“Are the rumors true?” Eloive turned around to find Waxlyn sitting on his bed. Too engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn’t even heard her come in.
“Didn’t know you listened to rumors,” he remarked, popping a grape into his mouth.
“Everyone’s talking about it. The maids, the concubines, even your stepmothers, but I want to hear it from you. Are you getting married?”
Eloive sighed. “I’m not getting married, Waxlyn.”
“But grandpa said…”
“Fuck what grandpa said!” Eloive yelled, dropping a wad of cash into the swear jar that Waxlyn held out for him. “I’m not getting married.”
“Why not? I don’t see anything wrong with it. Plus, we haven’t had a wedding in the palace for years now.”
“You’re insane. Waxlyn, I’m not ripe for marriage. If you want a wedding so badly, then get yourself a husband. You know what? Just leave. You’ve upset me.”
“You’re so mean.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet. Leave my room now, Waxlyn. The next time you want to enter, you better knock.”
Waxlyn glared hard at him before leaving. Eloive sighed again. He needed a shower. Perhaps the cold water would relax his nerves. Eloive was about taking off his underwear when he heard it. It was soft at first and Eloive waited a little, hoping she would go away.
She didn’t.
Cursing inwardly, he headed for the door, yanking it open. “Waxlyn, why are you…”
He trailed off when he saw that it wasn’t Waxlyn. “Toreh? What are you doing here?”
She didn’t reply, eyes wide with wonder. Holy moly! The prince was naked. Not fully, but still she had seen. The scars were so many and… she swallowed, dragging her eyes back to his face, cheeks a fiery red.
Eloive rolled his eyes, pulled her inside before twisting the lock. He walked away from her and went to close the curtains. Toreh watched him, wishing he would just put on clothes! His… his body was distracting!
“You should put something on or you’ll catch a cold.”
Eloive snorted. She was so naive. “I’m an Icelander, Toreh. The cold doesn’t bother me.”
Of course. How could she forget?
“So… why are you here?” he asked, popping a grape into his mouth.
“I…” she tried to speak but couldn’t form the words. She was trying so hard to look away, take her eyes off him, but she just couldn’t. Eloive noticed and smirked.
“What? Never seen a guy half-naked before?”
She swallowed hard. Of course she had seen. Slaves did see a lot, but his… his was quite different from what she had seen, and she felt this weird urge to touch it.
“I… I came here to return this,” she forced out, removing the bracelet he had given her from her pocket.
Eloive narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“My owner… my owner saw it and was very angry, so I…”
He shook his head, not wanting to hear anything. “You’re lying. I just know it. Your owner can’t be the reason you want to return my gift. There’s something else, right? Is… is it because of the rumors?”
She looked away. “You’re making this hard for me, Eloive.”
“Why won’t I? Toreh, you’re the first friend I have made in this kingdom, and now you want to call off our friendship because of some stupid rumors?”
“You won’t understand, Eloive.”
“Then make me understand!” he cried out, taking her hand. “I want to understand. Make me understand, Toreh.”
“You’re getting married and… and I can’t be seen around you. The kingdom would be busy planning our wedding, and I won’t be able to see you anymore!”
“I’m not getting married, Toreh.”
“But the king said…”
“I don’t care what the king said! I’ll marry when the time comes, and that time is not now! And even if I am to marry, it shouldn’t affect our friendship.”
“It would,” she yelled, tears pricking at her lids. “Your wife is bound to take your time, Eloive, and I’m not sure she would be okay with her husband, the prince, befriending a slave.”
“Stop that. Stop saying that. You’re not a slave. I’ve told you this a thousand times.”
“Saying it doesn’t change anything, Eloive. I’m a slave. The choker is proof. Please just take your bracelet and return mine. Please, Eloive, I’m begging you.”
“Why does this feel like goodbye? I don’t want to lose you, Toreh. I like you a lot.”
“You don’t even know me,” she cried out, wrenching her hand free from his.
