Evening came far too quickly, and I made my way to the ballroom, where the rest of my brothers were already gathered. Guests were filtering in, but none of the foreign princes had arrived yet.
“She’ll be greeting them all and showing them to their rooms now,” Leon said quietly, coming to my side.
I nodded.
“Clavis still keeping an eye on our friend?”
“Yes, and Nokto’s on his assignment as well,” I confirmed.
“Good. Yves looks like he’s actually enjoying himself. With any luck, he won’t be baking tonight.”
Leon’s attempt to lighten the mood did nothing to assuage my dread. Nothing would do that until this week was over and the foreign princes were gone.
Silvio was the first of the foreign princes to arrive, and, as usual, he made quite an entrance. His blue eyes bore their usual haughty glare, and he tossed his blue-dyed hair disdainfully as the guards announced him. His boots were turquoise with silver toes and designs, ending about two-thirds up his calves. The vest and pants he wore were black, his white shirt had a low-cut neck with prominent ruffles falling over his chest, and his sleeves were full and poofy until they came to a tight cuff. His cloak was multiple shades of blue, matching his hair - lighter on the inside, darker on the outside, with some blending of shades here or there, rimmed with a white and black spotted ruff of fur about the neck. And, of course, he was covered in his trademark copious jewelry - necklaces, rings; even his sword belt glittered. Every move he made was accompanied by clinking and jangling of metal.
Pretentious twit.
Leon and I greeted him cordially as the faction leaders and representatives of the rest of our brothers.
“I was expecting someone important to greet me when I arrived, not some little maid,” he snapped.
And as rude as ever.
“Is your room to your liking?” Leon asked, ignoring Silvio’s snide remark. Leon’s smile did not quite reach his eyes.
Silvio shrugged. “It’ll do. Whose idea was it to leave a gift?” He looked from Leon to me and smirked. “Surely not one of you two.”
I expected nothing less from him, but his dismissal of Ivetta’s efforts irritated me.
“That little maid,” I said coolly.
“Really? Huh. That’s a surprise. Wouldn’t have thought somebody like her would know a thing about style,” he said condescendingly.
“Well, you can thank her later,” Leon said smoothly. “How about something to drink?”
I didn’t follow them to the bar. Silvio was a brat, but I couldn’t let him get under my skin. The night had only just begun.
A few minutes later, the ballroom doors opened again. A single glance at the nervous guards told me who had arrived before they announced his name. Gilbert. He had black hair and a single blood red eye visible, with an eyepatch covering his left eye. Like Leon, he was dressed from head to toe in black. His boots were completely unadorned and ended just below the knee, and his pants were similarly plain. He wore an odd coat, the right coattail hanging down to the knee while the left cut off at the thigh. It was edged in gold and bore gold tassels and copious military medals over the chest. His shirt was gray, and his tie was black, with a gold tie pin at the throat. He wore black gloves, similar to mine, and his long black cloak was edged in silver with a glossy black fur ruff at the neck. The black walking cane he bore in lieu of a sword was decorated with ornate gold markings.
And he was kissing Ivetta’s hand.
My blood was already boiling. I’d only been joking about leaving my sword in my room, but I was already regretting my decision to keep it with me.
She had composed her face perfectly into the expression of a good little maid, but her eyes met mine as Gilbert turned away from her to walk into the ballroom, and she flashed me a quick smile before she disappeared down the hall. I was careful to mask my own feelings as Leon and I greeted Gilbert.
“So, this is Rhodolite,” Gilbert said, a deceptively charming smile on his face. “I like what I’ve seen of it so far.”
“Glad to hear it,” Leon said cheerfully, although I knew he’d caught the veiled reference to Ivetta as well. “Gotta say we were surprised to hear you were coming.”
“Well, I think it’s about time for Obsidian to broaden her horizons and make new acquaintances. If the friendly reception is any indication, I think I’ll quite enjoy my stay here.”
I’d expected this was coming. He was fishing for a reaction, any indication that Ivetta could be used against me. My options were to kill him or remain calm, and less than five minutes into the ball was a bit too soon for murder.
“We have a lot to discuss,” I said calmly. “It may be a bit early to get too friendly.”
“Is it? But your lovely little maid has been assigned to me. What could be more friendly than that?” His blood red eye glittered, though his tone and smile remained unchanged.
“You are well informed.”
He shrugged. “I make it my business to know everything about every piece of food I eat. But food isn’t the only thing worth knowing about, or devouring, is it? I’m sure you understand something about differing appetites.”
This was going to be a long night.
