The prince rubbed his eyes, hoping for Lucian's face to change into Ruelle if he tried hard enough. But it didn't.
Edward lowered his hand slowly. He had, in fact, closed his eyes all the way here, picturing how Ruelle might look upon waking. That vision had now been thoroughly ruined!
"May I help you, Your Highness?" Lucian asked, his tone polite and his expression aloof.
"Yes," Edward replied at once, lifting his chin. "I ca to see soone important. However, it appears my attendant has failed again." He flicked a glance at the pillar.
"Your Highness, this is—" Hers began, who stood behind the pillar.
"Quiet, Hers," Edward shushed without looking at him. "You already misled once. Do not compound it by speaking." He turned back to Lucian, continuing as if uninterrupted. "I am looking for Ruelle. Although, I suppose you wouldn't know—"
"This is her room," ca Lucian's calm response.
"—when you are—what?" Edward paused. He frowned before demanding, "Then what are you doing here?"
"This is also my room."
The silence that followed was quietly filled with the sound of crickets. Edward's eyes widened and he questioned, "You—what—why is she sleeping in the sa room as you?"
Behind Lucian, Ruelle appeared at the doorway, eyes still clouded with sleep. She took in the sight before her and blinked in surprise.
"Your Highness? What are you doing here?" She asked the prince, confused.
Edward turned to her with a look of shock and repeated, "What are you doing here?"
"I was sleeping. It is five thirty in the morning," Ruelle frowned.
Edward looked as though he were one heartbeat away from tearing his hair out. Lucian's expression did not change.
Ruelle noticed how Edward had dressed as if he were going sowhere. Was he returning to the castle? She noticed him take a step forward. But at the sa ti, Lucian shifted, just enough to block the path.
"What do you think you are doing?" Edward asked in a low, threatening voice.
Lucian sneezed once, quietly, bringing a knuckle to his nose. He murmured, "Flowers."
"Oh…" Ruelle glanced at the flowers. "He is allergic." When Lucian took a step back, she noticed his eyes water faintly.
Edward stared at Lucian, dumbstruck, before the mont turned into a glare. Because the prince had almost buried Lucian's face in those sa flowers earlier, and he had been perfectly fine!
The prince then stated, placing one hand on his chest, "I picked these for you, Ruelle. It is customary to celebrate new beginnings. To our new friendship." He extended the bouquet further, as if intent on placing it directly into her hands.
But at the sa ti Lucian sneezed again. He turned his face away and walked inside.
Ruelle's eyes flicked between Lucian and the flowers. She hesitantly accepted them, and replied sincerely,
"Thank you, Edward. They are lovely." After a pause, she added, "But I cannot keep them in here… I will have them placed sowhere nice where everyone can admire your handiwork."
She noticed the prince think about it with a deep frown. She then said, "I will see you later at the dining hall. And in the anti, I will think about what gift I should give you in return."
Edward's expression shifted at once. The earlier displeasure lted into sothing brighter, almost boyish. He nodded and responded,
"Very well. I shall look forward to it."
With that, Edward turned on his heel and began to walk down the corridor with Hers hurrying after him. But once they reached the bottom floor, the prince stopped in his tracks with a grim expression.
"Hers!"
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"I want you to bring in n…" Edward knew this was a problem. "Sothing needs to be fixed. Bring them imdiately."
Back inside the room, Ruelle moved inside the room after placing the bouquet outside. She crossed to the window and pushed it open, letting the morning air spill in and thin the lingering scent of flowers.
"I am sorry about that… I didn't expect him to appear at the door this early," she apologised. She added, "I will have the flowers placed sowhere else."
"Don't fret over it," Lucian replied, standing before his cupboard as he reached for a clean shirt. "You're not responsible for the prince's behaviour."
Still, Ruelle couldn't quite shake the feeling that she had caused him discomfort.
Two hours later, the dining hall was yet to fill itself. With the weather that had turned colder, Ruelle had wrapped her scarf around her neck, which kept her warm. She entered the hall with Hailey when an enthusiastic voice called her.
