XX
Y/N returned to the physician's wing, her heart heavy. She had been feeling all kinds of emotions recently, leaving her mind a mess.
"I'm back," she announced her arrival to the room.
Healer Ellis looked up at her from the table she was working at. "Ah, good. I've sent Leon and Dante to the meeting being held in the Great Hall. I want you to join them just in case."
Y/N was surprised. "We're going to sit in a meeting with the nobles?"
Healer Ellis continued with her work. "It's good to always be prepared."
Y/N nodded and headed down to the Great Hall. As she walked down the halls, she fidgeted with the tiny quill she always carried with her. Her palms began to sweat, and she tightened her grip on the writing tool.
——— ??ˋ ? ?ˊ? ———
When she walked into the room, the meeting had already commenced.
The king and commander were repeating what had been discussed in their last meeting.
Y/N noticed the twins off to the side at the back of the room and joined them.
Dante smiled when he saw her, and Leon nodded his head in acknowledgement.
She whispered a greeting and faced the front.
"Is this going to lead to a war?" one of the noblemen asked.
That instantly got Y/N's attention. What the hell was this meeting about?
"Right now, nothing is certain. What we can say is we're preparing for the worst-case scenario. That's why it's very important for anyone who has information to come forward. Every little detail counts."
Small conversations broke out across the room. Y/N turned to the twins. "What are they talking about?"
Sebastian raised his hand. "I have something that might be significant."
The commander gestured for him to stand.
Sebastian rose from his seat. "I personally danced with the young miss during the night."
Y/N's heart stopped.
"She seemed...distracted for lack of a better word. When I asked her if she was alright, she said she was focusing on not stepping on me throughout the dance."
he let out a little laugh. "She had never been taught how to dance. I couldn't believe it, a young lady never taught to dance? Unheard of. And whenever I noticed her eyes drifting, she had been looking at the prince and Lady Edison."
Evangeline looked up from her lap at Sebastian in surprise.
Y/N's ears began to ring. Whatever words were coming out of Sebastian's mouth were now unintelligible. Her eyes were widened in fear. Every word she had uttered that night flashed through her mind, and she was only then realizing just how much information she had given out, knowingly or not.
"I remember her telling me her name. Irene, what was it? It started with a C for sure, Calwyn... Calyvora..."
"Calypso."
Everyone's heads swivelled in the direction of the woman standing up. Anastasia.
"Her name was Lady Calypso."
There it was. The final nail in the coffin. The name that she had chosen in jest was going to be her death sentence.
"There is no noble family with the last name Calypso." The commander spoke.
"Perhaps it was a first name?" someone asked.
One of the guards at the front shook his head. "We went through the invitation list extensively, as you all might remember. Everyone was accounted for. There was no one with the name Calypso in attendance."
"That's impossible."
"How on earth did she make it in?"
"What an incredible mystery!"
Evangeline stood up. "Do you all not understand?"
Everyone's conversations ceased at her authoritative voice.
She scoffed. "Have truly none of you noticed what I have?"
The room remained silent.
Evangeline and Y/N's gazes met for the shortest of seconds. Evangeline averted her gaze. "Calypso, to cover, to hide," Evangeline looked Lennox right in the eye, "she who conceals."
Lennox's eyes widened.
"I do not share your sentiment that the mate has been kidnapped. I also do not believe it was a coincidence that this was the name she chose." Anastasia took in a deep breath as she faced her father, "I believe she is hiding."
One of the worst feelings a human being can experience is being caught in a lie. The few moments before it happens, when you realize your fate has been sealed. That no matter what you did next, the truth would reveal itself. Being utterly powerless.
That was all that filled Y/N's being. Because while she had hoped her disguise would keep her safe, she realized just how fragile it was. That if anyone looked close enough, they would realize it was her. These walls she had put up to protect herself were being torn down in front of her eyes.
Her right arm shook violently at her side. Her breathing had become shallow and unstable, and she gripped her right arm in her left as tightly as she could.
Calm down.
CALM. DOWN.
Panicking would do her no good now.
This was good. It was good she was here to witness everything. She would've been painfully unaware of what was going on if she wasn't here.
Leon nudged her. "Are you alright? You look a little pale."
