28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Evelia sits across from me on the couch in her dancing room while she sips her tea. Her eagerness to attend the peace talks makes me nervous. “You stole me right from the middle of my father’s castle. Why are you so worried about me going when you could easily get me back?”
I sit down on the opposite end, keeping my distance from her and trying not to be offended when she puts a large pillow between us. “Because he wants you back, and I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
“Things have already happened to me.”
“What do mean?” An icy rage rises in my chest. “I will murder anyone who touches you!”
“I was kidnapped by my childhood best friend who claims he loves me.”
The rage simmers into aggravation. “I do love you! You’re the only thing I have ever loved. The only person I don’t hate.”
“You don’t have any idea what love is if you think that is true.
Love doesn’t steal someone’s autonomy.” She gets up and searches the music boxes until she finds a silver one with glass roses on the lid.
She opens it to reveal a spinning red rose.
It plays a soft melody that picks up speed quickly.
She sets it on the table and dances for me.
She glides like a bird dancing across the sky and spins.
She steals all my focus, so there’s no time to stew over her words.
All I did was what I had to in order to keep her.
Every once in a while, she changes out the music box and doesn’t ask me to leave even after ten songs.
Evelia is more stunning than all the sunsets we watched together over the years.
The stars have no chance to compete with her beauty, nor does the ocean steal breath when she is near to lessen its magnificence.
She does a massive leap and spin, lands on her feet, and slides to the ground to catch her breath. She heaves and buries her face in her knees. It’s something she always does to recover from the intensity of losing herself to the music.
The melodies take over, and she’s unable to stop until it works itself all the way through her. It’s a process, she explained to me many times years ago. It takes her a bit to get to her feet again, and when she does, she nearly crawls to the couch. I know better than to help her or even offer.
She curls up on the couch and closes her eyes. “Are you ashamed of me?”
I pull the softest quilt from the back of the couch and lay it over her. “How could you say that? I would shout about you from the mountaintops and project my voice, so all the kingdoms know you are everything that matters.”
“Then why do you not want to take me to the peace talks? I miss my father.”
“You know why I don’t want to take you. It is fear of not having you when I return.”
“Will you ever let me go?”
I cautiously move a strand of her hair out of her face and do the same to a second when she doesn’t flinch. “I can’t. Evelia, letting you go is not something I can do.”
“Even if it’s what I want most?”
I get up before my anger takes over and I say something harsh. “You can go to the summit, but you will not leave with your father. Promise me.”
“I promise you.”
I watch her for a moment more.
Evelia steps out of the castle in a soft pink dress with sleeves that fall off her shoulders. Her hair is in ringlets with tiny white flowers woven into the locks. The dress brightens her skin, which has remained much too pale of late, probably from her never leaving her dancing room anymore.
The dress flows to her ankles in thin layers that make the skirt flowing yet large.
Her posture is straight, and she moves with the grace of a dancer, with delicate yet smooth movements.
The crown on her head has pieces of thin gold that weave in and out of each other, and tiny little jewels cover the different places the pieces connect.
She is stunning, and I’m overcome with pride and awe, so my eyes water. It’s a weird sensation, and something I’ve only experienced a few times before. Tears never fully make it from my eyes, and the last time I fully cried was as a child when the village tried to burn me.
The day to travel to the summit arrives, and I have a big surprise for Evelia on the way.
Sarek, Queen Zantara, and I have decided to meet in the neutral territory of the Hermit King.
His nickname derives from his hiding himself away in his castle.
Few have seen him, but I have visited him for the last several months.
After some persuasive letters promising additional protections, he granted me an audience and allowed me to purchase some land that connected to the border of my kingdom. I built a unique castle on the land, and we will stay there during the summit, where I’ll be able to better protect Evelia.
I help Evelia into our carriage, and we begin our journey toward the recently built smaller castle. It has its own wall but is not as heavily guarded as my main one. It's not that my guards are really needed beyond a warning system, but they also help to show other kingdoms my power.
