Verita - The Guardian of Darkness

32

A faint film of sweat had started to form on the maid's forehead. "Nothing much. Just the usual rumors."

She  turned away to scrutinize the oil bottle some more, until Elanthin  snapped her fingers to get the maid's attention back. "I've asked you  what they're saying about us and I won't do it again."

Obviously  torn between the choice of suffering a gruesome death by drowning or  being fired for insubordination, the maid swallowed. "They say ... well,  some think that he's finally decided to marry."

The girl read  Elanthin's facial expression right and started to stutter. "P-please,  don't be mad, Your Majesty. They can't help thinking that; not since  he's p-put you into the Silver Ivy rooms."

Elanthin had to  grip the sides of her bathtub in order to prevent herself from springing  up and running back to the Plains. Did they know already? How fast did  rumors spread in this palace? It hadn't been a full day since the  marriage talk with Aetrian had happened and it wasn't like Elanthin had  given him an answer yet.

Yet?, she asked herself. Am I truly considering it?

Aetrian  was right about the positive effect their engagement could have on the  unification but she wasn't certain about her willingness to sacrifice  her life in this manner. It seemed silly to object to a political  marriage after she'd been willing to die for her people but Elanthin  couldn't help it. She'd never imagined herself at someone's side – or  someone at her side, for that matter – but somehow she felt discontent  with the idea of marrying Aetrian out of objective.
Suddenly she remembered Aetrian's last words before he'd left her this morning: I don't like to do things half-heartedly.

He couldn't have meant ...

"I  think you should get out of the bath, Your Majesty. Your face is  awfully red", suggested Myrel with a worried look, unaware of the reason  behind her queen's flushed skin.

#

The faint knock  on the door connecting their bedrooms had become something that Elanthin  waited for after the sun had set. As usual, Aetrian waited another  minute, before he opened the door and stepped through. Normally she'd  stay in bed or roam around the fireplace while he informed her about his  latest meetings and woes in regard to Gratia and the Plains. Today,  however, she didn't anticipate his arrival quite as calmly as before.

Aetrian  hesitated when he saw her nearly jump out of her skin. Instead of  entering the room, he froze on his side of the connecting door.

"Do me a favor and come over here, Elle."

She nearly tripped over the trail of her night gown's lace overcoat. "What, by the depths of the abyss, did you just call me?"

He smiled innocently but it couldn't fool her. As usual, he was trying to provoke her.

"If we're going to be married, we should grow closer."

"I haven't accepted yet – and I surely have no desire to become closer to you."

"You don't mean that." She glared at him until he raised his hands in a gesture of defeat and snickered. "Forgive me?"

As she gave no sign of returning his smile, he added: "I'll do whatever you want?"

"Then  tell me about everything I've missed today, for a last time. Tomorrow  I'll show up in your study, if you like it or not." She couldn't stand  receiving her information as handouts from Aetrian any longer. Even  though he relayed everything of importance to her, she felt some  disquiet due to her current position. She wasn't suspended from her  position but as long as correspondence from outside the Barrier was hard  to come by and most of her subjects were on the move, she couldn't fill  her days with work as she'd done on the Plains.