his royal highness

Garrick couldn’t help it, chuckling himself as his brother pinpointed the exact reason he was so fond of this court. “You know me far too well, Christian.” It was then his eyes trained on the man beside him eager to see the one dastardly flaw his brother shared with him. “But do not deny the opportunity thrills you as well.”, he pried, coaxing Christian into some comradery, “Vasile is glorious, truly, but it is home. Things around here just seem.. so much more exotic? Imagine, a palace full of princesses we are not related to!” 

Somewhere, stripped of the title of king and left as nothing more than a man, Christian cared fiercely and unconditionally for his family. But there were moments such as this where he was reminded of impossible distinction between king and brother, even as he laughed at Garricks words, some part of him was forced to consider the implications of his brother’s whims. 

He could not deny that the energy of the room thrilled him, seeping through his skin and bathing him in a boyish kind of wonder. “ I will deny it brother, should anyone else ask”. He was sure to many, who were meeting him for the first time, that the reputation that so often preceded him seemed little more than the fabrication of hopeful young ladies and gossiping servants. That was perhaps the biggest difference between himself and his brother, one would have no difficulty in believing the tales told of Garrick once the first word left his lips. “You will not be thinking that in a week, when you have made your way through court and the ladies begin coming for your head.”

“You have no idea, sir, how much trouble I attract.” Arya muttered, voice soft as she faced him. “I think trouble could even fear me.” Despite her small build, she’d evolved into a woman who honed the presence of most rooms she stepped into. The way she spoke, bouncing, rhythmical, an almost elfish hint of a grin, mysteriously amused, sly. Were she a woman raised purely as Arya, daughter of the Olwens, she would’ve shyed away from even conversing with strangers. Especially strangers who kept themselves secluded in the scarce candlelight of the expansive, empty palace halls. But it all the more intrigued her, reached out to her. She could relate to deviating away from the safe, expected course. Replacing it with a chance encounter, an adventure, within the now heavily strict confines of her newfound life. She much preferred it, at times. 

She offered a faint smile towards the stranger, just as she could hear another song begin inside the ballroom, and she turned over her shoulder towards the muffled chatter. “The responsible idea would be to head back for a dance with someone. My aunt be very upset if I didn’t.” She paused, glancing back at him, hesitating. “But something about the night isn’t promoting responsibility in the slightest.”

“ as a shadow dweller i think i may have some notion of your allure to danger”, he answered with a smirk. as he found himself standing in the dim and otherwise abandoned corridor alongside the strange girl he had a strange sense of nostalgia. an odd longing for a memory that did not exist, for a life that he had never had the chance to live. his studies had always come first, and in those moments where his priorities were out of joint with that simple fact his father was always sure to right him quickly and with a heavy hand. but had he had his way, and been free as he was sure any other prince may have, these would be the kinds of moments that had flooded his adolescence. and for a moment, all those lost possibilities that belonged to another life bled into his world, phantoms of a life unlived crowding the empty corridor. 

without any of the finery he wore, or the crown that rested in a velvet lined box in his chambers, there was still an air of something golden that surrounded christian lazul. charm and confidence, mixed with just the right amount of defiance and cunning. he shook his head no, “i think that to abandon a chance for adventure to spend your night dancing with the drunken masses might be the most irresponsible choice of all, do you not?”

Almera’s eyes narrowed at him. Despite her newfound captivity, the princess had not been kept away from court all of her life and she knew the Prince of Vasile when she saw him, even in the dark. Furthermore, she new that after years of stuffy coronations and diplomatic events he had to have recognized the last surviving Lancaster princess. No doubt word of the Tremayne infestation had bled it’s way across her borders and into the ears of foreign royalty. Every royal family fears an uprising, but it’s damned good gossip if it’s not your own. 

The girl felt like he was mocking her tragedy, standing there asking impetuous questions when he knew full well the answers. Her response betrayed her irritation, “How could I possibly enjoy this? Another country has been thrust into chaos and we are all gathering around and throwing a goddamn party?” She crossed her arms then, continuing in a bristled whisper, “I stay for my home, your Highness.I stay because I am a Lancaster, the very last of my name. I stay because I can still make damned sure my people do not suffer at their hands as I have.” 

christian had never truly had the ability to stop himself, nor had he really wanted to, when it came to testing those around him. a simple question? for that one could guarantee themselves a practiced answer. the truth had always been muc easier to uncover with a gentle nudge towards rage. and so, with years of practice in the art of testing those around him, he could not be surprised by the princesses impassioned response. it did not matter that she delivered it with eyes that spoke only of their disgust for his brazen disregard for her delicate situation. it was the answer he had desired, and had thus brought a small grin to life on his lips. 

