Chapter Text
The sun was shining as you stepped out of your ebony carriage. Curious. You had almost forgotten what it felt like to bathe in its rays. In Obsidian, the sun was constantly hidden by thick grey clouds, as if the heavens themselves turned their bacn to the blood seeking nation. But here, it shone brightly above the turrets of the Rhodolitian palace in front of you. You closed your eyes as you let the sun's warmth caress your cheeks. Soon, you felt your fiancé's arm wrap protectively around your shoulder.
"Let us go", Gilbert said as he urged you towards the steps of the palace, "This is bound to be a very interesting visit"
"However do you mean?", you asked.
Gilbert smiled in response. He did not answer your question, a usual choice he made when it came to you. He waltzed through the palace gates as if it was his own and only then turned to extend a hand to you. A slender man with black hair came to welcome the two of you. He introduced himself as "Sariel", a "ridiculous name" as Gilbert had whispered to you while you were following him to the throne room.
"His majesty will receive you now", said Sariel
"We should take it as a great honour that his most trusted minister came to show us the way", Gilbert proclaimed with a smile. However, after all this time of knowing him, you could tell that this smile, however cheerful it seemed, was a mere pretence. The prince was indeed mocking the man, his sarcasm hidden under layers of eloquence, known only to him.
Two servants opened the door to the throne room. Gilbert kept you to his side as the two of you followed the velvet red carpet until you reached the king at the back of the room. His golden crown laid softly over his ginger hair, his tired eyes clearly knowing how much more it truly weigh.
"Your majesty", Gilbert made a theatrical bow as you curtseyed beside him. You caught a glimpse of his face. There was no trace of respect in his eyes. His cocky smile betrayed again, to you alone, his true declaration:
"Prince Gilbert", the king said nonchalantly, "We're glad to receive you in Rhodolite and we hope the negotiations between our two nations will be fruitful"
"Of course your majesty, that's my hope as well", Gilbert lied again.
At that point, the king's eyes moved on to you. You felt them scan you from the hem of your slick black dress to the pearly headpiece you wore on your hair. You noticed them, and so did Gilbert.
"If your majesty will excuse us", he said gritting his teeth behind that smile, "we've had a long journey"
The king languidly raised his gaze. "As you wish", he raised his hand to one of the servants, "Your rooms are prepared"
"Your majesty must mean our room", Gilbert said, "I adore my lovely fiancee so much I could not possibly part with her"
The king did not answer. Under Gilbert's narrowed gaze he stood and disappeared to the hallway hidden by the curtains beside the throne. Gilbert hummed at the king's choice of response, his hand squeezing yours over his black leather glove. The servant that the king had gestured to came to greet you with a deep bow, his contorted face hidden by you both. Gilbert's hand moved to wrap around your waist, pulling you closer. He allowed the servant to take a small lead before following him out of the room with you. With the young man out of earshot now, the Obsidianite prince leaned closer to whisper to you, "Did you notice?"
You had no idea what he could be talking about. Did you notice how everything was so much sunnier and more beautiful than in Obsidian? Yes, you had. And you wished you could stay in a place like this. Did you notice the hunger that the king's eyes hid when they looked at you? Yes, you noticed that as well, and you felt glad to be the partner of someone like Gilbert who, even though horrible in the eyes of ethics, could keep you out of the hands of the man those eyes belonged to.
"He's ill", Gilbert replied for you, "I wanted to check for myself but, I don't think he has long. We need to set the groundwork my sweet"
"The groundwork for what?", you feigned innocence.
"Why, our relations with the new king", Gilbert lied again. "It's never too soon to form relations with other people", his hand tugged on your waist and you knew what he meant. You had arrived to reside in Obsidian as the first prince's fiancee only a few months ago, but the young prince had been courting you since the day you first met, in a ball oh so long ago. You both knew you would end up together, that was what was agreed between your kingdoms after all to prevent the Obsidianite invasion. GIlbert had taken a shine to you even back then and, even though only a teen, he managed to secure the deal, preventing Obsidian from backing out from their word even after all this time since the contract was signed.
He had taken a shine to you, yes. But after the initial excitement of seeing his handsome face, you had never felt anything more for him. You cared for him, as a person you've known for more than a decade. You shared a lot of interests, like reading and dancing, while other aspects of yours conflicted, like his incorrigible thirst for power and your sense of right and wrong. You considered him very attractive; that was undeniable. But...there was nothing...more. This feeling inside was why you had begun to hate romance as a genre in the books you loved so much. Because you knew, they were nothing but lies. There was no such thing as true love or love at first sight. There was nothing special about a first kiss, nothing magical about a first night. There was only what needed to be, and what you could get out of it.
With a sigh Gilbert left you outside the door to your own room, instructing you to lock it and leave the key on the lock whenever you were inside. There was not much concern in his voice as he advised you, rather an ego that needed to be treated as he commanded. Soon your trunks were brought up as well and you requested to unpack them yourself, if only for the chance to be alone a little longer. You sat on your hills on the polished marble floor, the black pleats of your dress spraying neatly around you. You closed your eyes and appreciated the blessed silence that surround you. No soldiers rushing for another invasion. No whispers by the other courtiers about your foreign lineage. No Gilbert whispering in your ear either.
