Mars returned her kiss and pulled her into his embrace. When her big tummy touched him, he felt overjoyed. Gosh.. he loved this woman so much! Soon, they would welcome their baby to the world.
He would make it a reward for himself after defeating and killing the witch and end their lifelong enmity. He would go home to her, in time for their baby's birth. Then, they would live together in peace.
Finally.. he would get his happy ending.
"Do you want to rest?" Mars asked her. "Or maybe go out and get fresh air? We can see the woods that you mentioned and choose the best place for Killian. The flowers are blooming and it's so beautiful out there."
"Ahh.. sounds good. Then, let's go out for a walk," said Emmelyn.
She agreed with him that the world around them looked very pretty with most of the flowers were blooming and the trees were green again. Spring had truly come in Draec and they could see everything came back to life.
"Okay." Mars patted her back and motioned her to wait. "Stay here. I will go and get our coats. It's still a bit chilly outside. I don't want you to feel cold."
He strode out of the dining room and went to their chamber. He took a nice fur coat for Emmelyn from the closet. It was his mother's gift to her last month. He chose that because he knew Emmelyn really liked that coat. Then, he also took a leather coat for himself.
When he returned to the dining room, he wrapped the fur coat on Emmelyn's back and helped her wear it. After he wore his own coat, he grabbed her hand and took her to walk outside from the side door where they could see the fish pond.
The pond was frozen in the winter and now it was back to life with the colorful fish happily swam all over the water. They could also see several water lilies blooming so beautifully.
Everything around them looked so fresh and pleasing to the eyes. It was such a beautiful spring. Emmelyn took a deep long breath as soon as she walked through the door, and filled her lungs with fresh air.
"Let's walk for a bit," she said to Mars. "I would like to see the flowers in the garden outside of our windows."
They walked holding hands toward the garden that she mentioned. Mars was happy to see Emmelyn's mood change for the better. One by one, the issues they were facing were sorted and they could see the silver lining in their clouds.
"Do you want to go for a ride? It's such a beautiful day and the weather is perfect to sightsee," Mars offered after they had enough of enjoying the garden.
He made a mental note to give a bonus to their gardeners for maintaining such a beautiful garden that could make his wife happy.
There were so many types of flowers on the ground. They were all blooming and he could smell their fragrance in the air. Emmelyn seemed to enjoy them very much. She sniffed the air several times and her face looked beaming.
"I would like that," Emmelyn replied.
"Well, then. Let me ask the servant to prepare the horse."
Mars waved and motioned a servant to come. When the servant arrived, Mars explained to him that he would like his horse, Snow, to be prepared and brought there so he and Emmelyn could go for a ride.
"Let's just ride on Snow together," he said. "It's nearby so it won't feel tired taking the two of us."
"Sounds good," said Emmelyn.
She felt so much better than before. Maybe this was what she needed. A fresh air, and spending time with the man she loved.
Half an hour later, two servants came with Snow all geared up and ready to go. Mars helped Emmelyn to get on the horse's back before he got on it himself.
He controlled Snow gently and ordered his beloved horse to take them for a leisurely ride outside the castle ground. Twenty soldiers immediately followed them from behind on their respective horses.
When Mars saw them, he motioned the captain to keep their distance to give them some privacy. The captain bowed down his head to show that he understood the order.
The ride was very pleasant and relaxing. Mars hugged Emmelyn's stomach with his left hand, while his right hand held his horse's reins. Emmelyn smiled and closed her eyes to enjoy the warm feeling that filled her chest.
This was really nice. She could smell his masculine scent from behind her and his warm sturdy chest on her back. She felt safe, protected, and loved.
"Do you like the view?" Mars whispered to her ear and tightened his embrace on her body. He wanted to hold her and inhaled her scent for as much as he could, make the most out of their last week together before he left to kill the witch.
He knew he would miss her so badly when he was away. Gosh.. he didn't even want to think about it now.
"I love it," Emmelyn replied. "It is so beautiful."
She looked around them with an admiring gaze. There were so many flowers from all kinds of colors to their left and right. The trees were starting to grow leaves again, and birds were singing.
"Do you want to go out again tomorrow?" Mars said. "After the funeral, we can stay a little bit longer in the woods and maybe catch another rabbit for lunch? I will do all the work. You just sit and relax while I get things ready."
Thinking about rabbit meat, Emmelyn licked her lips. It was one of her favorite thing to eat.
Ahh.. now she felt hungry again. It was embarrassing because they just had lunch an hour ago.
"Yes, I'd love that," she turned around and smiled at him. "You know me so well by now."
"Well, I hope I do," Mars replied. "I am your husband, after all."