“chaos is everywhere princess, but the people of these courts do not take to such truths well. if we allowed the world to be seen as it is, one by one they would all come falling down. like sheep sent off the edge of a cliff and hurtling t’wards the rocky shore below in their panic to escape the wolf”. his fingers intertwined delicately in a long sheet of rich gold and red fabric which was draped from the castle’s wall. “and so we have this”. when he had heard news of the lancasters fates christian remembered it well. there he had sat, in the banquet hall of his home, a smile painted falsely on his face as the feast continued on. they, kings and queens, were the ones who sought to shield the poor and feeble creatures among them from the madness of the world... the next day he had confined himself to his chambers, the curtains drawn and candles snuffed out, wishing that he could too walk among those so easily distracted by extravagance. 

his eyes held her steadily, unfased by the heat and sharpness of her words, “ you would risk it all for them then? risk a free life far from these pretenders on that chance?” 

“It may be impossible, but you should be able to recognize where you can avoid such harm. I am sure that you know that a good leader is always aware of all outcomes of their decisions.” She replied. She knew that she could be rash and that she didn’t always follow what she said. However, she did try not to hurt people for the most part. “Do you feel cursed, your majesty?”

“Of course, I just came from that direction.” She noticed her shoes were still on the ground. “Excuse me a moment.” Eleonora stated as she had to configure a way to pick up the shoes that had dropped from her hands when she first ran into him. Even though anyone else would move awkwardly in the moment, she bent gracefully and lifted the shoes. “I must apologize for I had not been expecting to see a king in the corridors.” Her deep honey-toned eyes looked up to the man. “Now, let us go.” She stated as she turned the way that she had came from. “I hope that your ride here was smooth.”

“ then it is true what they say princess, that you belong to a much fairer sex, i fear that history has few tales to tell of men who saw where harm could be caused but power gained and chose to turn away”. in truth christian had always sought to lessen the damage he caused on the world, but he could never shake the fear of that one truth within him that rang truer than any other. he was not a good man. a good king, but such a title did not leave much room for any other. “ do you not feel cursed at times your highness, by this world and the role you have been cast to play?”

“Of course! Does this mean you’re from all sorts of shadows? Will you catch me off guard when I least expect it, in the dark, again?” Arya teased, tapping on her temple pretending to ponder and stifling back a laugh, satisfied this stranger was keeping her little identity game alive. The blonde had trouble quelling her hurricane addiction to mind games, the draw of a mystery, the challenge of playfulness combatted against a high stakes lifestyle. Any sort of person who crossed her path, who kept that lightheartedness going, deserved a bit of her time, compared to the hoards of stiff upperlip nobles she could interact with in the ballroom.

She tilted up her chin, eyes flickering to his, noting his stance in the darkness, his finery, but choosing to ignore it. “I’ve heard warning stories of shadowdwellers, danger comes with them. Trouble, if you’re not too careful. Tell me, have you gotten into any trouble tonight?”

“ i suppose that is a question that may only be answered by time milady” he responded quickly, a mysterious yet playful tone to his voice. “ are there some pastimes more illicit than wandering strange corridors that you fear i might uncover?”

After a few hours of withstanding the coronation ball, Almera seized an opportunity to drift away from Roman and the wandering eyes of his gentry. They followed her everywhere, like shadows, and she felt such an immense relief in their absence. As if someone had finally taken their foot off of her throat. 

The princess wandered through the dark, truly aimless as corridors came and went, rooms bleeding into on another as her mind went blissfully blank. It was so blank that when she rounded a corner and nearly smacked into another lost royal, it took her a few moments to register who exactly stood in front of her in dark. 

She was rarely flustered, but a blush crept up her cheeks as Almera stood wordless in front of him, taking a moment to compose herself before she dared respond, “That depends on your definition of far, doesn’t it?” The girl swallowed between hushed words, “I mean, no offense to the new King but I would prefer to be further.”  

