Chapter 443: Chapter 443
"You ought to be wary of him, Prince Roman,"
A voice fleeted up to Roman while he stared at Syla’s retreating back.
Roman sighed, turning to look back at his two most trusted friends, who also happened to be his protectors... not that he needed it.
"Syla will always be Syla, there is no need to fret too much about. His heart is in a good place and that’s all that counts...."
"Are you sure that your eyes are okay? How can you be this naïve, when you are about to run a kingdom?"
"Hey!" The second warrior pulled the female aside, whispering,
"Watch your mouth. Your words may come from a good place, but do you want to get killed because of such words!" The male asked, his voice low and edged with warning. This Fae warrior bore a slight resemblance to Currey.
The female, his wife and partner, only shrugged, unbothered by the weight of his threat. Also, more so because she was used to the love of her life, and had him wrapped around her little finger.
She was used to letting people know exactly what was going on in her mind, which had obviously gotten her in more trouble than her partner cared even to remember. Roman was lenient with them, but that did not mean that it was okay for her to talk to him that way. He was glad that she only did that when the three were alone.
"But it’s the truth," she said, her tone light, almost teasing, though her eyes carried a sharpness that contradicted her casual stance.
His jaw clenched, his voice low, so as not to get into Roman’s ears, even though he knew it was futile. "You speak too freely."
"And you are too blind," she shot back.
"Do you really want Prince Roman to walk into a pit by playing such innocence and naivety in this power-hungry court?" She anchored her hands on her waist,
"Do you think your job ends only with his physical security?... what of the potential threats? Syla...." She spat the name out as if she had swallowed the bitterest of pills. Both Roman and her husband were well aware of the fact that she never used the honorifics with Syla when no one else was around.
"Syla is oozing with so much venom that it surprises me you two see nothing of that. Am I the only one in this realm? You only see his honeyed words, right?"
Her words struck a nerve, but he refused to show it. Instead, he exhaled slowly, as if to keep himself from lashing out.
"Prince Roman is not naïve!"
She let out a short, humorless laugh. "Not naïve?" She took a step closer, her voice lowering as if sharing a secret.
"Then tell me ... when those vipers, especially, the one in the body of his sibling, coil around him, whispering sweet lies in his ear, will he recognize the poison before it’s too late?"
He had no answer. And she knew it.
"Are you love birds done?" Roman called over, teasingly, pretending that he had not heard any of what had been said.
The lover warriors turned in unison back to a smiling Roman.
"You two worry too much..."
Her partner covered her mouth before she could utter any other words, dragging her away from the courtyard.
Laughter rang through a brightly lit chamber, unrestrained, infectious and full of merriment. It was the same three. Prince Syla sighed. An action that he had been doing because of different emotions. He started shaking his head as the couple before him continued their relentless teasing. It was always between them but on this day, Roman’s love was and remained on his mind.
"You should have seen your face," the male warrior cackled, leaning against his wife as he wiped at his eyes.
Roman had no idea how they had gotten to this point and how a simple dinner had veered off to this.
"Like a lovesick fool caught sneaking into that place for a secret rendezvous!"
His wife giggled, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
"But why there of all places, Prince Roman? You never cease to amaze me."
"No, no, I think my favorite part was when he tried to deny it! As if we don’t see the way he drifts off mid-conversation, sighing like a tragic little birdy in love."
"It’s written all over your face, Prince Roman. I wonder why you try to deny it.... Tsk... tsk... tskk...."
From the shadows beyond an inconspicuous archway, unseen but not unnoticed, two figures watched. Their fingers curled into fists, nails biting into their palms as laughter that filled the chamber ... warm, familiar, and infuriating drifted over to them.
Even though, this was a harmonious scene, it was sickening to these two. The ease with which they three spoke, the unrestrained teasing, the seemingly unbreakable bond between them.
For these three, there existed no titles, no formalities, just three souls tangled in a connection that no outsider could touch. Prince Roman, always so untouchable to the world with that slight reservedness. He seemed so approachable yet so distant as well. However, Roman had let them in. He let them mock him, laugh at his expense, and he ...he accepted it.
