The Queen's Hand

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The castle halls of Saltari were dark and silent as the grave, not a servant or guard in sight. For that Lucia was grateful. The quiet gave her time to think, to mull over the problems of the day and fight the war that constantly raged in her mind. It was a question that she couldn't help asking herself, yet she didn't know if she would ever come to an answer. "Ditrute Thomas. (My Thomas)" she hummed to herself in a sigh, watching her own blood red frown in the reflection of the garden lake. It was a beautiful stretch of water, like a mirror. As a child, Lucia had often found herself coming to sit by this water, when the other girls in court had scorned her, when her father had forbade her from riding a dragon, when her crown had been challenged upon her succession. It seemed only fitting that she returned to it to fight the affairs that were more dangerous than any war. Affairs of the heart. "Air sana darma ditara? (Are you really mine?)" she muttered thoughtfully to her reflection, as if it could reply "Segrada gos sana rangara desirum ditrute utyania? (Or do you just want my crown?)".

"Wushni sundoware. (Good evening)" a soft voice greeted and Lucia jumped so badly that she almost fell into the lake. She whirled around to find that a man watched her from the doorway that would take her back into the castle, barely distinguishable from the night. "Prince Dominic" she replied, quickly recovering herself, one hand automatically drawn to the dagger that was tucked away up her sleeve. It was nothing against Dominic, but people in the dark could never be trusted. That was plain common sense. "I was unaware you could speak Saltarion" she said conversationally.

"I made it my business to learn" Dominic replied, not moving from the doorway, apparently content to simply watch her "I can hardly speak to the famous Dragon Queen and not know even a little of her language".

"How thoughtful" Lucia mocked, to be met with his good natured smirk "But I warn you, its not an easy language. You have my respect for trying". In the darkness, she couldn't see his skin pale or his eyes widen. There was a short silence until Dominic breathlessly asked "Truly?" as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes" Lucia nodded with a barely existent laugh "Very few can speak it fluently". It was amusing to see someone with such a strong reputation weak at a few words of compliment. But at the thought of strength turning to jelly by her, Lucia's previous thoughts of Thomas returned. She could sharpen her wit on Dominic for Thomas, she thought, and hated how guilty she felt afterwards. Using people wasn't typically in her nature. Toying with them, yes, but not leading them on for her own gain. "Can Thomas speak it?" Dominic asked curiously. Lucia frowned, brow furrowed, and slowly walked through the dewy grass towards him. "You know Prince Thomas of Assar?" she asked him. There was surely no possible way the two could have met since Dominic had landed in her kingdom and, to her knowledge at least, Thomas had never set foot overseas. "Er... Yes. You were talking about him" Dominic replied quickly "Your advisor has told me a lot about him, the rumours that he has your heart" . Lucia barked out a laugh.

"Has my heart?" she echoed mockingly "No one has my heart". She hoped. Dominic thoughtfully tilted his head to the side, just concealing a small smile from her. "Ditrute Thomas...." he murmured "What does that mean? Saltarion is such a curious language". Lucia was thankful that the darkness concealed her blush. "My Thomas" she translated bashfully - never before had she admitted to anyone the place the Assar Prince had in her heart - to be met with the prince's funny clicking laugh, a laugh that was void of any smile that might have existed on his lips.

"Yours?" Dominic echoed "I hadn't heard of your engagement".

"We're not engaged" Lucia quickly corrected, shaking her head. Lord knows what would happen if her council found out about this conversation, let alone Zane or Jenna! "The truth is... I'm not even sure if I like him" she found herself mumbling "I don't know... Even if I did, we couldn't marry anyway, not that I do like him enough to do that".

"Why couldn't you marry?" Dominic hummed, like a person counselling their long time friend. His voice had a calming smoothness to it. "I can only marry someone who is in line for the throne" Lucia explained. Why on earth was she telling him of all people? This was a conversation that should be locked in her mind to chew over in the dark secrecy of night. She couldn't afford to expose the nerve that was her emotions. What was she doing?! "And there was I thinking you neither knew nor recognised tradition" Dominic remarked with a smirk "And here I find you longing for marriage". Lucia almost choked.

"Not in any way!" she retorted, repulsed by the very phrase "I would prefer to rule alone for as long as I want! My point is that I want the freedom to choose who I marry when and if the time comes". That smirk of Dominic's suddenly returned to his smile, but he didn't try to hide it this time. "I like to see a ruler who thinks for themselves" he said instead of arguing against her, something like pride in his voice "Its a breath of fresh air. Why live like everyone else when you only have one life?".

"I doubt that way of thinking makes you very popular at court back home" Lucia hissed, unsure whether or not she was trying to hurt him or amuse him. Either way, she immediately regretted it. That small ray of light that had shone through Dominic's smile was wrestled back into submission by a scowl that looked far too comfortable on his lips. "I don't care what my foolish brother's court thinks of me!" he spat so venomously that his words must have been a lie. After so long of knowing Thomas, Lucia could recognise the need to be valued when she saw it. To see that kind of vulnerability in Dominic very nearly coaxed her into laying a comforting hand on his arm, but she hesitated. It was strange. With others, she probably wouldn't have thought twice about offering comfort. But it seemed that with him, to touch him with a bare hand would be as dangerous as if a child tried to touch fire. So Lucia cleared her throat for his attention, as she was so well practised at doing to regain control of her arguing council. "Is that why you came here?" she asked him curiously "To escape the troubles across the sea?". Dominic smirked dangerously before he turned away to retreat back into the castle. "Very perceptive" he called to her over his broad shoulder "But you can forget that. All I ask is that you consider this. I am in line for the throne, my queen". Lucia's eyes widened as she watched him retreat back into the castle. If he had wanted to declare anything, he couldn't have done so in a clearer way. She could only marry someone who was or would be king, that was, until she gathered the courage and knowledge to abolish that stupid law. 

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