The Queen's Wife (girlxgirl)

12. Engagement

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"Aah, the man of the evening!"

Makai greets her with a suave smirk, walking up to the prince with the princess softly tagging along. Even though the others keep talking, all attention is now on them. Adelio's eyes still follow Margaret though, enchanted by her dress, drowning in her eyes. It's clear on her, for a second. It's clear how attractive she finds the princess. It makes Makai even happier, if that is even possible. He smiles more and pats Adelio on the back. That snaps her out of it.

She meets the eyes of a slightly confused Margaret and a smug king Makai. It takes everything in her power not to look at Margaret again. This is the first time she has ever experienced such a feeling. Attraction has been the least of her concerns during her entire lifetime, when every single day goes to keeping up the act of being a man. When she feels like a woman but is a man to everyone else, Adelio has always seen attraction to somebody as something wrong and forbidden. No matter how you look at it, attraction to men is immoral on the outside and attraction to women is immoral on the inside. But all of those thoughts wash away, with a single proper look at the princess. Her fiancé. And that feels more immoral than anything else ever has.

She has the most beautiful, deep brown eyes. There is something so innocent about them, yet so understanding. It's hard to explain, they are out of this world. Her hair matches her eyes, brown and soft and long, like that of an angel's. And her dress, the way it hugs her body so wonderfully, makes her look so pretty. She shines like a diamond under the sun, even in a dim room as this one. The colors of her dress are deep and defined, but even then they can't shine as brightly as her face. This girl might be the enemy, but for that moment, Adelio can't see that. All she can see is a girl as beautiful as an angel, nervous and scared, watching her with curious eyes. Adelio has a strange feeling. She wishes she could see this girl smile.

"Excited for the party? I've organized everything in your favor"

Adelio gives a nod, ignoring everything that just happened. She can feel the eyes of the brothers and the duke on her, but ignores them too. Outside the door, she can hear the party starting. Music is playing from the orchestra and people are talking. The buzzing of the life of the party starts to fill their ears. Margaret seems nervous about that. Almost as if it is her first party. But that can't be, right? Or are women here usually kept from attending parties? That would explain why this waiting room is filled with a bunch of men, not a single woman except for Margaret. And her. Right. She's a woman too. Not that they know.

Makai seems to notice that the party has started. A more serious expression comes over his face. With a gentle, encouraging hand, he leads Adelio to another, third door. Margaret follows without a word. It's a glass door, that leads to some sort of balcony. Adelio understands what this means. They have discussed this beforehand. A butler opens the balcony door, all other royals watching it happen. Adelio walks through, out into the open air. She misses Makai pushing Margaret out too by force, because it's happening right behind her. She misses the hesitant glare that Margaret sends Makai, her first and last show of defiance.

The door is closed behind them, and Adelio walks all the way to the edge of the balcony. It's a beautiful view from here. A starry night, the little white dots shining above them. She can see galaxies from here, and the big white moon. Down below one of the many palace gardens open up. It's a rose garden with a fountain in the middle, a statue of an old female goddess right in the middle of the water. It's a very romantic place. This is where hundreds of proposals have happened throughout the centuries. Now it's Adelio's turn, except she's on the wrong side of things. She's the man. After over twenty years of pretending, it doesn't feel unnatural at all.