THE Knight's Hidden Princess
Chapter 100: Accepted Gratitude

Chapter 100: Accepted Gratitude

Reagan stood still staring at us with a blank look on his face. I regarded him with an air of indifference to which Nikolai casually rolled his eyes at before he turned to face forward.

"Well, looks like his head is still stuck in his ass." Nikolai muttered under his breath which caused me to snort in response.

I turned to look at Nikolai who offered me a smile while waggling his brows. Laughter escaped my lips as Nikolai continued to amuse me. I liked Nikolai, laughing with him was easy and I can’t remember the last time I had a good laugh. It felt nice, considering everything that had happened.

"What are you doing?"

Nikolai sounded bored as he replied. "Relax mate, I’m just getting to know the devil’s offspring."

I heard a sigh before Reagan came to stand in front of me. "You need to come with me."

"Why? You planning to kill me?" I murmured as I reached for another piece of chicken.

I heard Nikolai release a low whistle, his gaze darting between Reagan and me, smiling while leaning back leisurely in his seat almost as if he couldn’t be bothered at all by what was happening. I could see Reagan’s jaw twitch as he stared down at me.

For a fleeting moment, I saw something cross his dark gaze, something akin to regret or was it guilt? But before I could figure out what it was, it was gone. In its place was a stern mask which he always seemed to wear whenever he was around me.

"You need to come with me." He stated, "Now!" An order.

I deliberately slowed down my eating, taking my sweet time to free another mouthful of chicken while staring into his gaze, letting him know I wasn’t about to be ordered around. Especially when he left me alone this morning to go do gods knows what.

"Fuck off!" I said through mouthfuls.

Nikolai’s grin stretched wider as if he was proud of me. "You heard the lady, mate. She’s hungry but then you seem to forget she’s eating for two now."

"Stay out of this Nikolai!"

A snort was Nikolai’s response, "Bit of advice though, try taking that stick out of your arse and ask nicely, maybe she would reconsider!"

Reagan glared at him and if looks could kill, I swear Nikolai would already be 6ft under but Nikolai didn’t seem to mind. Instead he just smiled, unruffled as ever and something told me this wasn’t surprising to him. This kind of exchange was completely normal between him and Reagan.

"Don’t test me, Nikolai," Reagan cautioned, his tone steady.

"Oh please, you are just mad she seems to prefer my company than yours." Nikolai stated as he turned to look at me, "You know I might have thought she was evil since all the Westward’s are a rotten bunch, but I think I like this one. She’s got a bit of fight in her, something rare in princesses and there’s also the fact that she isn’t pretentious bitch, so yup, I definitely like this one!"

I cocked my head at Nikolai not sure whether to be offended or flattered. "Um, thank you I guess." I responded as I cocked my head to the side, "But you are not exactly charming yourself Nikolai."

"I never claimed to be darling." Nikolai drawled shooting me a wink which made me smile, "But with that being said, even you will admit I do know how to keep a woman entered compared to my cold and grumpy over here!"

My gaze went to Reagan before I heaved out a sigh, "He is cold and grumpy, but then what to do? I’m tied to him unfortunately."

"Fuck this!" Muttering a curse word under his breath, Reagan reached down and grabbed me by my wrist. Immediately yanking me by my wrist as he pulled me up to my feet, "You are coming with me!" He said with a note of finality.

I gaped at him at his audacity and I was just bout to yank my hands away from him when all of a sudden I felt someone else grab me by my wrist, stopping me from going to Reagan. Turning around, I found Nikolai leveling Reagan with a pointed look.

"She isn’t going anywhere!"

Reagan frowned slightly, "What are you doing Nikolai?"

Yes, Nikolai what are you doing? I asked myself as I stared at Nikolai.

"You can’t force her to go anywhere, not until you ask her nicely and give her a choice. Until then, she’s staying put!" Nikolai said and all traces of amusements was gone from his face.

Reagan scoffed in disbelief, "Let her go Nikolai, now!"

Nikolai simply smirked at that, "Sorry mate, I can’t do that. I serve the crown and she’s the princess, which means I serve her and her priority comes first!"

Furrowing my brows, I turned to look at Reagan who slowly let go of my wrist while Nikolai did the same. With a stern look on his face, Reagan slowly approached Nikolai, his steps slow and measured but Nikolai didn’t back down even though Reagan towered over him.

Reagan might be tall but Nikolai was bigger.

"You have a problem with me talking to my wife?" Reagan asked calmly.

Nikolai smirked, "Not at all but with the way you demean her in front of the rest of us, then yes!"

Something twisted in my chest at the way Nikolai was defending me against Reagan, his best friend. No one had ever done that kind of thing for me before and it tugged at my heart strings. But still I knew that something had to be done because we were already attracting a crowd and the last thing I need right now is for word to get back to my father.

"Perhaps, its best we have that conversation now husband." I said with a smile on my face, "I was just starving earlier. We can talk now." I said with a small smile.

Reagan turned to look at me, his brows furrowed but it was then that he noticed the crowd gathering. A flicker of understanding crossed his gaze before he gave me a single nod, "Very well." He said before he led the way and I followed after him but not before I turned to look at Nikolai.

"Thank you!" I whispered.

A single nod was all Nikolai gave me to show that he heard me and my gratitude was welcome.