Audrey was awake before the sun rose. Maybe it was because of how hard and uncomfortable the floor was, but she found herself holding her back in pain as she opened her eyes.
Her eyes swept around the tent in search of her husband, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She jumped up.
Did something happen to him?
She knew camping in the middle of the forest was dangerous enough already.
Without bothering about her appearance, she ran outside, only to step on something. Immediately, she staggered backward before she fell down.
Damien lay just outside of her tent; his hand was folded neatly over his body while he held his sword as if he was protecting her. But Audrey doubted that. There was no way someone like him would bother to protect her. Yet, she couldn't shrug off the strange feeling that it was exactly what he was doing.
Just like him, the rest of the camp was probably still asleep, if she were to judge the silence all around.
Slowly she moved down to peer at Damien. His long lashes covered his eyes perfectly, and he looked so innocent while sleeping, like he wasn't the man that usually utter threats at her in every single moment.
Her eyes lowered, stopping right on his lips.
Her cheeks burnt red. And she touched her lips.
Who knew a mouth that sharp would make her feel another thing, deep within her? The lips looked as if they were hard, but she knew how soft they were on hers. Or maybe it was the look that was deceiving. She leaned lower, hoping to touch the lips.
But just as she leaned down to touch his lips, his eyes fluttered open.
It looked deep into hers and she tried to stand up immediately, only to stagger backward, but before she could fall down completely, his hand moved to her back, just right on her buttocks, helping her to stop the fall.
It wasn't until she realised she wasn't at risk of falling anymore before she registered that his hand was on her buttocks. She tried to shrug him off, but his hand only held her firmly.
"Hoping for a morning kiss, Kitty?" His eyes danced with mischief. Gone was the innocent look he had when he was asleep.
She pushed him backward, creating a reasonable distance between them as she tried coming up with the perfect excuse as to why her lips were so close to his. "I was just about to fall."
He hummed as if he could see beyond her lies.
Audrey averted her gaze from his while adjusting her dress.
The others were also starting to come out of their tent as if they had just woken up. From this distance, she could see the maids working as if they were getting ready to prepare their breakfast. Audrey wished she had a personal maid at her beck and call, but then her gaze returned to her husband, who was returning his sword to where he usually kept it.
It seemed he had been keeping guard on her.
"Didn't you sleep?" She asked, her eyes moving up and down.
He shrugged. "Someone had to make sure you slept safely."
Audrey's heart skipped a beat. She never imagined the first prince in this manner, and she still couldn't make sense of whatever was happening at the moment.
Remaining in his presence suddenly felt awkward to her.
She moved away. "I'll go have a bath or something."
Before she could move five steps, Damien stopped her from moving forward. "Where are you going to take a bath? We're surrounded by forest and wild animals. Taking the wrong step can put you in danger."
Instinctively, she stepped back into the tent. It felt like the tent was the only safe place for her.
Damien chuckled as he stepped into the tent. He had dropped her small bag in the tent. "You can find something in your bag to clean yourself up. When we get to a place with a stream, you can finally take a bath."
Audrey gasped.
It was unbelievable.
She had never gone a day without a bath and her skincare routine. It was enough that she had to drop most of the things she would need back at the palace, now she had to go a day without washing herself.
She bit her lips, was this what it meant to live outside the palace?
If she was being honest with herself, she missed her father and mother so dearly.If her father were here, he would probably have people dig a well just so she could bathe, but she didn't think it would be the same with her husband.
"You can rest here while I get you some water to wash your face. I'll be back soon."
Without waiting for her response, he got out of the tent.
Audrey folded herself on the floor.
There should be a way to get clean in this place.
If the soldiers and the maids were used to not bathing every day, she was certain the nobles were not used to such a lifestyle. There was no way the crown prince was going to live a day without bathing.
Yes. That was what she would do.
She would look for the crown prince's tent and find a way to wash herself.
With a look of determination, she stepped outside the tent.
The activities outside were in contrast to when she woke up.
Noises coming from everywhere almost made her cover her ears. Everyone was doing something as if they were in a hurry and were being pursued. She had no idea where she was supposed to go to get anything, or more importantly.
She had no idea where the Prince's tent was.
Thankfully, their tent was a bit far from the rest, so she was able to stare awkwardly at them all without the fear of someone bumping into her.
Out in the distance, she could make out the shadow of her husband returning.
She hurried back into the tent and sat where she had been moments earlier, hoping he wouldn't realize she had left.
When the tent opened, she wasn't surprised to see him. He held a small bowl of water, thrusting it to her. "You've to manage this. This is all I could get. We have no idea when we would get water again."
Audrey opened her mouth to complain, but before she could say any word, a soldier opened the tent in haste.
Damien turned to him, wearing his expressionless look on his face. "What do you want?"
The soldier avoided looking him directly in the eyes. "Your highness, the princes are needed for a strategy meeting."