373 GRUMPY MORNING

Dark was engulfed Senja's sense when someone shook her shoulder gently to wake her up.

"Senja," Xiao Tianyao warm breath was only an inch away from her ears. "Wake up, we need to go now."

Senja swatted his hand from her shoulder and pushed his chest away. "Five minutes…" She grumbled. It felt, she just slept for a minute and now Xiao Tianyao woke her up.

"No, not five minutes… you have to wake up now." Xiao Tianyao pulled her hand to make her sit, but Senja bit his wrist. "Senja!"

"It's still dark…" Senja grumbled while curling her body into a ball she peeked from her eyelids to confirm that the sun hasn't rose yet.

"Yes, it's dark that was why we need to go now." Xiao Tianyao patient was running thin, facing the stubborn Senja in the morning wasn't a good start. He tugged the blanket from Senja that made her shivered by the cold wind from the opened window.

"I am still sleepy…" Senja protested and crawling onto Xiao Tianyao's lap, looking for warm. She snuggled like a snake while her hand wrapped around his waist.

Xiao Tianyao sighed, didn't know what he had to do with this girl. By any mean, she was hard to handle. While Senja was still hugging his waist, he put his arms under her head and under her legs while carrying her all the way to the bathroom.

At first Senja didn't realize it, but when she felt Xiao Tianyao moved, she became alerted and opened her eyes wide right at the moment he mercilessly put her on the cold floor.

"Arrgghh! It's cold!" Senja woke up now and crawled her way back to the door, but Xiao Tianyao caught her leg and pulled her back. "What are you doing!?"

When Senja struggled to get away from Xiao Tianyao's grip, a wet towel landed on her face. He emphatically wiped her sleepiness away. After that, he got another towel to wipe her neck and her hands.

At that point, Senja's brain was very slow to process what was happening.

**Is he clean me up?**

After a moment of disoriented, Senja snatched the towel away from him, "I can do it by myself." She said sheepishly.

"Good." Xiao Tianyao smiled, finally succeeded to wake her up. "I will wait downstairs while you freshen up." He leaned forward and nibbled her lips gently before stood up, walking out of the room.

After Xiao Tianyao left, Senja became aware with what had happened, she put her palm right before her mouth and blew her breath away before she hastily smelled it.

**I hope my morning breath didn't smell so bad.** Senja cringed with the thought that Xiao Tianyao just kissed her lips.

Hastily Senja brushed her teeth and changed her sleeping dress into simple grey clothes, secured her peculiar purple hair into a bun and not to forget to cover it with a straw hat that has a brown veil along the edge of it.

Xiao Tianyao had brought their belongings with him when he went, so Senja didn't need to bring anything except herself.

She opened the door and strode the long hallway that brought her to the stairs where Xiao Tianyao had been waiting patiently in the end of it. He was wearing the same straw hat like hers, in consideration of his status as a Prince and became one of the most wanted people in this Azura Kingdom, his face was famous enough to be recognized by the public.

Senja walked down the stairs, and as she got closer to him, he raised his head, noticing her presence.

"Let's go." He grabbed her hand and brought her out of the inn.

Both of them walked toward the stables and retrieved their horses, Senja sighed when she saw her horse neighing happily.

**What this horse happy about? I don't feel a little bit happy to spend the whole day trying to flatten my arse on the saddle.** Senja thought grumpily before he put her feet on the stirrups and pulled herself up.

"Ready?" Xiao Tianyao teased when he saw Senja slumped shoulder. Well, he couldn't see her expression because of the veil around her straw hat, but he was very sure that her expression now was too funny for words.

"Never."