She avoided his eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright. I just haven't been sleeping well these past few days."
Leon turned Y/N around to face him. He placed the back of his hand gently across her forehead. "You're a little warm. Do you want to go back to Healer Ellis?"
Y/N grasped Leon's wrist and pulled it away from her face. "No! I'm alright, I promise."
Leon frowned. "Okay."
Lennox noticed their interaction from the front of the room and narrowed his eyes.
What in the name of Irene was that woman doing being so touchy with a man in a meeting like this?
He felt that prickle of annoyance he always did when her attention was on somebody else.
Before, it was usually only triggered by Yoshida, but now it was this unknown redhead.
He continued to shoot daggers Leon's way, and Leon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
"Must be a draft in here or something," Leon whispered to himself.
The idea of one hiding from their mate was preposterous. No one could fathom why someone would do that.
"And for what reason would she be doing that?" Lennox asked.
Anastasia shrugged. "That's something you would need to ask her. But the fact that Thovaria has not attempted to use her to make any threats, nor have we seen any evidence of a struggle, makes one at least consider the possibility."
Lennox gritted his teeth. The words coming out of his sister's mouth lit a fire within him. Hiding from him? The idea was ridiculous, but he couldn't deny that her claim had some level of validity. Enough that it would be reasonable to have people look into it.
"Well, let's hope that's not the case. Otherwise, she'll have to testify in front of the royal court for obstruction of a mate bond." Sebastian stated.
At this, the entire room quieted. To some, they believed it would be better if the mate had truly been kidnapped because it meant they weren't purposefully trying to avoid their bond.
For there was no crime greater than one against fate.
The mate bond was sacred and cherished. There had only been one case before of someone denying their mate, but the details were heavily redacted and kept away from the general public, in fear of inspiring rebellion against the system.
This system they lived in was a very fragile one. If one person stepped out of line, it caused problems for everyone.
Something like this needed to be stopped immediately.
"If no one else has anything else to add, we thank you for your time. And if you do end up remembering anything in the future, please reach out to one of the guards or me if possible," the commander declared.
The sound of chairs screeching filled the room as people began filing out in neat lines. Chatter exploded, with people theorizing what on earth was happening. The major sentiments were disbelief and confusion.
Y/N, Leon, and Dante remained against the wall, waiting for the nobles to exit first.
"Can you believe it!? That's insane. Why on earth would someone hide from their soulmate, let alone the PRINCE? If that was me, I'd immediately jump on that." Dante exclaimed.
Leon shot him a disgusted look. "I didn't need to know all that."
Y/N had been unconsciously peeling the skin on her thumb to calm her nerves. It was only when Leon spotted what she was doing that she paused.
"You're bleeding."
Y/N's attention snapped from down to her hand. He was right; she had peeled so much of the skin surrounding her nail that little drops of blood were flowing down and onto the floor.
"Oh shoot." She quickly searched her pockets for any wrapping, but came up short. "I'll be right back!" She began moving through the line, muttering apologies as she went.
"Have you noticed anything off about her recently?" Leon asked.
"No, she's probably just stressed and tired like the rest of us," Dante responded, adjusting his uniform.
"Hm."
"Where did Healer L/N go?" an authoritative voice asked.
The twins snapped to attention at the sight of Prince Lennox. "Your Highness! She went to the Physician's wing to get bandages."
Lennox's gaze fell to the floor, where he noticed a few droplets of blood where she had been standing moments before. He said nothing as he also exited the Great Hall, with all of the nobles making room for him to pass.
Leon narrowed his eyes. He didn't know why, but he had a strange feeling about the Prince.
——— ??ˋ ? ?ˊ? ———
Y/N walked into one of the private patient rooms, remembering she had placed a box of bandages there earlier that day.
The room was lit only by the flames of a few candles, casting a warm, dim glow.
Her thumb felt uncomfortably warm, both from the cut and the blood spilling out.
She selected one that was the correct size and walked over to the sink. She took a deep breath.
This was going to hurt.
She ran cool water over the wound and winced in pain.
Her thumb grew even warmer, and it felt like a thousand needles were pricking her.
The water that ran down into the sink was tinted a light pink colour.
She stayed like that for 30 seconds until the wound had been thoroughly washed and the water ran clear.