Chapter 184

184 Closing the Window

It had almost been about half an hour since Anastasia started to look outside the window.

She was appreciating each and everything that her eyes were able to capture – the trees with a few leaves intact on their branches, the birds that were flying to look for food, the soft morning breeze, and the sparse sunlight that fell through the branches of the trees.

She was so engrossed in the view outside that she almost forgot she was traveling together with her husband, not that he minded though.

However, Caspian was a little concerned when she sneezed continuously for a couple of times.

He slightly tilted his head to catch her attention and said in a polite voice, “Anna, I think we should close the window for a while. Else, you might catch a cold.”

“Ah! Yes, of course,” Anastasia sniffled and said in a little disheartened voice.

Although she was feeling cold, she was also greatly enjoying the view. The scenery of the woods wasn’t just pleasing to her eyes, but also to her heart. Her heart was ecstatic, almost as though it was getting a taste of freedom.

However, she also needed to take care of herself. So, she pulled her hands away from the window and rested her back on the soft cushion.

Caspian closed the windows so that the chilling breeze wouldn’t get to his wife’s heart. And after making sure that the cold air wasn’t getting inside the carriage anymore, he shifted to sit by Anastasia’s side again.

.....

He held out his hand and cupped her cheeks. Her cheeks were already icy cold, and so was her nose.

“I should have asked you to close the window a while ago,” he mumbled to himself while taking the scarf from Anastasia’s neck and wrapping her head as well as her neck with it. He also buttoned up the thin light-green sweater that she was wearing outside her gown of the same color.

Anastasia was gazing at her husband’s beautiful eyes and long lashes as he worriedly tried to make her warm.

Caspian then took both of her palms and started to rub them with his cold hands. Right now, her hands were as cold as his.

He furrowed his brows and asked her while still rubbing her cold palms, “Anna, you shouldn’t be so careless. I don’t want you to get sick before we even reach our destination.” He was really worried about his wife’s health, which he had sensed by now that it was more fragile than most humans on her age.

He further said in an apologetic tone, “I am not that affected by the cold. And I can’t tell if the breeze is too cold for you... If you hadn’t sneezed, then I wouldn’t even have noticed that the cold was affecting you.”

Anastasia snuggled with her husband. She rested her head on his shoulder and replied with a wide smile on her face, “I’m sorry, love. I got a little carried away because it had been a while since I last saw these woods.”

She entangled her fingers with his and brought his hand close to her lips. She gave a soft kiss on his knuckles and whispered, “I won’t make you worry about me anymore, okay? I will be careful.”

“You better not go back on your words,” Caspian pouted his lips and continued rubbing her hands again.

When her hands started to get warmer than his, Caspian slipped her hands inside the pocket of his overcoat. He then put his arms around her shoulder and pulled her even closer to his chest.

“Let me know if I give off chills instead of warmth,” he asked his wife, knowing all too well that she would keep on hugging him even if she would feel as though she was hugging a huge block of ice instead of him.

“You are warm.”

He let out a quiet sigh of relief when he heard his wife’s soothing whisper. He was glad that his helpers made him wear an extra layer of warm clothing citing that the weather was starting to get chilly in the morning.

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After about two hours into the journey, all the carriages came to a halt when they reached an open and sunny area.

“Your Majesty.”

Caspian got woken up by Tilla’s voice for the second time today. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He then looked down at his wife to find her soundly sleeping while resting her head on his chest.

“Anna,” he softly whispered to her and said, “We are taking a short break. Do you want to get outside for a while?”

“Hmmm?” Anastasia groaned in her half-asleep voice.

Caspian gently caressed his wife’s soft hair and asked, “Let’s stretch our legs. Come.”

Anastasia took a deep breath in and finally opened her eyes. She lifted her head and asked in her sleepy voice, “Where are we?”

Since Caspian was the one to plan out all the routes as well as the places they were supposed to take breaks at, he answered even when he hadn’t peeked outside yet, “We just crossed Silver Keep. We will soon enter another town.”

Anastasia raised her brows in surprise and exclaimed, “We crossed Silver Keep just now? I thought Silver Keep was way too close to the castle.”

Caspian chuckled and knocked on the door.

While the coachman opened the door from the outside, Caspian answered his wife, “It is close when we travel by air. Your husband is faster, remember?”

“Ah! Of course!” Anastasia lightly tapped her forehead and got up on her feet.

Caspian jumped out of the carriage first so that he could hold out his hand for his wife.

Anastasia held Caspian’s hand with one of her hands while with the other, she held his shoulder.

She was about to step down when Caspian put his arm around her waist and swiftly carried her out of the carriage.

Anastasia wasn’t expecting him to actually carry her, she was simply expecting him to help her step down. But when he lifted her and put her down, warm blood rushed toward her cheeks and ears, especially because everyone was watching the two of them.

To add to her embarrassment, Hamilton walked closer to the two of them and said to Caspian in a teasing voice, “It looks like the Queen weighs nothing more than a small flower. I bet you could have carried her to Xanmar and back if you really wanted to.”

Caspian gave a corner-eyed look to Hamilton and replied, “I wouldn’t have been able to protect her from the wind if I had done that. Unless someone volunteered to run at the front while shielding me and my wife from the air pressure.”

Hamilton knew what Caspian was implying when he said that. But he simply ignored Caspian and then gave a polite bow to Anastasia, “Greetings, Your Majesty. I hope you are in good health.”

“I am,” Anastasia replied while giving a polite nod to Hamilton. She also happily added, “I am really glad that you joined us for this trip. The more the merrier, right?”

Hamilton smiled at Anastasia and said after turning his gaze at his cousin, “Well, I am happy that my cousin extended the invitation to me as well. I am looking forward to a memorable trip.”

“And so am I.” Vincent came and stood next to Hamilton. He glanced at Hamilton and said with a straight face, “It’s nice to see you, Lord Hamilton.”

Hamilton gave a subtle smirk and replied, “Likewise, Lord Vincent.”