Chapter 8 - The Agreement's Kiss

"Here, be careful."

Cain carefully guided the princess back on land after they arrived at the Soulisse Mansion.

Noting that she was wearing a gown, she could not ride on a riding position with her legs parted. Due to that reason also that she was able to feel the totality of the man behind her while their ride progressed. Even though she had treated Lord Cain as an older brother, he was still a man, and one damn handsome one for that matter.

"Thank you," she politely replied and went on to gaze at the newness of her surroundings.

Cain handed the reins of his horse to the stable caretaker and then proceeded to welcome the awestruck princess inside the Soulisse Mansion's foyer.

"It's your first time coming here, so I'd like to give you a warm welcome in our mansion," Cain expressed confidently.

The Head Butler, Sir Karl, was the one who personally attended to Cain's orders while the princess was present. He offered them a sweet wine and a plate of hot, freshly-baked souffles to savor while they were both in the main parlour talking about the history of his family.

There were several portraits of his father, his mother and him hanging on the wall for Lianne to see.

Thirty minutes later, they went out of the room. Cain cheerily guided the princess on a tour on the other parts of the mansion. Their last stop was the main garden outside the building. He knew that the princess had been fond of such places, even in Regaleria.

They stood at the center of the garden's pergola watching everything in sight along with the beautiful sunset in front of them.

"Oh my, this place is truly beautiful, my Lord," Lianne commented as she saw the garden in full bloom amidst the fact that the snow was still covering most of the greenery.

She held out a breath realizing how wonderful it was to behold another place other than the Regaleria premises.

Cain was pleased to see her enthusiasm, thinking that being in here, her frustrations would lessen. But, there was another feeling deep inside him that he cannot deny just by looking at the innocent woman in his front.

How much had he yearned to make this woman his own.

"But the beauty of this place cannot compare to you, Lianne," Cain gently replied to her surprise.

Her heartbeat doubled when she saw him closing the gap between them. This closeness was too much for her actually.

"You still owe me a kiss," he confessed, eyes darkening.

"Ha!" An instant realization hit her. True! It was part of their agreement before Lord Cain trained her to ride a horse. She was so engrossed with other matters that she had completely forgotten about their agreement. With such a place; his place for that matter; how could she ever deny the impending kiss they have to share?

"But I..." Lianne tried to reason, not wanting to be led by him, but he continued his advances no more than a second.

"Sshhhh," Cain hushed. He drew her waist closer to him and began to touch her cheeks, tracing the softness of her lips with his fingers.

Lianne was in between the borderline of yielding and distancing. Though she would have wanted to fulfill their agreement in respect to what he did for her, she felt that deep inside her heart, she didn't want to be kissed by him.

But there was no turning back now.

His cold lips met the heat of her own as he pressed himself to her. Lianne fought hard to stay calm and remain in place as he continued his kiss more deeply.

Cain slid his tongue onto her mouth and languidly moved himself from inside her as she closed her eyes. She could undeniably feel his kisses searing with ardor but, just as soon as pitch darkness enveloped her, a flash of memory went surging in her mind; a memory that she couldn't deny, and it was from the time when His Highness, Prince Ruen, first kissed her in the library.

The heat and intensity of Ruen's kiss quickly escaped from her thoughts and into reality that she almost believed it was he who was kissing her at the moment. With that quick vision, it stunned her greatly that she abruptly withdrew from Cain's hold.

"Ahhh! No!" she shouted in distress. She instantly stepped backward away from Cain as she covered her sore lips with her left palm.

Upon seeing the shocked face of Cain, she instantly knew she just acted strange in front of him.

"I'm sorry. Cain, I'm sorry. It's just that its-"

"Your first kiss, I know," Cain cut off without hesitation.

Lianne were in deep shades of red with the words he just said. If that was what he believed, then let it be so. She certainly couldn't tell him the truth.

"I'm sorry..." the princess lowered her head.

Cain swept a hand along her jaw and said, his gaze full of warmth, "Don't worry. I thoroughly understand."

He embraced her tightly and whispered words she couldn't discern. He was acting strange himself. If it weren't because of the agreement they had, she would have interpreted his gentleness in a different way.

"Shall we return to Regaleria?" Cain asked her with a satisfied look on his face.

