The Vengeful Princess

Chapter 22: Building and Burning Bridges

Everything was so familiar. His touch. His smell. His voice. But something was different between us. A space lingered between us like an invisible wall that both of us were afraid to penetrate. Even amongst the same shrubbery where we had shared so many precious moments and under the same starry sky where we had stolen so many kisses, we were hesitant to approach each other now that we were alone. The decor in the centre of the maze wasn't the only thing that had changed. Nico had too. His touch was no longer warm. His smell was no longer comforting. His voice was no longer lighthearted. Everything was so familiar, but simultaneously, everything was so strangely new.

Unable to stand the tension in the air any longer, I attempted a humorous tone to lighten the mood. "Why am I not surprised that I bumped into you here, out of all the places in the palace?"

The rest of the Fall Ball had flown by without me even noticing. All I could think of was Nico. However, I wasn't able to steal even another glance at Nico, let alone a moment alone with him after Alex whisked him away to discuss New Cynesige's theft issues. It felt like an eternity before I could safely excuse myself from the ball and retreat to the silence of my room. The muted sounds of the celebration still made their way into my room as I laid awake in my bed, providing no escape. After the festivities had died down outside, I snuck through the passage that I had taken a thousand times before, walked the same grassy path that I had followed a thousand times before, all the way to the heart of the maze. By some miracle, or perhaps simply a bond that tied us to each other, we both had the same idea.

The corners of Nico's mouth twitched upwards as he replied. "Well, the maze has always been a favourite spot of mine..."

His smile. His smile had remained the same. I held onto that smile, feeling the beginning of a bridge forming over the distance between us. Letting my eyes wander over his familiar features, I reached out a hand to touch his face before I realised what I was doing and dropped it onto the bench.

"...I've missed you."

He placed a hand over mine, his warmth comforting me to my core.

"I've missed- oh." I noticed a gold band around his finger. His ring finger. How had I not seen it before? "You're married."

It was a statement, not a question, but he confirmed it anyway with his eyes guiltily cast towards the ground. "A lot has happened in those years we were apart."

"I thought you didn't like gold." He used to share my preference of silver over gold. I stared at the gold ring with distaste. It another reminder of how he had changed.

"I've grown to like it."

"Ah." The newly formed bridge between us crumbled beneath me. "Ophelia's her name, isn't it?" I recalled the name Alex had mentioned when greeting Nico and the two names I had seen on the letters from King Francis' study. "Earl N. Kingth and his lovely Countess O. Kingth, right?"

I could hear the bitterness that dripped from my voice, but I didn't care. I had endured hell for the past four years to avenge my family, to avenge my kingdom, to avenge him. But Nico had been off marrying other women and working for King Francis.

"Rose... don't be like that." Nico attempted to calm me down, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I thought you were dead... you have to understand-"

"I don't have to understand anything, Nico! In fact, I don't understand anything at all." I fumed, shaking his hand off and pushing him away. Everything I had felt earlier now consumed me, with my questions on the verge of spilling out of me like a dam breaking past the floodgates. "What have you been doing for the past four years? Where were you? Why... why didn't you try to find me?"