Emilie of the Royal Heart

Chapter 6: The Prince And His Fluffy Demands

Emilie was allowed to have tea with Countess Analeigh on the third Tuesday of the month only. When Aurora told her this, naturally Emilie was upset and she asked him if he still didn't trust her not to start any rumors. Aurora said he trusted her. But he didn't trust the Countess.

Of course, the third Tuesday of the month had been the day before Aurora instated this rule, ensuring that Emilie would already have to wait a month to see the Countess again. So Emilie told herself she loved Zuhia more than Analeigh and began her days in the library.

Emilie had a basic reading level. She could read in her own language, but she could read even better in Fellen because most advanced subjects in her school were taught in Fellen. After the night of the engagement, Emilie hadn't wanted to talk to the courtiers because she knew they would have many questions, the first and foremost being how had she not mentioned she was romancing the Prince when they talked on previous occasions.

In all honesty, Emilie would rather do anything else than talk to the Keepers or the courtiers about her engagement to Aurora, so she went into the palace library and she started reading books about Fellen law.

Yes. Law books. With endless numbers of codes and indexes with exceptions.

She thought it was going to be a practical investment, but the first week she attempted to read Fellen Law, she understood nothing. The librarian came over and asked if she wanted any help interpreting the codes, but she didn't accept the help. Accepting help to understand the laws and codes of a country you were about to be half responsible for ruling felt like a bad look.

The second week she attempted to learn Fellen law, she brought paper and a pen to take notes with. She got them from Aurora and he asked if she was going to write a letter and she simply said 'no' and left.

Taking notes made the process much easier, so she started all the books over again. After the second week of her legal deep dive, she started to find sections that she might be able to invoke to the Emperor when she made her appeal to cross the border.

It was through these law books that she came across a line that explained a long held question of hers.

Why was there no King of Fellen? Once she ran across the first part saying that there were only princes under the Emperor, she sighed loudly. If she wanted to know, she needed to check out a history book. And there was nothing else to fill her days, so Emilie asked the librarian to find her a book with the simple explanation of how Fellen came to be and the monarchy entailed in its foundation.

The librarian led her to an especially dusty aisle of shelves and picked out three heavy, leather bound books that he dropped into her arms with an unmoving expression of distaste. He left her to peruse the shelf for any other volumes that might catch her eye. Emilie struggled with the three books in her arms, but she did glance over the other titles on her own before she told herself she had a million years to read the rest.

She shuffled back to the table she had been working at. The books she carried took up most of her attention as she desperately ferried them to her workspace. She set them on the table and sat back down. She took a moment to catch her breath as she scooted her chair in, then she glanced at her notes. They pulled away from under her nose.

Emilie looked up and was met by Aurora standing on the other side of the table, his neat brow furrowed as he considered her notes. Today, he wore black trousers with white pinstripes and his shirt was a crisp white one with a lavender waistcoat. There was a silver chain hanging from his neck with the tiniest little diamond resting against his chest.

"I could've told you most of this," he stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Yes, Rory, but as you might recall, you didn't," Emilie pointed out with a slow blink. She propped her elbows up on the tabletop and laced her fingers to make a hammock for her chin. She watched him as he bit his lip, reading to the bottom of the page and added quietly, "you haven't made yourself very available in the last three weeks."

"You should take the Southern Tour with me," Aurora asserted, setting the paper back in front of her.

"What does that mean?"

"For me, it means I take a tour through southern Fellen to speak with contentious southern lords. For the both of us, it means ferry rides down the Golden Canal, horse-riding through Valley Appleseed, and a number of special events crafted for our arrival," he shrugged.

"Careful. You're offering something that sounds dangerously close to romance."

A warmth triumphed over his cold and studied regal air and his face glowed as he allowed himself a laugh. Aurora trailed his finger along the title of a book in front of him, his eyes trained down as he fought back the smile poking a dimple into the right side of his face.

"Yes, I suppose we might be in danger of looking particularly in love," he agreed, finally glancing up at Emilie again. His stiff breeding hadn't shut down the sincerity in his demeaner yet and Emilie found herself quite caught in his gaze. They were at least two feet away, but she thought she could feel his casual breath caressing over her collarbone.

"Then I should agree to go, shouldn't I?" she stated, her eyes following Aurora's hand as it slid lightly over the book covers and papers as he strode around the end of the table to stand nearer to her. Her voice wavered as she added, "...so that we can look particularly in love."

Aurora grabbed a nearby chair and brought it up next to her at the table. Without speaking, he lowered himself into the seat and peered back at Emilie when she looked at him. The glimmer of lightheartedness she saw in him vanished, now replaced with the indifference of his princely persona.

"Though I may allow you more choices in your conduct from now on, this once I must insist," he told her.

"Then why did you present it as though you were asking me?" Emilie huffed, turning away from him. She tucked a determined curl behind her ear, but it bounced out the second she attempted to put it in timeout. With a sigh, she stood up from her chair and took a few steps away from him, "if I have no choice, then why pretend as though I do? I don't understand why you constantly pretend as though my response matters when you've clearly already made up your mind anyway. I don't understand why you are so intent on creating this illusion of choice."

Aurora stood up from his chair abruptly and the sound made Emilie whirl around to see him. He held his hands out, "would you rather I order you around like a servant?"

She scowled at him, "maybe I would. Maybe that would be better than all this pageantry, pretending like you're a gentleman."

"Excellent, then perhaps I can start whistling for you like a dog and all the palace attendants will take it as true love," Aurora snapped.

Emilie pinched her eyes shut and clenched her fists. She was bursting at the seams with frustration, but there was only one thing she couldn't get past and it slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Why did you think I would say no!?"

When she exhaled forcefully and let her eyes open, Aurora's face contorted with confusion in front of her. He started to say something, then stopped, his eyes dancing away from her. Emilie sighed and her eyebrows squeezed upwards together. She took a step forward and her fingers came together to start tapping out her apprehension.

"We're on the same side. You seem almost convinced that I'll do everything in my power to thwart you, but I will help you do this. I need this to happen too, Rory."

Aurora didn't meet her eyes, letting his gaze stay put on the ground, but he reached up to rest his hand on the back of his chair. His expression of utter perplexity melted away into something distant, but candid.

"I..." he paused for a very long time. Then he cleared his throat and turned his head to her, but only stared at her shoes when he said, "I regret..."

"What?" she prompted.

He gave her a curt bow and then regally dashed out of the library. Emilie stood and braced herself on the table, her mind spinning out over the sentence he never finished. Or, perhaps, the sentence he had.