The princess was surprised with his unexpected question. For the first time ever in her life in this kingdom, even though it was only just a few hours, she felt so free! Why would she want to let this taste of freedom go?

Cain instantly read her thoughts and began to look plainly concerned on the silence of the princess.

"Lianne," the young lord began to speak, holding her hand in between his palm. "I know this is hard for you, but you just have to be a little more patient."

The princess stared at those ash-mauve eyes of his that seemed to break the walls of her fears. This man had done so much for her ever since they first met. And he had done so countless times to assure her that everything would be fine. What was different then today?

"Yes, I...I should," she nodded in compliance, but her heart felt like it was heavily dragged on the bottom of the pit.

The sky was dusky when they went back to Regaleria Mansion the same way they did riding his stallion, but this time, she felt herself uneasy under Cain's constant gaze.

Their kiss proved to be something more intimate than she had first thought it to be. It was not anymore an initial contract between them, but already his unmistakable affection towards her and she had realized it already too late.

~ 0 ~

"I am disappointed in you Cain," Garlow announced dryly sitting in his throne as Cain half knelt in his front with his head bowed down.

His father, General Midas, was standing just a couple of feet away from him, but he could feel the tension in his father's eyes directed at him.

Three days after Cain took the princess out of the mansion, the entourage of Garlow arrived, and what welcomed the oblivious King was the report of his henchmen regarding Cain and the princess' apparent escapade to an unknown location.

It was truly a disappointing event, and Garlow immediately find it a betrayal of his trust on the young lord.

"Of all the people, you are the one who deliberately disobeyed me," the King stated irritably.

"Your Majesty, if it would help to relieve you, my son returned the princess unscathed," Midas spoke in a trembling manner. His composure was beginning to falter just for the reasons that his son acted rather stupidly.

"Hmmm, indeed, but it doesn't erase the fact that your son could have been an accessory for her escape."

"True," Midas answered, knowing that the King was not a man who just easily pardons anyone who disobeyed him. "Then, it is your right to punish him, Your Majesty," he added, hiding his irritation on such a troublesome problem.

Garlow grinned in content with Midas' decision. With his velvet robe overflowing the carpeted floor, he stood up, his shoulder high and squared just like a king should be. He stared at Cain thereafter who was already submitting himself expectantly for whatever course of action he would take.

"Feelings are for the weak Cain. That, you must carve in your heart," the king stated as he neared Cain's father.

The general was confused as to what the King's intentions were, but when Garlow motioned for him to hand over his sword, it made it all too clear.

Though hesitant, he handed the sword to the pleased King and watched carefully as he proceeded to approach Cain. He uttered a silent curse, angry at his own son's folly.

"Remember this well, Cain." Garlow then raised the young lord's face using the edge of the blade. "Sear it through your brain," he continued as he began to cut the flesh of Cain's left cheek in a diagonal pattern.

Midas could do nothing but watch as his son's face was branded by the King himself.

Cain, however, did not flinch in pain amidst the incising sensation of the metal blade in contact with his skin. If this would leave a scar, he thought, it wouldn't matter as his time with the princess was all too worth it. Especially the kiss they both shared which only both of them knew.

A gush of blood quickly streamed down his face and stained the carpeted floor.

Garlow showed disgust with it and ordered them to leave at once throwing the bloody sword on the floor. It seemed that the King was more worried of his regal carpet being tainted than his own hands.

Lianne was oblivious of what had happened to the Von Cavill lord. Cain had already promised to visit her once again after they part that particular day, but surprisingly enough, he didn't return again for a number of months.

News arrived one day in the mansion stating that General Midas and some of his troops died in a collapsed cave in the City of Soren.

Lianne was surprised with it of course and immediately felt bad for Cain. Although she would have wanted to comfort him of the loss, she couldn't do so for she was still detained inside the mansion.

~ 0 ~

"What was he even doing in that damn cave from the start anyway?!" Cain, intoxicated, carelessly aired out his supplications from his soldier friends in a tavern located at a Regaleria town just a few miles from the Soulisse Mansion. Fifteen days had passed after hearing his father's death of being buried in a cave, he still had a hard time believing the news.

Testimonies of the survived soldiers showed that it was truly the depression of the cave and the eventual quake that made the ceiling of the cave fall burying the other soldiers inside including the General.

