Chapter 7

•Minutes before•

The blonde-looking young woman smiles heavily, thanks to her cunning father, she has danced three songs accompanied by the nobles of the Grinzem court.

–Gisselle!– Her younger brother's voice alarmed her.

The young woman rolls her eyes, sighs and turns to him, already somewhat annoyed. Her feet ache, from the uncomfortable shoes her father demanded that she wear because she had to look majestic. His brother tugs on his arm with a little laugh.

–Azeg, not now. I'm already tired of dancing– she complains looking at him

The young man with hair as blond as hers but with green eyes stares at her and then guides her toward the large table where the servants serve liquor and other drinks for the guests. Azeg, the little blond, about 14 years old, gets a drink for his exhausted sister and leads her to a corner; Suddenly her smile fades and like her sister, she sighs heavily.

–I want to get out now– confesses

The young woman agrees this time but silently. He has remembered how much his mother has made an effort to educate him in the silence of his desk so that he does not have the same attitude as his father. He nudges him causing the young man to complain.

–Now what?– He says, rubbing his side.

–As much as this is annoying, we are here for the presentation with the King, our duty above all is to honor the King– She says, finishing down her drink.

Her brother looks at her sidelong, wondering why her sister is such a nice person.

–So, should we keep smiling while we fall from exhaustion?

She nods without choice. –Yes, it seems so.

When they finish talking to each other, the girl takes a look around the audience. Before coming to the secluded place, almost stepping out onto the balconies, he noticed that his former chat partner was no longer present; more curiosity caused him the fact that suddenly a hasty and confused, Lana Grinzem taps up to her father adjusting her pompous dress and her somewhat matted hair.

–What have you been doing?– She murmurs, her brother catches her where she looks and laughs

–Certainly has gone to- Gisselle closes her eyes and purses her lips, her hand has gone to cover the mouth of her reckless brother, who when removing his hand looks at her innocently –it is the truth, sister.

–Yes, but, it is not to mention it aloud- She says restrained

For a moment he does not pay attention. Just shake your head, that baby would never have enough; they practically grew up together but it was obvious that they were too different. Gisselle catches her younger brother with a less than dumbfounded face, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

She frowns and looks at him. –Hey, Azeg, you look sick– She pinches his arm

The young man does not flinch, he blinks as if what he is seeing is a dream. The boy gulps and then looks at her by opening his mouth and pointing toward the back of the window, where the lighting touches certain places.

–Sister, th-that .. Is it allowed?– Gisselle gets up from her chair, already dazed by her brother's behavior, puts him aside and what she sees, surprises her too much and finishes filling her patience

–Damn– She whispers

The female lifts her long dress and begins to take giant steps towards the host of the banquet, who is still receiving noble families. It meanders among the people, dress, robes and ornaments to reach the throne of His Majesty; with her heart in her mouth, she waits her turn before the king and when she arrives she bows at once.

–Lady Kaioss, is that so?– the young king sitting on the throne speaks to her impassively, nothing seems to alarm him

–So is. Your Majesty, I must say that at a banquet in honor of His Royal Majesty, such recklessness should not be allowed– she says.

–Imprudence of what kind?– asks the young man

–Harassment, maybe?– she says shamelessly

For his part, Nathaniel tightens the arms of his chair, it has been difficult for him not to run like a wild monster to the balcony to see the thoughts of the Lady prostrate before him.

"Please move. I came to you because I thought you would not be as slow as the other nobles. Hurry! "

–Where?

–The balconies, Your Majesty– the girl answers immediately.

The blonde is left behind by His Majesty who has passed her without saying a word.

–Take care– is the only thing he says when he comes down from his chair, thinking that perhaps he was referring to her, she looks up to ask but when she does, she is paralyzed by intense red eyes that return her gaze, throwing invisible tips that bristle the skin

She regains her composure and comes to herself, seeing the back of the young king rushing his secretary to the place she mentioned. Distracted people make way for him while they continue to do their thing; calmly, she returns to her brother and keeps looking towards the balcony, with each passing minute she becomes more anxious. Until she sees His Majesty reach them and deliver a blow to the face of the attacker, who lets go of the lady and turns out to be the princess of the summer kingdom, the one who falls to the ground with all her red hair rushing forward covering her face; the next to be fully exposed by the coup is Travis Montgomery.

A grimace of disgust forms on the faces of the blonde and her brother.

–Disgusting promiscuous– both pronounce the same phrase in unison seeing the image as if it were a silent theater session

•Currently•

•Elijah's POV•

–Get away from her!

Travis's face, before brimming with security and presumption, is blurred in a sad expression of fear, he brings his hand to his face, to touch his nose which right now is a red mosaic, as icing on the cake and proof of his cowardice, the droplets of blood do not wait to leave his nostrils and mouth while he tries to stop the bleeding. My laughter fades when I see that His Majesty did not punch him but rather, hit him with the handle of his rapier; however, he did it so quickly that I deduced it was his hand. The straps of his sword sound proud as he cleans the handle of the sword with a handkerchief and returns it to his shawl.