Keith’s arrival provided only a brief respite from Gilbert. I’d met Keith before, a man taller than Jin but painfully shy and awkward. He kept his golden eyes downcast, mumbling his greeting to the floor as I forced myself to address his gray hair with the respect due his title and position. Physically, he looked the part of a prince. Aside from his stature and musculature evidencing constant combat training, his outfit was splendid. The white boots he wore were embroidered in gold and cut off just below the knees, and his pants were white with a single gold stripe up the outside of the leg. An odd layering of green and gold leaves made up his jacket, worn over a white shirt. His gloves and cloak were white, with gold embroidery decorating the edges of the cloak. But the man couldn’t even look me in the eye, and I had no respect for him as a person, let alone a prince.
I left him as quickly as possible, rejoining Gilbert at the bar. Fortunately, I had years of practice from Clavis constantly needling me, and I maintained my cool composure in spite of Gilbert’s steady stream of comments about Ivetta. She was in and out of the ballroom with the other servants, working quietly in the background as the hours passed. I didn’t partake in the dancing when it began - such frivolity had never appealed to me - but I stayed on the periphery of the dance floor, monitoring the situation as time passed, discussing business with members of my faction as they approached me.
Gilbert, too, glanced at Ivetta from time to time.
And then Clavis caught her by the arm and led her out to the empty balcony on the opposite side of the ballroom from me.
A quick glance verified that Leon and Gilbert were both on the dance floor, close enough for Leon to keep an eye on Gilbert. I started making my way around the ballroom to the balcony, inwardly fuming. Clavis knew better than to pull a stunt here. Normally, she could probably handle this herself, but she hadn’t been getting enough sleep as it was, and she had to have woken up at three or four o’clock this morning.
Nokto had seen Clavis whisk Ivetta away, too, and he followed them out. Jin was also close by, and he, too, disappeared through the glass doors.
Gilbert was supposed to be my biggest concern, not my idiotic brothers.
They were just teasing her, I knew, but there were still times when she wrapped her hand around her wrist and a frightened look passed across her green eyes. She could easily feel trapped and scared, and the imbeciles wouldn’t even realize it. I lengthened my strides, pushing through the crowd. I could see them through the glass now, the three of them passing her around like a doll, teasing and smiling while she tried to break free. My hand went to my sword hilt as any protective instincts were overwhelmed by jealousy. I hadn’t been allowed to touch her for two weeks, and I’d been careful to respect her wishes, disregarding the desire that was eating at my insides. Now, to see another man with his hands on her - and not just one, but three - my brothers - who should all know better than to treat her this way.
Did they have a death wish?
Nokto had his arm around her waist when I stepped out onto the balcony, whispering in her ear. Her cheeks were bright red, and I recognized that flicker of fear in her eyes. My sword was drawn, the tip at Nokto’s throat, before my three brothers realized I was even there.
“Enough,” I said, my voice cold and hard.
Nokto released her, and she took a step back from him. Her wide eyes met mine, and she took another step back, away from all of us.
“Not jealous, are we, Chev?” Clavis asked, smirking. His eyes were on me, and he didn’t even see her facade crumbling.
“Go,” I snapped at her.
She nodded silently and made a quick exit, visibly shaking. The teasing smiles faded from my brothers’ faces as they watched her go, replaced by realization. I forced myself to lower my sword, glaring daggers at them instead.
“She’s really scared,” Jin said, his sharp burgundy eyes wide.
“You finally noticed,” I growled, sheathing my sword.
“King Highness-”
I spun on my heel and stalked away. Whatever Nokto wanted to say was irrelevant and too late. The damage had been done.
She was slipping out of the ballroom into the hallway, far ahead of me. I followed quickly, but she must have started running at some point, as she was long gone from sight when I made it to the hallway.
If she was crying, my brothers were going to feel my blade, goodwill gala notwithstanding.
I found her in a corner of my private library, sitting in a corner, her knees tucked up to her chest, her face buried in her skirt. She looked up when I entered. Her green eyes were wide with fright, but she wasn’t crying, and she immediately relaxed when she saw me. I swallowed my anger and crossed the floor toward her as she put her head in her skirt again.
“I just need a minute,” she said, her voice muffled by the fabric.
I sat down next to her. “May I touch you?” I asked quietly.
She didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to me, hot electricity shooting through me at every point of contact. This wasn’t how I wanted it to go, the first touch she allowed me, but it felt so natural, holding her to my side. Her delicate frame trembled slightly at first, but that faded as we sat in silence. Finally, she took a deep breath and lifted her face, resting her chin on her knees and looking straight ahead.