He vaguely remembered the kind of excitement he had felt upon arriving in Aldera, to not be one foreigner among a settled people, but one among many. So many guest surely had a way of causing a unpredictability to the tipping of the scales, the kind of instability he could rely on. Even more present in his memory was that first day where he set sights on the princess before him, every aspect of her facade spoke to her nobility and stature, but in her eyes he had seen a captive. It was precisely the kind of interaction he had decided to avoid for the time being. That rare situation that might have caused the warmth of empathy to rise up within him and send him astray. Faced with her now, he made a conscious decision to further chill the heart beneath his chest. 

“A man who enjoys alone time.” She teased though offered him a charming smile. The brunette shrugged. “As their princess, it is my duty to love my people. I can forgive flaws as long as they are not causing others any harm. Once they harm someone, then it becomes unacceptable.” Eleonora replied. However, she did enjoy fights and watching the rawness. That very same rawness was not acceptable in the court. 

“Hidden wonders? It depends on your taste, your majesty. Are you a man who enjoys time with the lord, studying a book, or fancies mead? If you are a fan of birds, we also have a magnificent dovecotes. In all honesty, I enjoy the gardens. We have hidden passages that can provide you with solitude. Just you, the moonlight, and the flowers.”

“ how gracious you are princess, but i fear it is an impossible task to walk this earth without causing someone harm.” he felt the cool stone of the wall beneath his finger tips as he smiled sardonically into the darkness of their meeting place, “thus is the curse of man”. 

he pushed himself gracefully off of the wall upon which he had found himself leaning, the very fiber of his being pitching that familiar note within him, a call for adventure. christian had heard that angelic song ring through him so many times before, but so rarely was there a true chance to pursue it. “i could hardly choose another destination when you speak so highly of the gardens, would you lead the way?” he was rarely a man lead, rarely one who followed, but here he would do so eagerly, if for no other reason than the promise it would postpone his return to the celebration. 

“Ah, you’re quite the mystery, you poor soul, but if I have the power to force your untimely death due to heartache, then I’ll grace you with a temporary rebirth.” Arya wiggled her brows, leaning a shoulder against one of the cool slabs of stone, holding back an amused smirk but failing, as a lopsided hint of a grin graced her lips.

Her shoulders relaxed as he stated he too was unfamiliar with their shared surroundings, comforted by that fact. “A relief to know you won’t punish me for trespassing some forbidden corridor, then… Whereabouts do you come from, stranger?”

bowing his head humbly he spoke, feigning relief and gratitude in the same instant. “how fortunate i am to know such a kind a merciful goddess”, he answered grinning , his own smirk matching that of his companion which he could still manage to make out through the shadows. 

and it was suddenly as though the game he had enjoyed so freely might be coming to an end as she asked him of his origins. there were only so many vasilian men in this court tonight, and factoring in his dress and posture he was quite certain that fact alone might reveal him. “from the shadows milady”, he answered glancing backwards into the corridor which he had walked moments before, “where else?” he only hoped such a playful answer would appease the woman whose voice rang melodiously through the darkness, in no mood now to be weighed down by his own name. 

The rustle of his brother’s voice caused Garrick to stand a little straighter, always feeling as if he needed to appear more regal when Christian was near.  He peered over and caught an attempt at a chuckle, one that lacked the hearty warmth Garrick’s always had. Perhaps it was a difference in their upbringing, as they truly only shared one parent, or perhaps just the way that the world had always treated them differently that kept the boys so juxtaposed. In any case, Garrick seemed to always feel inadequate around him, despite his vain demeanor. 

“How could any man discriminate in a court such as this?”, he countered, “Well, I suppose you can… as the future King of Vasile and all.” His own chuckle concealed itself behind Garrick’s eyes, their lot in life a long-running joke between them as the duke had never held any resent over being the younger brother.

it was not that christian thought himself in any way superior to his brother, but all those days that he had existed only from behind the glass of the castle’s windows and watched as garrick and the other children carried on, had formed a kind of impassive divide. where his brother still seemed whole in the way that a man should be, christian had been stripped of something vital to that identity, something that he could not hold still while supporting the weight of a crown. 

The king’s eyes were truly splendid, strikingly blue even in the dim light. She chuckled softly. It was bold of him to explore the castle on his own, but then again he was the king. “I suppose not. Since you are exploring, would you like a tour from a woman who has lived here her entire life, your majesty?” The brunette offered. However, she did not expect him to accept her offer. He had seemed content on his own. “Oh? I would not call any of the gentlemen such. A lady simply needs air when dressed in gowns that weigh more than she does.”