–What's wrong with you, bastard! - he exclaims plaintively while covering his nose and therefore his mouth

I finally manage to retain air in myself, I'm not laughing anymore, the high has gone down, now there is only the question of what will they do to Travis? It is true that this should not worry me right now, since I am the victim, but I think other aspects are more important; like the fact that we are only three people of witnesses against whom there are prejudices.

Me. The prince and his secretary; I, since I am the isolated princess of all those of the society of nobles, in reality nobody takes me seriously, since that day; the prince has not been accepted willingly, many are envious of him, I could hear it before, and the secretary, is someone of lesser rank, not recognized by what the nobles could come to think that he only lies in favor of his lord. This is so wrong. My teeth grind against each other at the impossibility of proving something fair to noble skeptics.

–Benhard.– His voice does not wait

–Majesty.

–Take Her Highness out of here and take her to have her wound sold and rest– he ordered in a tense voice.

I swallow hard the lump in my throat. I thank whoever has come to notify His Majesty, if that was the case. It's good that he came, I don't have the strength to hold Travis back, and my hands ... I look at both and wrinkle my face. Mother is going to kill me, she took care of my nails for two months to grow like a lady's and now they are a disaster.

I complain audibly when Benhard takes my hand and puts his other hand on my side; I'm sure there is already a bruise there, as soon as I get up, I turn my gaze to His Majesty who walks towards Travis, drawing his double-edged sword; silently, I just watch.

Travis whimpers and leans back but it's useless, Majesty's gleaming boots are just a few steps away from him.

–What is he going to do?– He murmured towards Benhard.

–Miss, please, you don't want to see that, please go inside.– Benhard tries to help me get in but my heart gets smaller and I struggle a bit with the man who is holding me.

–Miss, no!– I let go of Benhard and almost slipped on the floor in front of His Majesty.

If he kill him, you will be judged even worse!

I throw myself to the ground and I press my forehead to the floor, hide my scraped hands under the fabric of my dusty dress; I think my feet are scattered behind me stupidly but this is more important than myself.

–Move– the king's voice causes spasms in my body; suddenly the kindness with which he spoke to me is gone, it's cold, scathing, lethal

I take courage in my pain and open my mouth to try to remedy the situation that I caused in the beginning.

–M-Majesty. There is no point in getting your hands dirty with this man's blood– I say

I am not saving your damn life, Travis Montgomery.

–Bloodshed by one person is not necessary– I speak again –Your Majesty shouldn't bother to pay attention to this, please. Your reputation is more important– I conclude

I don't dare to look up, I am afraid of meeting again with an expression more ferocious than the one I visualized when I introduced myself before.

–Reputation? There are more important things than that, but, Your Highness is right in a way– he replies

Silence after that. Did my improvised and poor words soften the edge of his implacable sword?

I decide to lift my head to look him, which makes me cold. The heart beats too fast, I think I hear it in my ears and feel it in my throat threatening to pop out; thanks to the peculiar and deadly shine that their eyes give off when they speak to me. However, I refuse to look away, hopelessly hoping to hear something from him. Plus, he walks past me, toward Travis.

–Majesty!– the gasp that comes out of my throat to stop him dies in my mouth when I look at the scene

All I hear is the scratch of Travis's vest, the blond's eyes gaze in terror at the frigid and dangerous expression of the king. Majesty leans down to crouch in front of him.

–I will take your act as a lack of respect towards your next king and not as a case of attempted rape, because otherwise I would condemn you to death– he comments –I don't want to see your face, piece of garbage, or I will make you suffer myself, Do you understand?– A chilling lopsided smile is planted on Majesty's features making it sound bizarre

Travis nods hastily and crawling to his feet runs out of sight down the balcony hallway.

–Benhard.

-Yes sir.

I finally take a look into his eyes. Their tone is really creepy but at the same time disconcerting; the taciturn light gray orbs have lit up to a piercing light blue hue, as bright as snow under the moon, his expression no longer sad but bloodlust.

I look away, I feel like if I keep looking him, he will see my thoughts.

–Take her– he sheaths her sword with such grace that it catches my attention for a moment

Discreetly, Benhard escorts me to the guest bedroom.

–Wait here.

I feel like a dead weight on the furniture. What a shame. The first day of presentation to His Majesty and you're already causing trouble, Elijah.

I curl my lips, remembering, troubled, the grim expression with which His Majesty looked at Travis. What kind of life did he endure to have such a creepy gesture like that?

I Sigh; thinking about it won't calm me down, I swallow hard. What seemed stupid on the surface almost became the death of a member of the court family; then, the same thought returns that this time is formulated from my mouth without me thinking about it much.

–I must have been irritating to Your Majesty– I murmur –after this, he won't want to see my face again. He'll think I'm just causing trouble– I keep my shoulders slumped

Now looking at that, I really wonder what kind of king Nathaniel Saizen is. Somehow his appearance looks like he's willing to kill anyone

His secretary returns to the room, and of course he must have found me in the gloomy darkness of my thoughts and heard the last thing I said.