The man was a genius like no other. It was one of the few redeemable features he had and, at the same time, his most terrifying. You marvelled at the way he chose his words, his elegant movements, his quick wit. But you could not help but feel disgusted at the way he used those skills. At the ever-growing number of people he hurt for no other reason but to feed his ego and that of his family. And there was even a small note of fear, hidden behind every person Gilbert brought to his side by manipulating their beliefs. Because how could you know he would not do the same to you? How could you know he had not done the same to you?
No. You wouldn't let him. His trick had been revealed to you. You knew who he was. You knew what he was. You would not allow yourself to be manipulated in any way. Your opinion would be your own. Your choices would be your own. No matter what. This you had sworn.
You opened the wooden trunk in front of you, filled more with books than with clothes. Your fingers brushed over their covers, their lovely smell enveloping you. You picked the one you had left your bookmark in; a classic detective story about a seemingly unlinked series of murders. It was obvious that the author had some plan that linked them, and you had a few theories, but you still wanted to find out what they had chosen. Your sanctuary in hand, the smile returned to your face and you left your room in search of a nice place to read.
A windowsill on the top floors would be nice, especially if you could bring some blankets with you. But as you walked by the windows you could not see anyone with a sill large enough for you to sit on. And if there wasn't one here, there would probably not be one up there, as architects often followed similar plans between the floors. Maybe then you could go to the gardens? Perhaps there would be a setee for you, covered with flowers like everything else in this kingdom. Oh how beautiful it would be, and how you'd missed a blue sky above your head.
You looked at the blue sky and then back at your book. Gilbert had insisted you travel through the night, letting you sleep in the carriage beside him. You had arrived in Rhodolite at dawn, reaching the palace still pretty early in the morning. He would probably not need you for the rest of the day as he concocted whatever devious plan he had in mind. Your thumbs brushed over the cover of the lonely book. It would not last for more than an hour or two. You needed at the very least one more, perhaps even two.
You took your way back to your room, but as you turned at the corner you were met by a hard chest. The speed you were walking at was enough to rock you back as you crashed and let you fall back on the floor. Your book tumbled with similar others around you. You heard a long sigh as you raised your head. The most beautiful pair of blue eyes were looking at you, perfectly framed by platinum blonde locks. They were so mesmerizing you didn't notice how annoyed they were. As soon as your sense came back to you, so did a startled look.
"I'm really sorry", you said, your eyes not leaving the strange man's as you did.
"That was quite clumsy", the man said, "But you're not solely at fault I suppose"
Even though his face was out of a painting, he seemed to be quite built under his white cloak. He lowered down and began picking up his books. You moved to your knees beside him and reached for the nearest one. You froze as you recognized the title.
"The Romance of the Rose...", you whispered the title
The man frowned in curiosity, "You are familiar with it?"
"I-"
Yes. The answer was yes. It was a little outdated and out of your current taste, but you truly loved it. One of the few of its kind you truly found interesting reads.
"I've read it", you finally said, looking at the fresh cover. The binding was not yet wrinkled and so you could assume he was taking it out for the first read. "It's really interesting", you said, holding yourself off from using a more enthusiastic word. You did not wish to show a stranger, especially this handsome and seemingly well-read, the crazy parts of you. Not just yet.
At that point, you saw him grab hold of your book. Your heart clenched. You never cared about other people's opinions and yet, without knowing why, your thoughts were solely focused on him and what opinion he'd give on your book.
"You enjoy crime stories?", he asked.
"It's not so much the crime", you replied, "as the mystery"
He scoffed. There was a soft smile brightening his previously cold expression. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. And it was beautiful.
"I suppose there are worse things to read", he handed the book back to your hands as he finished gathering his own.
"And what about you?", you said as the two of you stood up, "You like romance stories?"
You could read the titles on the side of each book in his small pile. They were all romances. It was a little disappointing perhaps, since after all this time you found the genre a bit silly, but it was also a curious and sweet thing to see.
"It's not that", his answer caused your forehead to frown in confusion, "It's more like...curiosity"
Your hands hung in front of your body, clutching your book, as the rest of you was mesmerized by the mystery of the man in front of you.
"Curiosity about?", you asked.
He gave you another scoff. "You don't know who I am, do you?". he asked.
That was weird. Does he mean you were supposed to know?
"How can I, sir?", you said graciously, "You have not given me your name yet. I bet you don't know me either"
You saw him examine you with his eyes. His expression hardening just a little before he spoke, "You came here from Obsidian, didn't you?"
You were surprised to hear him say that. You had only been at the palace for an hour at most, and it was a place that frequently received many visitors from a variety of places.
"May I ask what gave it away?", you asked, your impressed expression clearly showing on your face.
The prince glanced down at your engagement ring, Gilbert's crest engraved on the metal below the black diamond. He couldn't have seen it, could he? It was a very small detail to notice, especially from a distance. You were ready to say something but before you could realize it he had begun walking away.
"Wait", you cried, "Hold up! We were having a conversation! "
"There is no point", he replied, halting his step but never turning back, "You and he will probably be out of here soon enough."
"We're here to ease negotiations between-"
The blonde man let out a dismissive chuckle. "Does a woman who reads detective novels really believe such an outrageous lie?"
Of course not. Of course you didnt'.
"He will check what he likes and then leave", the man coldly continued, "I'd rather focus on more important matters than this farce"
And with that he started walking away once more.
"At least tell me your name", you cried behind him but to no avail.