Once I had said goodbye to Magnus, I had the main hurdle of the day — the homecoming celebration. Vanessa caught me in a moment of weakness when she convinced me to come to the social gathering of high-and-mighty acting nobles. Under usual circumstances, I would have said no and stuck to it. I didn't care about any of the people at the party, knowing they cared nothing about Vanessa and probably would prefer her dead anyway. As soon as I saw an opportunity, I would leave.

There's no way I'm staying at this thing for more than a couple of hours at most. Waiting longer than that would be like killing myself in the slowest and most painful way possible. 

My quick steps from the library slowed when I arrived at the door leading to the west garden. Once my fingers wrapped around the handle, I hesitated. Did I have to do this? Since I had gone through all that trouble to bathe and put on fancy dead-brother clothes, it wouldn't make much sense to turn back now. 

Everything inside me told me not to continue, but I opened the door anyway and blinked in the afternoon sun. The rays were too damn bright at first, but when my eyes adjusted, the most enchanting, exquisite sight I had ever seen appeared before my eyes. It wasn't the exquisitely maintained gardens in full bloom, the clear bubbling water of the fountain, the deep blue sky, or the birds singing in perfect harmony. It was a woman.

She wasn't Vanessa — no, far from it — this woman was the picture of beauty and ferocity combined.

Damn.

My lavender eyes widened to take in this unknown woman who made the magnificent garden around us seem dull. That shoulder-length blonde hair — an enticing platinum blonde worn in an asymmetrical style — shone in the sun like snow. A wispy fringe covered one of her stunning light blue eyes, the same color I'd imagine ice deep in the Borea region to be like. She was taller than most women, slim, with athletic muscles filling out her flawless body. 

I'll say it again— damn.

The way she turned to look at me was perfect somehow, and before she had done it, I wasn't aware such a thing was perfectible. Time went by in slow motion as she looked me up and down. I did the same until my eyes rested on an item right above her bosom — a necklace with an aqua-blue stone held by a familiar slim, soft leather strap.

No, it can't be…!

Her eyes focused on my amethyst stone, partially obscured by the shirt I borrowed from Vanessa's late older brother. Most of the time, I didn't give a shit how I looked, but right now, I couldn't be happier that Vanessa convinced me to wear fancy clothes and that I smelled like expensive soap. 

I was about to step closer to her and introduce myself, but I noticed something I hadn't before. She was standing next to a man who was as handsome as she was gorgeous, and I stopped dead in my tracks. It was a Visceran man. The way their bodies faced each other told me they were, at the very least, here together, if not together romantically. Envy consumed me. 

She deserves much better than a Visceran!

My gaze only rested on him for a fraction of a second, the very sight of him next to her making me feel ill. I turned away and headed to grab a glass of the fancy wine the servants were offering. Immediately, I downed it and grabbed another. 

Now, the whole situation irritated me, and Vanessa wasn't even here yet. To get away from it all, I walked down a solitary garden path to a stone bench. As I sat down in a huff, I heard a smooth voice come from behind me.

"Running away so soon, are you, Noct? What a surprise." 

My head snapped up to the stunning blonde woman walking toward me. This had never happened before, but my heart beat like mad, and my hands began to tremble as she approached me. 

All this because of a woman? Gods.

"I don't call it running away, I call it a tactical retreat." I choked, then cleared my throat with a sip of the wine and looked back up at her, trying to look as calm as possible. It must've worked because her eyebrows arched in amusement at my joke, and she sat beside me. 

"Ah, yes, but the Noct I have heard about is brave, is he not? That is what Lord Van Doren has said. He shared the tale about how you saved Lady Vanessa with me." She said, and for the first time, I noted she had a thick Borean accent. This meant she came from the cold, wintery northeast, where the people were known to be cutthroat and dangerous. 

I shrugged and looked into my glass of wine, since looking at her made me nervous. "It was nothing like that. I was passing by when she called out to me for help." I told her truthfully but omitted the part where I hadn't wanted to save Vanessa. 

"You need not be shy, Noct. Saving sweet, young Lady Vanessa was a noble thing to do." She spoke in a smooth tone, one that was almost too convincing. Then, her tone changed to one of pressing curiosity, "I saw your necklace from across the room — may I examine it? It bears qualities similar to the one I wear." 

Then, she moved much closer to me, and I tried to keep my cool as I murmured, "Sure, go ahead." 

Damn, she's so close I can smell her. She smells amazing.

While I sat and waited for her to inspect my necklace, I tried to converse. “So… Uh… Where did you find yours? For me, I woke up in the middle of the desert, and the damn thing was just there." I explained, turning my head away so she could have more space to examine it. 

"You woke up in the middle of the desert? How curious," she murmured while holding the pendant attached to my neck in her slim fingers. For a moment, she felt the symbols engraved into the amethyst before leaning back and saying, "Mine came to me while I was sorting through my mother's old belongings. She passed away when I was a child, and as I organized some of her jewelry, this necklace attached itself to me. Since then, I have found no way to take it off."

Once she finished examining the necklace, I turned my head to look at her and muttered, "Sorry for your loss…." She didn't seem to care too much about the matter and waved her hand in dismissal. 

Perhaps the two of them hadn't gotten along?

"Do not apologize for such things. They happen to us all — such is life." She spoke fast as if wanting to get off the subject. 

I took the hint and didn't press any further. I, too, had my fair share of secrets — I just didn't know what they were yet. I shifted my body towards hers to direct the conversation elsewhere and asked, "Can I have your name? It only seems fair since you know mine."

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself." she apologized, though it didn't seem sincere, "I am Anastalia Ozerova, princess of the Borea clan." 

Princess? Why do they always have to be royalty? Nobles are the worst of all.