–Your Majesty said that about you?

I look up.

–Well, no, but– I am quick to question him but it's useless

–What His Majesty thinks he always says, so he will let you know what he thinks of you– he warns with a bow.

He leaves me in the room. After a few minutes, a maid arrives to help me clean my wound.

–It's big enough but it will heal soon. You don't have to worry, Your Highness– he says

-You are very kind- I appreciate

–If that's okay with you.Would you like me to redo your bun?– offers

I Seat. Her gentle fingers comb my hair. Everything that happened boggles my mind, and although I try to keep my composure, my eyes fill with tears.

–Your Highness!

– It's okay, go on– I mumble, trying to regain my composure.

I was very surprised that Majesty will launch like this towards the outskirts. He is always so calm in any situation, and he knows what to do. Majesty does not tolerate any kind of injustice - announces

–I see. I'm very grateful– I mutter

The young woman finishes her work and with a bow, silently leaves. I look at myself in the mirror, with a single thought.

I've been very naive all this time, haven't I?

•Roof of the castle, at that time•

•Nathaniel's POV •

Benhard has led the Lady into the guest room; I end up alone on the balcony where, I sheathe my rapier again, the music has not stopped, the nobles continue dancing and talking without any concern, I sigh once I calm down, more anger returns when I see how there is blood spotting one of the vines' branches and something on the bench below them; I take a deep breath trying to calm myself but my attempt is not successful, I decide then to escape for a moment from the crowd, I have the feeling that I could kill someone just by looking at him; I discreetly go out to the roof of the castle, the glass ceiling allows the moon to illuminate the room.

I usually come here to calm my anger and think of something to help me calm down; I squeeze the handle of the rapier in the sheath, out of anger I think I can hear the sound of my heartbeat in my ears and the same in my own throat, I curse silently. After a moment, I laugh at the irony of the situation.

-HAHA he was going to rape her!– I exclaimed walking all over the place with fury transformed into a stagnant lump in my throat

Not even the subtlety of the tone of the flowers that are in full bloom in this lofty garden manifesting in all their colors, manages to calm my indignation. The door of gold metal mixed with the glass is opened by Benhard, who pushes it to enter and see me in a totally disheartened expression of disapproval; His expression makes me funny, since when I was little when I escaped from the castle at the time when father and mother left, Benhard was the one who used to find me in a blink of an eye looking at me with that expression, it was enough for me not to do it again for the moment.

–I knew you would be here. Have you calmed down yet?– asks expressionlessly

–Absolutely not. Isn't it ironic that the victim saved his offender?– he growled –what he did was a lack of respect for one of the princesses, worse still, it's the princess of his territory!– he yelled on the spot

–I've been with you for so long, and I don't remember ever seeing you so dazed by something.– He walks around me with his hands behind his back staring at the ceiling of the room. –She is an indulgent woman, don't you think?

What he says makes sense, nothing ever disturbed me as much as what happened right now; in fact, I didn't let anything bother me, I believed that being in the best of spirits was necessary for a king. But it happens that today is not like that, I got carried away, but I still don't really understand the reason for it.

–She interests me or so I think– I comment –if their engagement is broken– I am interrupted by Benhard's sigh –What's wrong?– I inquire sullenly

–I remind you that someone else has already tried to take her by force and it is clear that she did not consent. Do you think that if you do it too, she will feel at ease?– I frown –don't make the same mistake as her young fiancé.

He expresses his equanimous point by leaving me frozen and totally out of the zone, I watch him return to the door heading to the exit of the place.

–I advise you to calm down before entering the guest room, she is still excited.– He says

He leaves, leaving me at ease in the garden with my head thrown and the ash aching. What Bemhard says is reasonable. I can't just take it by force as if it were an object or my purchased property. Is that what he meant, right? But how am I supposed to attract her to me?

No subject was as complicated for me as when father had some time and complained about mother's crazy behavior, sometimes he would escape to the tower where I was alone to take a break from mother's terrible mood, according to him. Sometimes those things caused me a little laugh, because even when she was in front of me, the things she said were kept secret from her. I walk towards one of the planters to look at the flowers, since the enclosure is entirely made of glass, I can see myself reflected in the polished glass and sculpted with relief shapes in it, I curse inside when I see my eyes lit in an intense blue tone rather, it looks like the eye color of a frozen tundra monster, or worse, a murderer; I look away from there.

I have always hated the tone my eyes take when I get angry, I always managed to scare someone with them, so it must be hidden in the hidden tower of the crystal castle. I understand that if I want to attract the Princess of Eldinne to me, I must approach, but after today, I feel that she will fear me; I ruin with one hand the careful hairstyle that the maids did for me, now with some strands falling down my forehead and my eyes, with my head turned upside down, I go to the door of the dome. As I'm on my way to the guest room, I can't help but wonder

How to get her interested in me?