with chocolate?" I answered laughing.
"Not that I sold it to you, you earned it. And, now, stay away from my chocolate."

She took the tray from my hands nimbly and put another chocolate in her mouth while I looked at her with amusement and at the same time surprised that she still had her long (and again very tangled) hair.

"But don't think that I'll always make it so easy for you," she mumbled all mouth full and giving me a wicked smile.
"I wasn't expecting less from you."

I turned around with a smile that I could not contain and left there without daring to look back.

After a whole day of those chocolate lips in my memory and ten more minutes behind her door, it was time to go back into her room.

Knowing that that was more familiarity than I was entitled to but feeling that she would not mind, I sat next to her refraining from staring at her expression again. I didn't think I would be able to deal much longer with that carefree and terribly soft woman who filled my thoughts without falling into a well from which I could not get out.

I settled my lute on my torso and began to play some soft notes that would bring her out of her sleep slowly and pleasantly. As there was no reaction on her part, I included my voice in the pack and sang to the music. I continued to play and play, and sing and sing more, and I didn't notice a single movement of her body. How was it possible that she didn't even wake up to the music playing right next to her ears? I finally turned to look at her face doubting what I should do then, and found her eyes fixed on me, with a sweet smile and a beautiful blush on her cheeks.

"How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to know that I want to hear more, can I?"

Flattered and embarrassed at the same time, I nodded silently and hid my feelings deep in the melody until it was finished.

"Thanks. It was a nice awakening," she whispered, directing my very red face towards hers, gently pulling my chin with her very fine and strong fingers, thus removing my speech.
"I should… should go to do… things."

'And here's the king of eloquence.'

"Okay. Hope you enjoy doing your things. See you tomorrow."

I nodded again and withdrew not knowing where I was going or what was I going to do and fearing that it was too late to avoid that deep well.

The next dawn, on my way to the castle, a perfect kestrel feather landed at my feet and I knew immediately what the next step would be.

After a couple of minutes trying to wake Anna up behind her door, and knowing that the next eight would have been in vain, I went into her room and closed the door. I approached her bed where she was waiting for me, sound asleep and terribly seductive. Her chaste nightgown was partially unbuttoned, revealing a few inches of new skin for me. She lay on her side, one arm trapped between her legs and the other under her head. Her lips, closed this time, seemed moist and tender, and her legs, God, her legs poked dangerously under the overly gathered fabric of her nightgown.

Maybe it wasn't the most suitable day for the feather thing… I looked around in search of something with which to wake her gently and that did not involve physical contact, but definitely, the freshly washed and dried feather that was waiting in my hand, was the only thing that had within my reach. I gulped, steeled myself, and leaned over her slightly. Very slowly and superficially, I began to stroke her arm with the feather, but, as expected, that wasn't effective on the fabric. Trying not to think too much about it, I went a little further and rested the tip of the feather on her cheek. I slid it by drawing her face with it; it ran over her cheekbone, her tiny nose, the edge of her lips, her jaw, her neck, God, her neck. Could there be something more erotic in this world? If there was, I had no doubt that it was hiding under her nightgown.

Little by little, I could feel her body tensing. Her eyes didn't open a millimeter, but she closed them tightly; her lips tightened and her toes drew in. Was she trying to pretend she was sleeping? If this was a challenge she was throwing at me, I would gladly accept it.

I took the feather decisively and changed my target. I walked to the foot of the bed and began to gently tickle the feather from her ankles up her legs to her knees. There was a little more uncovered skin left, but I wouldn't have dared to venture into such dangerous territory. Instead, as I watched in amusement as her goosebumps rose, I lowered my hand back down to his ankles and launched into my special attack: the feet.

She couldn't resist it. Within seconds, she was writhing on the spot and crying with laughter. Was that woman really a princess? During those months of work, it had become clear to me that she was funny, intelligent, brave, a little thoughtless, painfully beautiful, kind, honest, compassionate, natural… But, a princess? No. Maybe she truly was, but somehow, she was not a princess to me. I knew she must be; my job depended on it, and partly my skin too, but for me, the woman who had just thrown a pillow in my face was Anna, just Anna.

The morning after, I didn't bring anything to wake her up with. For some reason, I felt that the brush of my hands on her skin wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. After a couple of courtesy knocks on the door that, of course, received no response, I entered that room that was becoming more and more familiar to me and approached the woman I loved.

Anna slept pleasantly with a hint of a smile on her lips, a lock of hair in her mouth, the hair even more tangled than the first day, and an unbuttoned button more than the day before. The light from the window made her skin glow as if it were an angel's, and her chest rose and fell slowly in time with her breathing. At what point had I earned the privilege of witnessing that wonderful scene every morning? Life giving me those moments was a gift or a punishment? Why had I handed my soul down to a woman who would never be mine?

"…stoff…"

Anna's voice startled me, making me feel my thoughts exposed. But I soon realized that she was still asleep. Was she really not mine?

Her expression, even more smiling than before, completely captivated me. I wanted to tell her that I was there, for her. I wanted to kiss her; I wanted it with all my might; but I couldn't. I could never steal a kiss from her lips. Or, at least, that was what I believed.