“I know they were only teasing,” she said quietly. “But it still really bothered me.”
“No, it scared you,” I corrected her. “You finally let it show when you left, and they realized their mistake.”
“I hate being scared,” she muttered, hugging her knees tighter to her chest.
“I know.” I reached over and brushed a few stray hairs back behind her ear. She didn’t flinch, didn’t tremble. “Jack?”
She nodded, and suddenly she released her knees and turned into my side, burying her face in my chest, clutching at my shirt. I took a sharp breath, startled by her unexpected response.
“Sorry,” she whispered, “but I-”
“It’s fine,” I said quietly, wrapping her up in my arms as my heart rate increased. She needed to feel safe, and she felt that with me.
She took a deep breath. “Someday, I’ll forget.”
I wished that were true, but I knew it wasn’t. Those memories would haunt her for the rest of her life, and there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing except hold her like this when she couldn’t handle it anymore, stroking her hair gently. I bent my head down slightly to breathe in the smell of her hair, the simple smell of soap. She was so vulnerable, so small - too small. Had she lost weight? The difference wasn’t visible, and it had been a couple of weeks since I’d felt her against me like this, but I could feel her ribs. Not sleeping and not eating. I frowned but kept silent. Now was not the time to address this. But I would address it later.
After a few moments, she finally sat up straight, pulling away from me. “No, I won’t. But you should get back to the ball.” There was resignation in her voice and her green eyes. The ball was the last thing on my mind. Her ponytail was coming loose, and I reached over to brush her hair back behind her ear again.
“Go home.”
She shook her head. “There’s plenty of work I can do that will keep me out of the ballroom for the rest of the night.”
Why did she have to be so stubborn? My brothers were one thing, but Gilbert had honed in on her already, and unlike them, he wouldn’t be bothered by her fear at all. I frowned, thinking about the sight of him kissing her hand.
He’d kissed her hand, and I’d never kissed her at all.
“Gilbert.”
She sighed. “He asked me to escort him to the ball. But he knows something. He had to have planned for you to see me with him.”
“And yet, you will insist on staying.”
“I’m safer here than I am walking home in the dark, aren’t I?” she asked quietly, her tired green eyes looking up into mine.
I sighed, frustrated, but stood and offered her my hand. She took it, allowing me to pull her to her feet, and I suppose it was inevitable that I tugged her right into my chest.
“Prince Chevalier?” she asked, startled but unresisting as I wrapped my arms tightly around her.
“You will not enter the ballroom until all the guests have left, you will stop by my room before you leave, and you will take a carriage home,” I said, as if I still had a modicum of control. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand, your highness,” she said formally, though she leaned into me. “But it’s probably going to be really late when I stop by.”
“I don’t mind,” I murmured.
Maybe I wouldn’t wait until after the goodwill gala.
“No special treatment, remember?” she asked, wrapping her arms around my waist.
I chuckled. She had to hear my heart pounding in my chest.
“What do you think this is?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “But I don’t really want to think about it.”
“Then don’t.”
Maybe I wouldn’t even wait until after the ball.
She still fit so perfectly in my arms, her soft curves against my hard edges. If only she would look up at me right now so I could kiss her. I didn’t want to risk loosening my grip, not even for a second, for fear that she’d run away.
What if I just scooped her up and carried her over to my chair, cupping her undoubtedly rosy cheeks in my hands, whispering her name, finally tasting her full, pink lips? Would that be too much? Would this beautiful little dove be too frightened and fly away?
What if I just held her here, as long as she let me, and let that be enough for now?
She sighed and pulled back far too soon, not looking at me as I reluctantly let her go.
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine now, Prince Chevalier,” she said quietly, and then she turned for the door.
“You work for me. If you’re going to be here late, I expect you to do as I say,” I said coolly, quickly overtaking her to reach the door first. She didn’t look up at me as I held it open for her, one hand digging into the doorknob, the other clenched tightly into a fist at my side so I wouldn’t grab her again.
“Yes, your highness.”
Bittersweet. I’d never truly understood the meaning of the word before. I understood it now, watching her walk away from me, still tingling from the sensation of her in my arms.
It was almost midnight.
I’d left the ballroom angry, but she hadn’t been badly frightened, and she’d allowed me to touch her again, hold her, even. I shouldn’t be happy that she was staying. The palace was a dangerous place for her, and circumstances wouldn’t allow me to have her with me so I could keep a close eye on her. But I had her promise to come to my room before she left.
Maybe that would be a mistake.
Maybe I didn’t care if it was.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUZra0lULp
