Days blurred into one sunrise and another sunset as I learned the ways through the palace. Prince Terrence, or Terrence now as he preferred for me to address, had assigned a royal governess especially for me to assist me in matters of Ravendale politics, fashion, and manners.

More often than not my tasks included the inner workings of the palace since there was no queen to govern the humongous household. Queen Maya had died birthing Prince Terrence.

And now her duties had dropped on my shoulders. I'd like to say that I did my job smoothly without a hitch but the truth was, I stumbled every two steps with the servants, especially the kitchen staff.

It wasn't that they didn't obey my commands. They did it with a bow. Only when I turned my back did whispers of me being a wretched witch rising high through royal ladders blessed my ears. I didn't heed them.

I was new and unknown, tilting their known dynamic of power with my commands and different ways of operating once I got the gist of operating them.

It was like herding my cousins and other gossip lover girls back in my coven, only there were thousands more of them in number here. And what these girls loved more than gossips were gifts.

And so, I was sitting in my parlor surrounded by court women, knitting my twentieth scarf.

"How many do you intend to make, Your Highness?" Fiona, Baron Fitzgerald's wife, asked.

"As many as I could," I said, forming a chain loop to finish a yellow flower on the white crochette.

"I still don't find the meaning of working for servants. It should be the other way around," Gina, a marchioness in red spoke, fanning herself.

"I'm not working. I'm knitting," I began another loop for the flower. "Working is sitting through idle chatters, attempting to make plausible conversations."

"I find it comes to me as a breeze speaking to ladies. It's the men that baffle me," Sienna chirped from the corner.

"You find anything men say a trouble, Countess. No wonder you haven't secured a husband yet. No offense." Gina said, sipping her tea with dainty fingers.

Sienna waved off. "I'm fine as I am. Father raised me to manage his properties anyway."

"Oh, how fun it is to be an only child,

isn't it, Your Highness?" Fiona fawned. "Your Highness?"

"Hmm. Hm?" I glanced up at the auburn-haired baroness, mentally keeping the count of my loops. "Yes. It is."

"It seems Her Highness is a little distracted today, aren't you?" Gina smirked.

Yes, Lady Blind.

But I couldn't possibly say that, could I?

Suddenly, an idea formed in my mind and I finally looked up to meet the ladies' eyes.

"Actually, I'm thinking what if we engage in sewing afternoon from tomorrow? I'm aware you all are accomplished ladies in the crafts of needle and thread. It should be fun."

"Brilliant!" Sienna grinned, "I can bring my wool supplies tomorrow."

"I have an unfinished tapestry I need to work on as well." Fiona chimed in.

"Is this a ploy to include us in your servant gifting scheme, Your Highness?" Gina raised her brows, resting his cup on the ceramic saucer.

I lay my work on my lap and smiled up at her. "Of course, not, Marchioness. I'd never dream of such fate for you. I'm only suggesting a better way to spend our afternoon gatherings. Besides, think of this as a way to show your works and brag about your skills in the court gatherings, namely in the coronation ceremony next week."

Gina hummed, raising her chin upward. "I suppose that is one way to be productive. Very well, I shall bring my wool kits."

"What will you do with wools in Summer? Isn't it better suited for Winter?" Sienna bit into her chocolate cookies as I went back to my knitting.

"Nothing wrong with an early preparation, Countess." She shrugged.

"Agreed." Fiona chimed.

Sienna hummed, her eyes falling on the heap of scarves beside me. She picked a finished scarlet one.

"I think it's not too bad to gift our servants. This ensures their loyalty for future reference."

"There's golds and rubies for that reason." Gina turned her nose up.

"But think about giving them something custom-made for them. That may buy them for life."

Fiona snickered. "That's an exaggeration but I get your point."

Sienna frowned. "Hmm... I suppose you wouldn't mind if I sew some kerchiefs for the palace staff while arranging for my servants, Your Highness?"

My head snapped up, my fingers froze mid-loop.

Fiona gasped. "That's outrageous!"

"It's beneath our station." Gina scrunched her nose.

"Far beneath than me?" I asked her calmly.

Silence greeted me in response.

I turned to Sienna and smiled. "Of course, Countess. I'm sure our staff will be delighted."

