𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ✦ 𝘳𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭

-09

You ignored the courtly gesture. "You don't need to escort me to my own stables" you said, motioning for him to follow you. "And please refrain from laying a finger on me, I'll cripple you with all due respect"
Rezef smiled and matched his legs to your brisk stride. "Thanks for the
warning, lady y/n"

The mount that you chose, a supple and energetic chestnut, was a
good match for the black stallion he had brought. You rode in perfect
balance, after the stallion's fretful temperament had been worked out.
You couldn't find fault with the way Rezef rode. He was patient with
the animal, using just the right amount of discipline to keep him under
control. But you sensed the contest of wills between them, the way he
dominated the stallion. Almost all men rode that way, as if one had to be
superior and the other inferior. You treated your horses as equal partners.
Because you worked with them and communicated with them, they were far more responsive to your commands.
You rode from the broad hill that Southgate Hall was
founded on, down to the outskirts of the busy town below. The day was
bright and warm, the air stirring with a pleasant breeze. After crossing a
small creek, you cut through the oak forest that bordered Southgate, and
raced across a wide green meadow. The stallion easily overtook your's
chestnut, and you slowed the horse's pace, laughingly acknowledging
defeat.
"I would give you some real competition if I weren't riding sidesaddle,"
You called.
Regef reined in the stallion and grinned back at you. "You ride like no other woman I've ever seen, y/n. Like a swallow in flight." he added "Shall we walk for a little while?"
"All right." you dismounted easily, before he could offer to assist.

Rezef slid from the saddle, clicking his tongue against his teeth as if
You were a willful child. "You're independent to a fault, y/n. Is it such a crime to take a man's arm every now and then? To let someone help you
down from a horse or climb a flight of steps?"
"I don't need help. I don't want to depend on anyone."
"Why not?"
"Because I might get used to it."
"Is that so terrible?"
You shrugged impatiently. "I do much better on my own. I always
have."
"What is it?" you asked. You glanced at his bare arms, and your
expression went blank. Your eyes returned to his face. "Oh," you said softly.
Rezef stiffened. He always kept his shirtsleeves buttoned over his
wrists. Strange, that he would forget to hide them around you. But they
were no surprise to you. You have seen them before, at the red paradise.
He let out a slow breath and forced himself to relax. "You seem irritable
today," he said with deliberate casualness. "Have I offended you, mylady?"
"Lately your entire gender offends me,"
You replied pertly.
"Because your friend abandoned you?"
"He didn't abandon me"
You left the horses grazing beneath the branches of an ancient oak tree,
and walked across another wide green meadow. The grass was alive with
the drone of bees harvesting pollen from a carpet of wildflowers. You
glanced at Rezef frequently, struck by the sight of him walking beside you
with the grace of a prowling cat. In your whole life you had never known
such an unpredictable man. The first time you had ever seen him, he was ready to murder you. But somehow in the following weeks he had stolen his way into your life. If not exactly welcomed at least he had become a tolerated visitor.
"I never thought we would be walking together alone like this," you commented.
"Why not?"
"To begin with, its your status,
Besides, everyone I know says you're a dangerous character."
"I'm not dangerous," he said, a smile playing on his lips.
"According to the stories, you are. A scoundrel, betrayer, seducer of
women...some even say a cold-blooded murderer, wich even i witnessed"

Rezef was quiet for a long time. Somewhere in the midst of your
grass-muffled footfalls came a soft reply. "All those things are true. Even
the last. I killed many people for the sake of the throne. But there was nothing cold-blooded about it. It was the only way to survive"
You stumbled a little, fixing your startled gaze on him. His expression
was closed, the tawny crescents of his lashes veiling his eyes. Why on earth
would he admit this to you? You felt your heart pound in an agitated rhythm.
Rezef kept walking, and you followed uncertainly. You reached a shaded
cart path bordered by a wooden fence.
He stopped in the center of the path, his muscles tensing. It had
been a calculated risk, telling you about what he had done. But you
would find out anyway, and it was better to have heard it from him. A mist of sweat broke on his forehead, and he wiped at it with the cuff of his sleeve
in a controlled gesture. "Would you like to hear about it?"
"I suppose," you said diffidently, but he sensed the intense curiosity behind your stillness.
"I needed power and authority in order to stay in the palace. As you may know, i'm an illegimate child. My sister, she was a good-for-nothing doll, obssessing over Raphael Kidrey and the thought of marrying him. It was threatning my position as the prince." He continued
with difficulty, rubbing absently at his wrists "Since many nobles opposed the idea of me becoming the future emperor, including the Kidreys. I needed to marry her off with someone other than these insolents. She was and she is my only family but it was fatal. And i needed her to secure my position...therefore i poisoned her"

