Chapter 2 – Ashina and Decker

• Ashina propelled her body through the water with the combined effort of her hands and legs. She swam over to the edge, lifted her body off the pool, and sat, leaving her legs in the water. She let rays of the gentle morning sun hit her body. She looked in the pool and watched the flower petals the maids had thrown in dance in the water. She grinned broadly to herself. It was going to be a great day for her.
• "My princess! You will catch a cold! This place might be out of bounds for males, but those perverted guards might be hidden behind any of these bushes! " Reyna cried out as she ran towards the unclad princess and wrapped a towel around her body. Princess Ashina giggled. This was an artificial lake, located in a garden that belonged to the princess alone.
• "Oh Reyna, you worry too much! No guard would dare come close to this place. They knew it would cost them their head. " Ashina said, waving off her worry. Reyna let out a sigh.
• "Oh well, we still have to be wary. My princess, I'm happy to see you in high spirits this morning, but permit me to question why you are having your bath this early. It's unlike you! The princess I know would still be snuggled up in her sheets now. Perhaps you're going somewhere? " Reyna asked with a giggle. Ashina was so excited she wanted to spill, but she refrained from doing so. Reyna was a loudmouth. If she knew, the whole palace was going to know, and that could sabotage her plans.
• "Maybe. I'm not telling! " Ashina said with a smirk and stuck her tongue out. Reyna giggled, slightly hurt that the princess was not going to confide in her. Ashina got off the pool and tied the towel properly. Reyna, along with the other maids, escorted her back to her room.
• Now in her room, Ashina dismissed the maids, Reyna included. They insisted on staying, so she had to resort to using her commanding tone. She hated speaking to them in that manner, but her plans were so important to her that she could not bear to let anything go wrong. She ran over to her bed, lifted her pillow, and took the note she hid under it. A falcon had delivered it to her window the previous night.
• Ashina, my love. It's been a while. While I've kept myself busy with daydreams of you, I crave your touch! How about you come over tomorrow morning? My folks are leaving early for some meetings with other nobles. We will have this large piece of land all to ourselves! Please come without guards. I wish you luck in escaping that prison of a paradise! I know I'm being selfish, but please forgive me. xxx, Decker
• Ashina giggles after reading it for the umpteenth time. Decker's handwriting was the finest, and his words were the sweetest! It wasn't like she was not going to be let out of the palace, but there was no way they were going to let her leave without guards. For this reason, she had to "escape". She had hatched a plan last night with a maid she trusted very much.
• Someone knocked on her door. She knew just who it was. Grinning from ear to ear, she dropped the note back under her pillow and leaped off the bed. She ran over to her door and opened it slightly. She grinned, broadening, revealing her teeth, as it was just who she was expecting.
• "You're late! Come on in, quick! " She beckoned. Giggling, Ertha got in, and Ashina shut the door. Ertha was the maid who was more like Ashina's best friend. She was Ashina's safe space within the palace walls. She could confide in her about anything.
• "So it's inside that bag, right?" Ashina squeaked in excitement, referring to the bag Ertha held. She jumped in the air and flung her fingers in the air like a toddler excited over cake. Ertha chuckled, amused by the drama Ashina displayed.
• "Stop standing still and staring at me like I'm some clown! Bring it out! " The restless Ashina demanded impatiently.
• "Okay, okay!" Ertha said as she pulled the thing off the bag, still chuckling.
• "Forgive me, my princess, but I could not get you my gown as you requested! Your royal skin does not deserve to have my filthy clothes rest on your royal skin! This one has never been worn. It took time to find it, and that's why I'm late. " Ertha explained, handing the gown over to Ashina.
• "Oh, Ertha! I've gotten sick of the flattery from these other maids, but yours never ceases to amuse me! " Ashina laughed as she spread the gown out to take a proper look at it. It was a maid's uniform. A pink ankle-length gown made with animal fur. She put it on.
• "How do I look?" Ashina asks Ertha as she turns around. Ertha gasped and raised her fingers to wipe her eyes like there were any tears there.
• "Oh my goodness! How do you do this, my princess? Even in this uniform meant for peasants like me, you still retain your goddess-like look!! " Ertha exclaimed.
• "There you go again!" Ashina responded, giggling.
• "Now just how do we deal with this stupid blonde hair? I never gave it thought, but those guards will have no problem spotting it out! Why do I have this stupid rare hair? " Ashina sulked.
• "Oh no, not my princess! I have something for that! " "Ertha, she said, pulling a wig out of the bag she held.
• "Your hair is way longer than it should be. You'll have to tie your hair." Ertha explained. Ashina gasped at the sight of the regular, brown wig.
• "Oh my! When I become Queen, I promise I'll make your head of the royal council! " Ashina screamed in excitement. Ertha giggled, pleased that the princess appreciated her work.
