Lilac
I knocked gently, breath bated.
I was completely taken aback when the door swung open almost immediately to reveal the Prince, and at once, my heart stumbled into my throat as I stared up at him. I suddenly felt dizzy. I didn't expect the door to open this fast, so it completely caught me unexpectedly. As I stared into his eyes which gleamed a dull color of gold, I was reminded of the weird dream I had before waking up this morning and slowly, color filled my cheeks as I awkwardly averted my gaze while clearing my throat.
"Good morning, your highness. I- I brought you your tea." I breathed out. He was silent and the silence began to drag out between us. When I tentatively glanced up, I realized that he was frowning down at me and at once, panic flared within me as I instantly began to wonder if I had done or said something wrong.
Almost immediately, he stepped back, the door wordlessly held open. I swallowed emptily again, heart racing fast as I hesitated for a moment before crossing over into his room. His room wasn't dark this time, bright lights flooded everywhere and it looked quite spotless. His bed was made but I noticed it wasn't the sheets he asked me to rub my face over, that particular sheet was folded and kept in the chair beside the bed.
I walked up to the table in the room and carefully dropped the tray I was holding. When I turned around, but I let out a startled gasp to see the prince standing right there. I attempted to take a step backward from how panic flared through my entire insides. However, a hand clamped on my waist, and I yelped as the hand kept me rooted in place.
The prince was really tall and I was being reminded of that all over again as I stared up at him with fear swimming through my veins. A hand settled on my chin when I attempted to avert my gaze and I let out a shaky breath, my entire body starting to tremble. I remained still and tense as the prince tilted my face left and right with his grip on my chin, then the frown on his face deepened, frightening me further because I just knew this couldn't mean anything good.
"What happened to your scent?" He suddenly asked and I blinked at him while my brain struggled to figure out what he was referring to. His grip tightened on my chin and I let out a shaky breath, then I was being tugged against him hard. I gasped as his body collided with mine while my eyes turned into saucers, my mouth falling open. His bare chest was hot against my clothed one, and I was too unnerved by this close proximity to dare take in a breath.
"Answer me, human." His voice rang through my head, pulling me back to the present and I struggled to find something to say but my mind was completely blank right now.
"I- I…" I struggled to say more than that.
Unexpectedly, my face was tilted sideways again and I gasped on noticing the prince's head descending. When a hot breath ghosted over my throat, my mouth fell open as a startled sound escaped my lips, my eyes widening then fluttering when a nose lightly grazed underneath my jaw.
When he pulled away and rose to his full height, I felt like I might pass out. I was so frightened, I seriously thought he had been about to… eat me.
"Did you use scent blockers?" He suddenly asked and I stiffened, shaking my head before the question fully dawned on me.
"I— yeah, I- I did because I was told t- to." I whispered in response.
This time, the prince finally dropped my chin but he didn't step away. His chest was still close to mine and I could still feel his body heat.
"You'll not use that again. Do you understand?" He suddenly said in that low voice of his and my breath caught in my throat as I forcefully nodded.
He was gripping my chin again, but not as hard as the previous time.
"Use your words." He echoed out.
"I understand." I whispered while feeling the urge to avert my gaze from his intense golden ones. He didn't let go of my chin until after a few more moments.
When he turned away this time, he walked up to his bed and sank into it, then he nodded at the tray which I was currently backing.
"Pour me a cup."
I scrambled to do as asked, my hands shook a little in the process and some of the hot liquid spilled over my fingers. It hurt so much but I practically ignored it as I cradled the teacup and walked up to the prince. I stopped a few feet away and handed the tea to him with my head downcast.
When he didn't accept it, I glanced up at him to see him tilt his head before speaking.
"Didn't anyone tell you you're supposed to taste the tea before serving me so I can confirm it's not poisoned?"
I stiffened and quickly shook my head. No one told me this, how was I supposed to know?
I was about to apologize for my mistake when he patted the spot beside him on the bed.
"Sit."
I glanced between him and the patted spot, expecting him to say something else, but nothing else escaped his month. I let out a shaky breath, the teacup shaking a little as I tentatively walked forward and perched on the tip of the bed, keeping some space between us, but it was useless because I could still feel his body heat.
"Drink up." He ordered.
I stared at the tea in my hand for a fleeting moment before bringing it up and starting to drink it down. The tea was almost tasteless and it actually cooled my throat and soothed my chest, and once I was done drinking, I wordlessly glanced over at the prince.
He gave me a nod after a moment and I stood up to go pour him a cup of the tea when the world suddenly spinned around me, my eyes instantly dimmed, my legs wobbling.
I let out a startled squeak and tried to gather my quickly dwindling strength, blinking away the darkened spots behind my eyes, but it only seemed to be worsening. I managed to take a step before the teacup tumbled from my grip and shattered into pieces. Before the fear of the broken cup could register within me, a sharp pain settled in my chest and stomach and my breath completely ceased. Panic lodged itself in my throat next.
Was the tea… poisoned?
As soon as those words gathered in my head, it was like the world spinned around me again and this time, all the strength got knocked right out of me and I began to fall backward.
I landed right on the crown prince, to my utmost horror.
Before I could even start to panic, I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.