(jaylor au) clandestine meetings in beautiful rooms

Peter Losing Wendy

The time that I have to spend trapped in the same car with Alexander is enough to send me insane. He refuses to stop lecturing me about wandering about the castle at night, and he refuses to be quiet. He should have sat with Corinne, and then the two of them could chatter away. I roll my eyes, staring out the window and clenching my fists. Perhaps it is because he knows that I am confined within the car and can't escape, but I am one second away from throwing myself out of the car myself.
"I don't care," I tell him bitterly. "You can dislike what I do, Alexander. I don't fucking care."
"Did your parents raise you to be this rude? I am superior to you." He tries to tell me, but I scoff, glaring at him.
"Did your parents raise you to be such a fucking idiot? I mean, come on, Alexander. If you were king, you wouldn't know how to deal with anything except making the peasants bow down to you. All you know is how to make people miserable. Is that your talent? You don't have many others."
He glared at me before he hit me.
"Did I hit too deep?" I can't help but smirk because the satisfaction that I got under his skin makes me happy. "Does the truth hurt? Is it the fact that you're a coward? The fact that you just sit back and watch other people take all of the risks? The fact that-"
"Stop talking." He hisses, but I don't.
"The fact that there isn't anything in this world you love? The fact that you're cold and bitter? That you don't have the power to be a king? You will rule with fear because that's the only way to get people to listen-"
"I said, shut the fuck up, darling." He doesn't hit me again, and I turn to stare out the window. I could barely feel his touch, not when I am cherishing the satisfaction. I know I cut too deep, know that's my words hurt more than a hand print ever could.
I watch as the world flies past us. We're all in cars one in front of the other, my ladies are behind me, with Joe and Corinne behind them. Guards ride on horses around us, ensuring that we are safe.
I can't wait to tell Joe about what I said to him, about the fact I made him feel so insecure that he felt he had to hit me.

Finally, the summer palace comes into view. This was one of our less frequently visited homes, and I haven't been here without Austin.

It's so strange to be here again, for I haven't been here in so many years.

When we get there, the sun is beginning to sink low into the sky. As we get closer, I am able to appreciate it with all its beauty. The cars pull up the driveway, and I can see the familiar staircase that I haven't walked up without Austin. I can see that behind it, sit fields and fields of wildflowers. They still grow here, even after all these years.
It is so different from home. The Palace gardens here are wild, they have been left to grow as they please, whereas, at home, they are cut off if they spread too far.