It was on the second day that the dead bodies were found and then shipped to Regaleria. King Garlow did extend his condolences, but gave no comment on the tragic event. The answer as to why they were inside the cave in the beginning was a mystery to the royal council and to everyone. Cain wanted to know too, but he couldn't just barge inside the throne hall and demand an explanation from the King.

It was a quarter past eleven in the evening when Cain came back to the Soulisse Mansion. It was just four days ago when he formally became the Lord of the Mansion to his discontentment after the burial of his father's dead body.

His father's butler managed to settle him down in a couch near the fireplace inside the parlour. Though, he knew the new lord of the house was intoxicated to bother anything he'd say, he opted to give him the very letter that was given just this afternoon by the palace sealed with the King's own seal.

Despite his head in a daze, he accepted the letter and opened it. Then, his eyes widened as he read its contents. The King had actually asked him to become the new general of the Regaleria Royal Army to which his father used to command.

With such a great responsibility, he knew this would put a heavy pressure on his shoulders, but it was an opportunity he could not pass by. He could hone his combat and leadership skills more, something that his father had been training him for and another thing, what had completely filled his mind was the endless advantages of being a Regaleria general, and the fact that these advantages all point out to one person in his mind, the princess.

Cain recognized that Garlow would have already expected such events to happen, but considering the King himself promoted him to be the general, he might have already pardoned him of his recent disobedient action.

It has been months since they've seen each other. The only memory that Cain had been holding on was the memory of their kiss in the Soulisse garden. The King did prove to be one hindrance between him and the princess. But now, he could have a chance to visit the Regaleria mansion again without any trepidation in his mind against the King

The next morning, Cain reported to the castle for an audience with His Majesty.

He wore the imperial military uniform of the Regaleria knights; a coat of deep blue shade with outlines of gold and silver at the edges and with the royal crest of the kingdom embroidered heavily on the left side.

The trousers were also in uniform color with the same amount of royal embroidery at the edges, paired with black, well-brushed boots, and on his right side was the very sword of his father, placed in its scabbard.

His hair was brushed up to the sides and well done making him look like a perfect masculine specimen.

The maid servants who had affections for the young lord squealed in delight upon seeing him visit the castle again, and the fact that now he was a high-ranking officer of the Regaleria Kingdom made them all the more enthusiastic.

The new general made his way up to the throne hall at the third floor without any delay and with an unsympathetic look on his face over the commotion of the servants down the main foyer. He acted stoic and rather imposing as expected of a high-ranking general onward to getting his first mission from the King.

An hour later, he stepped out of the throne hall with a grim look on his face; feeling disappointed and confused by what the King had just instructed him.

"Lord Cain!" Lianne shouted catching his attention while he passed by the royal stables.

"Lianne! It's so nice to see you again," the general greeted warmly as he took her right hand and kissed tenderly the back of her palm.

The princess was surprised by this rather sudden action and felt tense because of it.

"Yes, it sure has been awhile. Uhm, how have you been?"

"Same as always, Princess," he answered freely but with a hint of frustration on his voice.

With how close they were, Lianne noticed a faint scar on his left cheek. She would have wanted to ask regarding such a scar, but her attention was then caught on Paul, the caretaker of the stables, who was approaching them pulling on the reins of Cain's horse.

The caretaker then bowed his head low noting the presence of the new general and handed the reins of his horse to him.

She glanced back at the lord expecting that Cain would promptly reach for the reins, but as she turned to face him she saw Cain staring at her the whole time.

"General Cain," the princess managed to speak amidst her anxiety. "Your ride is here."

Cain didn't even turn around to face the caretaker. He instead closed the space between him and the princess and embraced her tightly to her apparent shock.

Paul was also agape upon seeing what had occurred in his front and felt embarrassed by his unwanted presence. In haste, he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"I missed you so," the general whispered gently to her ears.

Lianne was confused what to respond. She knew Cain needed someone to comfort him due to his recent loss. If only she could easily treat him more like a brother like in the past, she wouldn't have to be too mindful in comforting him.

"I...I'm sorry for your loss," was all the she could say. Her hands reached for his shoulder, but stopped midway, unable to force herself to embrace him back.