"Ruelle!"
When she turned, she caught Edward seated at the end of the Elite's table with his sides and the front empty as if he had reserved it. He lifted his arm and waved.
Ruelle caught Edward patting the seat beside him and he called, "Join ."
"Your Highness," Hailey offered a polite bow, but Edward's attention never left Ruelle. Lowering her voice, Hailey leaned in and murmured, "I will catch up with you after breakfast."
She had already begun to step back when Ruelle's fingers grabbed her wrist.
"Wait." Ruelle then walked towards the table and asked the prince, "If you don't mind, I was hoping Hailey could sit with us."
Only then did Edward seem to notice the other young woman. His gaze skimd over Hailey briefly—no more than a glance—before returning to Ruelle. He responded,
"But this seat is just for us."
"That's alright," Hailey began quickly, her cheeks turning red. "I already have a seat—"
"Forgive ," Ruelle interrupted gently, offering Edward a polite smile. "But I cannot leave my friend behind to sit at a better table."
If it was soone else in her place, he would have punished them for rejecting him more than once. But he didn't know why he couldn't do the sa to her. He studied Ruelle for a mont and then asked with a baffled expression,
"Are you… refusing? You would leave?" he added looking offended. "You said I was your friend."
"I did," Ruelle replied with a nod. "And I ant it. I hope my new friend would wish to get along with the people important to and not push them away." After a pause, she added, "I hope you enjoy your al."
"W–wait!" Edward's fingers tapped sharply against the tabletop, irritation fighting with sothing close to panic. After a second, he exhaled and waved his hand as if granting a great favour. "Very well, your friend may stay."
Far away from Sexton—the morning light barely reached the Henley house because the curtains were mostly drawn. In the bedroom, the Halfling restlessly searched through the cupboards and drawers, hoping to find sothing useful.
As he closed one drawer, footsteps entered the room.
"You're ho, Ezekiel!" Caroline looked excited. "Are you taking the day off from work?" Her eyes lit up.
He smiled at her instantly and replied, "I will need to return. I forgot sothing here."
"Oh." Caroline walked to him and kissed him on his cheek while hugging him. "I was thinking of hosting a soiree here. What do you think about it?"
"That is a wonderful idea," Ezekiel continued to smile at her. "I cannot wait to see what you have prepared."
"It will be a surprise! I just need to prepare the list and the the," Caroline grinned before saying, "I should go bathe now. "I don't want the water to turn cold," she laughed, crossing the room while removing the delicate chain from her neck and keeping it on the dressing table.
"I'll see you later and wait for you for dinner," she said over her shoulder.
"Of course, dear," Ezekiel answered. His smile dropped the second she was out of his view. At first he didn't move and only watched the place Caroline had stood. Then his gaze moved to the chain.
He stepped forward and picked up the chain before slipping it into the inner pocket of his coat. He did not stay back to talk further with Caroline.
Ezekiel left the house quickly in his carriage that carried him to another town and he parked it there. From there he took a local carriage, stepping down after one stop. A shawl was drawn over his head, covering half his face as he walked.
He kept turning back to make sure no one was following him.
When he reached the remote area with no one around, he knelt without hesitation and began to pull out the dark mud, which clung to his fingers. He kept digging for a while until a pale, decomposing hand erged from the soil.
Ezekiel exhaled softly. He rose to his feet, brushing the dirt from his hands. From his pocket, he withdrew Caroline's chain and let it fall beside the body.
"It is unfortunate," Ezekiel murmured, his voice low and emotionless, "that there will be no one to see you host a soiree, Caroline. As you will have other matters to attend to."
He had to move things quicker because Ruelle's attention needed to be drawn back where it belonged before it strayed too far toward the prince or anything that had nothing to do with him in her life.
Back in Sexton, several minutes passed, and the clink of cutlery gradually filled the spaces between conversation in the dining hall.
Ruelle ate quietly while feeling people's eyes at the table she sat at. Simply because it was an uncommon view.
