Elurra's predictions about her dance partners for the rest of the night proved accurate. After she emerged from the balcony, countless nobles and dignitaries asked for dances. Most of them were drunk. By the end of the gala, there didn’t seem to be a sober man on the dance floor, and her feet were swelling from their clumsy missteps. She longed to take her shoes off and rub out the aches. Kai saved her by cutting in for a particularly terrible dancer who reeked of ale.
“Thank you. That was pure torture,” she mumbled through her false smile.
He gave her a small grin as he gracefully took her hand and led her back into the rhythm of the dance without a single stumble.
“My pleasure. I would do anything to get away from my adoring fans,” he said, sending a pointed look toward a group of giggling girls watching them.
“I am immensely glad you are a good dancer. And you are sober.”
“I feel the same way. I am going to claim the rest of your dances if you do not mind.”
“Fine by me, but can we have something to eat first? If your night has been anything like mine, then you must be starving.”
Kai nodded exuberantly and followed her to the food table. Cheeses, meats, vegetables, and breads covered the golden surface. The servants had been busy all night keeping the table well stocked. She looked at the food greedily and tried to restrain herself from piling bits of everything onto her plate. Kai picked up a plate as well, but he fiddled with it instead of filling it with food. Elurra was too focused on the delectable array before her to notice.
“Elurra, I have a question,” he said, glancing around the room uncomfortably.
“Yes?” she asked as she took a large scoop of fruit salad.
“How did your parents meet?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering,” he said, trying to shrug it off nonchalantly.
“My parents met through a very strange set of circumstances,” Elurra replied as she studied him. He avoided her gaze, so she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. Something was off, though. She could see it in his posture.
“Go on.”
She felt uncomfortable talking about her parents. She wished he would ask about anything else.
“My father was cursed. Demons raided the castle randomly and killed everyone he loved. A single guard with a Guardian weapon protected him throughout his childhood. One day, a woman came to visit him, claiming she could protect him from the curse.”
“How did she plan to do that?” Kai asked, obviously intrigued by the story.
Without a word, Elurra held up her wrist, showing him the charm bracelet. Kai’s eyes widened.
“Is that bracelet made out of…” He glanced over his shoulder in the imaginary direction of his parents. He was alluding to his father’s crown. Elurra nodded.
“She was the only person he would see for a long time. He fell in love with her, and she crafted these bracelets to protect them from the Demons. She was born in the north, where a colony was started to find terrant. Apparently, they achieved their goal before the colony was wiped out. She saved the kingdom, and my father married her.” A lump formed in her throat, which always happened when she talked about her parents.
“Your parents married for love?” he asked quietly, realizing he’d broached a touchy subject.
Elurra nodded. She went back to picking out some cheese from the platter in front of her, but her appetite was gone.
“Do you think your father should have married a noble or a princess instead?”
“Would you rather marry someone you love? Or someone who gets you power?”
“Someone I love,” he said immediately, watching her closely with his dark green eyes. “But what if your country and your family want you to marry a princess from another land or someone of noble birth? How could you turn them down, especially if you are doing it for selfish reasons?”
For the first time, Elurra got a good look at Kai’s eyes. It was like staring into a swirling vortex of confusion and desperation.
“I think we should go somewhere private to discuss this,” she said, noticing the king and queen were watching them from across the room.
Kai’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and gratitude glimmered in his eyes. He offered her his arm, and she accepted graciously. As they crossed the ballroom, she noticed a smile pass between the king and queen. Kai pushed the door to the balcony open and held it for her. She smiled and delicately stepped out onto the dark porch. A cool breeze ruffled her hair, and the smell of earth tickled her nose. He closed the door, and his princely demeanor melted like water running down a smooth surface. He slumped against the wooden doors and slid down to the ground, head in hands, then sighed and rested his skull against the door behind him.
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“They want me to ask for your hand in marriage. My father is very impressed with your bravery and composure. I thought he would be skeptical of your identity, but it turns out you are becoming infamous. He was very interested in the news of your parents’ deaths and the appearance of another heir. He was astonished to hear the princess went missing as soon as Nitiri came to power. Naturally, everyone assumed you fled in grief and froze in the forest, but there were rumors from various informants you were still alive,” Kai babbled. Elurra could tell he was flustered. “They insisted a blonde-haired girl and a troop of followers were spotted on various occasions making their way through Lur Alava. Honestly, the only reason he was skeptical of these reports was because of the misinformation they had about your age. Thankfully, it is obvious you are the princess. No one else besides your late mother had hair like yours. But it was shockingly easy to convince my father we had your age wrong, since Lur Alava has always held the other kingdoms at a distance. Thank goodness your parents never let you leave the castle,” he said, laughing.