It’s a half day’s journey to the other castle, and Evelia nods off about an hour in. Her head falls against me, and I wrap my arm around her, kissing the top of her head. She opens her eyes briefly, and I expect her to pull away. She only sends me a small smile before drifting back to sleep.
“My love, we’ve arrived.” I wake her with a kiss on the top of her head.
She blinks awake, sits up straighter, and pulls her mirror from her bag, fixing her hair and reapplying powder. “How do I look?”
“More beautiful than the eastern mountains.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “I will play your wife here. You don’t need to worry about that. The wife of a king is a role I’ve trained my entire life for.”
“It was one you've loathed.”
“Yes, but I will play it for peace.” She peeks out of the carriage window. “Oh! That castle is so cute! The roof tiles are purple, and the blue bricks.” She leans further out the window. “Look at the stained glass.”
“Yes, I had it built with all your favorite things in mind.”
She pops her head back inside to look at me. “You did? Why?”
“For the other surprise, I will show you soon. This land has recently been purchased from the Hermit King.”
“He never makes deals with anyone because of his firm belief in staying out of everything. He always annoyed my father so greatly.”
“Well, I convinced him.”
Her face falls, and she narrows her eyebrows. Disappointment in me is such an easy expression for her to make. “By violent means.”
“No, only conversations, and he agreed with my goals.”
“What are your goals?”
“To bring my wife great happiness.” I move to take her hand until I see her move hers to her lap and return to looking out the window.
“The scenery is stunning as well,” she says.
“It’s one reason I bought it.”
Guards let us into the gate, and I can barely wait for the carriage to come to a complete stop.
My muscles twitch with eagerness to rip Evelia from the carriage and fly her to the present I’ve prepared months to give her.
I take a deep breath and slow myself down, knowing it’ll be worth it to take my time showing her.
I help her down the steps and try not to run to the large stables that are attached to a barn that matches the castle with a purple roof and blue stones. Servants hurry to open the large stable doors. Evelia lets me hold her hand to lead her inside.
As we approach the stalls, she gasps and covers her mouth. “Are those?”
“Unicorns, like on the windows.”
“I’ve never seen one in person, only in artwork.”
“The Hermit King owns the only known ones, and he let me have several.”
She walks along the row that holds ten animals on each side. “They are all so beautiful.”
“You can have your pick. They’re all yours in fact, but you may pick one to ride later if you wish.”
“They’re all mine?”
“Yes, though I may wish to borrow one occasionally to ride with you.”
She laughs and inspects each stall carefully, like she’s looking for specific features on the beasts. “He looks made of stars!” She points to the fifth one on the right. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Her description of unicorn is accurate, as it has shimmering colors that blend and swirl like galaxies above. Small spots seem to twinkle like the night sky. Its silver tail and mane have the occasional metallic pink and purple that give them the look of shooting stars.
“Is he your choice?”
“He has two horns, Lazzus! None of my books ever showed one with two horns. He’s stunning.”
“Fit for my queen.”
“I love him!”
“Then he is definitely yours.” I tug her toward the exit. “We’ll ride them soon, but there’s something important I need to show you first. It’s inside the castle.”
We walk to the entrance of the castle because Evelia insists on not riding in the carriage any longer. The guards open the massive purple doors and let us inside. The walls are mainly bare, except for a few pieces of artwork I thought she’d enjoy.
I gesture toward one of the empty spots. “I thought you could decorate the castle however you like. If it’s not a task you enjoy, I can handle it instead.”
“You’re going to let me decorate the entire castle! I’d love that. Do I get to go to a city and pick everything myself?”
“I thought you could look at a catalogue, or I can have an artist come to you.” I stop when I see the excitement drop from her face. “Or we could take a trip into the city. It will take some arranging, but we can make it work.”
Her smile returns, and she touches several bare places. “Beautiful wall-length paintings would look so lovely here.”
“They would. The entire castle will become amazing with your touch.” I intertwine our fingers and wait for her to pull away. When she doesn’t, I continue toward her biggest surprise.