SMITTEN

"Alright, wake up early. Done," Aisha said in a singsong voice as she pointed her finger beside the scroll as if it was a pen, and she was marking it with an x. 

That's all she knew about her would-be daily routines. The rest? Only God knows how she would accomplish them.

Rosalia and the rest of the female servants were already there and helped her get dressed. "Wait, what is this?" 

She recalled that she used to wear a skirt or a long gown, usually made of silk and rich in velvet, covered by a luxurious tunic that is embroidered by lace and gems. 

Now she was wearing a simple gown with a linen apron over an above-the-ankle skirt and a box-pleated blouse.

One of the servants was stuffing the apron's ample pocket with gardening tools until it was brimming to the top.

"It was included in the royal physician's request that you have physical activity within the day. Most of the time, the royal wives and concubines would do gardening to accomplish that," Rosalia explained to her in a cheerful manner.

Aisha nodded as she understood. But she drew in a deep breath as she stated, "I see. But I don't have any experience in gardening."

"You will soon know the ropes, my lady," Rosalia cheered her on as they all walked out of the Chamber to the Castle Garden. 

As they got there, Aisha couldn't help but be amazed at how well the Castle gardeners have kept the place neat, tidy, and flourishing with plants of different species and beauty.

The rhythmic splatter of water from the fountain was like music to her ears. 

The whole area smelled of fragrant sweet flowers that would make everyone feel recharged and energized. 

"All right, where do we start?" Aisha blurted out with a smile. Her dainty hands went on her petite hips.

Rosalia pointed her arms to a vast area where there seemed to be a lot of soil.

"That seemed to be turned over a few weeks ago. It won't be hard for you now, my lady. You just have to break up large chunks of earth with the rake," she grinned at her before she offered the gardening tool to her.

As she picked it up, her arms almost fell to the ground with it. 

"Seriously? Is this Thor's hammer?" she gritted her teeth as she tried to pull it up. But she couldn't.

"Okay, so why am I doing this again? To exercise, right. I know a lot of exercises to keep myself fit before my shoot. Here, let me show you," Aisha stretched her hand over her head and to her right side.

Then she did the same to her other side before she put both her hands on her hips and rotated it. "See, it's super easy."

The lady servants glanced at each other as if they were befuddled by their lady's bizarre actions.

Just then, King Leandro suddenly appeared in front of them, making the lady servants immediately bow their heads in response.

He was at Aisha's back, so she didn't see him. She even responded with a wave of her hand and a slight chuckle, "I know. I look cool. Don't worry, I'll teach you how to do this. Here's another one."

She bent down to reach the ground while keeping her legs straight. But just then, she saw a royal figure in between her legs.

He was staring at her with his scrunched forehead and his muscular arms folded over his taut chest.

"Am I seeing things?" Aisha consciously blinked her eyes rapidly to see if he was just a figment of her imagination.

As far as she knew, the King had a lot of tasks to do today. It was the day of the week when he had to go out of the Castle and observe the Gaean lands himself.

Besides that, she knew he was still upset that she left without his permission. That was why he had refrained her from leaving the Castle grounds.

'Was he checking out if I am doing the royal command properly?' she immediately stood up and turned around to face him.

Indeed, it was King Leandro in the flesh! 

Her heart skipped an extra beat, knowing that he was around. 

"What are you doing, my lady?" he asked curiously, making Aisha's face burn in embarrassment.

'Has he seen all my goofy stints?' her palms flew to soothe her scalding cheeks.

"I am just warming up, your Majesty. I would rake all the soil here with this," she grinned before picking up the massive tool with her hand.

To her surprise, she could now lift it with just one hand.

Her dazzled eyes darted to the lady servants as she said, "Do you guys see this? I'm like Wonder Woman now."

Then she quickly glanced at King Leandro. As she did so, she noticed that his eyes turned to crimson, then returned to being purplish in a fraction of a second.

She shook her head, thinking that it must be a reflection of the sun on the flowers behind him.

The sun was already above them at that time. But the weather was still cool enough that her skin didn't even feel the heat of its rays at all.

She lifted the rake and tried to smash a piece of hardened soil with it. But to her horror, the rake flew away like a piece of stick.

Like a flash of lightning, King Leandro lifted his mighty hand. And just like a magnet, the rake flew back like a boomerang and landed on it.

"Whoa, that was so lit," Aisha cupped her jaw-dropped mouth as her eyes turned to stars.

She gazed at King Leandro as she imagined him to be a real live version of one of the Marvel Comic Superheroes with his long silver hair and gray armor covered by a red cape while holding the precious powerful rake.

She froze on her feet as it seemed like everything else was blurred, and it was only him at that moment. His long strands are caressed by the winds. The muscle in his arm twitched as he played with the weapon in his hands.

"My lady, the King was asking you a question," Rosalia cleared her throat and whispered in her ear, breaking her trance-like state.

Indeed, the King was looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Are you all right, my lady? You don't have to do this if you aren't familiar with this. You might hurt yourself," he repeated before putting away the rake and going to her side.

As he walked over to where she was, Aisha's heart started beating like crazy. 

'How could a sweet man live inside that rock-hard bod?' she asked herself as she recalled who the person was in front of her, now expressing his concern for her.

She couldn't believe that even though they have been intimate already, she was still crushing on the King of Gaea, who was already her husband and the soon-to-be father of her unborn baby.

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Marry someone who is also your happy place.