Elurra laughed too, but mostly to cover her embarrassment. She unexpectedly felt sympathy for her parents, who felt the need to keep her out of sight due to her peculiarities.
“Can we please discuss what we both know this is about?” Elurra interrupted gently, trying to change the subject. “I thought you were engaged. Why do they want you to ask for my hand?”
Kai looked away. His arms rested limply on his knees, which were pulled to his chest.
“My father is the one who arranged my engagement, but now he’s convinced our marriage will change the future of Incari. He says if our kingdoms join, we will have bountiful prosperity for generations. The kingdoms of snow and spring, sun and moons, light and darkness, joining as one. He says we could even claim Bastil and control the entire center of Incari.”
“Why would we want Bastil? No one can cross the cliffs of the Jurame Mountains, and they are rumored to be full of half-beast monsters, ghosts, and thieves,” she scoffed.
Kai waved her argument aside. “That is not the point. Our union could create a golden age. Goods could flow over the mountains without resistance.”
“Is that what you want? Do you want to marry me and be the king of a vast empire?” she asked, knowing he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
“Of course not. I do not want to marry you. No offense.”
“None taken. I do not want you to marry me either,” Elurra said pointedly.
Kai looked down at his hands, color spreading across his cheeks.
“Are my feelings that obvious? I thought no one knew.”
“I had a hunch.”
He twiddled his thumbs in silence for a moment as if he were trying to decide something.
“Can I be blatantly honest with you?” he finally asked, looking over at her in the dim light.
“Go ahead.”
“All of this is my fault,” he said, gesturing to the world around them.
“I do not think I follow,” Elurra replied slowly.
“This entire…almost war. I almost got my father murdered because I was trying to get out of an arranged marriage, but I still cannot convince myself to marry someone I do not love. I literally came within a nettle’s breadth of being murdered by an ancient terror because I tried to go against my parents’ wishes, and yet, I cannot stop feeling this way.”
“About Aleah, you mean.”
Kai closed his eyes and nodded miserably.
“When I first saw her, I thought she was an angel. I was on the brink of freezing to death in that cell, and she took care of me. Every time she was near me, it was like I couldn’t focus on anything else. At first, I just wrote it off as a crush or traumatic attachment, and the fact that she hated me helped a lot, but after that dare to kiss her—” He sighed in exasperation.
Elurra tried not to reveal she was astonished. She hadn’t realized exactly what had caused Aleah to slap him during the dare game, and she couldn’t believe Rowan had been so brazen. Kai squeezed his eyes shut and took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to regain his composure.
“I cannot disappoint my family. The whole reason I am in this mess is because I tried to go against their judgment. They want me to marry you, so that is my destiny.”
“Whoa there,” she said, interrupting his determined monologue. “Your problem is that you are in love with my governess and not me or your fiancé, correct?”
Kai nodded remorsefully and accidentally whacked his head on the wooden surface behind him.
Poor pendulum prince. He really is having a hard day.
“Even if I say no, you will have to marry Rena,” Elurra pointed out.
He gave a small nod, this time making sure not to hit his head.
“Well, I cannot marry you. I have other more pressing matters to attend to.”
Kai’s head drooped in disappointment.
“I am not finished. As the heir to Lur Alava, I wish to forge an alliance to foster the golden age we discussed. Therefore, as a token of my good faith and a show of our diplomatic ties, I request the prince of Amora take my lady-in-waiting, Aleah, in my stead. She is like a sister to me and would ensure a lasting bond between our kingdoms.”
Kai’s head shot up, and a loud crack sounded when it collided with the wall again, but he was too excited to give it much thought.
“Aleah is your lady-in-waiting?” he asked in amazement.
“She is as of ten seconds ago, and my aunt has murdered anyone who would have the authority to tell you differently,” Elurra said, grinning slyly.
A wide smile spread across Kai’s face, as he gave her a bone-breaking hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Princess Elurra, our kingdoms will get along as long as you and I live. Ask for anything, and I promise it will be yours without question.”
“I can think of one thing. A few of the dwarfs have some combat experience from the high seas, but I need them to be seriously trained. I am traveling to Tipet soon to get some answers. I am not sure how long I will be gone, but while I am away, I need my men to be in action. Is there any way they can be put through extensive training if I leave them in your care?”
Kai stood and gave her a deep bow. “Consider them experts,” he said formally as he offered her a hand. She took it and stood.
“Thank you, Prince Kai. Should we go in and speak to your parents about our arrangement? I would also like to have a quick word with Aleah, but from what I have observed, I do not believe she will be opposed to this proposal.”
Kai's cheeks flushed a deep red, and he suddenly found the ground a fascinating study. “Most certainly, Princess Elurra.”