The Cursed King

Loriel came back with one vase filled with flowers and put it on the bedside table. Since the bouquet was quite big, he divided it into two and put them in two separate vases. He put the first one in the living room, and the other one in the bedroom.

He saw Elise closed her eyes and lay down in bed, looking like sleeping beauty. For a few moments, the man was standing rooted in his place to admire the view.

Ahh.. she was so, so beautiful. He was such a lucky man to have her in his life.

He took off his shoes and climbed the bed. He lay his body down near his wife and rub her hair lovingly. He was in bliss, being able to hug her and kiss her again was the best gift he could ever want in life right now.

Elise opened her eyes as she felt his body touched her. Their eyes met. She smiled and moved her head toward his chest and rested it there. Then she closed her eyes again.

Loriel felt ecstatic. He realized that Elise had started feeling really comfortable around him in a romantic setting. This should only get better.

He kissed her forehead and hugged her closely. Then he closed his eyes too and enjoyed a good nap together with Elise.

Meanwhile, from outside their window, snow started falling from the sky and made the earth turn white. It was such a beautiful day.

***

When Loriel and Elise got up from their wonderful naps, they both felt well-rested and fresh. Loriel ordered room service and they ate an early dinner together.

The view from their big window showed the beautiful Tokyo Tower with the snow falling from the sky. It looked so peaceful and pretty.

"Do you like the food?" Loriel asked Elise after they were done eating. He ordered some typical Japanese dishes to introduce Elise to Japan's specialty and unique dishes. He taught her how to use chopsticks properly and she had been eating her food in a proper Japanese way.

Elise really loved the experience and was grateful to have a boyfriend who seemed to know it all and could teach her many new things without being patronizing.

"I do! It's very unique," she said. They ate unagi, sushi, sashimi, and miso soup, paired with sweet sake. She actually recognized the miso soup as something that Loriel cooked for her several times in New York.

"As we have planned before, since we will be leaving from Tokyo to go home, we can explore other cities first and then come back to Tokyo to visit places of interest in this city," said Loriel after he sipped his sake. "What do you think about Kyoto? That's the place to visit to see Japanese culture."

"That sounds great," said Elise. "How far is it from here?"

"It's not far, especially with shinkansen. We can do day trips from here," Loriel replied. "However, to get the best experience, maybe it would be good to stay there for one night or two."

"I'd like that."

"Good. Then, it's settled."

Two waiters came to clear their dinner and soon there were only the two of them in the suite again. It was only 8 pm and both didn't want to sleep so soon. So, Loriel offered Elise to watch a movie while they wind down with sweet wine.

"That's great," Elise agreed. "Maybe we can watch the movie in bed since we will be sleeping soon?"

"Oh.. that's a good idea," said Loriel happily. This was what he had been wanting for a long time. To sleep with Elise in his embrace after they spent time watching TV together.

"Okay. Let me wash up quickly and change into something comfortable."

Elise took out her nightgown from her bag and went to the bathroom. She took a quick shower to freshen up and changed into her nightgown. Fifteen minutes later she appeared at the bedroom door and ready to relax.

"It's my turn now," said Loriel. He did the same thing, wash up and change into comfortable shorts and a thin shirt. He usually slept shirtless, but tonight he put on a shirt to avoid making Elise feel uncomfortable,

"What do you want to watch?" Elise asked after she climbed the bed and leaned on the headboard.

The wall across the bed turned into a TV screen after Loriel pushed a button on the remote in his hand. He climbed up the bed too and sat beside Elise.

"Let's see what's recommended," he said. The man clicked some buttons and saw movie options for them to watch. He showed the top ten list to Elise and asked her to choose what she wanted to see.

"What about this one?" Elise mentioned a movie about a royal princess in modern times who wanted to experience how it was like to live as a commoner. So, when she went to another country for a visit in a royal capacity, she sneaked out and went outside as a commoner woman.

She met a journalist who immediately recognized her as the princess but pretended not to know her and became her friend. He showed her places and did many 'ordinary' things with her. This was something that she always wanted to do.

They ate cheap food, went to a concert, watched a movie in the cinema, had a picnic in a park, took a motorcycle ride, and many other ordinary things that the princess never got to do because of her royal status. 

She was very happy with her new life and the fact that she could become free. No more annoying nannies and strict royal parents. She didn't even have bodyguards tailing her wherever she went. She thought her new friend was kind to her, and she slowly fell for the man.

The princess finally returned to her parents because she found out the man actually had known all along who she was.

He had also been recording her and took many pictures to sell to magazines to make a lot of money.  She felt betrayed and decided to never trust anyone again.

"This movie is a remake of an old movie called 'Roman Holiday'," said Loriel. "I watched the old one. It will be interesting to watch the new version."

"Then, let's watch it," said Elise happily.

"Okay, princess," said Loriel. He pressed the button and the movie started playing.

As they watched the movie, Loriel hugged Elise in his arms and enjoyed her presence. He didn't care about the movie for one bit. What's important was he had his wife in his embrace and tonight he could hug her to sleep.

"The movie is good," Elise commented after the movie ended. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I understand why the princess chose to leave the man. He had been lying to her and only wanted to take advantage of her."

"Yeah, but the man regretted what he did and the princess finally forgave him," said Loriel.

"It's true, she forgave him because she was kind, but she couldn't trust him again. That's why she chose to end their relationship and focused on her duty as the princess. I don't think I can forgive someone who lies to me as the man did. I hate liars the most."

Elise's words made Loriel's heart skip a beat.

What did she say? She hated liars the most?

Loriel swallowed hard.