10. Chapter 9
10
Chapter 9
Julen
Julen stood at the end of the long, indigo carpet that stretched from the great hall to the throne room, where the engagement party would take place. His parents stood to his left, and the guests hovered around the circumference of the room.
They all faced the castle entrance, awaiting the much-anticipated arrival of his fiancée. His mother looked pleased. Lauta choreographed Glacia’s entrance down to the second.
At last, Glacia arrived, flanked by her parents. The crowd erupted as they strolled from the entrance to Julen’s side, where he wrapped Glacia’s arm with his. They bowed, and her blue gown adorned with jewels shimmered under the glowing crystals. Rising together, Julen almost rolled his eyes as she feigned appreciation for the cheers and applause with the conviction of a consummate actress. Glacia turned to Julen, smiling. It looked so forced. If her mouth stretched any farther, the corners would start bleeding.
Julen attempted small talk as the crowd began to settle, telling her how beautiful she looked. She thanked Julen and leaned in to kiss his cheek. He shivered as her cold lips pressed against his face.
Together, they walked into the throne room, followed by their parents; the guests milled in after them, eagerly awaiting a speech from the king himself .
Haligran strode to his throne, stood for several moments looking at the crowd, and then sat down with a look of scorn smeared across his face. His mother made the speech, not the custom in Lapistra, thanking the guests for attending and cooing over how lovely the happy couple looked together.
Another beat of applause followed before Queen Lauta finally motioned for everyone to enjoy themselves. Glacia’s hand clutched Julen’s arm, and she pried herself away.
“I need a beverage,” was all she said before disappearing.
Julen was left to fend for himself. He looked about awkwardly, attempting to join a conversation, but whispers of his failure at the showcase reached his ears, regardless of their hushed tones. The hypercritical stares gave him goosebumps as the whispers continued, discussing the marriage like a wise chess move on the King’s and Queen’s part. His father looked furious, as usual; Lauta milled about socializing—an intoxin already in hand—and Julen stood alone.
Eventually, Glacia’s mother invited him over to fawn over him in front of a group of noblewomen, flaunting her soon-to-be royal status before launching into a hyperbolic speech about her extraordinary daughter.
“Glacia’s commitment to her studies has always been paramount, and her religious devotion is singular among her peers. You know how most youths are these days. I long for the time when Lapistrean children held firm to a life of virtue in the name of the blessed Mother Planet.” Glacia’s mother paused for effect; her gaze cast downward with reverence.
Aaand… “Well, Glacia nearly fainted when we informed her of the engagement, so committed was she to her education and religious virtue—”
Julen fantasized about drowning himself in a bowl of punch as Glacia’s mother spent the better part of an hour raving about her daughter in an endless monologue. Her grating voice bounced off the walls, and her face beamed with delight as the countesses and duchesses surrounding her seethed with jealousy. Her daughter, not theirs, would soon be a princess.
The cavernous throne room featured ribbed vaulted ceilings supported by massive columns. The stone, worn to a dingy gray, had additional ribbed designs and deep grooves that had gathered blackness at the edges. It looked like the anus of a cathedral.
Julen never felt lonelier than in a room filled with nobility. The masks of politeness barely hid the calculating minds of a court filled with scurrying rats, each eager to gnaw the leg off anyone who stood between them and power. It made him sick.
He needed to get some fresh air. The balcony overlooked the castle grounds, where the children of the nobility—most of whom were classmates from the academy—milled about with glasses of intoxins. He yearned to navigate these functions as effortlessly as they did. They flirted and laughed as they strode in and out of the labyrinth of evergreens.
Julen, as usual, watched from afar. Always an outsider looking in.
He longed for Souzie, but his father forbade it. Julen mused about how she’d behave at this ridiculous party. He couldn’t begin to imagine how she’d eviscerate Glacia’s mother (with words, not knives). What a joy it would be to watch that woman crumble under Souzie’s wit.
He leaned over the balcony, the cool stone pressing against his arms, then turned to look inside.
Julen’s father sat on his throne with a sour expression. He hadn’t spoken to Julen since the pendulum.
That damned showcase. Marriage hadn’t even been a conversation until Lupan warned his parents how poorly he was doing at training.
Julen wanted to stop it. He wanted to tell his father and mother that he refused to go through with this wedding, but fear held him captive.
If he had just been capable of succeeding at the showcase, then he would have been a step closer to freedom. He’d join the military, begrudgingly, but it was better than being under the constant glare of his father.
He could even build a life after serving for some time—a life he could tolerate. There were always rumors of an unmarried duke or duchess with a close friend , but they usually had the means to live an independent life and a level of power or political sway that made it ill-advised to fall out of their good graces. Perhaps Julen could have been like them?
Power was necessary if you were different in Lapistra. Julen had seen what happened to homosexuals without that level of control. It usually ended with a sentence to Vinculux.
Julen shuddered at the thought of the prison. The rumors of torture and forced labor haunted him. Souzie’s poor father…
Julen shook the thought from his mind. He had to think about something else. Something like… Dacias.
No! Nothing could ever happen between them.
Still, he wondered if Dacias was in Cupidor right now. The radiant glow of the setting sun intensified his silent musings about the Blue-Eyed Hunk. He’s like the sun—warm and beautiful.
