Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Ashley supposed that she should have known they would have to walk back to the castle.
Everyone was riding around in carriages and bullshit like that, so it only made sense that Alexander walked down here.
She was pretty sure that, in just about every fairy tale she read, the only men who had horses outside the nobility were the highwaymen, and she was pretty sure that those men weren’t exactly the good guys.
Plus, all things considered, she could hardly complain when it came to getting more time alone with Alexander. Especially when she would soon meet the mate her brother chose for her, knowing exactly who she was meant to be with, and knowing exactly what she was giving up.
Ashley moved silently beside Alexander, but just because she was quiet didn’t mean there was no communication.
There was a hint of a smile on his face every time he looked in her direction.
Though Ashley would never admit it to anyone, the fact that she had caught him staring at her made her feel just the slightest bit good, like she was special.
And not just because she was a princess of some kind.
Ashley’s thoughts turned to the prophecy.
She wondered how special she would turn out to be.
It seemed like everywhere that she turned, someone had something new to tell her about herself.
While Ashley didn’t want to be a brat about it, she missed the good old days.
The days when she was just Ashley, a normal girl just like everyone else, the type of girl who no one would ever look twice at.
The type of girl who gets to live a peaceful life.
Ashley really missed when she was the girl who didn’t feel her stomach sink down to her feet the moment she saw the rows of cars that stood outside of the castle.
The classic cars mixed with a bunch of carriages pretty much spelled out her doom.
If one thing was clear to Ashley it was that the nobility never did anything small.
They always flaunted their wealth. They were the sort of people who wore far fancier clothes than needed.
With that taken into account, the fact that every carriage was jewel-encrusted and beautiful shouldn’t have surprised her, especially because she had already seen the Diamond King’s carriage in town.
However, Ashley still made a sound of disapproval.
“It’s like they’re just showing off at this point. ”
In response to that, of course, Alexander raised a brow, making no secret of his surprise at the fact that Ashley wasn’t exactly impressed by all the finery.
Maybe it surprised him that wealth didn’t impress her.
She might be a princess, but she hadn’t been raised as a princess.
The things she valued couldn’t be bought.
“You’re not impressed by diamonds and cars and all the finery?” Alexander asked, and Ashley could only snort in response, rolling her eyes at the very idea of it.
“Where I’m from, all that glitters is not gold,” Ashley said, remembering how, time and time again, her father had made a point of teaching her that just because something was beautiful didn’t exactly mean it was useful.
The most useful things in this world, the things that mattered, weren’t always shiny and sparkly.
Which was why Ashley never felt bad about her upbringing or the fact that she never looked wealthy.
She didn’t sparkle and she didn’t shine and she’d always been damn proud of it. It meant that she was worth something.
Unfortunately, it turned out that she was worth far more than anyone had ever cared to mention to her.
Ashley didn’t want to complain about that to Alexander or anyone, if only because she was pretty sure that he would judge her.
Hell, if she were in his situation, she would judge her, too.
Just thinking about all the things that she would do with the amount of money that her brother undoubtedly had and the amount of luxury that she was currently living in made her head spin.
“So, what does impress you, Princess,” Alexander asked, nudging at her with his shoulder.
Ashley didn’t have to think too hard about it. She wanted him, more than anyone in this world, to know who she really was and like her for it.
“People who are kind, who treat others, even the poorest, with respect. I’d rather be with a poor man who treats me right than a rich man who lavishes me with gifts but doesn’t have time to spend with me,” Ashley said, unable to stop herself from smiling at the idea of a man actually liking her enough to be kind to her.
“That’s interesting because the majority of dragons just so happen to prefer everything that glitters.
It’s in their blood, some small part of their DNA.
They can’t help but want gold and glistening jewels,” Alexander said, very obviously having an opinion on that, though never exactly choosing to share it, much to Ashley’s disappointment.
He shrugged apologetically at her, in a way that said he was truly sorry that he could not offer her more insight as to why dragons were like that.
“Well, you know what? I’m not your typical dragon,” Ashley proclaimed, shaking her head at the idea of being any sort of typical dragon.
“In fact,” she noted to Alexander, even though she knew her brother would probably have her head for saying it. Still, Ashley wanted someone to know this little detail about her, if only because her brother had made great efforts to keep it secret. “I can’t even shift.”
Ashley gasped when Alexander stopped ahead of her and turned back to look at her with interest in his eyes.
“So, you’re the dragon of a prophecy, but you can’t even shift,” Alexander said, sounding slightly amused but also slightly concerned.
Was he putting more weight on the whole Ashley-being-a-part-of-a-prophecy thing than she had initially supposed?
Ashley felt her stomach tighten at that idea, her throat growing dry. Had she perhaps misread the situation?
“Well, yeah, I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t grown up as a dragon or if it’s just something to do with the way that I am,” Ashley cleared her throat, averting her gaze from the man as she tried not to feel slightly disappointed by his reaction.
“You know, it’s supposed to be a secret, I think, because I don’t think many people are aware of it, but my father sort of got rid of me because there’s something wrong with me. My magic’s broken or something.”
“I’ve heard about that,” Alexander agreed, looking like he was genuinely contemplating the concept for a moment. Still, he didn’t look bothered by it in the slightest, which Ashley took as a better sign. She felt like she could breathe a sigh of relief, just for the moment.
