I published woot woot! I dont know why I take so long to do this. I felt like I made a risky choice at the end of this chapter but Messi winning the world cup has inspired to just go for it. My goal is to finish this book so I should be updating much sooner than usual. Fingers crossed!

Thank you so much for all the reviews! I really appreciate to see that there are people who are interested in my ramblings lololol

Love the support! 3 3 3

Chapter 34

It was an understatement to say that Minho was annoyed by Newts addition. He was still giving me dirty looks as we trudged through the bowels of the castle.

Just like the vault we used to hide in the attack, the tunnels we wandered through were hidden underneath a fountain. The tunnels were thin and winding, the puddles every couple of feet had begun to soak my boots.

"I don't understand why we have to go this way Minho. We could have simply walked through the courtyard and then went to the tunnels underneath the armory." Newt said after he almost slipped on one of the many puddles

I could sense the wave of annoyance radiating from Minho.

"And have the guards whisper? I think not."

Guards usually were the paramount gossipers.

"How much longer do we have? My boots are completely soaked." I asked, pausing to shake my left foot and get some clinging moisture off.

"We're almost there, Its just a bit further and you'll need to lose the riding belt and gloves. No commoner owns that."

I frowned, I had really hoped we would get to go riding.

"Where are we even going?" I asked, "All you said was that we would go and see a herb woman."

"She lives in the Rats pit-"

Before Minho could continue, Newt stopped in his tracks and I crashed into him. Without looking back at me, he wrapped his arm around and steadied me.

"Minho are you crazy! We can't take Roan to Rats pit!"

"See Roan this is why I didn't want to bring Newt along."

Minho kept walking and he was the one with the torch, so Newt had no choice but to follow him.

"Whats Rats pit?" I asked, Newt was walking slower than before but I was eager to hear Minho so I grabbed Newts shoulders and slightly led him to go faster.

"Rats pit is where all the capitals criminals and brothels are. And I don't want to go there let alone take my naïve wife."

I gasped in slight offense but excitement started to bubble in my stomach.

I grabbed Newts arm and pulled.

"Don't be such a prude Newt! Think of it as an adventure!"

My weight on Newts arm coupled with the slippery tunnels made the man lose his footing.

I reached out and clung to the narrow walls while Newt tried to regain his balance.

Newts disposition changed and I could sense the annoyance that started to overtake him.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to make you slip." I said sheepishly.

"Why don't you walk in front of me love?"

I still felt embarrassed from my giddy display but the light from Minho's torch was getting further. I slinked past Newt, careful not to brush against him.

I could feel my heart beat rapidly at the prospect of walking through the capitals seediest parts. However, nothing could have prepared me for the events the night would bring.

I had given my cloak to Newt who had not changed out of his posh garments.

Minho said the last thing we wanted to do was bring attention to ourselves and a finely dressed man would surely bring that interest.

The air was nippy but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

Rats pit was still very much awake. The cobbled streets were lit in an orange glow from the torches that hung on the stonewalls. Bodies mingled outside of taverns and loud cackling filled the air. The smell….I had been near animal feces before but the smell of human waste and stale alcohol was right down wretched.

I now understood why they called it Rats pit.

I stayed on Minho's heals as we walked, while Newt walked at my side.

Newt's jaw was clenched tightly as his eyes jumped around, vigilant to our surroundings. He still seemed irritated so I figured I was best to just leave him be.

The streets were not so awfully crowed where you could barely walk but there were plenty of staggering drunks and scantily clad woman.

Minho told us we would sit in a tavern, the Herb Woman would come and get us and if she was pleased with Minho's offering then she would tell us what Rosemary was up to.

What Minho was offering? I did not know. I just knew I was needed as part of his offering.

I felt a hand reach and grab my arm. I almost shrieked until I realized it was Newt.

He pulled me close so he could whisper against my ear.

"We're about to pass through some brothels. Don't look in any windows."

A part of me wondered why Newt knew where the brothels were. I would surely bring it up once we were home and far from Minho's earshot.

I could sense what was starting to brew within my chest. My recently discovered infatuation with Newt was starting to reach new levels I had not experienced before. I felt like I should be the only one privy to his affection. Would I ever admit that? Absolutely not.

It would have been better if Newt had not said anything. My curiosity was begging to see what was so bad. I knew if Newt caught me looking, he would surely chastise me. He was already irritated enough as it was.

I had never been in any seedy establishments, let alone walk by them. This would more than likely be my only chance.

I immediately regretted my decision.

The one peak I took was enough. I had merely glanced sideways and I got an eyeful of colliding body parts.

I had never seen anything like it. I recoiled harshly and collided into Newt.

I only heard him sigh as he wrapped an arm around me.

"What am I going to do with you, Ronnie?"

