TBATE: Your Name

Chapter 9

Arthur has never felt guiltier in his life.

He carried that guilt all throughout the day. Even when he ate breakfast, when they drove to the palace, when they stuffed him in his engagement suit, that gnawing at his stomach stayed there until the actual party.

The guilt consisted of a different brew of emotions; Arthur could recognize said brew as some sort of coffee that tasted god awful. He felt guilty for the poor rink staff members because of the reporters who caused a mess the previous day, he was guilty for being caught, he was guilty for stealing the woman's bracelet...

Most of all, he felt guilty for his fiancé, because Arthur fell in love with someone else.

There, he has said it.

Arthur had the emerald bracelet tucked in his suit pocket for the whole day, not knowing why but the jewelry comforted him for some reason, although, the comforting part didn't seem to have an effect on his physical aspect. He looked pale, he looked wary, he looked tired. He was hoping that his suit, a bright royal violet with elegant gold designs, would distract the audience from his deathly face.

The engagement party had begun and was held at the palace. Numerous elite guests, from Elenoir and Alacrya alike, were invited, all wearing extravagant clothing. The music played, an abundance alcohol was passed around, and Arthur's guilt progressed as the night came along.

He was a little... excited, you could say. Because finally, finally, he'd be able to see his fiancé for once. Finally, after so long of wondering and fear and-

"Oh, no. Apparently, there is lots of traffic, so she's going to be late." Merial said, and Arthur nearly bashed his head against the nearest wall.

Arthur scowls as he steals a flute of champagne from a waiter, sipping on the drink and hoping that the fizzy drink would admonish his anticipation. He looks for someone, anyone, who could distract him from his thoughts. But no, his parents and grandparents were happily chatting with a few officials, Sylvie and Ellie would be fashionably late (most likely due to Ellie dragging Sylvie along with her antics) and his wonderful oh so mysterious fiancé would maybe want to mess around with him more by not even attending their own goddamn engagement party.

Arthur exits the main hall and goes for a nearby balcony, breathing in the cold night breeze. It almost reminds him of a certain scene in a rink lot; wherein he spread his arms and let himself lose to the momentary bliss as a woman with emerald eyes watched him with some sort of wonder.

He closes his eyes and pretends he's back in the streets near the rink, wandering around and going window shopping, except he's not followed by an army of guards. It doesn't mean he's alone either, because someone is with him, someone who took him by the hand and led him through different restaurants, telling him how much she loves food and life and cheerfully greeted random passersby as they waved at her.

Arthur lets out a sad little sigh, knowing that this would eventually happen. He can't have everything. He has the luxuries, the riches, and the privileges, but he can't have a home. He can't have security. He can't have true happiness with someone, and he has to accept that. He'd have to find a way to discreetly return this woman's bracelet back, and maybe even say goodbye.

But Arthur lets himself dream for a bit. Maybe in another life, they could have a chance. Maybe Arthur was a barista at some coffee shop and he fell for an emerald-eyed regular. Maybe Arthur was a college student who worked with a cute freshman from Elenoir on their classwork. Maybe Arthur was a figure skating legend who fell in love with an emerald-eyed girl with so much potential. Maybe Arthur was a war general whose heart was stolen by his childhood friend who never took no for an answer. It was these little mundane things that Arthur knew he couldn't have, but the things he wanted the most in the world.