Thorns

Chapter Nineteen

After Salem and I had gotten back, we had been met almost immediately by King Garrick and Ivan's disappointed stares. Garrick had ordered Ivan to take me back to my room, but when I looked back I hadn't missed the aggressive way he had grabbed Salem's arm and began dragging him away.

Salem hadn't reappeared at all the rest of that evening, nor did I see him the next day. I expected to find him waiting for me in my room the morning of the party, but, to my surprise, and to my disappointment, I woke up to the sight of Kioshi standing next to the silver handle on my door. As the day progressed, their still had been no sign of Salem anywhere. When I asked Ivan, he had just shrugged the question off and asked me how my day with Kioshi had been.

"Peachy!" Ivan called from outside of my door, "We've got to be in the courtyard in ten minutes, are you soon ready?"

"Yes," I shouted, glancing at myself one last time in the mirror, "Just give me one second, I'll be right out." All I had to do was look beautiful, and recite my lines just like I had practiced. Even though the very thought of being put on display made my stomach churn, I knew that once this night was over I could start putting the pieces of my plan in place.

After tonight, I would be known. Eyes would finally be on me. My fame would grow, and eventually I would have enough impact to influence the people within the Kingdom. They would realize that if I was considered dangerous, and important, enough to be weaponized by the king, than I must be someone worth listening to.

"Okay, I'm ready." I grumbled as I swung open my door, "Escort me to the courtyard, your majesty, I'm ready to get this over with, already." After a moment or two of silence, I cocked my head at him, still waiting for any sort of response. I had expected Ivan to make some sort of arrogant remark about how disrespectful I was being to both him and his people, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Ivan said nothing.

Instead, he just stared at me, his hazel eyes carefully sweeping over my body as if he wanted to appreciate every square inch of me. I blinked at him, unsure what to do with myself. I looked down at my toes, allowing my hair to fall around my face to hide my blistering cheeks.

"You look amazing, Peachy." He finally said, a warm smile slowly creeping onto his face. I shuddered a little as he gently placed two fingers under my chin, tilting my head up so he could look into my eyes, "I wish the circumstances could be different, but they aren't. We'll just have to make the most of it." He took his hand away, and I released the breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding.

There was something about this evening that, despite all of the pain I knew it would cause me, made a small spark of tranquility bloom inside my chest. The wave of calmness that flushed over my body had been unfamiliar, yet comforting all the same. I closed my eyes for brief second, allowing the sensation to seep into my bones and weave itself between the rotting stitches of my soul.

"Thanks, Ivan," I breathed, "You do too." I could feel the foreign warmth of sincerity pierce my eyes with every word I spoke. It was so unlike me, it was almost concerning.

What was even more concerning, though, was that I couldn't stop myself from wondering what Ivan and I could have become had the situation been different.

I guess I'd never know.

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"Ivan?" I mumbled as we walked into the courtyard, "Where are your parents?" I gazed at the King and Queen's vacant thrones, an uneasy feeling beginning to settle into my stomach.

"I'm not sure..." He whispered, his voice mimicking the same level of hesitance as mine had, "They should have been here almost an hour ago. But I'm sure it's fine. I wouldn't worry about it." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than like he had been trying to convince me.