Newt did not let me out of his grip until we reached the tavern.

I couldn't read the name, a hanging slab of cracked wood hanging over the door was the only form of signage. The fading yellow letters on it were not much help either.

The tavern was much warmer than outside and my boots stuck to the ground.

This was not Newts and Minhos first tavern from what I could tell. They both split and moved about as if they had everything all planned out.

I hesitated and didn't know who to follow but after my blocking of the door drew some heads, I chased after Newt.

Newt found an empty space in one of the long wooden slabs that passed as tables.

I tried to hide my snootiness as I sat in one of the grimiest, dirtiest, wine-stained benches I had ever seen.

I saw Newt smirking at me "Enjoying your adventure, love?"

"Quite a bit, actually."

He couldn't know I was planning on burning the dress I was wearing as soon as we got back.

Minho appeared with two wooden jugs, he pushed one towards Newt and kept the other one for himself.

I stared at him blankly

Minho returned the blank stare.

"Women are not allowed to drink when they're in the process of producing an heir."

I slammed my hand on the table. " I am not-," I lowered my voice, after I garnered a couple looks "I am not in the process of producing heirs."

Minho shrugged with a small smile splayed across his lips "Not yet anyways."

I lunged forward only to have Newt pull me back.

"Love, lets not make a scene." He whispered against my head.

I glared at Minho who was enjoying himself and his jug of ale.

I reached over to Newt's jug and drank out of his, not breaking eye contact with Minho.

The ale was probably the most foul thing that had ever crossed my tongue but Minho could not know that. With great disgust, I swallowed the gulp I had taken.

Newt shook his head at me and pulled the jug back.

"He's just trying to get a rise out of you. The angrier you get the more he enjoys it." Newt took a sip of the jug and instantly grimaced. He turned his face as he swallowed.

"That's awful."

Minho shrugged "Well they wouldn't let us sit without ordering and that's all I could get with the coins I brought."

It was probably for the best to not carry a full coin purse in these parts.

I was ready to bully the maze guard when a woman in a green cloak sat next to Minho.

She looked to be in her late fifties but her frame was slight and her grey and black hair clouded her face. Her smooth ebony skin was clean and the only wrinkles I could see were around her eyes.

"You brought what I asked for?"

Minho nodded and pointed his head towards me.

The woman focused her gaze on me. She had dark brown eyes that bore themselves into mine. I shrank back, intimidated by the eye contact.

"She better have what you promised. Follow me"

The woman stood, she was shorter than I was but not short by any means.

She led us to the back of the tavern, past a dirt stained curtain and up a staircase. The stairs were narrow and small. My oafish feet didn't fit in the slats.

I knew it would be ridiculous if I once again made Newt slip so I slowly and carefully made my way up.

It was as if the whole of the Rats pit was full of mud, grime, and dirt. The staircase not being an exception. We climbed past hallways where the sounds of shouts and crying babies echoed.

I'd hate to be a baby born in Rats pit.

It wasn't until the very top of the staircase that we stopped. The woman pulled out a key and turned the knob.

We entered the first clean space I had seen since we entered Rats pit. It was full of potted plants and vines hugging themselves to the small room. Jars with liquids of many colors decorated the shelves on her walls.

"Take a seat on the table and we'll get started."

The small hearth was the only light in the room. There was an open window where the noises from outside spilled, the woman walked to it and closed it.

I sat on an unstable looking stool at the end of the table so Newt and Minho could share the steadier bench on the side of the table

The woman lit a couple candles before moving a chair in front of me.

"I am Renata, I want your blood for my medicines. If your blood is good, I'll tell your friend what he wants to know. If not, you owe for the wasted time and materials"

"She's as good as they get, her blood will fetch you a good price." Minho said

I gave Minho a side eye and he nodded reassuringly.

Indignation started to cloud me. Who had given Minho permission to sell my blood?

Renata grabbed both of my arms and flipped them over. She grabbed a pair of scissors and the only sounds was the shears tearing at the cloth of my dress.

Once she got to my injured arm, she looked up at me.
"What happened here?" Her eyes once again bore in to me.

I couldn't handle the intensity of her gaze.

"An elderly woman bit me. She said I tasted fresh."

Renata hmpmhed in amusement.

"Many think that just ingesting the blood a pure one will cure them but no. The herbs are what make the blood heal. It doesn't not work on its own."

Renata grabbed a cotton cloth and dipped it in what smelled like sage oil. She ran it up and down my uninjured arm.

Then she inserted a large silver syringe into my arm.

I hissed as it tore through my skin and uncomfortably sank into my vein.

She slowly drew the blood, waiting for it to fill before taking out the syringe. Blood sprouted from my arm and Renata handed me another cloth.

