Karen's POV

Kevin steps out of the bathroom in all his beautiful glory but scowls upon seeing Iris sleeping again. The guy was taking too long in the bathroom that his girlfriend fell back asleep.

He walks over and slowly places himself in the bed, staring at her clinging to me like a baby. She looks so innocent while asleep or when she is not talking. No wonder why Kevin fell for her.

"She slept again?" he whispers. 

Oh, how caring! He wouldn't give a damn if it were me!

"Yeah, we were talking and she fell asleep. She is a heavy sleeper! She wouldn't know if a tsunami happens around her when she is sleeping." I chuckle.

"She also rarely moves around, yesterday she wriggled once and that was for me to spoon her."

"Oh, she loves being spooned!" I agree, putting extra emphasis on the word 'loves'. "Anyways, what do we have to do today?" 

"We'll meet Entonia, then we go to the park, test your 'powers' and then...I don't know." he shrugs, air quoting 'powers'.

I look down at Iris. "Now, how do I break free?" I ask, nodding my head towards her sleeping self.

"I'll spoon her from here, then you can break free." he mock-whispers.

"I'm awake!" she groans. "But I'll take the spooning offer!" 

Kevin doesn't waste a second and quickly wraps his arm around her and they both start cuddling...again!

"And I had to beg you to cuddle with me for a few seconds!" I roll my eyes and make my way to the bathroom.

"That's because you kick me!" I hear Kevin shout before I shut myself inside the bathroom.

I finish all my morning rituals but I can't help feeling so happy for Kevin and Iris. He waited so long for this. And I know Iris has a lot of trust issues but with no apparent reason. She doesn't trust people easily. It took us ages to be as close as we are now. But I am pretty sure she will come to trust Kevin just as I do.

When I get out of the bedroom, Kevin and Iris are still in bed snuggling. 

Okay, if these two continue like this, work won't be done on time.

"Iris, we need to get ready! Get up! You slept enough!" I admonish. "Kevin, Go get dressed, Iris come on!" 

"Fine, mommy!" he scoffs and disappears into the closet.

"IRIS!" I yell.

"A little more time, please!" she begs.

"Get your ass up, bitch!" 

She huffs and I somehow manage to get her up from the bed and she walks over to the bathroom, groggily rubbing her eyes all the way.

After much persuasion, nudging, pushing, and pulling, Iris is finally ready and so are I and Kevin. She is still scowling like a kid who is denied her favorite toy, and yawning, rubbing her eyes, grunting, and displaying all forms of her morning grumpiness. Yesterday, she woke up to awkwardness, so her usual grumpiness faded. That isn't the case today! I and Kevin on the other hand are wide awake!

By the time, we reach the dining room for breakfast, Iris is less grumpy. Maybe because of the smell of fresh food. But I am no one to blame her. Even my mouth is flooded and I don't think I'll ever get used to this.

Entonia arrives with all her grace and beauty, greets us and then all of us dig into the food. She mentions something about us meeting the royal advisor and his son, and the King's sister and her son also.

"Did you notice any changes, Karen?" Entonia asks.

"Ummm...yeah..." I wait until I swallow my food. "I can see things more clearly. Like right now, I can see each detail on that necklace of yours!" I say. "The gems, the sockets on which it is placed...the woven metal...the bends, the curves...everything!" I elaborate.

"Well, now that is progress! Anything about the enhanced speed?" Entonia asks.

"She didn't flash across the room yet, so we thought we could give it some time, and take it slow. We thought we'll test whatever it is at the park today," explains Kevin.

"But before you go to the park, I need you to meet them in the meeting room. Abner has been asking about you!" she says and she turns to Iris. "Someone's grumpy today," she says to Iris who looks up and gives her a small smile.

"She was grumpier. It took us a while to drag her out of the bed and bring her down like this!"  Kevin laughs and he earns a death glare from her.

"She is not a morning person," I add.