Julen’s body flushed at the memory of those luscious lips blowing away his messy hair in the bookshop. Those blue eyes shimmering. His muscular thighs straddling the chair—
“Where is she?”
His mother’s voice snapped him back to reality. “What?”
“Glacia. Where is she?” his mother asked.
The smell of intoxin on her breath permeated Julen’s nose. His mother was already drunk. And angry. A disastrous combination. He scanned the room, but there was no sign of her. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen her since she arrived.”
Queen Lauta whispered through clenched teeth. “What do you mean you have no idea? You are her betrothed. This is your engagement party. You two should be side by side as people congratulate you.”
“I’m sorry. She left my side right after she arrived.”
“Well, find her. Now. ”
She turned away quickly, snagging another drink from a tray. Damnit. Could this get any worse?
Julen didn’t even know where to start. I’m not her keeper!
His cheeks burned, and, with clenched fists, he left the balcony and marched out of the throne room. He bounded down the stairs and lumbered to the maze entrance, where his peers mingled.
The last thing he wanted to do was speak to any of these assholes. Most of them had made his time at the academy a living nightmare. He took several deep breaths as he approached a larger group gathering at the maze’s start .
“Hello. Thank you all for attending our engagement party. May I ask if any of you have seen Glacia? She is wanted inside.” Julen commended himself for controlling the tremble in his voice.
One of the men raised a brow and sneered. “Interesting that you need to ask us at all. I would think she’d be by your side, Prince. ” Julen knew he was being goaded, but he didn’t want to start fights with bullies.
He plastered the fakest smile onto his face. “She has many friends she must attend to. The obligations at a function like this are plentiful. Perhaps she spoke with one of you recently. If so, I would be eternally grateful if you informed me of where.”
A young lady who Julen didn’t know spoke. “Perhaps she went for a walk in the maze. I’ve seen several individuals enter for a stroll. That’s as fine a place to start as any, wouldn’t you agree?” Her smile reached both ears.
He swallowed hard and steadied his voice as much as possible. “My thanks to you all. I’ll follow your advice and start my search in the maze.”
Julen forced his legs forward as he looked to the ground, waiting to be tripped or pushed. Something he had grown accustomed to at school.
He had never told his parents about his troubles at the academy. Why bother? It wouldn’t help. His father would be furious with him.
Julen ventured deeper into the maze. The warm sun had roasted the evergreens, releasing a cloying scent of resin. The towering walls of the labyrinth loomed over him like rows of sentinels flanking his path to the executioner. The quickening of the setting sun sent his mind racing. What if I get lost in here? I can’t scream for help. I’d die of humiliation.
His fingers started to fidget with the buttons of his doublet, and his stride accelerated. He was lost. He had no idea how to get back to the entrance.
He didn’t want to find Glacia anymore. He just wanted out. From one dead end to the next, he cursed under his breath for choosing to walk in this blasted place. The skies would darken, and he’d be lost here.
He began to run, trying to find an exit, grunting as he ran into one dead-end after another. He continued his quest to free himself from the maze when he bounded around a corner and saw them.
Glacia lay stretched along a bench. Her dress hiked up, with an exposed leg wrapped around the lower back of a man thrusting into her. She clenched her eyes shut and gasped with pleasure. The firm buttocks of the man flexed in response to his languid movements.
Julen recognized him—Lavin, a classmate. Lavin’s lips met hers, swallowing her soft mewls.
Julen’s body burned as rage boiled over. He didn’t love this girl, but to humiliate him like this at their engagement party of all places! She couldn’t wait until after ?
Dedicated to the Mother Planet. Commitment to virtue, MY ASS!
Julen darted in the opposite direction. He didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was he had to get as far away from them as possible.
He leaped on a bench and began hopping up and down, trying to see over the evergreens. He felt like a fool, but what could he do? The exit was far, but he understood how to get there now.
Bouncing off the bench, he sprinted in the direction of the exit. Heart pounding, teeth clenched, he finally made it. He sped past the awful group of peers. His mind was in tatters, and he couldn’t discern whether he imagined laughing or if they genuinely cackled at him.
The world spun as he ran to the castle. The guests whirred by, their eyes bulging and mouths agape, as he ran past them.
Once inside, he ran up the stairs, intent on getting to his bedchamber. His mother was going down the stairs with one of her ladies.
“Did you find her?” she asked.
A sharpness laced Julen’s tone as he hurried past her. “Yes.”
“Well, where is she?”
He stopped and quickly turned to look at his mother. “ ILL! ”
His voice filled the room, echoing off the stone walls. A sconce on the wall shattered. Bits of glass clattered to the ground, a breeze tossing about the pieces. His mother looked at him, appalled. He could feel himself shaking. He peered over the railing to see servants and guests gawking.
He sneered at them. “What are you looking at?!”
Everyone below quickly resumed whatever they were doing.
It felt liberating to yell, to unleash some of the unbridled fury that rumbled within. Julen turned and continued up the stairs. That little maze hussy—cuckolding me at our engagement party, huh? We’ll see about that.
He reached his bedchamber and slammed the door behind him.