• "Giddy up!" Ashina yelled as she kicked the brown horse with her heels. The horse neighed and quickened its pace. Ashina held onto the ropes firmly, as she was probably going to die if she fell off the horse at this speed. Her long, blonde hair danced in the wind. She had taken off the wig Ertha had given her as it made her neck itch. Also, it had a terrible smell since it was made from horsetails. She giggled loudly. Her ridiculous plan had worked. It felt surreal. Well, she almost got busted at the palace gates. The guard, Hugh, let her know that he had spotted her from a distance. After pleading with him, he promised that he would alert the Queen if she didn't return before the sun began to set. She was filled with so much glee. She had not seen the love of her life in quite a while; it had gotten so boring in the palace. Now that she could see the Hemming's manor from afar, she kicked the horse even harder, causing it to run faster. How impatient she was to see Decker.
• The servants of the Hemmings helped her keep her horse in their stables. They were shocked to see the princess of the kingdom in their midst, alone, without guards. They were even more shocked and confused to see her in a maid's dress. She paid them no mind as she ran playfully to the grand cottage in the middle of the manor. All that was on her mind was Decker. In excitement, she barged into the cottage and shut the iron door noisily. The large room was empty. She was a tad disappointed, but her excitement didn't die off.
• "Decker!!" She screamed. She heard footsteps approaching from a passage. She giggled.
• "How dare a mere palace maid barge into Chief Greg Hemming's house!" Decker screamed at her as he emerged from the passage. With his furrowed brows, he looked genuinely angry. A tad startled, Ashina gasped. They held the awkward stare for quite a while, and after losing the battle of maintaining the fake angry look, Decker burst into laughter. She laughed as well, then ran and jumped towards him with her hands spread out. Decker caught her in the air and wrapped his hands around her. She hugged his head and planted kisses on his forehead. She was close to tears. They looked at each other in the eyes, both grinning from ear to ear.
• "Your eyes are so beautiful. If I stare too long, I'll get into a trance." Decker said, complimenting her hazel eyes.
• "Aww, how sweet! Can't say the same for your regular brown eyes though! " She joked and giggled. Decker giggled too; a tad hurt that he didn't have special eyes like hers. They let a moment of silence pass as they held tightly onto each other and kept looking into their eyes like they were communicating with their eyeballs.
• "So, uh, you want to play in the fields?" Decker suggested, breaking the silence. Ashina nodded her head, obliging.
• Moments later,
• "Ugh!! I can't do this! It's not working! " Ashina growled. Her eyes were shut tightly and her jaw clenched. Her fangs were exposed, and her fingernails had turned into claws. She was in her iota form, the form humans take before turning into full werewolves. Ever since childhood, Ashina had not been able to access her full werewolf form. While they played in the open field, Decker suggested they give it a shot. Frustrated, Ashina fell to her knees and opened her eyes. She panted heavily. Her claws retracted and her fangs went back to being regular teeth.
• "I'm sorry, Decker. It's not working. " She apologized, still trying to catch her breath. Decker approached her, knelt before her, and stroked her face.
• "You don't have to apologize to me or even feel bad. Soon you will be able to access your werewolf form. I believe it's only taking this long because it's so beautiful. You know, beautiful things take their time, "Decker explained softly. Ashina shook her head from side to side.
• "Decker, this is so important. Don't try to make me comfortable! I'm nineteen and I can't morph into a full werewolf! For a royal, this is too low! It's annoying! " She cried, letting her head rest on Decker's shoulder. He stroked her back as he regretted suggesting this. He felt it was his fault for making her cry.
• "Don't speak of yourself like that, Ashina! I mean my words! You know your werewolf's fur takes the color of your hair, right? Have you ever seen a werewolf with blonde fur before? No! I know yours is special, so it's okay for it to take time. " Decker explained further. Ashina raised her head, wiped her tears away, and giggled.
• "That makes sense." She said, her face brightening. Decker smiled, glad he had succeeded in cheering her up.
• "I wonder where I got this blonde hair from, you know? My father had brown hair, and so did my mother. I do not know of any of my ancestors with blonde hair. Just how could this have happened? " Ashina wondered aloud.
• "Nonsense. You worry too much, Ashina. All that I care about is that you're beautiful and I can't wait till we mount those thrones. " Decker said, softly. Ashina giggled. She pushed him and he fell on his back. Just before he could protest, she sat on his pelvis and pinned his shoulders down with her hands.
• "What... what are you getting at?" Decker asked, confused. Ashina giggled even more.
• "Getting aroused now, are we?" She whispered seductively into Decker's ear as she could feel his hard-on in between her legs. Understanding what she was on to, Decker grabbed the two sides of her rear end with both of his hands.
• "Can't blame me, can you?" He whispered back, with a smirk. Ashina chuckled and locked lips with him. On the inside, their tongues danced around together. While that happened, Ashina rubbed her exterior against Decker, dry humping him.
• As they made out in the middle of the manor, thoughts of how they had each other to themselves forever filled their minds. Little did they know what was to come.