"Here, hold it until I can patch it. I must keep this blood good."

I pressed the cloth against my arm and looked at Newt. A look of concern had shrouded his features. I would be surprised if he didn't have any new wrinkles after tonight's activities.

Renata squirted my blood into a jar and began to add things from her vials.

She gave me a satisfied look after the liquid turned into a dark blue.

"Very good, girl. You'll have strong children."

This scene was oddly familiar to previous events.

Renata sat across from me once again and began to patch me up again.

"I'll tell you what you came for. Princess Rosemary came to me saying she was with child and that she needed to get rid of it."

My head snapped to Newt. I watched him deflate and lose his color, his eyes palpitating with fear.

"Foolish girl. She was not with child. Someone gave her a herb that makes the body act as if its pregnant. I drew her blood as payment and her blood was not blue, it was purple. Her father had always been sickly and I guess his children have the same blood impurities. It happens every now and then to families like that.

I furrowed my brow "What do you mean blood impurities?"

Renata finished patching my arm and pulled back.

"I mean that their blood is not as pure as it should be. Its deficient, it can't heal like yours. I'm guessing that's why the king married the foreign girl. To fix the deficiency his father left him. You'll fetch a handsome price, girl. A virgin with such strong blood is a hard to find."
As if the current state of affairs weren't enough, Minho decided to speak up.

"How'd you know she's a virgin? Does her blood tell you that?"

I seemed like a genuine question

"No her blood cant tell me that but look at her, clearly a virgin."

Renata turned away and I watched as Minho covered his mouth with his fist to stifle his laugh.

Even the crestfallen Newt cracked a smile, it however quickly disappeared with Minho's next comment.

"Do you ever plan on remedying that situation?

Newt turned a beet read but before he could say anything, pounding on the door broke the ambiance.

It was a child's voice "It's a raid! The health council is raiding the street!"

Renata's head snapped and Minho stood in alarm.

"Whats going on?" I asked, looking between the door and Renata.

"You must hide. You two follow me," She pointed to Newt and I.

We followed her into a small bedroom. It only held a bed, a mirror, and a wardrobe.

"Help me move the wardrobe, you two will hide behind there."

Newt helped Renata pushed the wardrobe. It revealed a thin slot. There were chests stacked sideways so they could fit, it would be a tight fit.

Newt allowed me in first, he then molded his body to fit the left over space. Ever the gentleman.

"Do not make a noise." Renata said before she pushed the wardrobe in front of the slot with Minho's help. As soon as the wardrobe covered the slot, the little light that existed completely disappeared.

Renata's and Minho's voice faded after a while. It was hard to hear much and time started to slide painfully by.

I knew we weren't supposed to talk but the silence and being pressed so close to Newt heightened the air of discomfort.

As if reading my mind, Newt placed his hand against my mouth.

"We can't let them hear us." Newt whispered, his voice barely audible.

I nodded my head and Newt slid his hand slowly off my face.

My heart was beating madly but as Newt let his fingers linger on my lips, tracing my cupids bow, I felt it nearly stop.

His index finger traced my lips until he reached the middle and then he caressed my chin with his thumb.

I shuddered and leaned closer to Newt. Curious as to what he was doing.

I felt him shift slightly and I felt his breath on my nose.

His lips found themselves on my forehead. He didn't plant a kiss, my forehead wasn't his target.

As his lips inched closer to mine, I gripped his shirt in anticipation.

But that would have been too easy.

Just as I felt Newt brush his lips over my nose and when he was just about to reach his target.

The wardrobe began to shift.

Newt sighed and threw his head back.

I didn't know if to feel complete frustration or fear over the shifting of the wardrobe.

A smug Minho stared at us.

"Have fun in there?" He asked, moving over to let us pass.

"No. Did the health council come in?"

Minho pushed the wardrobe back into place.

"They did but they didn't see any contraband contaminants so they left."

"So why did he we have to hide?" I asked, heading back to the main room.

"One never knows with the health council. They would have snatched you to interrogate you. "

Minho and I both paused when we noticed Newt hadn't followed us to the main room.

We looked at each other in confusion before a smirk of realization overtook Minho.

"Wait right here." He said giddily as he entered the room once again.

I didn't feel comfortable entering a strangers bedroom so I stayed put. Renata was busy grounding herbs to put into smaller vials. My blood jar sat beside her.

"How much do you get for that medicine?"

A loud explosion of laughter interrupted Renata before she could answer me.

Minho must be subjecting Newt to some form of mischief.

She gave a glare to the room where the noise was coming from before answering me.

"It depends on what I use it for. For the most part, people need it for open wounds. That is easy. Only a couple copper coins. Blood medicine for lung illness is the most expensive. Its hard to find blood pure enough for that. Yours will do just fine."

