“Ah yes, with your guard dogs?”
I roll my eyes. “I wish you would stop calling them that, but yes.”
He laughs a full laugh this time, leaving the echo of its jingle in my ears.
I cannot help but feel a bit... disappointed at his quick departure. I know I should not get too comfortable, he said it himself and truthfully I do not know what I was expecting. There is more at play than at least I am aware of, and I really need to remember that. Wiping my hands on my dress I start walking towards the exit of the gardens. He follows, pointing out any difficult to see branches along the way. Once we reach the entrance we start to go our separate ways when he stops me.
“Also, Dove?” I stop, before chiding myself for responding to his silly nickname. “Do remember we have appearances we mustkeep up. It is not beneficial to go against our father’s plans quite yet.”Yet?
The defiance laced in his words gives me pause. Such defiance hints at some broader plan I am not in the loop of and it aggravates me to know he will leave me in the dark, but I grit my teeth and nod.So much for taking control.
“One more thing.” I once again halt my progress. “Our fathers aren’t the only ones with plans for you. You would do well to remember that.” A devilish smirk enters his gaze. “See you at lunch.” He turns and walks off. I huff out a breath and watch him leave for a second.I need more answers. I cannot continue like this. My mind wanders back to the vision I saw earlier.
I make it to my room quickly and shut my door. Leaning against it, I take a breath, questions filling my head.What the hell does he even mean? Is there another enemy I need to be wary of? Is it him? What plans could he possibly have for me?“Nothing good,” I whisper aloud, biting my lip with worry. “Definitely nothing good.” I walk back over to my bed, close my eyes and throw myself into it. It had been a very long morning; I could stress myself about all this later today… after a nap. “For now?” I mumble to myself and snuggle under my blankets. “I am going to bed.”
Chapter fourteen
Lunch
Alaceandra
The afternoon comes sooner than I would like. I wake up to the soft closing of my chambers, the handmaiden once again eluding my questions.I am sick of being avoided. Frustrated, I continued getting ready knowing the boys will not wait too long before wanting to speak with me, seeing as I had been unavailable all morning. I wash and dress for the evening. This time styling a pretty dark blue gown laced up the sides, cinchingin my waist. Briefly I wonder how I was going to get this off later. The intricacy of the gown, although beautiful did make for a challenge to put on. I glance in the mirror. “It sure is pretty though” I smile at myself before going to my desk to write a couple more brief letters to Philos.
Sam and Sorin come and retrieve me from my room, and we find ourselves in the library hidden in a little nook of the castle. After the sound barrier is in place and our conversations can be hidden away from any prying ears, I start a line of questioning before they can. We are lying on some pillows on the floor, and it reminds me of laying out in the grassy fields of Tikilium as a child.
“So...” I start “How have you guys been faring?”
“Okay,” Sorin replies, fiddling with the hem of my skirt. “Most tend to stay away from us. It seems like servants and guards alike here are pretty much ghosts to each other and those they serve.”
“Yes,” Sam chimes in. “I wonder if there is any significance to that or if it is only a custom here. I know in Tikilium most stayed out of sight as to not endure the king's wrath but we still all talked with each other for the most part. It is the silence among staff here that is cause for concern.”
“Hmmm...” my brows knit in concentration. “That is weird... maybe it is all the surveillance here?” I question, motioning to the general area around us. “Kind of hard to bitch about royals who can hear your every word.”
“True,” Sorin agrees. “Except it's not just a lack of conversation concerning the royal family, but a lack of conversation in general… it’s disconcerting.” He blows out his breath and then his hand brushes over mine. He picks it up and starts massaging it between both of his absentmindedly. “How are you doing? Has the prince made contact since the gardens?”
“Um… about that.”
Sam and Sorin tense around me and sit up to look at me. Sorin does not drop my hand but instead clutches it gently in his and tugs at me to make me sit up and look at them. “Lace?”
“He... might have talked with me briefly this morning...” I bite my bottom lip gently. Sam’s eyes drop to it before his brows knit together, eyes snapping back up to mine.
“When?” Sam picks up Sorin’s line of questioning.
“Just a couple of hours ago.”
“Really?” Sorin chimes back in. “We were awake we didn’t hear you leave... we even passed by the gardens… I thought you were just sleeping in today”
“Weird. I left you both a note. I had assumed you saw it.”
“No.” Sorin looks worried. “What did you guys talk about? Did he try to touch you again?” Sorin’s grip on my hand tightens slightly.
I look away from him.Yes, but do they really need to know that?“He has a new nickname for me.” I elect for a change in subject.
Sam snorts. “What’s that?”
“Dove.”
“Dove?”