"Oh," you said, you mouth slackening in astonishment, trying to
comprehend. It was a shocking revelation, especially uttered in such a casual tone

"I...I don't know what's gotten into her" He paused and shook his head. Sunlight moved over his golden-brown
hair in a shower of sparks. "The Kayena i know would've made a fuss by now. After she woke up She was very calm about the situation, she even refused to look for the culprit. She claimed that she would make me the emperor in no time. Kayena is clearly scheming something. Though i'm not stupid enough to just sit and watch. Thus many people have been killed to maintain my image"

"I was careful to leave no evidence, but I came under suspicion nonetheless. And I was restricted to the palace only." Suddenly the words stuck in Rezef's
throat. There was so much he couldn't tell you, how he threw himself to save her when she was kidnapped even if that meant being exiled or kicked out for the palace.
He fell silent then, concentrating on the hardbaked ground. A breeze filtered through the damp locks on his forehead. Exile from the empire had been
worse than torture or even death; it meant being cut off from the very
source of life. Even the most reviled criminals were pitied when they were
sent away from their beloved country. they were called
-"unfortunates."

"Why tell me?" you asked, interrupting his bleak thoughts. "You never do anything without a reason. Why did you want me to know?"
Rezef looked at you, smiling sardonically into your serious face. "Don't friends confide in each other?"
"How do you know I won't tell anyone?"
"I'll just have to trust you, mylady."
You stared at him intently. "Are you sorry you killed those people?"
Regef shook his head. "I don't believe in regret. It doesn't change the past."
"You're an amoral man," you said, his blue eyes fixed on yours. "I should be afraid of you. But I'm not."
"How brave you are," he mocked, amused by your bravado.
"I even think...if I had been in your place, I might have done the same
thing."
Before Rezef could reply, he felt you touch his wrist. He froze,
realizing that he had unconsciously been rubbing the scars on his chest as
they talked. His hand stiffened beneath your fingers. There was no pity
in your face. You regarded him with a strange acceptance, as if he were a
savage creature who couldn't be faulted for his own nature.
"Then you don't blame me for the murder?" he asked, his voice gruff.
"It's not my place to judge you. But I understand why you did it." Her
bare hand rested lightly on his. "I'll keep your secrets, Rezef."
The prince didn't move. His muscles locked against a sudden shiver of
feeling. He had no idea why your touch, your words, had such power over
him. The peace he felt near his sister was nowhere compared to when he was with you. All he knew was that he wanted to hold you, hurt you, kiss you...he wanted to bear you down to the ground, here, and tug your hair loose, and take you in the field as if you were a peasant girl. Instead he drew back and pulled his hand from yours. His voice was pleasant, friendly, as he replied, "I
believe you will, y/n."
You gave him a cautious smile and began to walk again, your skirts
brushing through the clods and wheel ruts on the dusty path. Rezef kept
pace with you, his hands jammed in his pockets. You hadn't reacted as he'd
expected. You had accepted his story too easily. Your family had sheltered
You too much, allowing you to live your life as if it were something out of a
novel. You were even more unworldly than he'd suspected. You poor little
fool, he thought, glancing at you through the blue screen of his lashes.
Why must you make it so easy for him to take advantage of you?
"May I see you again tomorrow?" he asked.
You hesitated, your teeth catching on your bottom lip. "No," you finally
said. "I'll be busy for the rest of the week."
"A social engagement?"
"Actually, I'm visiting the temple and helping in the village"
"Will someone be accompanying you?"
"Perhaps not. But I need no one, precisely you..."

"It's not easy to be lonely, is it? Emptiness, silence, unwelcome solitude...it can turn a palace into a prison." he watched for a reaction from you, but You concealed your emotions well. He made one more soft-voiced comment, well timed and carefully aimed.

You turned a wondering gaze toward him,your eyes wide.
Heedless of where you were walking, you stumbled on the edge of a deep
wheel rut. Rezef reached for you immediately, lending you his balance.
Before you could protest, he grasped your hand and drew it through the crook of his elbow. An easy smile curved his mouth as he stared into your flushed face. "Take help when it's offered, dear. It's just a temporary arm to lean on."