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I stared down at the book in my lap: Midnight Cinderella, the book Prince Chevalier bought for me. I was starting to think I’d never finish it. His office was completely silent, so soundproof that I couldn’t hear anything outside his door. I knew he and Prince Leon were there. Maybe Prince Licht was, too. I hadn’t wanted anybody to know about what happened, but now three princes knew, and after that ugly scene in the hallway, the rest of the palace would probably know soon, too. The thought made me feel small and vulnerable. I suddenly wished Prince Chevalier would come back and hold me in his arms again. It was a silly thought, and I knew I’d scold myself about it later, but I was too tired to fight it now. I felt safe with him. It was just that simple.
The door opened again, and I looked up as he returned, accompanied by Prince Leon. Prince Chevalier stayed by the door, as he’d done in his room, leaning back against it with his arms crossed over his chest, his cold blue eyes meeting mine for just a second before focusing on something outside the window behind me. Prince Leon came to me and went down on one knee to get on my level. He took my hand, his warm amber gaze filled with concern.
“I’m so sorry, Ivetta. I brought him up for questioning, but I never would have done that if I’d known you were here. Licht took him to the dungeons.”
“It’s alright, Prince Leon. I’m fine now,” I said softly.
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, and he smiled encouragingly.
“Of course you are. You’re a lot tougher than you look. I wouldn’t have thought a little thing like you could take a big jerk like that, and then you almost took me and Chevalier, too.”
I gave him a small smile. He and Prince Chevalier were going to make me feel better in spite of myself.
“Thanks, Prince Leon.”
“No problem. I know this wasn’t easy for you, but you helped a lot of girls, and not just the ones he’d already recruited. I’m sure there are others like you who were too afraid to speak up.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Although I could sympathize with the other girls Jack had been pressuring, I was more worried about the girls already working in the brothel. What were they going to do now? I knew firsthand how hard it was to make a living with only a false perception of prostitution, and he liked his girls young, so most of them probably didn’t know how to do anything else. How hard was it going to be for them to rejoin society?
“What’s going to happen to them?” I asked quietly.
He grinned and tousled my hair. “You really are something. Let me worry about them. I’ll see that they’re taken care of. I never thought I’d say this,” he continued as he stood up, “but you just stick close to Chevalier. He’ll take care of you.” He turned back to Prince Chevalier. “You got things from here?”
“Of course,” Prince Chevalier responded coldly, stepping away from the door.
“Alright. If you need anything, Ivetta, let me know.”
He left, and I was alone with Prince Chevalier. I took a deep breath and looked up at him hesitantly.
“Thank you again, Prince Chevalier.”
He walked over to me and poked me in the forehead, a rare smile playing across his lips.
“Where would you like to go?”
I stared at him for a moment, surprised by the question.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said,” he replied, smirking at me. “The day is yours.”
“Oh.”
I looked down at the book in my lap. He’d already wasted so much of the day taking care of me, and he intended to do so until I had to leave. I could probably ask to go early, but then I would have to come up with some sort of lie to tell Mother…
“Would it be alright if I just read here, so you can work?” I asked, looking back up at him.
“No,” he said firmly, surprising me again. “We’re not staying here.” He glanced over at the wastebasket, and I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said, standing up and setting the book on the desk. “I’ll just-”
He sighed and put his hand on mine, pinning it to the book.
“You will not clean that up. Neither of us is working today. Make your decision, or I will make it for you.”
My mind was spinning as I stared up at him.
“I…I don’t know. I just…I just wanted to pretend that nothing happened, and now…”
“Something did happen,” he said insistently. His hand left mine, and he spun on his heel, heading for the door. “Come.”
I picked up the book and tried to ignore the paperwork on his desk and the smell of bile in the wastebasket as I followed him out into the hallway. Maybe he wouldn’t let me clean that up, but he was leading me to the library, and the least I could do to thank him was get his tea. His hand lightly grabbed my upper arm before I’d even finished the thought, pulling me up beside him as his pale blue eyes flicked down to mine.
“No.”
I nodded, resigned to his forceful kindness, and continued alongside him. His hand didn’t leave my arm, even when the door to his private library closed behind us. He turned back to face me, his other hand catching my chin lightly.
“If anybody ever touches you again, you will tell me immediately. Do you understand?” he asked, a strange intensity in his blue eyes and his icy voice.
“Yes, your highness,” I said quietly.
A sudden frown came to his lips. “I want you to move here, to the palace.”
“Prince Chevalier-”
“I know.” He sighed, frustrated, his thumb lightly brushing across my chin just under my lips. “So I’ve told the other princes.”
“What?” I breathed, feeling a tightening in my chest again. It was bad enough Prince Leon and Prince Licht had to know - had to see that. I didn’t want everybody to know.
“Stop that,” Prince Chevalier snapped, his eyes flashing. “Stop feeling guilty for no reason. If anybody thinks less of you because of this, they are foolish and not worth consideration.” His eyes softened slightly, and he continued in a gentler tone, “But I didn’t tell them all the details. I just need more eyes on you.”
So that was it. Even though my attacker was in jail, he still thought I needed protection. And for once, I didn’t want to fight him about it. He’d seen me at my most vulnerable today, and instead of taking advantage of the situation, he immediately came to my aid. I’d never been able to rely on anybody else to help me, except for Mother, of course. The indescribable relief I felt was strange and comforting. Maybe tomorrow, I’d insist that things go back to normal. But for today, for the first time in my life, I was okay with being weak.
I nodded. His pale blue eyes narrowed slightly, and then his arms wrapped around me, pulling me tightly to his chest.
