79: Fragrance in the water

Fragrance in the water

As the hours passed, Anastasia grew increasingly subdued, her movements almost ghost-like. Princess Emily had finished her dinner early before escaping into the library as she was upset with what happened at the base camp. She stayed with the princess until the young lady was back in her room.  0

Returning to her room, Anastasia sat on the edge of her bed before letting her upper body fall on the bed, and rested on one side as she stared into space. She hadn't eaten much of her dinner, as she couldn't forget the expression that had passed over Dante's face, even though it was for the briefest moment. 

After a lot of thought, she got up and left her room. 

Five minutes later, Anastasia stood before Prince Dante's room and knocked on the door. But even after a few seconds passed, there was no reply. She looked down at her hands which held the first aid box. 

"What am I doing?" Anastasia asked herself with a frown. 

His wounds were probably dressed, and he was resting, she said to herself. Maybe it wasn't too late to return to her room. It would be like she was never here! But she couldn't leave. 

Taking a deep breath, she turned the doorknob and entered Prince Dante's room. 

"Prince D—" 

Anastasia quickly bit her tongue before his name rolled off her tongue. As she walked further into the dimly lit room, where only a few candles burned at the bedside and the table, she looked for Dante. 

But he wasn't in the room. 

She wondered where he was. Probably waiting to catch her walking in the corridors, came the dull thought in her mind. Maybe not tonight, considering King Maxwell had injured him during the duel. Perhaps she could place the box next to his bedside, and if he needed it, he could use it. 

Walking to the side table, Anastasia placed the box on it and started to walk towards the door, her bare feet padding across the room. 

"You might have entered without permission, but that doesn't mean you can leave without it," Dante said, and his voice made Anastasia jump. 

Where was he?! She was sure he wasn't there, and looked left and right. She had seen her sister's ghost; was this her imagination again?

"P—Prince Dante?"

"Mm." Anastasia heard him respond, and she picked up the nearest candle stand in the room. She walked into the darker side of the big room, the candle light conquering the dark shadows and when she came near the bathtub, she finally found him there. 

Dante was sitting on one of the steps of the bath built in his room. The water covered his body from his waist down, including the wound he had received near his abdomen. He had leaned the upper part of his body against three of the steps with his elbows resting on them and his head thrown back as if he was thinking about something. 

But the water wasn't transparent, as it had turned red with Dante's blood. 

"Your wounds…" Anastasia's words trailed on seeing them unattended. "Why haven't your wounds been dressed… Prince," she added, not to sound informal. 

"I just got back to the palace and to my room. Thought I would get some sleep and then tend to them, before I was disturbed," Dante murmured the last words. 

"Please excuse me, I didn't—"

"I was joking," Dante finally straightened his head and opened his eyes, which were red, staring at her. He then said, "I thought you came here to aid me."

"I didn't know you were capable of making jokes," Anastasia whispered, and it was true because the man wore such a serious expression that no one dared to even joke about anything with him. 

She noticed a bottle of liquor that rested on the step next to him, with its cap missing. 

One corner of Dante's lips curled subtly as if something crossed his mind, and his head cocked to one side, staring at her. He said, "Go get the first aid box."

Anastasia nodded, leaving the candle stand before walking to the other side of the room. Picking up the wooden box, she returned to his side and also moved the candle stand near them. Setting down a bowl of clean water, she asked him, 

"Isn't it better if you aren't in the water?" She wondered how much more blood had been lost since he had stepped into the tub. 

"If the blood bothers you, you can leave. There's no point in you bringing the first aid box which could be done by another servant," Dante remarked nonchalantly, even though his eyes carefully gauged her. 

Anastasia's lips pursed as she stared right back at him. She then said, "I will tell Mr. Gilbert that you are in need of immediate assistance," and she was about to get up when he caught her wrist. 

If there was one thing Dante despised, it was asking for help, as he was used to relying on himself. His eyes narrowed at the woman, and he said, "I don't remember asking for your assistance, nor anyone else's."

"Neither do I," Anastasia responded, "It is because as a frie—"

Dante interrupted her with a chuckle before his eyes turned serious, and he said, "It seems that you can joke too. We aren't friends, Anastasia." She didn't know if it was because he was the only one who called her by her full name, but there was something in the way he said it. As if putting her into a trance. "Haven't I told you that my intentions aren't pure with you? Yet you came into my room, when I am naked. Unless your definition of friend is different from mine." 

Anastasia could tell that he was in a bad mood, and it wasn't because he had lost the three rounds in the duel. And his mood was masked in irritation and the darkness of the room. Did she, without realising, come here to sacrifice herself? She said, 

"I came to return the favour for your help. My intentions have been pure…"

"And how did I help, that you would return it the same way?" Dante questioned her, and Anastasia felt her body tremble, feeling his brooding eyes pierce into hers. 

Dante's not-so-subtle implications weren't for the faint-hearted, she thought to herself. She said, 

"You… you noticed I was hurt yesterday when people near me didn't. You came to check if I was alright. You stopped something that could have turned bad when you could have ignored it."

"And what about the other things?" Dante asked her with slight humour in his eyes, and Anastasia wondered if his wounds didn't hurt or if they had turned numb from his thoughts and the alcohol. 

"Other things?" Anastasia repeated, her brown eyes staring at him. She replied, "I decided to ignore them." 

"Don't," Dante responded. He pulled her hand closer to him, making her lean forward, and he whispered, "I don't want you to ignore them." 

Anastasia softly gulped, as their faces were too close. He remarked, "Maybe the bath needs a little fragrance to make it more appealing. What do you think?" 

"Fragrance?" 

"Mm," Dante's other hand reached for her head and pulled on the rose that was still in her hair before he threw it into the water. "Much better," he murmured. 

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