It turned out the fact that she didn’t have any magic was an open secret, or at least, Ashley supposed that it was. Maybe it was something that the servants spread around. Or maybe there’d been some sort of news article about it.
“Well, I think my inability to shift had something to do with that. Like I don’t have enough magic to shift, which makes the whole prophecy thing confusing to me.
Why would I be special? The people in the woods were talking about it, making it out to be this great thing, that it was a sign that I was going to be something more.
It made me feel weird, like everyone was watching me like I’m some sort of spectacle.
I know we shouldn’t complain about stuff like that because, like, look at you, you’re a servant, and that’s got to completely suck because just about everyone doesn’t seem to like my family.
Still, I can’t help but wonder how the fuck I’m going to measure up to all these expectations that everyone has of me if I can’t be the person that they think I should be. ”
Ashley was leaving out the fear she felt and the way she feared she would let her brother down.
The fact that she had hardly slept since coming here because every night she woke up wondering if it was real.
And if tomorrow she would wake up and still be a princess.
Would everyone keep looking at her the way they did?
Ashley wasn’t sure that this was what she wanted for herself, but it felt like the world had decided it for her, which was what made the realization that they had reached the steps that lead into the castle all the worse.
Ashley’s breath caught in the back of her throat the moment she realized that she was looking up at those steps.
She felt as if she was walking towards hell, if only because she knew all the restrictions that came with being the princess of the Opal Castle.
What made it worse was the way Alexander looked over at her, with a hint of hesitation.
That look said she might not understand the ways of this world, but he certainly did.
“I’m afraid that this is where I will have to leave you, at least for now,” Alexander said, and Ashley swallowed hard, nodding in agreement.
If only she could somehow make him stop and ask him to take her with him.
Or that she could somehow find the strength to charge into the castle with him, his hand in hers, and demand that her brother treat his servants better and that she be allowed an actual chance to get to know Alexander.
But she knew that all of that was futile.
No matter how much she wanted him, no matter how much she dared to wish, at the end of the day, nothing would change.
Valys held all of the power in this society, and she had no power at all.
She was trapped in a prison of her brother’s making, forced to confront the fact that her life wasn’t really her own.
And yet, despite all that, Ashley still dared to dream of a better life. She dared to turn to Alexander.
“When will I see you again?” Ashley asked, feeling more defiant than she had been in the past few days.
Like it didn’t matter what her brother thought, what problems he caused, or anything else.
She was determined to see Alexander again.
She was determined to find a way to make it work with Alexander.
She could see the hesitation in his features as he watched her, very obviously having his own opinion on the situation, one that he probably wouldn’t share. But he was thinking about it, and that gave her hope that he would give her a real answer.
“Soon,” Alexander said, his voice low and seductive with promise as he looked at her from beneath his eyelashes, making clear the fact that he would definitely see her soon.
“Very, very soon,” Alexander said, and Ashley could only swallow and nod, telling herself that she would be able to see him again, at some point. She would simply count the moments.
Her eyes lingered on him as she strengthened her resolve, giving the slightest nod and repeating his words in agreement.
“Soon,” Ashley echoed, unable to stop herself from feeling just the slightest bit excited at the promise. Something about Alexander made her feel like a schoolgirl, like she was a child going through her first love rather than a 20-year-old woman who had seen heartbreak one too many times.
And, with the confirmation that she would be seeing him soon, Ashley willed her feet to move, wincing as she remembered the way that her brother had reacted the last time she dared to vanish from sight.
Had it only been last night? It felt like a lifetime ago.
He’d just have to learn that she was an adult, and, while her brother could say whatever he wanted, and probably scold her like she was no better than a child, she would still be an adult.
With this thought, Ashley managed to make herself move towards the castle, ready to face the rest of dragon society.
When she returned, the castle was as active as it had been when she left, or perhaps even more active because there were now people in residence, high nobles.
Of course, they were nowhere in sight when Ashley walked through the front door, but she hadn’t exactly expected them to be.
She had, however, expected the flurry of servants that she saw, all of them panicking as they tried to carry luggage and clean up dirt tracked into the castle.
They were all gossiping about how Ashley’s debut and the ball were going to happen a little sooner than they had expected.
It was apparent to Ashley that the dragon nobility was tired of waiting to see her.
They decided the second that they heard about the ball and the Dragon Games to invite themselves a little early.
It was rude in its own way, but Ashley supposed that she couldn’t exactly complain. Largely because she wouldn’t know exactly what she was complaining about. And also, because the fact that the halls were currently busy was a good thing to her. Nobody paid her any attention.
It was also good that her brother was nowhere in sight.
If he had seen her come in through the front doors, she was very certain that she probably would have been dead.
Her brother would have lost his shit. But, as it was, her brother was currently busy, likely assuming that she was being taken care of, at least for the moment, because he had locked her in her room.
Ashley snuck up the staircase and headed towards her room, glad that she would finally have a moment alone to process everything that had happened that day.
But of course, the moment that Ashley managed to open her door, she saw that she wasn’t alone. She should have known that they’d just come to her room to wait on her when they couldn’t find her.
Mentally, Ashley berated herself as she slowly closed the door behind her. She really should have known. Elliot and Jack stood in her bedchamber, waiting for her at the one place she would always be forced to return to.