With only a single wall separating them, Drayce could clearly hear everything happening in the bedchamber next to his.
"It's so bright!"
Hearing Seren's whiny complaint first thing in the morning, Drayce smirked. "Seems like she finally woke up."
Her talking with long pauses in between where she must have processed in her mind what was going, Drayce focussed on everything. She must be confused to see why and how she was back in the palace and in her bedchamber.
Drayce heard her whine again. "Ouch! No, no...This is a dream...This is just a dream."
"My dear, it's not a dream at all," Drayce mumbled in response to her conclusion. Though she couldn't hear it, he liked to respond to her.
"I am even dreaming about this eagle..."
"You better dream about that eagle's master or that eagle will lose his wings soon," Drayce responded to her another conclusion.
Just then, Drayce heard someone enter Seren's bedchamber and talk to her, "Greetings, Your highness!" Since the voice belonged to a female, it must be a servant. "I am glad the Third Princess is awake."
"Even I am glad," Drayce said with a nod.
The servant continued, "Shall I prepare your bath?"
Drayce smirked as he spoke, "She is already clean so no need for that, but she will soon get a shock seeing herself without even a hint of dirt."
After several minutes, he could hear the servant speaking again, "Your Highness, the bath is ready."
"You can leave," Seren instructed and Drayce was ready to enjoy the next scenario.
"Why am I wearing this?" Seren's voice was full of worry.
Drayce heard her genuine confusion and spoke, "Because I cannot bear to see my queen in a muddy torn dress."
"What is happening with me?"
"Price of being favored by a devil," Drayce answered her another question.
Soon, her footsteps could be heard. He then found her talking to someone. "Tell me, is it a dream? Is everything really a dream? If it's not a dream, peck on my hand."
'She must be talking to Dusk,' Drayce concluded and the next moment the words full of warning left his throat, "You better do it gently or I will cut the sharp point of your beak."
Seren's soft voice floated to him again. "You are a good bird even in my dream, or maybe it is not a dream at all."
Drayce frowned. "Dream? Need to get this eagle out of her sight."
There was the sound of a knock followed by the door opening. He heard the female servant again talking to Seren. "Your Highness, Prince Cian will be here shortly to have a morning meal with you."
"After we wed, every morning meal will be with me."
There were several minutes of silence until Drayce heard Seren say something that made him smirk again.
"Red eyes!" she said.
"So she finally remembered me," Drayce concluded.
"Is he the one who brought me back here?" he heard her ask.
"Other than me, who dares touch the Queen of Megaris?" Drayce said as he narrowed his eyes. There was a dangerous glint in them that only disappeared when he heard her soft voice again.
"That mysterious red eyed-man, is he helping me, or does he want to harm me?"
"I can never harm you."
"If he helped me run away, then why did he bring me back to the palace?"
"Hmm, good question," he smirked. "Maybe because I couldn't leave my Queen in the forest to be eaten by wild animals."
"How can he enter the palace without anyone knowing?"
"You are the one forcing me to use my powers."
"Who is he?"
"You will know it soon."
After the one-sided conversation by Drayce, there was a short pause on Seren's side and he heard something that he was waiting to hear.
"Did he… Did he change my clothes too?"
Drayce couldn't help but smile widely at the way her sweet gentle voice turned high-pitched at her discovery. He could almost imagine her flustered face. Would her purple eyes flash in panic?
"Too slow to realize it, my dear," Drayce commented as he continued to listen to her talking to herself.
"Did he see me naked?"
Drayce's smile widened to its fullest as he said, "So adorable. Just don't scream or I would have to take you away with me today. I don't want Prince Cian to blame me for not letting him spend some quality time with his sister before whisking her away."
Drayce frowned when he realized the long silence from the chamber next door. He wanted to hear more. It was rare for his sharp hearing to be used for something this entertaining. He felt like this was something he could do all day and not get bored.
He idly wondered if she was cursing him in her mind.
After a while, Drayce heard her again, "Forget it. I can run away again tonight. Since I don't feel weak at all and my body seems better than yesterday's, this time I can manage to go deeper into the forest."
"Little kitten being brave," Drayce commented. "Whatever my queen wants."
There was another long pause and since he could no longer hear the sound of splashing water, Drayce guessed she must be finished with her bath and taking her sweet time in getting ready.
He wanted her to talk to herself again to know more about what was going on inside her pretty little head. It seemed like he was lucky because Seren started speaking out loud again. Eavesdropping had never felt this enjoyable.
"But how? Am I getting stronger?"
Seren must have realized by now the changes in her body.
"It's because I gave you a magic elixir," Drayce answered. After what she went through the night before, there was no way he would not give her one. Even an adult male would have suffered through muscle pains running like that, what more a frail little kitten like her?