The Princess of Cithrí - Chaol Westfall Fanfiction

Childhood lovers part 3

The flora before us, swirled and jumped, the large pompous dresses flaring up. The men, all dressed in the same style of tunic, and mask, beamed at the women, bowed and then swapped partners.
"You can join in if you would like?"
Chaol was leant against the wall behind me, his eyes scowering over the crowd, over every entrance into the grand throne room. He had had his uniform washed and ironed especailly for tonight, I had sat in our room watching him have a go at the laundry maid because there was still a stain on the sleeve.
"It wouldn't look very good if I danced with someone other than you, would it?" I turned to him, my dress a simple blue one, no ornate jewellery like the other women, and no flaring skirt. Just a simple blue dress with white lace here and there. He shrugged. "Probably not." He had his hand resting on his sword, and I knew that wasn't because of potential danger, it was in case I tried to make a run for it.
Our engagement was loveless, we only kissed for the show, neither of us gaining anything from it. We had tried to be intimate, see if that could relight the fire we once had, but that had been another loveless failure. We just couldn't seem to get along, most nights always ended up with us shouting and Chaol sleeping on the sofa. We were just lucky that the maid who attended Chaol's room, was a quiet one, unlikely to gossip.
He motioned for me to come closer, aware that the king was watching us. He pressed his lips to my neck, but it did nothing to me, just made my body feel revolting, like I needed another bath.
"When's the wedding?" I asked, watching the crowd swap partners again. I had no idea why he brought me here if I was only allowed to dance with him. He knew he had to work all night, that any movement towards the dance floor would result in punishment. "You know the answer to that." He replied. He was correct, I did.
Three weeks. Two days. Fourteen hours. The minutes and seconds ticking by as I counted down another hour. Thirteen hours.
That was all the time I had before I was bound to my imprisonment. Chained for life to my captor, a loveless life, only remained civilised by a happy childhood, and the memory of that one night we had loved each other.
That was everything I had to escape from, and if I didn't find a way out, I would have to do something so bad that Chaol couldn't stop me being sent to the labour camps.
"Kiss me." Chaol said, his eyes still trained for danger.
"Why?"
"People are watching." He replied, placing a hand onto my hip. "And you have hardly been acting the part of a loving fiancé for the past couple of hours, I think you can spare a kiss."
I leant up and pecked his cheek, huffing and puffing about having to keep up this public act of a cute, everyone wants to be couple.
He raised an eyebrow. "Great, now everyone thinks we are siblings."
I growled at him, turning into a sickly smile as a council member walked past, nodding his head at the captain. I took Chaol's face into my hands, his jaw stumbly. I hated that he didn't shave, he used to, but now he just went to bed and left as soon as he could in the morning. I pressed my lips to his, the most pointless thing I had ever done, there was nothing but a hollowness inside me. All I wanted was to feel something. But as I pulled away, I couldn't put my mind anywhere but on my escape. I could do it now, why he was distracted, but I wouldn't get far guards standing at the main doorways and at any windows.
I slinked back from Chaol, returning to my position out of his reach.
He sighed. "Maybe we should try having sex again?"
I snarled my upper lip, I couldn't think of anything worse. Last neither of us had got turned on, the whole time we were just desperate to end it. "If you want."
Chaol muttered something shaking his head. "That's not why we are doing it!"
I snapped at him. "I know why we are doing it! So we can be happy!"
He reached out to me, I slapped his hand away. "I'm going to dance."
I trotted off down the steps onto the dance floor, I wasn't too sure what I was doing, I had never properly joined in with the dances. Chaol's father having never let us join in, so Chaol and I had to dance off in the shadows of the ball, not on the main floor with lots of other people.

An arm slipped around my waist, interwining his hands in mine. The sapphire blue eyes of the prince smiling down at me through a black mask. "I thought you would be dancing with your future husband?" Dorian asked, swirling me around.
I scoffed, Dorian undoubtedly knowing our relationship issues, Chaol seeming to spend as much time with him as possible. "I can't think of anything worse."
Dorian laughed, rolling back his head. "I cannot wait for your wedding day."
I scowled. A pit swelling at the back of my throat. I wanted to curl up and cry by myself, have a moment away from the guards, the prince and defiantly Chaol. "I'll be gone before then." I whispered.
Dorian shrugged, not seeming as certain about it as I was. "It would break Chaol you know, he does love you."
I snapped my head away from Dorian. The word love pissed me off, made my blood boil.