Luckily, still in front of the schedule! Just a connecting chapter, I guess, but I hope you will like it nonetheless!

16.

The Feeling of Magic

King Severus was letting his gaze wander up and down Rolanda's body, taking in the sight she offered. The green dress complimented her golden eyes and her wonderful blonde hair and pointed out her wonderful curves. Her skin, now washed and looking smooth, was tempting and all he wanted was to touch it and find out how it really felt under his fingertips.

"Well, you look definitely better now that we have you in some decent clothes," Severus remarked, trying not to show any of his desire too open, therefore he was wearing his mask once again. "Ronan already introduced you to your tasks, I trust?"

Rolanda gulped as she felt a cynic answer tingling on her tongue as the king spoke to her, trying to swallow it done so she would not get herself in trouble in the very first minute.

She tried to sound as respectful as she could as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and replied:"Yes, your highness, he did."

"Very well, very well," Severus nodded, and Ronan bowed. "You may leave now, Ronan. I will see you tomorrow."

"As you wish, master," Ronan said and hurried down the stairs, a few moments later, they heard the oak door downstairs falling shut.

Severus focussed on Rolanda again and gestured around the room, asking:"How do you like my chambers? They already look very good, despite I have moved in only a few days ago. I had servants working day and night to have everything arranged according to my wishes."

"E-everything is looking very elegant and tasteful," Rolanda answered, asking herself why she felt so nervous in his presence. There was something about him that seemed to make her whole body vibrate, as if some unknown force was flowing through her veins, awakened by his presence. She had never felt something like this before, therefore she could not place this feeling, a fact that she disliked thoroughly.

"How nice of you, Rolanda."

A shiver ran down her spine as he said her name in a unnecessarely smooth way and once again she wondered about the king and his odd behaviour.

"It is already late, and I have a lot of business to attend tomorrow, therefore I would say we shall go and sleep now," Severus explained with a small, fake yawn. "This will be your sleeping place."

He gestured towards a silk blanket that was lying neatly folded on the carpet by the foot of his bed. It did not really look like it was much more comfortable than the haystack Rolanda and Alannah had been forced to share down in the dungeons, but at least the room was warm thanks to the fireplace that was located opposite to the bed.

Rolanda nodded slowly, though she did not know what to do now – was she supposed to simply lie down now, or was she supposed to do something for the king first, whatever this should be? Ronan had not bothered to tell her this, and now she felt as if he had not really told her anything about her tasks. She did know what they were – but how she was supposed to complete them had obviously not been his concern. Therefore, she felt a little bit odd as she just stood there, glued to the spot while watching how the king walked towards one side of the bed.

Blood rushed to her cheeks as he started to undress himself, throwing his shirt down on the floor and as she did not move, gestured her to pick it up before he pulled some light linen trousers out from under the blankets, obviously his sleeping clothes. Quickly she moved forwards, trying to cover her previous hesistant moment, and picked up the shirt that was still warm from the contact with his skin. After surveying the room for a short moment, she found a basket in which she could place his worn clothes, as it obviously was supposed to be used when carrying laundry to the maids who were washing.

Her blush only intensified as Severus ordered her to come to him and pull his blankets up over him and she tried not to look at his bare, muscular chest as she obeyed. He did not show any sign that he took notice of it, but she was sure that it was pretty obvious to him that she was feeling a little bit uncomfortable in this moment.

She had never really seen a naked man before as it was not fitting for a young woman to see one before her wedding night, let alone be unmarried and be in his bedroom. Of course she had already seen some men from the villages shirtless, but they had not been as good looking, and additionally they had been working in the fields, not climbing into their bed wearing only a short linen trousers.

"You may go to bed now," Severus said and Rolanda nodded, hurrying to blow out the last candles before she found her way to her bed in the glow the fire provided in the darkness. She tried to find a comfortable position while snuggling under the blanket and only after a few minutes she wished she could sleep on a haystack. The carpet was not very effective as a mattress and no matter in which position she tried to fall asleep – it did not work. Her bones and her muscles were aching only after a few minutes and she could not relax.

Something else that was keeping her from falling asleep was this odd feeling. It simply did not vanish, it was vibrating deep inside of her and kept her awake, no matter how exhausted she already felt by now.

This day had been full of events, some completely unpleasant, like her interrogation and the moment she had been taken from her cell for the second time of the day. Some others had been simply surprising and bizarre – just like King Severus talking rather politely to her, and then offering her to work as his servant to keep her sister safe.

Looking back, she could only say that she was thoroughly confused by all these events. In one moment, she had faced violence, and in the other, she was working in something like a golden cage, surrounded by luxury. Maybe the next days would provide some answers... at least she hoped they would, because otherwise she feared that she would loose her sane mind.

King Severus too was not sleeping yet – he was lying awake on purpose, faking a calm breath so Rolanda would believe that he was already wandering around in the land of dreams.

He was feeling more than comfortable right now, as if he finally had achieved something. If everything went just as he had imagined it a few hours ago when he had first registered the magic about Rolanda Hooch, then he had done a huge step forwards today, building the fundament of something powerful.

Right now, he was bathing in the feeling of Rolanda's strong magic – it was surrounding him like a second blanket, being a bodiless, but still warm and steady presence.

Grinning to himself in the darkness of the night, he felt triumphant about finally having her close to him, knowing her name and her secret. The nights he had been lying awake because he could not forget her face seemed like a faint memory from another time. She finally had stopped haunting him, because he had her under his influence now, and had discovered what had bothered him all these hours.

He could not wait to explore her more, to find out who she was and how much she really knew about magic – officially, it was a forbidden art and all non-magical people were extremely afraid of those people who they believed could perform magic, therefore he had always been forced to hide it, but still there were enough people who were aware of magic's advantages. Actually he was pretty sure that she could feel its power as good as he could, he had seen it in the way she acted around him, but she certainly could not place the feeling.

He was curious if she would believe the truth when the time to explain it to her had arrived.