“Prince Chevalier?” I asked, surprised by the sudden embrace.
“Just be quiet,” he muttered.
I closed my eyes and leaned into him, his fingers stroking my hair again as he held me. Here, I felt safe. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him, knowing this was entirely inappropriate, but also knowing that, for right now, anyway, it was just right.
“Tomorrow, this never happened,” he whispered in my ear.
“I understand, your highness,” I murmured.
He eventually released me, and I stepped back, unable to meet his eyes as he walked past me to the end table next to his chair. He picked up his book and turned back to the door.
“Come,” he said, his voice as cold and hard as usual.
“Where are we going, your highness?” I asked, following obediently.
“The gardens.”
“But…I don’t want anybody to see me like this,” I protested weakly.
“I have decided for you,” he said coolly. “However, I will allow you to choose the specific location.”
I sighed. “Could we go to that spot by the pond, Prince Chevalier?”
“Will you be joining me on the bench this time?”
There wasn’t a hint of teasing in his voice, but heat rushed to my cheeks.
“Oh…I…”
“You don’t have to.”
“I-it’s not that I don’t want to,” I stammered. “But you looked so comfortable, and…if I’m outside, I like to sit on the grass.”
“You may sit where you like,” he said, chuckling.
“Prince Chevalier…”
He held the door open for me to step out into the hallway as I tried to order my thoughts. But there really wasn’t much to say. I could sum it up in a few simple words.
“Thank you for doing all of this.”
His eyes flicked down to mine again, but he didn’t respond as he led me down the hallway to an exit into the gardens. We didn’t pass anybody along the cobblestone path to the pond, and he stopped at the bench while I went on to the tree, sitting down and slipping my shoes off as I had the day of the festival. I felt his eyes on me and tried not to look back at him. His attention today was confusing. Everything I knew about him told me that he, of all people, wouldn’t care about what happened to me, and yet here we were.
My head hurt too much from all the crying for me to puzzle it out.
I undid my hair and looked out at the pond, its placid surface reflecting the bright sunlight and the trees bending over the water. The same scene that hurt to look at in the library not so long ago was soothing to me now. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, absentmindedly finger combing through my hair. Reading wouldn’t come easily, thanks to lack of sleep and the headache, but I still had several hours left of my workday. And then I had to go home and pretend everything was normal so Mother wouldn’t worry.
Just like every other time Jack invaded my life.
I forgot to watch the sundial, but Prince Chevalier didn’t. His shadow fell over the pages of the book a few hours later, startling me into looking up at him.
“You’ll take a carriage.”
Not this again. I looked back at my shoes and started putting them back on, already exhausted before I stood up and met his eyes.
“Prince Chevalier-”
“The matter is not up for discussion,” he said sternly. “The perceptions of others are inconsequential to me, as they should be to you.”
I frowned, but nodded. He didn’t have to live with the gossip and the looks, though I understood what he was saying. Not that there was any point in arguing with him about it. And today, I didn’t want to. He started back toward the palace, and I fell in step beside him.
“You don’t have to walk with me, your highness,” I said quietly, although I knew my statement wouldn’t change his mind.
“I’ll send a carriage in the morning as well,” he said, as if he hadn’t heard me.
I sighed.
“You don’t approve?”
“I’d just like things to go back to normal tomorrow, your highness.”
He glanced down at me. “They will. But I’m still sending a carriage.”
“Yes, your highness.”
It was awkward walking through the palace with him. I kept my head down and tried to ignore the looks I was getting from the other servants, who were giving us a wide berth. Whatever Prince Chevalier may say, I knew this was going to make life harder for me. It didn’t bother him, of course, and he led me to the front gate and helped me into a carriage without a word. I didn’t dare look at him until the carriage hid me from the eyes of others, and when I did, I caught him glancing toward the secret entrance to the dungeons. A sickening realization hit me.
“Prince Chevalier,” I said, my hand stopping the carriage door just before he shut it. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”
“That is none of your concern,” he said firmly, his cold blue eyes locked on mine.
“But you are,” I continued, my stomach churning.
He nodded. “Yes, I am.”
I stared at him, conflicted. The thought of anybody dying turned my stomach, but the thought of him killing Jack brought a strange sense of relief. Not just Jack being killed - Prince Chevalier killing him. But it occurred to me that Jack’s death would probably not bring the same sense of relief to Prince Chevalier. He would still worry about me, still worry that I was in danger, and he would continue to be overbearing. I didn’t want that for him.
“I…I just want you to know…that he was the only one who…”
I was struggling to find the words, and his blue eyes narrowed.
“You don’t have to say anything.”
Yes, I did. And not just with words. I got down out of the carriage and hugged him tightly. His whole body tensed up, and I felt and heard him take a sharp breath in surprise.
“I don’t mind,” I said softly. “And when he’s gone, you won’t have to worry anymore.”
“Go home,” he said sharply.
I realized with a start that we weren’t alone. The coachman, the guards - they were all looking away, but the last thing I needed was for fuel to be added to the rumors Prince Clavis was already gleefully spreading for his own entertainment. I released Prince Chevalier quickly and got back in the carriage, wiping the new tears that had dampened my cheeks.
“Goodbye, Prince Chevalier,” I said formally as he shut the door.
I watched him, spinning on his heel as he turned back to the palace, his white cloak billowing behind him. His long strides were purposeful, and he shoved our books at the closest guard without missing a step, his hand going to his sword hilt. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. Never in my life had I wished harm to anybody, but I had no sympathy for Jack. Maybe tonight I could get some sleep.
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