Chapter 10 Clandestine Meetings #2
His eyes widened, and for a moment, she was sure she was going to be thrown in a dungeon, but then he burst out into laughter.
“Brielle was right, you really do say whatever you are thinking.”
“I’m starting to wonder if you two have talked about anything else.” Luci hummed.
His laughter slowed, and a small smile curved his lips. “You are very important to her.”
A sort of guilt lay over her mind and body.
As much as Brielle had a title and living family, in the ways that truly mattered, Luci was her world.
Yet she had spent the last half day sulking and feeling resentment towards her.
It was hard not to call it what it was when it was whispering from every candle-lit corner, betrayal.
“She’s my everything,” Luci confessed quietly.
Prince Ira’s lips curved up in a thin smile, his eyes crinkling at the sides.
“Which is why you are frustrated with her for agreeing to my proposal,” he said.
Luci's eyes nearly bulged from her face as she turned to him, fork still in hand, and pointed towards him.
“You presume much,” she accused.
His laugh was easy and unbothered, as if position and status were more than enough to shield him from something as base as shame. Gently pushing the fork held between them down, he clicked his tongue.
“Threatening the crown prince with a fork in the middle of the night? Now, who is presumptuous?”
“Do you ever take anything seriously?”
“I certainly try not to, but I am afflicted by the condition more often than I’d like. For example, my engagement to Brielle.”
“You are using her,” Luci said, surprised at the venom in the words.
Her heart raced against the way his eyes searched hers.
Would he see the layers to this fury that was building in her?
Of course, she was mad that he would use Brielle so easily and then willingly discard her, but there was something else beneath that.
A hurt. It was a line that cracked through her entire body.
Vain and frivolous. If Luci was being honest, it hurt that he didn’t recognize her.
Didn’t see who she was beneath that mask, and into the woman she was.
That one looked at Brielle, and he didn’t see the treachery for what it was.
What a foolish thing to be upset about. Oh, how unfortunate for Luci. She committed treason and didn’t get caught. What a terrible plight. Still, her heart and her pride would not see it for what it was. A blessing.
“I think she would disagree with that statement; however, I see why you would think that. The truth is that we have the chance to set things right that will change things for everyone.”
“How do you know magic coming back will benefit anyone?” she asked.
The slightest tilt to his head made her remember that she was not meant to know that. Before she could come up with a reasonable excuse, he ran a hand over his jaw and chin.
“I see Brielle has already filled you in, as she said she would. I confess I had not expected her to be so quick about it.”
Luci lifted her chin, a sense of pride filling her. “We don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Which is what precisely she said, but with less aggression.”
“I’m not being aggressive.”
He lifted a single eyebrow. “The way you are gripping that fork says otherwise.”
Luci glanced down to find her hand white-knuckled, holding the offending utensil. The urge to poke him with it was only momentarily, but part of her conceded that it wasn’t the worst idea she had ever had. After all, he deserved it.
Gesturing to her mug of tea and half-deserted pie, he said, “Maybe you could bury your weapon elsewhere and give me a chance to explain.”
Luci opened and closed her mouth as she convinced herself it was better not to retort with the words that were stewing on her tongue.
Instead, she did what she always did when she felt burdened by tension.
She ate. The pie was the perfect blend of sugary sweet that told her brain everything was fine.
It was a lie she was happy to continue with.
“Thank you for not murdering me with a fork,” he said, with a roguish grin.
“My brother, Max, yes, I concede he is young, but he is an old soul trapped in a young body. He has more knowledge and drive than most of the men I know. By the time he was four, he could read and was voracious. Once he learned about magic, it was practically a frenzy. He has dedicated his life, albeit short, to learning everything there is to know. Over the last year, he has compiled all that knowledge into writing. What he found is that prior to the breaking, there was magic in everything. It was wild and free and could be harnessed for the most mundane tasks. The great fairies were the source of this power and shared it freely. Somewhere along the way- and it is unclear why- they began hoarding their power. Granting it to only those they deemed worthy, or more likely, for those willing to pay.”
“He got all this through books that no one else could have in the last few centuries?” Luci asked, swallowing the last bite of pie.
“It was all fragmented. His dedication to piecing it together has been remarkable.” Prince Ira said, pride radiating through his words. “My ancestor hoarded that power. He broke what was there somehow. Brielle is the answer to righting that wrong.”
“The Cinderella.” Luci snorted.
“You mock, but what she is could change the course of many people’s lives. Our people could see the prosperity they’ve only dreamed of.”
“Or they could be accosted by angry and vengeful fairies.”
“If I am being honest with you, which I intend to be. I believe the fairies may be gone. It is unclear what my ancestor did to them, but it sounded fatal.”
“What of the one in the mirrors, she said that we would meet again.”
The prince tilted his head, and Luci quickly realized her blunder.
“That’s what Brielle said she said, ‘we will meet again,” she said, hurriedly.
“Oh,” Prince Ira said, cheeks turning crimson as he tapped his finger to his thigh once, twice, three times. “She had said it was difficult to recall what happened.”
Oh, light above, Luci was going to ruin this if she didn’t learn to keep her mouth shut.
“Of course, it was something she said tonight before bed. I think it’s coming back in pieces.”
Prince Ira shook his head and ran his hand over his face once more. “Of course. I hope she knows how sorry I am. I hadn’t intended to put her in danger. If I could go back-.”
“You wouldn’t change it, though.” Luci cut in. “You may be sorry, but I can see that you are eager for this path.”
A long sigh worked its way through him as he hung his head. “It’s true, but I would have done things differently. I would have been much more honest. I understand why you can’t believe me, but I truly am sorry.”
Luci remembered the way he’d said his cut hands were the least he deserved. He had shown regret from the moment he found her in that room, how he had raced towards her. Maybe he was sorry in his own way. Just because one was sorry did not mean they were owed forgiveness.
She’d been scared inside those glass walls. Walls he tricked her into. If it’d been Bri instead of her— well, no amount of remorse would be payment enough.
Dipping her fork down into the pie, she dug for just the right combination of filling and flaky crust. A sort of melancholy fell over her that was made from midnight rendezvous with sweets, though the added prince was a strange addition.
It was a loneliness that the dark whispered in her ear, telling her the fears that kept her from sleep.
“Bri— she’s better than anyone and everyone.
You could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve her.
” Raising her eyes to the prince, she let him see the truth of her words, “If you asked her to ruin herself in pursuit of your hypothesis, she will. She will smile even if it kills her, and you won’t ever know she’s suffering.
You will never deserve her, but if you insist on this path, I’m holding you responsible for how far she goes. ”
Prince Ira swallowed, eyes bouncing back and forth as he searched for the underlying message.
The night was a silent witness as he reached over and stole the fork and perfectly balanced bite, stuffing it into his mouth.
Despite how much she meant every word, the strange reaction drew a bubble of humor from deep within.
“You are terrifying.” He said, swallowing.
Luci didn’t much appreciate the smile that tugged on her lips, so she hid it by stealing the fork back and taking a rather unbalanced bite of pie that was too much crust. Deciding her message was well-received, it wouldn’t do any good to spend more time with him. After all, he was Brielle's fiancé now.
“It’s your job to protect her now, too,” Luci whispered as she stood.
The statement’s integrity was lost slightly with the crumbs that tumbled off her.
Refusing to acknowledge them, she turned her back on the prince and walked as if her legs weren’t shaking.
She conquered the stairs much like the heroes of Brielle’s stories.
It wasn’t until she made it to Brielle’s room that she shut the door and slid to the floor, legs giving way.
Her heart ached because the truth was worse than any fantasy. Their world was irrevocably changed.