Daughter of the Night [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 10

"How could you do this to me?"

Y/N sighed. She picked up the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass, and then poured another for her guest. This wasn't proper, in the least, but he was the prince. Who would dare to argue against the prince, even if they were a lord?

She held out the glass for Malleus, and he took it from her, only to set it back down on the table. He took her hand before she could pull it away and turned her to face him, keeping his hand on hers. 

"Y/N... Why? Why would you do this?"

"Do what, Your Highness," Y/N asked, trying to keep the anger and distress out of her voice. She pulled her hand away and took a sip of her wine. She turned away and walked over to the fire, wanting to put some distance between herself and the prince. This was hard enough without him here.

"Plan my engagement." His voice was no louder than a whisper, though it felt as though he was screaming at her. She could hear a faint crack in his voice and she wrapped her free hand around her arm, forcing herself to remain as emotionless as possible. She couldn't afford to break. Not with him around. He would comfort her, soothe her, and whisper to her all the ways that he would prove that he loved her. But that was something neither of them could afford. Her mother would be furious if anything happened to break off her engagement with Aloren, and the council would be furious if Malleus did something to cause the end of his engagement. Neither one of them was free.

"Why didn't you at least tell me that I was being forced into an arranged marriage?"

"It was not my place."

"NOT YOUR-" Malleus' volume shocked Y/N and she whirled around to face him, half expecting his hand to be raised. But he quickly calmed and took a seat in the armchair that Lady Fayetta had occupied only a few minutes before. "What do you mean it wasn't your place? You're on the council! You should-"

"Lilia is the one who is supposed to tell you the information I gave him." She tugged on a loose curl of hair, twirling it around her finger and watching it as it bounced. "I gave him the notes, but I guess he didn't feel like you should know..."

It was quiet for a moment. Y/N's body stiffened when she heard Malleus' steps. She froze when she felt his body just behind hers, his hands coming up to rest where her upper arm met her elbow. For once, he wasn't wearing his gloves, and Y/N could feel the firey warmth of his hands though the dark indigo lace of her sleeves. She shivered at his feeverish warmth. No matter how much she wanted to give into this, she couldn't. She couldn't afford to. He wasn't hers. Not anymore.

"Y/N... My love... My darling... Please. Please just look at me."

Y/N clenched her eyes shut as she felt Malleus' warm breath on the back of her neck. She wished she had left her hair down instead of pinning it up. She could feel the gentle skim of his lips on her skin and she bit down on her lip to keep from making a noise, though her body still tensed beneath his touch. She could feel him smirking against her skin. She pulled away, nearly spilling wine on her dress.

"Malleus s-"

"You called me by my name."

Y/N hadn't even noticed. She blanched and backed away from him, cupping a hand over her lips. 

"You need to leave," she whispered, still backing away.

"Wait, Y/N, please! I can't do this! I can't marry her." Malleus' eyes suddenly darted down to the hem of Y/N's dress and his hand shot out, pulling her back towards him.

"Malleus! Unhand-"

Malleus ignored her and bent down, beating out the glowing embers that had caught onto the hem of her dress. He glared at the fire, as if he was peeved at the flames for nearly singeing the girl. Once the fire was snuffed, he stood up again, wrapping his arms around Y/N to prevent her escape.