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To say that she's nervous would be an understatement.

The maids have done a great job at dressing her up, just like they always do. The party is over and day has turned into night. She sits on her chair, gently brushing through her brown hair for the first time. The maids usually do it for her, and it feels strange to do it alone after so many weeks. Why they left her alone is questionable. Maud wouldn't understand it even if she tried. But it definitely has something to do with the wedding night. It's supposed to be a private time between the husband and the wife. Maud doesn't know why.

She is dressed in a white nightgown, with a wide open chest-piece. It's more revealing than anything else she has ever worn. It doesn't have sleeves, just straps that go over her shoulders, and a part of her upper chest and collarbones are exposed. The dress falls down over her legs, but stops right beyond the knee, revealing her ankles and lower legs. Some parts of the dress are decorated in lace. Her hair is loose and free from all the pins and hairdo's, but the maids instructed her to keep the makeup on. Maud, once again, doesn't know why. She is left in the dark about what is to come.

Staring into the mirror, she can barely see herself. The room is lit with only a few candles, and the darkness of the outside does nothing to help. This is her first day as a married woman, and already so much has changed. The maids are acting differently, people look in her eyes more and speak to her in a different tone. But most importantly, everything is so strange and she doesn't understand what anyone is doing. Adelio has been acting weirder than usual, if that's even possible, and that's freaking her out even more. What is wrong with this wedding night? Why is it making him act so strange? And why has being a married woman changed her status so much among the crowds of nobility and foreign royals?

Adelio did dance with her many times during the wedding celebration, as that was expected of him. But he seemed hesitant to touch her, and that's different from before. Of course she knows that men should be hesitant when touching women in this world, but Adelio has never been that type of man. He is relaxed and confident with his movements around her, looking at her in a different way from any man she has met before. Tonight his expression changed to mirror the expressions that those men wear. Maud doesn't know what that means.

She keeps brushing through her hair, nervous about what's to come and thinking back to everything that happened earlier. She danced with her brothers and then with her new husband, and spoke to at least two hundred guests in between. There was enough food to choke on, but Maud didn't really feel like eating. She noticed that Adelio was having the same problem. He kept leaving his plates half full and barely touched his wine. His way of acting made her nervous too. She just couldn't force it down, no matter how fancy roasted duck and boiled beef soup is.

Now it's evening, and Maud was told to leave the party before everyone else. The rest are probably still down there eating and dancing, and even though it's a relief not to have to be there, Maud wonders why she was excluded so early. She was told to wait in her room for her husband by the maids. They made sure to tell her that it could take a long while before he came up. That when they got married, their husbands spent all night partying and came to them first in the early morning. Maud doesn't want to wait until sunrise. She'll fall asleep within an hour. It's been a very busy day.

A sudden knock on the door makes Maud drop her hairbrush to the floor. It clutters loudly in the otherwise quiet bedroom, reminding her of the time her maid dropped the hairbrush when she told her about her engagement to the prince. Nervousness clogs her throat. Maud stands up from her chair with a worried look on her face, wondering what to respond to the knock. Eventually she manages to mutter out some kind of response, knowing exactly who is standing behind the door.

"You can come in"

Almost immediately as she has said it, the door creaks open slowly and carefully. Maud has to force her gaze upwards, as her tall husband peeks through the door frame. Somehow, he looks different from before. His black hair falls in front of his face, and his perfectly made suit from before is now picked apart. The jacket is gone, and instead he only wears his suit pants and black shirt. On Adelio's ears hang golden earrings, and around his neck Maud sees a golden necklace with a red ruby on it, matching his new golden wedding ring. She feels oddly exposed compared to him, wearing a white nightgown whilst he is still dressed in his fancy clothes from before. Adelio hesitantly steps inside her room, a distant look on his face. Still, he doesn't shy away from her gaze, staring right back at her.

Maud looks down at the floor. She doesn't know what to say. She doesn't know what to do. They might have trained her to be a princess, but whatever is going on wasn't a part of the manual. And the way he is staring at her, Maud can't take it. It's like he's guilty, but at the same time there is a strange form of want in his eyes. Guilty of what? Before she can think even more, he is suddenly standing right by her side. His hands reach out to hold hers. Maud wonders how he is acting this way, there is no audience that he needs to please, so why is he pretending to tolerate her when they are in private? Why does he seem so gentle when holding her hands, when there is nobody here to impress but her? Strangely, it fills her stomach with butterflies.

"Do you know what we are supposed to do?"

Maud has no idea how important her answer is to the prince. If she doesn't know about what they are meant to do, she is easy to trick into believing anything. If she knows what a true prince is supposed to have to spend a wedding night, she would not be easy to fool, and the prince would have to tell her the truth. But if she is unaware of such things, which Adelio hopes that she is, he doesn't have to tell her anything. He doesn't have to tell her that he is in fact, a she. But Maud doesn't know how important the question is. All she knows is that Adelio can see right through her. She is completely unknowledgeable to all of this.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I don't know"

And that's good news to the prince. Now all she has to do is fool her. People will eventually create some sort of image of what a wedding night is supposed to look like. They will tease the princess and ask her questions about it. Adelio needs to make this night as similar to reality as she possibly can, to make sure that Maud won't get suspicious. Because Maud is Makai's sister, and if she gets suspicious and finds out the truth, she'll tell Makai. And if Makai knew that she was a woman? Let's just say years of war and bloodbath would follow. Adelio has to play it safe, and right now, that means fooling this poor princess.

