Tainted Magic, Tainted Blood ~ TSAMS AU

Chapter One

"Your Majesty, Lord Eclipse is waiting in the dining hall for you."

"I'll be down in a moment," Y/N called towards her chamber doors. She turned back to her vanity and sighed, fiddling with the engagement ring upon her finger. After a moment, she shook her head and grabbed her brush.

Y/N had no idea how to feel about her arranged marriage with Eclipse. She felt as if she barely knew him, even though she'd known him for as long as she could remember. She mulled over her childhood memories with him frequently as of late - trying to understand why she had such a negative gut feeling towards him. But each time she tried to understand, it just gave her a horrible headache. So she would settle with it being nerves for marriage in general and not Eclipse.

After the princess finished brushing her hair, she stood from her stool and wandered to her wardrobe to get dressed for breakfast. She chose a simple, soft yellow morning dress that had dark blue stitching, and paired it with similar blue house shoes. After a quick glance in her mirror, she made her way down to the dining hall to join her fiance.

"Ah, my love, you've made it," Eclipse said, standing from his seat at the head of the table and approaching Y/N to greet her. She gave him a friendly smile as he led her to her chair, although his face quickly contorted to reflect disdain at her choice in dress color.

"Good morning, Lord Eclipse," she said plainly, which only made him sigh and recompose his gentle expression.

"My dearest, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Eclipse?" he asked slowly. The princess only shrugged in response, allowing him to push her chair back in.

"My apologies, Lo- Eclipse," she corrected. Eclipse rolled his eyes as he took his seat once more and pulled his silverware from their neatly rolled napkin. The princess copied his movements out of habit, not looking up from the table as Eclipse spoke again.

"Darling," he started. She only hummed in response, feeling his eyes on her as she reached for the plate of fresh fruit. "You are aware that the Spring Masquerade Ball is tonight, yes?" She hummed again, popping a grape into her mouth and appearing somewhat disinterested. Eclipse cleared his throat gently. "I would like us to make an appearance."

When Y/N didn't so much as flinch at his words, he sighed. "Together."

Y/N's hand paused, hovering over the plate of assorted cheeses, as she finally looked up at him. She struggled to process what he was implying. "You wish for us to make your courting of me public?" she questioned, uneasiness coating her voice. She hadn't yet come to terms with the fact that they were to be married soon enough. But to let the entire kingdom know of this was an entirely new level to their relationship she hadn't come close to thinking about. Eclipse dished himself some of the scrambled eggs and smiled.

"Of course. I think it's only appropriate at this point. We are to be married in a week's time, after all." Y/N blinked her confused expression away and carried on acting uninterested.

"Very well. If you think it's appropriate then so be it. What colors shall I wear?"

The rest of breakfast went by quickly as Eclipse called for some of the waitstaff to begin gathering the tailors for the princess's dress. Y/N tried her best to remain indifferent to the choices she was presented with as her fiance delegated servants to perform individual tasks. After what felt like an eternity, Eclipse's advisor, Solar Flare, entered the dining room.

"Sir, there is something I need to speak to you about," he said in that same monotone voice he always used. The princess found it rather annoying at times, not understanding his inflection to gauge the emotion he was relaying when he spoke. But she had grown fond of him lately, being that he was the only one willing to answer her questions when she asked them.