I wondered how ethical it was to withhold lifesaving medicine for a price.

The reveal that Newts blood was impure was conflicting. It didn't make him less of a king but how did his family blood become tainted?

Had Newt known his blood was not fully pure?

Was this the reason behind my marriage to Newt?

I would need to make a list of all the loose threads. Otherwise, who knew how I would keep track of all the intrigue.

A red Newt finally appeared, followed by an ecstatic Minho.

"We are very grateful for your help Renata but we must really head back." Minho said heading for the door.

"You know the way out. If you ever want to donate more blood, you know where to come."

The trudge back to castle went by faster; the streets had cleared after the short raid by the health council. It was around three in the morning when we finally reached the castle. It was a silent walk back.

The exhaustion of the past days crashing down on both Minho and Newt. They had both partaken in battles after all.

We agreed to parley over what was discovered the next day and Minho disappeared towards his quarters.

The two guards that usually stood in the hall warding our door startled when they saw Newt and I appear out of the darkness.

I gave them a small smile before we entered the quarters. We still hadn't been switched to the kings suites due to the attack but it was just dandy, I had no desire to leave just yet.

The relief I felt when Newt finally shut the door behind us was hard to compete with.

I leisurely strolled through the room and towards the fireplace. The plain dress from back home was not hard to take off and as soon as the blood stained dress came off, I threw it in the fire.

I hadn't realized Newt was watching me until I looked up from the floor where I was taking my boots off.

"I miss when you would blush and run away from me." He said.

I did not.

"Well that was a long time ago; I'm used to you now."

Newt left the door and started to undress.

"You still run sometimes. I like seeing you all flustered."

I narrowed my eyes at Newts teasing. He was trying to evoke something from me.

"Well I think you flatter yourself too much. I get flustered for all sorts of reasons."

Newt plopped down on the settee in front of me.

"That's true, its not very hard to get a rise out of you. But I still think you get flustered around me."

Where this cockiness was coming from, I did not know. But it was clear he was up to something.

I paused and looked up at Newt, annoyance starting to blossom.

"Newt, its been a long day. Just tell me what you want"

"You"

I swallowed my spit in that moment.

"What?" I asked, I tried my best to not appear flustered, for my prides sake.

"I want you. I don't want to play anymore Roan. I'm tired of pretending. I don't want you to just be my wife in name only."

I could have died in that moment.

This would be the end of me. I could not be expected to properly handle this.

My silence only edged Newt on.

"I'm tired of pretending I'm just your friend. I tired of not being able to...of not being able to kiss you or hold you when I want. I'm tired of you holding back from me. I want you Roan. All of you."

I stared silently at New, blood thumping in my ears.

"But why?" I asked, clinging to my boot for dear life

Newt groaned and leaned forward.

"What do you mean why? Because I want to Roan. Because I like how you wait for me before bed, because I like how when I talk you actually listen. Because I like how you dont bow to me just because I'm the king. I just do Roan"

I dropped the boot I was holding and rose to my knees.

"What else…what else do you like about me?"

Newt looked at me slightly disoriented before continuing.

"I like how your dresses cling to you in all the right places. I like it when you accidently brush against me. I like it-

I didn't let Newt finish. I lunged forward and pressed my lips forcefully against his.

Newt wrapped his arms around me as he leaned back. My knees went around him to rest against the back of the settee.

I still wasn't sure how people were supposed to kiss so I let Newt dominate and I simply followed his lead.

His lips felt hungry and desperate against mine. Newt's hands clung to me as I grabbed the nape of his neck.

I started to feel the air run out from my lungs and I reluctantly pulled away.

I rested my forehead against Newts.

"Be my wife." Newt whispered.

I stroked the hair on the back of his neck.

"I am your wife, silly."

Newt shook his head "No, I want you to really be my wife. No more marriage of convenience."

I met Newts eyes and gazed into his determination.

"Of course I'll be your wife."

Newt smiled up at me before kissing me again.

I could get used to this very quickly.

I had known Newt for all of six months and here I was pledging myself to him willingly

I felt Newt slide his hands down and rest them on my thighs, he then slowly pulled back from me.

"We should get some rest. Much to do tomorrow."

I frowned "What if I don't want to? What if I want to stay right here?"

Newt smirked before grabbing on to me again. I couldn't help the shriek that escaped me he as he stood.

"No can-do love, time for bed."

I clung to Newt as he transported me to the bed. He plopped me on my side and began to disentangle my limbs from his.

I grabbed on to his collar and pulled him back down

"Don't think I'm about to get soft on you now, I'll still go out of my way to contradict you."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Newt placed a light kiss on my lips before finally pulling away.

I stared at the tarp that covered the roof of the bed.

This was it for me; there would be no way to survive this.