And it's not hard. Adelio looks down at her wife. It's not hard to be attracted to someone as beautiful as the princess.

"It's okay, we can take it slow"

Maud lets herself be led to her own bed by the taller prince. She has no idea what he is up to, but something tells her that it's about to be very different from anything that she has ever experienced before. Suddenly, Maud finds herself engulfed by the prince, as he wraps his hands around her waist. She has no idea what he is doing. Hugging? Until he lifts her up from the floor and gently lays her on the bed. Maud squeaks but says nothing against it, finding it a little funny. Adelio looks down at her for a moment, while she lays there on the bed looking up at him. His eyes are a little hazy, but otherwise he wears the same cold expression as before. It's strangely even more attractive than his usual look. Maud has to force herself to look away, feeling weirdly shy.

Eventually Adelio seems to snap out of it. He starts to slowly unbutton his shirt, just a few down. To let him breathe. He sighs at the relief of opening up his shirt a bit, but he doesn't seem to want to go too low. Instead he ruffles his hair to get rid of any styling products from earlier, and kicks away his expensive black shoes. Maud watches it all happen with wide eyes. The truth is, she isn't as innocent as she makes herself out to be. The things that she was taught here at the palace and the things that her mother taught her while they worked in the fields, Maud knows that husbands and wives often do indecent things together. Especially at night, and most importantly during their wedding night. But what those indecent things are... she has gotten some hints from the vague words of the women around her. But nothing too specific. Seeing Adelio get undressed in front of her reminds her of all those vague words.

Maud is snapped back to reality when Adelio suddenly gets up on the bed, and drags himself closer to her. In this otherwise empty room, it feels weird to be so close to him. It feels weird, but not in a bad way. This is similar to what she wanted. To get close, to figure out his secrets and his feelings. To get to know him more. And while he slowly crawls on top of her, with his eyes still cold and dull but body warm and welcoming, Maud doesn't know what to think. How can someone be so far away and yet so close at the same time? Instead of shying away from his gaze, she searches for him inside of his intimidating black eyes. He stares back, but with much more calm and confidence.

"I'll touch you now. Tell me if it feels wrong"

And the way he says those words, it almost sounds like a warning. Maud manages to get scared for a moment or two, until she feels his hands slowly caress her shoulder. It's a butterflies' touch, slow and gentle. He's only touching her shoulder, barely even there, and nothing feels intense or wrong. But even just that, having him touch her skin, makes her stomach churn with an odd excitement. Maybe it's the way he's so careful and gentle, when men usually aren't. Maybe it's the way he touches her shoulder, even though most men would go for places far more indecent before anything else. There is definitely something different about this man. Maud wants to know what it is.

He softly brushes off her hair that has fallen over her shoulder, and leans in closer to her skin. But Maud isn't focusing on that yet. All she can see are his eyes, that shine with the same haze that they did at the night of their engagement. When he saw her in that red dress for the first time. But once his lips come in contact with her shoulder, she gasps out of surprise. Maud can't help herself.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of seeing him, she feels him smirk against her skin. Chills run down her spine at the action. That's the first time she has seen him, or indeed felt him, genuinely smile since meeting him. Even after her question, he keeps on softly kissing her shoulder. Just like how he kissed her at the wedding earlier. Maud wonders if that is what this is all about. They have kissed so much now since getting married, is that what marriage is all about? Adelio slowly lifts his head up from her shoulder.

"My duty as your husband. Why? Should I stop?"

"No"

Maud would like to think it's because she doesn't want to disappoint him. In reality, she really doesn't want him to stop. For pure selfish, indecent reasons. Because it feels good. Both what he is doing, and to have him so close. To have him treat her so kindly and gently and intimately, just like how she wanted him to ever since meeting him. And she is embarrassed to say it, hiding her face in her hands. But all that embarrassment washes away and is replaced by curiosity, when she hears him softly chuckle at her action. It's the most quiet laugh, but once again it shocks her. How different is this man from what he presents himself to be? It's like the warrior-slaughterer side of him has completely washed away. Maud removes her hands and looks up at him again. Maybe she was mistaken. His eyes, and the way he looms above her, he is still the same warrior that they make him out to be. It's just that he has a certain tame side.

Why is that so attractive to her? Maud looks up at him with wide, curious eyes.

Before she can say anything further, he leans back down. This time, not to her shoulder, but to her collar bones. Slowly and softly, he continues to kiss her. Further down her chest, surprisingly skilled with his lips and tongue. Eventually he reaches the collar of her dress, and lifts his head up. Maud stares back up at him with a red, blushing face and shaking eyes. She is under his mercy, waiting for his next move. Adelio only smiles. This might be a way to fool her, but he is getting way too interested in this for it to only be that. He wishes that all his unwanted duties could be this entertaining and... Adelio looks down at the princess. Entertaining and cute.

Even though she hates men who speak of women like objects, Adelio has to admit, a part of what they say is true. Just the simple act of touching a woman puts her in a good mood. And whether that's indecent or not, sinful or not, Adelio isn't planning on stopping. Seeing Margaret like this does a whole lot of weird things to her mind, and she can't help but let it all happen. After all, it's not the first time she has given in to the temptation of sin.

"I'll take this off now, princess"

It's just for tonight, after all. Why not dive in a little deeper?

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