Chapter Three: Conflicted

~Thorn~

“Your Majesty, Duchess Fallon Von Keem is here to see you.” Colby my butler came into the study to alert me. I nodded to him before responding. 

“Send my regrets, I have other matters to attend to.” I replied. I could see the fear in his eyes. Fallon Von Keem was a raging fire among a forest. She was relentless and unpredictable. I didn’t even have an interest in her. Of course my father didn’t care about that; he only cared that she would be an advantageous pawn later. However, Colby would do anything I told him to even at great risk to himself. Due to this I promised to take care of his family should anything happen to him. It was the least that I could do. 

“Right away your Majesty” He answered before leaving the study. 

~Fallon~

I was sitting in the Tea room at the royal palace. I had come all this way to spend time with my fiance. But his butler intercepted me before I had made it to his study. He worked way too much. It was almost irritating. But after sitting here, made to wait, I finally heard footsteps. However when the same butler came around the corner alone, I couldn’t hide the disappointment on my face. 

“Duchess Fallon Von Keem, I regret to inform you that the prince is busy this evening and will have to send a notification to meet at a later date.” The man said, but I could hear the small tremble behind his voice. I guess the castle wasn’t impenetrable when it came to rumors. I wanted to scream and throw a fit but I knew better. As the future Queen I had to be the picture of poise and grace. I put a plastic smile on my face. 

“Very well send his Majesty my love and affection then.” Before I walked past him to exit the building. After walking the long length of the castle walls. I entered my carriage. While I held my composure that didn’t change that I was angry. I would tell daddy about this, it was disrespectful. The prince always has an excuse to not meet me. My father made it seem like he really wanted his marriage but lately I’m not so sure. It’s like he's purposely avoiding me. 

That’s fine though I will be the next Queen of this empire, no matter how much he tries to rid himself of me. The first time I was introduced to him, he argued with his father over it. It was disrespectful to my father and me both. The prince voiced his disdain of the idea of us being betrothed. I felt humiliated when he called me names and said I wasn’t good enough to be Queen. 

~Thorn~

As the day came to an end, I finished off the last piece of paperwork for the day. As I was signing the last paper, Colby entered the room to tell me it was time. I stood with a sigh and headed down to meet the rest of my family. 

“Ready to head out?” My father asked as I entered the room. My mother and I both nodded to him before following him out to the carriage. Princess Rein was left with her nanny, she was only ten and had not made her debut yet. Once she turned 15 she would make her way into society officially. The ride to the Sparrow estate was still tense. You could’ve cut the air with a knife, my mother fidgeted in the carriage due to it. Tensions between my father and me were still quite high. After I outright rejected the Duke's daughter to the Duke's face, my father and I had countless arguments following that day. 

Once we got to the Sparrow estate, I quickly left the carriage. It was like gasping for air and then finally getting it. I helped my mother out of the carriage and my father followed after her. We followed my father into the building and into the dining area. As we entered the dining room the Sparrow family stood and bowed to us. Once my father sat, the rest of us in the room followed. The flushed daughter immediately caught my eye. She was a beauty to behold. Her red hair was vibrant and her cheeks were rosie despite her pale complexion. I would have tried to marry her but her weak constitution disqualified her. Her sister was also a beauty to behold but the rumor was that she was going into sainthood. No one was quiet sure if that was true or just some rumor.

“How have you been feeling Lady Nyx, you never attend the parties. It’s such a shame that such beauty is hidden away in this musty manor.” I asked her trying to spark conversation. But it was as if she didn’t hear me. She seemed lost in her thoughts which made my heart melt even more for her. But something that caught me off guard was the sudden fear that spread across her face. As soon as it started however it was gone. 

“Your Majesty, please forgive me, I was distracted.” She said but the look of terror was once again there. It wasn’t me was it? Something deep inside me wanted to comfort her. Protect her from the evils of the world. I sighed before asking again, this time giving a child-like huff at the end hoping she would laugh. However, when she didn’t I was filled with surprise. 

“Well your Majesty, my illness is unpredictable, so I do tend to miss many events. I’m sorry.” She said in an earnest manner. I nodded in understanding and decided to not make anymore conversation with her. My father would find some way to throw it in my face otherwise. I opted to talk to Theoran about war and politics. A couple times throughout my conversation with Theoran, I would lock eyes with Lady Nyx. This would make her blush a deep red and look down to hide it. It was honestly the cutest thing I had ever seen. Once dinner finally ended we moved into the tea room. 

When I entered I didn’t see Lady Nyx anywhere. That’s when I saw some of the material blocking the door out to the terrace move in the wind. Pushing the material aside I headed through the door onto the balcony overlooking the gardens. There Lady Nyx was looking up into the stars. Her hair fell down her back and her dress dazzled beautifully in the night air. She was breathtaking even in the simplest ways. I wonder if she knew how pretty she was. I strided to her side before resting my hands on the stone rail as well. I seemed to catch her off guard. 

“Your Majesty.” She said as she turned to curtsy but I put my hand up to stop her before she could. 

“Please don’t.” I said, making her stop and nodded her head before turning back toward the gardens. She sighed leaning into the railing more as she became lost in thought.

“Nyx,” I said and waited for her to meet my eyes. Once she did I continued. “You seem unhappy here? Why?” I questioned. Again fear entered into her face but was gone before I was completely sure that I saw it.

“Um, no I just haven’t felt the best lately and this dinner takes a lot out of me you Majesty.” She stumbled out as she faked fatigue in order to make it more believable. However, I was less convinced. Has the Marquess been lying to everyone all this time about her condition? She is very beautiful so maybe he did it to protect her. Our eyes locked again and before I could stop myself I leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were soft and wet, making me goan. As soon as the kiss started however it ended. She was very panicked as she pulled away, a frown formed on my face. 

“Your Majesty, I’m so s-sorry, I-I can’t…” She trailed off as she walked backwards. Again her face was full of fear as she continued to apologize. She then turned and ran through the door. I sighed in frustration running my hand through my hair. As I entered back into the tea room my mother called to me. 

“Thorn you ready to head home?” I nodded and bid the Sparrow family goodnight.