“who would i be to turn down such an offer?” he grinned widely. there were many things that did not come naturally to the king, but charm was not one of them. “then you are far more forgiving of their flaws than i princess”. he had always been unduly harsh on the nobility, though he rarely spent time with those outside of their ranks, perhaps he was simply harsh on humanity itself. 

“so tell me your highness, what hidden wonders does the castle hold?”

As the night rolled onward, the young blonde’s fair skin began to feel more prickling and heated within the confines of the palace’s stone walls. Of course, she’d laughed, she’d indulged in lighthearted conversations, batted her eyes and remembered to flutter about with a charisma that would give herself a proper re-introduction to court. Spark enough interest. But in the back of her mind, the old servant girl posing as a long gone lady of the court, Arya Olwen, couldn’t shake the threats of those who wished to benefit from her mission. Surrounded by the elite, offered the opulent indulgences that she’d only dreamed of as a child, the poser was now wanting a small break from the festivities- a break from playing her part. She’d excused herself, flashing her pearly whites in a charming grin, before she picked up her skirts and walked - in escalating speed- around the corner, into the maze of dark corridors- to find some fresh air. 

She let out a surprised yelp as she whirled around the corner, half expecting to be confronted by a ghost, dropping her skirts and keeping her smug chin up in the air, defiant at such an intrusion on her time alone. “I’m afraid the festivities ended once I have left, and I expect once you venture into that room, you’ll find only poor souls mourning my absence.” She let out a singular laugh after her sarcasm, squinting, unable to see him clearly in the dim light. “And you, phantom lurker? Coming to haunt me for abandoning the merriment, or will you recommend somewhere for me to explore?” She blinked, still trying to adjust her eyes to the dim candlelight in the distance. 

It did not do the young king any good to wallow on an eve such as this, of course there were plans to be made, ambitions to be pursued, but for the evening ahead he would focus on the most simple among them. Those whims that belonged to all men, those last symptoms of humanity that could be seen by those around him. The golden light of the celebration was still captured within him, and it was for this reason he found it so easy to continue on in good humor with the woman before him. “Indeed, i am the phantom of one too many men doomed to perish the moment you fled the festivities”

 He watched as she seemed to struggle to see him through the shadows, and for a moment he was relieved by that revelation. That to whoever it was before him, he was little more than a dark figure and the voice of a man, any man. “I fear I am as much a stranger to this castle as any.”

Eleonora loved her brother dearly and she was certainly happy to celebrate the occasion with him. However, she felt that ballrooms could grow stuffy. They grew especially stuff in big ball gowns that she felt as though it weighed more than herself. The princess slipped out of the room feeling as though nobody would take note of her absence. The brunette had grown into quite the escape artist as of late. Quietness was a slight comfort though her mind drifted to what the commoners might be doing in the moment. Ever ounce of her was royalty and grace though she felt like a caged bird. When she was outside, she took off her shoes, allowing herself to feel the soft grass caress her feet.

Her feet padded softly across the floor as she held her shoes in her hands. When she got closer to the ballroom, she figured that she could properly place her shoes on her feet… If she could reach her feet in this outfit. Maybe taking them off had not been necessarily well thought out. As she turned a corner she nearly bumped into a dark haired man with strikingly blue eyes. Though they did not collide, started her shoes had dropped from her hands causing a soft thud on the cool floor. The brunette remained composed as though nothing had happened. As a princess, it was her duty to remain dignified. “I could say the same for you, your majesty.” The princess curtsied as she bowed her head. 

christian’s eyes landed on the young princess before him, adjusting to the dim light of the corridor, as he grinned. “one cannot expect a man to waste the entire evening away dancing when there is an entire castle to explore can he?” he asked, eyes scanning the hall around them. granted, at this point he was becoming weary that he would have found more amusement watching the drunkards carry on. “just as i suspect i would be wrong in expecting you to waste your evening on entertaining a never ending line of charmless drunkards.”

the young king was not certain as to how long he had been wandering since leaving the crowded ball room, but the further he ventured the quieter and more abandoned it became. even the cracked and shadowed stone on the walls seemed to sing keep out, but of course he did not. it was his own comfort in the quiet that led him to be so easily startled as he rounded the corner and found himself in a near collision with another. though his voice did not let on his own shock, and his eyes were as steady as ever, “far from the festivities aren’t we?”