A Dove's Tale

Chapter 30

I didn't bother knocking on Prince Chevalier's bedroom door. He never answered, and anyway, he was probably still in his office. I let myself in, my eyes immediately drawn to the black storm clouds darkening the windows above the wall of bookcases. It felt strange for his room to be dark. I knew it wasn't always bright, but I had only seen it in the daylight. The driving rain pelting the glass brought my mood back down after the distraction Princes Clavis and Luke provided. I sighed and looked away from the windows to the rest of the room, and my eyes landed on a pair of icy blue eyes.

Prince Chevalier was here.

He was lying on his bed, hands interlaced behind his head, knees up. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. How long had I been standing still, staring out the windows? How long had he been watching me without saying a word?

What was he doing here?

"My apologies, your highness, but I forgot these," I said, looking away from him and crossing the room to his desk full of dirty dishes.

"It's not like you to forget," he said quietly.

"It has been an...unusual day, your highness," I replied, stacking the dishes onto the tray. He hadn't eaten anything. I'd chosen a tray at random in the kitchens without even looking at its offerings, but I knew he liked most of the cold, untouched food here in front of me.

This morning had really bothered him, too.

"Did you eat lunch?" I asked.

"No. Did you?"

"No."

I sighed heavily. Something about the way we were interacting hurt. His short, clipped responses felt like a barrier devised to keep me away. But we'd already established that I wasn't going anywhere.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on?" I asked, turning away from the full tray to look at him again. "Awkward and tense?"

He didn't respond. I walked over to the window, looking out at the gardens. It was impossible to know where the blood had been, if I hadn't seen it. Rain had soaked all the paving stones, littering them with fallen petals and leaves from the battered plants.

"Did you enjoy your romp with Noisy and Jumbo?"

The question was free of the mocking tone I would normally have expected from him, but it was a question, a prompt to continue our conversation. It was a start.

"For the most part. They saw the bruises and got a bit overbearing, though." I wrapped a hand around my wrist unconsciously. "Did Prince Leon talk to you?"

"Yes." He was silent for a moment, and then he said, "I can have you reassigned."

I turned back to look at him, back to the icy blue eyes that didn't match his soft tone. I told him about my decision earlier. Then I told Prince Leon. Both times, I thought through my options and came to the same conclusion. But this was like my decision to not move Mother. It kept coming back, kept making me doubt myself, kept forcing me to rehearse the issue in its entirety. Maybe I would be safer working for another prince. Maybe, but maybe not. I would still see Prince Chevalier, and people still knew that he liked me. And, in spite of what he did this morning, I couldn't forget the way he'd jumped to my defense just a few days earlier. Somehow, I still felt safe with him. That was why I hadn't been able to fight him, I realized. There was no doubt in my mind that he had been wrong, horribly wrong, to treat me that way just a few short hours ago. But he'd gone to such extreme lengths because he wanted to make sure I would run and never come back, so I wouldn't be in danger just by being near him. If I was away from him, though, there was no way he could protect me from those who likely already knew his attachment to me.