Before her sat Hailey with her shoulders stiff, who had dropped her fork far too many tis out of nervousness. And next to Hailey sat Kevin, who had joined them after he had entered the hall. He sat straighter than usual, mostly lowering his gaze to avoid eye contact with the prince, while occasionally glancing at Ruelle.
Edward looked at the two humans before him and wondered what was so special about them that Ruelle was ready to let him eat alone. He found them to be ordinary and rather plain.
After a mont the prince leaned closer to Ruelle and lowered his voice, despite the fact that half the hall was already listening.
"Do you have any more friends coming?" Edward asked, already assessing their space, which felt cramped.
Ruelle looked up, surprised. She remarked, "I hope it isn't overwhelming you."
"Ha! ? Overwheld? Never!" Edward laughed, clearly amused. His shoulder brushed hers as he leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Do you know I once fought a lion all by myself? It was a sight worth watching."
But at the sa ti, her attention was stolen by the person who just entered the dining hall. Lucian had arrived with his friends.
He appeared calm, but sothing about his deanour today suggested that it was not as it seed. He looked unbothered by the noise of the hall. His eyes swept the place once, which didn't linger too long before it fell on the Elites table and found her.
"...in the middle of the forest. Hers had gone to fetch rabbits and I was attacked by the lion!" Edward continued his brave tale, while Hers, who stood at the back, shook his head. Only the attendant knew that the lion the prince was referring to was actually a cub.
"You are very brave to go against a lion, Your Highness," Hailey looked amazed and Edward nodded with a solemn expression.
"Complints are unnecessary. Still, it would be impolite to dismiss one offered by Ruelle's friend," Edward replied. He then turned to Kevin and questioned, "What about you? Have you fought a lion?"
"I haven't, Your Highness…" Kevin answered, not expecting the difference to feel so stark as he chewed his food quietly.
By then, Lucian and his friends had taken their seats at the Elites table and Ruelle could see him as he sat on the other side.
"Of course, for that you would have to venture deeper into the forest," Edward laughed. Then he added, "A lion's hide would make an excellent keepsake for you, Ruelle. I will bring it for you next ti."
"You don't have to… I am fine without it," Ruelle replied, but the prince only waved the knife in his hand.
"It would be wonderful to have it in your room. You can place your feet on it once you step out of bed. You haven't experienced it, which is why you reject the idea," Edward sighed as if the humans had no taste.
Ruelle smiled, and at the sa ti, she felt a stare so strong that she couldn't ignore it. She shifted in her seat, suddenly conscious of where she was sitting.
Was soone plotting to kill her for sitting at the Elites' table she didn't deserve? It was probably Alanna and her minions, she thought to herself. She patted her forehead with the back of her hand.
Across the room, Lucian's gaze remained too focused on the other side of the table.
Too focused.
"Why are we getting only three days before the Winter Celebration? We should be having a week to ourselves. It's not like there's much to do," Sawyer sighed, leaning forward from his chair. "It should be a fun ti."
"If you want a good ti, we can ambush a village," Angelina humd, unfazed as she chewed her food.
"And people think I am the nace," Sawyer chuckled, pointing his finger at himself.
"Why?" Angelina asked. "It is a good way to kill ti. What do you think, Lucian?"
"If you're bored," Lucian's darkened gaze moved to his cousin and he remarked, "find sothing that won't require cleanup."
"What happened to the Groundling who went missing, which Mortis was trying to find?" Sawyer asked with a lack of curiosity.
"Who knows," Angelina murmured.
Lucian's eyes returned to where Ruelle sat. He heard the prince ask her, "Do you have a fever?" his hand already on her forehead.
Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly.
Blood rushed up Ruelle's neck and she pulled away by moving back. She assured, "I–I am fine."
"That's good," Edward said with relief. "It wouldn't be much fun if my partner for the Winter Ball fell sick."
Although Lucian's expression appeared calm, it was not detached. Like water drawn too far from the shore, held back by restraint alone. And when it returned, it did not ask what it was allowed to take.
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