Steel Rose

Chapter 77

Ptolemus Pov

It is easy to place how I am feeling when I wake up despite never having felt it before. Giddy. That's it. I can feel the morning sun on my face before I even open my eyes. I can feel the way the sheets cover me. Not my own, but her's. Isabelle. My Isabelle. She's-

My eyes flew open. I know before I can make myself turn around to see. The room is too quiet. Too still. The bed is too cold. I fell asleep with Isabelle wrapped around me...but now. I turn around and I feel my heart plummet into my stomach. Empty. I'm alone. I could almost think I was dreaming last night if not for the signs that what went down last night really happened. The shape and mold of the pillows where her head had been. The rumpled sheets. The long light honey blond hair left on the pillows and her lingering scent. The faint smell of lavender. With a groan, I run my hand over the empty side. There is no lingering warmth. She's been gone a while.

I roll over to her side, pressing my nose into her pillow, inhaling deeply. My mind goes back the last night. To have her by my side again, with me. Pressed against me. Its almost like how we were back in Norta, when everything was perfect. I pull myself out of the bed, pulling on my pants. Despite knowing that Evangeline is probably looking for me and I am expected to meet the Premier for breakfast and I need to shower, I take my time to look through the room.

I find myself smirking despite waking up alone. This is definitely Isabelle's room. We definitely shared something last night. The creamy ivory night gown she wore last night lays discarded on a chair. I rub the fabric between my fingers, remembering the way my hands had caressed her skin, her smooth curves. More clothes lay discarded across the chair and the vanity. Her hair brush lays on the drawer, along with scattered hair ties. Isabelle isn't always the tidiest person. The maids must have come when she was out yesturday sometime before I arrived.

I look around the room and see that this place embodies her. The transparent curtains, never really closed to allow the sun to filter through. The cotton comforter, to keep her warm at night. The room is not overly messy, but it looks occupied. There are signs of her presence. There are signs of life. I can almost see her in here. At the vanity, brushing her hair or applying her signature red lipstick. Or in the bathroom, squeezing water of her hair and adjusting her towel. I stop myself from pulling open the drawers and opening the cabinets. She's already let me closer to her than I've been in months, and her finding out that I've been through her things with her permission is not bound to end well.

I wished she had stayed. We have so much to talk about.

I eventually manage to leave her room and make it to my own. Isbelle sleeps on the other side of the Premeir's home, so I take my time to navigate my way back. I don't know why I was surprised to see that she had gone this morning when I awoke. We both got caught up in our emotions and let our bodies act instead of our heads. I have no regrets however. If we hadn't ended up coming together, I have a feeling that the night would have been ended with her in tears. I painfully remind myself that this is not the first time my presence reduced her to tears.

I shower and dress accordingly, ignoring my sister's questioning glare and Elane's knowing smirk. I avoid Wren all together. At breakfast with the Premier, he goes over what is to be expected of us in the upcoming days. Evangeline, seemingly having made up her mind about not traveling back to the Rift, sits quietly, toying with her biscuits.

"After that, you'll only have a few more weeks to enjoy your residency here. After that, you'll be assissted in finding a new home someplace in the city with allowences of course, until your able to find jobs to sustain yourselves."

"Your people don't seem to be too welcoming to us," Elane points as she sips her coffee.

The Premier clasps his hands together, "Understandably right now. But once your," he ticks his eyes to me and Evie. "abdication is recorded and viewed across the country, there should be no hostaility. Right now, you all represent something that my country has fought and sacrificed to end. When people, red and silver, see that you all a ready to throw down from your crowns for our ways, they should be more accepting."