“I don’t care. I don’t need to know you to like you. Toreh, I like your company. I really shouldn’t, but I do. None of this has to end, Toreh.”
“It has to,” she whispered. “This… whatever this is has to end. I like your company, but we can’t continue this way, Eloive.”
“We can… We can work this out, Toreh.”
“This is not a relationship that we can work out, Eloive. This is a friendship that must end simply because it has to! This is all my fault! If I hadn’t snuck into your room that night, we wouldn’t have met, and none of this would have happened.”
Eloive was hurt. His family members had abandoned him, and his friend was abandoning him too. With a heavy heart, he removed the bracelet from his wrist and dropped it into her open palm.
“Keep it and keep mine too. I have no use for it.”
“Should… should I stay behind?”
“Why would you want to do that? You said you wanted to leave, right? Then go ahead and leave!” he said, fighting the tears. He refused to cry before her.
“You… you don’t sound okay.”
“Am I supposed to? They left, and now you’re leaving too! I…” he trailed off when she hugged him. She should have left after collecting the bracelet, but she couldn’t leave, not when he’s like this.
She pulled back, eyes watery. “I’m going to miss you. The little moments we spent together, the nice things you did for me. I’m going to miss being your friend and… I’ll miss you, Eloive. I… I hope you would find a friend, one who wouldn’t leave you like I have done.”
When she kissed him, he didn’t kiss her back. When she hugged him, he didn’t hug her back. When she smiled at him, he didn’t return it. It was the coldest reception ever, and Toreh felt awful as she walked away from him.
Eloive waited until she has fully exited his chambers before he burst into tears.
Eloive didn’t know how long he stood there crying, but he knew it was long enough for his uncle to finish his grapes.
“Ah, those were some good grapes. Now I’ve done them some justice, mind telling me why you’re crying?”
“It’s none of your business,” Eloive spat out, wiping the back of his mouth.
“I’ve got every right to know why my nephew is crying. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just force my way into your head,” Kayne spoke up.
Eloive glared at him. “Now I know why Nemada made you like this. Seriously uncle, it’s nothing.”
“So you were crying over nothing? What are you, a mad man?”
“I wish I was,” Eloive grumbled. “Then I won’t have to marry.”
“So that’s the problem. You don’t want to part with the single life. Your father was like that too. Didn’t want to marry, but at some point he realized how important it was for him to do so, and accepted his fate.”
“How do you know that? You’re… You’re not even twice his age!”
“Actually I am,” Kayne replied. “Clocked a hundred and fifty-two months ago. If you had been home, you would have known.”
“Well, now I am home, and with everything that has happened, I wish I never came back.”
“Be careful what you wish for, son. Who knows, Nemada might just be in sight.”
“Where’s she? Been years since I had seen her.”
“Well, you know how your great-grandma is. Never staying in a place too long. She might be home for the holidays. You know, grant them people some wishes.”
“Well, I hope she’d grant mine,” Eloive grumbled, flexing his arms. His chest tightened when he saw his bare wrists.
“Eloive, marriage is not actually as bad as you think.”
Eloive scoffed. “Says the man who killed his wife because of a silly misunderstanding. Uncle, I don’t want to get married. I’ve seen enough of my father’s to imagine what it’s going to be like.”
“When a prince marries, it’s not just for his interests, but also for the interests of the people.”
“Well, fuck the people!” Eloive yelled. “Why do we need to be close to them anyways? They look just fine to me.”
Kayne sighed. “Eloive! I know you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry. I’m fucking furious! I’m so tired of being controlled. I left these lands to avoid that, but you guys still found a way to control me, and I fucking hate it. Why can’t you just let me be? Yeah, I’m the son of the Crown Prince, but that’s just a stupid title. I don’t want to get married! I don’t want to be controlled!”
Kayne looked at him. “It was a girl that made you cry, wasn’t it?”
Eloive sighed, shoulders hunched. “Yeah. It was.”
“Tell me all about it. We’ve got plenty of time to talk.”