We finish our breakfast and then head to the meeting room. Iris has got over her grumpiness and is now giggling at Kevin's lame jokes. You see, this is one of the differences between me and Iris. Kevin's jokes make me want to dip my ears in acid as soon as I hear them but Iris on the other hand is actually laughing.

We're waiting in the meeting room, occasionally engaging in some casual talk when the doors to the room slowly open.

A blonde lady, around the age of Entonia, walks in, and behind her, the most gorgeous man I have ever seen walks in. 

Sweet baby Jesus!

His gait, posture, and look has the power to make my knees tremble that I find it difficult to stand. Everything about him screams pure masculinity, dominance, and mystery. Oh good God, if he starts talking to me, I bet on all my powers, all that will come out of my mouth will be weird noises. 

How embarrassing would that be?

He greets the Queen and then, his gaze fixes upon me. My enhanced vision takes in every minute detail of him, ranging from his sharp jawline scattered with facial hair to his striking electric blue eyes. I can see the silver streaks from here. His eyebrows are kinda weird, though. One of them is lopsided. The only imperfection that I noticed so far, in these two minutes that he has been inside the room

My gaze shifts to the movement at the door and two men, who look like father and son walk in. 

Two hotties in one day. Great! 

The two fine as hell-looking gentlemen in the room greet each other and I find myself comparing their freaking heights because I'm a sucker for tall men. The second guy is as tall as Kevin but the other guy is a few inches taller.

I am just going to call them Guy one and Guy two until I find out their names. Guy two notices me and gives me a wide smile (no teeth) which I return.

I notice that he too has the blue eyes of the warriors but a different shade compared to Guy one's. They are a shade of baby blues adorned with those silver streaks. These streaks compliment all these people's eyes. Dirty blond hair and he is the second blondie that I've seen since I arrived here.

I hear the Entonia say something and I turn to look at her. 

"Karen, Iris, Kevin, this is the royal advisor, Abner Fransby, and his son Caspian." she introduces. We three shake our hands with them. When Caspian shakes my hand, he holds it tight but it is a comforting grip, his cheeks denting into cute dimples when he smiles.

"And this is my sister in law, Cornelia Alcott, and her son Darius."  

Cornelia looks the exact opposite of Darius. She has blond hair, he has dark (almost black) hair. He looks dark and mysterious while she looks...normal.

Entonia seems to not be very happy around Cornelia but quite fond of Darius, Caspian and Abner. When Darius shakes my hand, I swear to god, shock waves passed up my entire arm. Maybe it's just my imagination but it did happen.

When he shakes Iris' hand, her hand looks so small in his. Smaller than how it looks in Kevin's. When he cups her hand with both of his, hers is almost non-existent. And somehow I find the whole thing super funny and find myself holding my laughter in.

We talk for some time and I learn that looks can be immensely deceiving. Darius who looks dark and mysterious is quite sweet and charming. He doesn't joke around though but is very mature and serious when he says something.

But Caspian on the other hand, who I thought would be something like Kevin, is nothing like him. He doesn't talk much; mostly his only response to something is a tight smile. But most of the time, I feel his gaze lingering on me. Me being me, I don't look at him because I don't want to look too desperate for him. I steal a glance only when he is looking elsewhere.

That's typical of me. I never give into anything. Things come to me and I am used to that.

Through the conversation, I learned that Caspian is the chief commander of the Eponian Army and that Darius trains the army in the use of weapons, and teaches them the arts of war and defense. 

That explains their striking physique.

I notice Darius staring at me, his gaze intense, as though he is looking straight into my soul. But me being me, I look straight back at him and we sit like that staring into each other's eyes. His eyes are the most captivating thing I have ever seen, so it's not that hard to just keep looking at him.

"Why are we staring at each other?" I ask him, a hand on my chin.

"Your eyes are so different from ours and just.... mesmerizing!" he breaths.

"Well," I lean in, smirking to myself. "That's because I am different!" 

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A/N: Don't forget to vote if ya'll like it guys!