She nodded. "It's settled then. In the upcoming coronation, we shall reward our servants with our works for their service."

"Absolutely."

***

For the next few days, ladies and I pushed through our afternoons sewing and knitting and gossiping. Well, the latter was mostly their contribution. I occasionally offered input when necessary while knitting my loops.

I used every remaining inch of my free time crocheting when I wasn't governing the kitchens or attending courtly matters such as meeting the nobility from across the kingdom. By the end of the night, I plopped down beside my husband who spent the hour before sleeping, reading in bed.

He chuckled when I lay sprawled across the bed, unable to move my aching arms and pounding head.

I saw him put the book away and lean down toward me through my half-lidded gaze.

"Tired day?" He asked, brushing his soft fingers through my head.

I made some incorrigible noise through my lips that I didn't understand and yet he nodded.

His other hand moved to my wrist and began gently pressing them, massaging his way down to my elbow and up to the sore tips of my fingers, and repeated the motion with my other hand.

A sigh of pure bliss purred out of my lips as I closed my eyes, moving to my side to give him better access.

A moment passed by in such peaceful silence and I was almost on the verge of sleep.

"How many left?"

At first, I didn't understand him. Then it clicked and I opened my eyes.

"Don't know," I drawled. "How many servants do you have?"

His smile stretched. "Let me rephrase that question. How many scarves did you make?"

I shrugged. "Hundred-fifty or something."

He let out a thoughtful hum. "There are about twenty thousand or so maids serving at the palace, that's excluding another fifty thousand guards and forty stable boys."

With each grand number, I sank further and further into the bed.

That would take me another light year to complete them. Oh goodie!

"Oh, don't look so dejected, Darling. You still have tomorrow till coronation."

"Coronation's tomorrow?" I asked exasperated and exhausted with a severe urge to bury myself below the mountains.

"Yes, Your Highness. Tomorrow." He poked my chin.

"I wanna die!" I moaned.

"Why?"

"How will I ever complete such a humongous collection within one night?"

At this, he frowned, thinking something hard.

Then he hummed. "Why don't you use your witch skills to, I don't know, multiply those hundred fifty or something?"

I blinked. And blinked. And blinked again.

How could I be so stupid? Why did I not think about this before? Goodness!

I sprang up on the bed, making Terrence flinch away. "You're right. You are absolutely right!"

Terrence laughed as I grinned like an absolute maniac.

"Dear wife, breathe."

My head snapped toward him. "There's no time to breathe. I need to get my works now and concentrate and cast spell and-"

"Alright. Okay. Look at me."

"But-"

He grabbed my face in his hands and made me meet his twinkling blue eyes.

"Tell me something first. Will this multiplication spell take time?"

His question gave me time to pause and really ponder over it.

"Almost half an hour for twenty thousand replicas of the original hundred fifty."

"Then you only have thirty minutes to spare right?"

I nodded.

"How about you do this tomorrow? The ceremony is in the afternoon. You have the whole morning and noon at your disposal."

He got a point.

"But I have to get ready and take care of the chore orders and-"

"Let your governess, Lucinda, take care of that," Terrence brushed a stray strand away from my face. "She knows the ins and outs of the palace system. She can handle it for one day. You, my darling, just focus on being pretty and your scarves and the coronation and nothing else, alright? Oh, I almost forgot to add myself to the list."

I snorted when he winked and buried my head in his chest.

A deep breath of relief escaped through my lips as I nuzzled further into his warm arms. I felt him kiss my hair and pull me closer.

It was a wonder I got this lucky with this man. It had been, what, only a month since I knew him and it seemed as if we had an understanding of hundreds of years old. Was this an effect of our bonding?

I closed my eyes, hearing the steady rhythm of his heartbeats echoing both in my ears and inside me. A sweet chorus of music that seemed to calm my entire soul.

"Can I ask a question?" He mumbled in my hair.

I smiled. "You already did."

His chest rumbled in response. "Alright. I'll just ask another."

"Sure. Go ahead."

He laid us down on his plush white pillow and tangled our legs.

I looked up to find an earnest look in his gaze.

"Terrence?"

"Are you happy here?"

I blinked, not expecting him to ask that.

