-Alfonse-
“What are you doing here?” I snarled, refusing to remove my blade. Jaonah’s round, sage-green eyes had grown wider still in shock while he maintained the tension necessary to hold me back.
“I might ask you the same. You never mentioned that you were a part of the royal family.”
Raising an eyebrow, I countered, “You never asked. My family knows nothing of my business in Vallerie, and if you breathe even a single word—”
“Why would I?” He still seemed plainly bemused by my aggression. “I’m not your enemy. I have no reason or desire to tell your secrets.”
“That remains to be seen.” After a moment more of thoroughly inspecting him, searching for any indication he might be lying to me, I finally relented and released him to sheath my dagger up one of my sleeves. “I think it’s for the best if you keep your distance from me for the duration of your stay.”
“But why?” He was looking me over in the same way I recalled from the Flower Bed, more curious than lecherous or suspicious. “When we, er, spoke before, did we not get on well? You said that you wished we could have more time together.”
With a frustrated sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to look at him for fear he might again beguile me with that foreign innocence in his eyes. “To be clear: you slept with a Flower named Oleander. I am a prince named Alfonse. I’ll ask you not to confuse the two.”
“Yes, you do seem. Different,” he noted. The dejection in his voice was all but tangible. So easy to read. “But to say that you’re separate people altogether—”
“That isn’t what I said. I don’t expect you to understand, only to hold your tongue.” I tried to reach for the doorknob, but Jaonah remained where he stood, blocking my path.
“When I was with you in Vallerie…” He lowered his voice, as if I hadn’t already plainly stated the circumstances. “Whatever name you chose to use, the person I slept with was you. Does that mean nothing?”
So his infatuation with me had carried over after that first night we’d had together. Of course it had, considering that was the very purpose of my Flower persona; Oleander existed to seduce men like Jaonah into giving away their secrets, just as Peregrine existed to steal those secrets when they weren’t forthcoming, just as Fer-de-lance existed to eliminate those who didn’t suit my plans. Perhaps Jaonah would see my various ‘characters’ as needless frivolities, but to my mind, they functioned as a necessary method of organizing my thoughts and goals.
“Whatever feelings you think you have for me were formed under false pretenses,” I told him plainly, trying to be as diplomatic and objective as possible. After all, it was no fault of his that he’d fallen for my deception. He didn’t deserve to be hurt any more than necessary. Some part of me said that it could be beneficial to get closer to him, to use his interest in me to learn more about the inner workings of the Empire—but I quickly brushed that thought aside. It felt like crossing a line. Too personal.
“Then give me the opportunity to dispel them. If what I saw in Vallerie was not your authentic self, then let me see it now,” he pleaded in earnest. He made it out to be so very simple, when the reality was anything but.
“Whatever you see of me while you’re here will be what everyone else sees.”
“But does that mean it’s genuine?”
“That,” I said with a slight smile, “is an excellent question.” When I stepped closer, he tensed again, his eyes trained on my lips, and there was something frustratingly endearing in the way he seemed to hang on my every word, my every move. All my typical dealings with sex happened among the nobility of Rilleaud, all of whom understood it to be a game and me to be a professional. As for romance, I didn’t often bother with it; that was an even messier and more dangerous field than the ones I usually frequented. Yet Jaonah’s interest in me was clearly some bizarre mix of the two, something I’d never before encountered.
“Please,” he said quietly, reaching for my hand before thinking better of it and pulling away. Perhaps he feared being threatened at the edge of my blade again. “Before you go, just…just one kiss?” He was nothing if not tenacious. I almost couldn’t help but pity him, seeing how thoroughly that wicked Oleander had ensnared him.
“You should change out of your traveling clothes before dinner,” I advised, pushing a lock of golden brown hair behind his ear. “It’s in your best interest to look as presentable as possible if you want my father’s approval.” Realizing this conversation wouldn’t end the way he would’ve liked, he stepped aside and allowed me to leave the room while trying to brush away the thought of how disappointed he looked. It wasn’t my concern. He might be a novelty, but that wasn’t worth making myself vulnerable and giving him any further leverage over me.
As expected, Magdalene was waiting just outside the corridor. She raised her eyebrows, and I answered simply, “It’s taken care of.”
“We’ll see,” she said as we started back toward the office. It would be two hours more before we were called to dinner, and that was plenty of time to oversee the day’s operations that had been interrupted by our guests’ arrival. I did appreciate the elves’ punctuality, as it meant there was no more idle time than expected. “Was he pleased to see you?”
Surprised that my mentor was pressing the topic, I glanced back at her suspiciously over my shoulder. “Why do you ask?”
“He seemed that way to me. On our leaving the throne room, he was quite stunned, presumably by your presence. I wonder what he expected when he found you at his door.”
“A certain insufferable flirt, I presume.” Certainly not a distant and defensive prince. “He assured me he had no interest in exposing my work in Vallerie, and I have no cause to believe he was lying. In fact, I’m not even convinced he knows how. He’s harmless.”
“And what of the others? Taegen seems amiable enough, but that captain he brought along? Why would the Empire send someone who so obviously dislikes humans as a diplomatic attaché?”
I shrugged. “All the better to defend from untrustworthy foreigners, I suppose. Frankly, I find his suspicion refreshing, considering how honest and unquestioning the other two are. At least he has the sense not to accept everything at face value.”
Even once we reached our office and my mind should have been intently focused on my work, I found it wandering nevertheless to the guest wing and our visitors with something like concern. They had presented themselves to my family in plain belted tunics and trousers, the same clothing they’d worn all day to travel in, and while they didn’t look explicitly disheveled, it still wasn’t the sort of effort one would expect when meeting royalty. I hoped that Jaonah would take my advice to heart and share it with his companions, as my family was likely offended already by their overly casual first impression. I had already seen that Jaonah could clean up nicely if he so chose; the ensemble he’d chosen for the Flower Bed easily fit in among our other patrons in terms of sophistication—
“Highness? Alfonse!” Magdalene’s sharp voice forced me out of my musings and back into the moment, wherein she was standing before my desk with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised reproachfully. “Are you listening to me at all?”
“Yes,” I lied automatically. “Of course. Er, what were we…?” I could feel my face beginning to flush from having been caught daydreaming. I might have been a skilled liar, but even I couldn’t pretend that Jaonah wasn’t the cause of my distraction. Distraction that I truly did not have time for.
The sooner our guests departed, the better.
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