This was something that was beyond Syla’s comprehension. Warriors were servants! That was it! How Roman could even sit at the same table with them showed that he was unfit to take the throne!
Syla, one of the onlookers, tightened his grip jaw. How? How was it that these two ... mere guards ... could share something with Roman that no one else could? That I could not?
At this time, Syla had forgotten that his brother held him in high esteem.
A woman’s laughter rang out again, light and teasing. Syla could not believe his eyes when that guard nudged the Prince! The heir!... with his elbow, a knowing smirk on his lips. And the Roman, their perfect, untouchable prince, only shook his head with a quiet, amused surrender.
Something inside the second watcher, Ash, twisted, coiled so tightly that it burned.
Prince Roman groaned but didn’t respond. He couldn’t—not when every word they spoke was painfully true. So, he merely covered his face with one hand and muttered,
"You two are unbearable."
"See... he acknowledged it! I was right! A woman’s sense is always right! Who is she? Tell us more about her!"
Roman’s smile faded and he placed a finger to the side of his lip, tapping it gently as if out of habit.
It was a small gesture, but the two warriors understood immediately.
"Let’s drop the subject, dear..."
"Yh, we’ve teased Prince Roman too much for today...."
The conversation swiftly turned to other mundane topics as the three continued their meal. The atmosphere was indeed quite lively that day. Little did they know that things were going to take a turn... an unexpected turn that none of the three had envisioned.
In the dark, the two stood for a while and then turned to leave.
The woman was reluctant though.
"Ash.... Come on...." Syla pulled the unwilling female. She wished with all her heart that the person that Roman was interacting with so enviably with was her. But alas, Roman had never given her the time of day.
Not even once. Despite all her charms and the fact that all other Fae men were falling over themselves to please her, Ash always looked at on Fae... and that was Roman. This was nothing new. Their supposed love story was like most in the world.... Ash just wished that Roman would care.
From afar, she had watched him, and she was one of the first to notice something different about him. Roman was in love and it did not take much effort to see, if one was willing to. At first, she had been enthusiastic that she had been the designate Princess. This meant that she would be married to Roman whether he liked it or not!
"Come on... let’s go..."
"I-" Tears fell down Ash’s soft cheeks.
"You can still be the designate Princess. You shall be Queen...."
"I don’t want to be Queen! If he is not...."
"Come one, Ash, are you listening to yourself?" Syla chidden softly.
Ash hiccupped and wiped the tears. Syla leaned close to her, inhaling her female scent. He whispered the words in her ears and Ash stumbled back in shock.
"Shhhhh! Do you want him to love another?" Syla asked, running his fingers across her back and teasing her wings that had sprung up.
The thought of another woman with Roman was what pushed Ash to agree with Syla.
Syla looked at Ash, with both love and scorn,
’You think this dummy brother of mine will bring in another woman and go against court rules? Hmfp! You must be joking!’
Syla, in that moment in the past, sincerely thought that Roman was a sucker for rules and he would adhere to such. He had been sorely mistaken, but one thing was for certain: He was able to achieve his aim then... as to how he had done it? It remained a mystery.
In the present, Roman smiled, bringing attention to the worried-looking Shelby as she called out to him,
"Roman? Roman?" Shelby had been calling out softly and repeatedly, waiting patiently for him to answer her question,
"What happened to you?" Shelby asked again. She was not sure what had happened after she had asked that question. Roman seemed to be lost in thought. His face was transparent though, moving from happiness to nostalgia, to warmth and a brief flash of coldness that sent a chill down Shelby’s back.
It was so swift that Shelby wondered if she imagined it. At that time, Shelby suddenly noticed that Roman’s presence seemed to be dimming. She frowned,
"There’s no need to worry about what is past...." He rubbed Shelby’s hair fondly and then placed his ears on her tummy....
"The past should stay in the past..."
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