He continued. "I know this marriage has been a whirlwind for you, uprooting you from your coven overnight to this unknown land. You had less time to adjust to its customs, lesser even to actually get out of the palace and see the world around. And now we are getting crowned as the king and queen which means busier times await us. All this must be overwhelming for you."

I only stared at him for a moment longer in response and my fingers weave through the lush thickness of his dark hair, feeling him lean into my touch.

I smiled. "You're right. It's been overwhelming to get to know Ravendale. But it's also been a learning experience for me. If I am to rule this kingdom, I must know its culture, its people, and honestly, it's no easy feat. But I won't back down from a challenge either. We witches don't give up so easily, Prince Terrence."

He nodded, a hint of nervousness still lingering in his eyes. "I'm learning that to be true as well. I just hope you will tell me if something bothers you, you see."

My smile stretched. "Definitely. I'd prepare a detailed report on things that unsettle me, if they do at all. Now, tell me what's troubling you."

He blinked as if he was taken aback.

"Me?" He let out a shaky chuckle. "What'd be wrong with me? I'm fine."

I deadpanned. "So, this making bother reports is one-sided, I see?"

His eyes darted away, trying to escape from the steady hold of my gaze.

I allowed him a moment to realize I wasn't letting this go before he sighed and met my eyes, suddenly looking so morose.

I touched his chin and rubbed his trimmed stubbles. "What's wrong, Terrence? Tell me."

He dropped his head on mine and closed his eyes. His throat bobbed hard.

"Would you forgive me if I say my reason for marrying you goes beyond the reasons I stated?"

His soft voice stilled my nerves for a second and I forced myself to relax.

"I sensed something earlier. Just wasn't sure what it was or how to talk to you about this."

"I'm sorry I hid from you."

"Don't be. I'd be wary instead if you were so trusting of a stranger to spill your heart."

His eyes snapped open. "You're not a stranger to me."

"I'm not now. But before-"

"You were never a stranger to me." His arms tightened around me. "Never. Not when you've shadowed my thoughts for years."

I raised my brows. "And you knew me from afar?"

"I..." he looked away. "I may or may not have had people deliver your news to me from time to time."

What?

I flinched away. "You spied on me?"

He had the nerve to cringe. "I didn't know how else to sate my mind about you. I... This distance between us was killing me. I just couldn't help staying away and not knowing about you."

This man...

I breathed. "Alright. So, I ruined your mind with my non-existent charms-"

"I wouldn't say non-existent," he muttered hopelessly and I fought a smile.

"Okay. I charmed you without any magical potions and you couldn't help spying on me, which I don't appreciate but anyway, and now you feel guilty. Did I cover it all?"

"There's more."

I blinked. "More?"

He nodded. "I also didn't tell you because I feared what your reaction would be once you know I actually wish to utilize your witch skills and potions in my studies."

Wow...

"And what did you think I'd think once you'd reveal this big secret."

He shrugged, still looking away. "Don't know. Perhaps, you'd be angry. Perhaps, you'd think I married you only for my benefit and not because I have feelings for you."

As much heart-melting and cute as his pouty lips were...

"You're right. I'd be angry. I am angry that you didn't bother telling me about your true intentions before our marriage, that you became presumptuous about knowing me without actually getting to know me."

He sank further and further into himself with my words. A flash of pity sparked in my heart for him but I needed to lay this down once and for all.

"What you did is wrong, Terrence. You should've been upfront about all this with me from the start."

"I know," his voice was terribly small, tugging at my heartstrings. "Forgive me. I will never do any such thing again.

Could anyone ever really stay mad after that? Nevertheless, I decided to continue my tough act for a little while longer.

"I really shouldn't given your deception, no matter how well-meaning your intentions might have been," my voice was steel despite my melting inside, "But I may."

His eyes sparkled with hope like gleaming sapphires. I even felt him miss a heartbeat inside me.

"You do?" his voice was breathless.

I nodded. "Of course. On one condition, two actually."

"Anything," He held my cheeks in an earnest grip. "Anything to get your forgiveness, to get you back."

The urge to tell him that he hadn't even lost me in the first place was strong. However...

"First off, do not ever hide anything from me. No more secrets between us going forth, okay?"

"Never again," his voice was a raw oath.

This man really loved me a lot.

I ignored the tingles in my belly and breathed.

"As for the last, tell me more about this plan to use my witch skills and potions."