Chapter 10
Seraphina had indulged herself far too much, as soon as she ate one thing off of her plate, Achilles was sure to replace it with something different. By the end of the tea, she was sure she had tasted everything there. She had never eaten so much before and had never experienced the feeling of fullness. A wave of tiredness suddenly hit her and she fought hard not to slump in her seat. Achilles was immediately aware of Seraphina’s fatigue and prepared to make their exit from the afternoon tea. Achilles was about to speak up when Narcissus suddenly started “Child, you look utterly exhausted!” he said to Seraphina. “Achilles, what are you doing keeping your Princess here, take her to rest at once. From tomorrow, she has 18 years of living to make up for”.
Achilles rolled his eyes at his father. “If you will excuse us, my sweet flower needs to rest.” announced Achilles. Seraphina blushed at hearing her nickname again. “Thank you your Hi- Athena and Great Puma” Seraphina said with a grin “this tea has been wonderful, thank you for welcoming me into your home”. Narcissus and Ethena laughed at Seraphina’s use of the nickname Narcissus had awarded his self. “We will see you in the morn for breakfast, do make sure you get plenty of rest tonight” said Ethena eyeing her son. Seraphina stood but Achilles was too quick, he swept her up into his arms and walked out of the hall holding her like she weighed nothing.
As they left the hall and entered into the gardens, Seraphina noticed that the sun had already set and the first of the night's stars had started to twinkle delicately. How was it that only this morning, she was awaking to a life of servitude and now she was being carried in the arms of a Prince to bed. Seraphina tried to shake away the doubts in her mind and just embrace the love and contentment that was flooding her heart. “Would you like to bathe in the lake again or shall I draw you a bath?” Achilles asked her lovingly. “I think I would enjoy a bath” said Seraphina, she knew she preferred to be in the lake however, she wanted to be alone with her Prince. She internally chastised herself again for allowing her mind to wander to rude thoughts. They had just met, she shouldn’t be alone with a man, let alone being in his private quarters naked.
Achilles smiled at her and placed a kiss on her nose. “As much as I enjoyed the tea, I am elated to be spending some time alone with you, my sweet flower.” Achilles said tenderly. After a short while, they arrived at Achilles’s apartment in his private quarters. “Tomorrow, I will show you around our Quarters and the Palace but, for tonight, you can just rest.” Seraphina smiled at hearing him say ‘our quarters’. Achilles gently sat Seraphina down on the bed and knelt to remove her shoes, she blushed at the contact of his hands on her legs. She could see steam coming from a room to the left of them, presumably the bath had already been prepared ahead of their arrival. The smell of orange blossoms and lilies drifted through the air, her body sang in anticipation of submerging into the hot waters.
Achilles pulled her to stand and turned her around to face away from him and began to unlace her dress, placing small, tender kisses across her back as he removed her clothes. When Seraphina was undressed, Achilles took her hand and kissed her deeply and longingly. She relaxed her body into his and sighed as his hands delicately trailed up and down her sides. Their tongues intertwined and danced together in a soft yet passionate kiss. As their lips parted, Achilles rested his forehead against hers and sighed “you have no idea how long I have waited for this Seraphina, a part of me believed I would never find you and I would remain the rest of my life one half of a whole. I love you Seraphina, more than you will ever know.” His voice sounded hoarse and almost laced with guilt, Seraphina couldn’t understand why this would be but she simply replied “You have saved me in more ways than one, I will forever be indebted to you. My heart is yours from this day, I love you”. He smiled warmly at her and gently took her hand to guide her to the bathroom, he helped her lower herself into the bath and took a seat behind her head.
He began to remove the pins from her hair, letting her thick chocolate brown curls fall loose. He then moved his hands to her shoulders and began to gently rub and massage them. She let the scent of the bath oils envelope her and she sank lower into the bath, savouring this moment of bliss. Her little glimpse of heaven. He bent to place a kiss on the top of her head and sighed contently. Seraphina took a deep breath trying to build some courage, “Are you not going to join me Achilles?” She remembered to use his name as opposed to his title. A mischievous smile spread across his face. “Well if you insist my sweet flower,” Achilles answered seductively.
As Seraphina watched Achilles remove his pants, her heart started racing. She felt a fire start in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, her skin began to burn and itch, painfully so. Her whole body jerked with the sudden pain and she cried out, a look of panic came over Achilles’s face as he watched Seraphina cry out but, then realisation dawned on him as he saw the faint trace of scales begin to appear over her body. “Seraphina, breath, try and calm yourself and this will be easier,” he assured her. She cried out again as her body twisted and contorted, water splashing around the room “what is happening to me?” She screamed. “Seraphina, you are about to meet your familiar,” Achilles replied with a smile of awe.