“Your excellence,” Nikase swept down into a curtsy, the thick satin fabric of her attire weighing the action down. 

She would never get used to the fashion and customs of Bevij. In her country, clothes were designed to compliment movement, not constrict it. 

In the dimly lit corridor, the gold sewn adornments on Prince Valkom’s shimmered with each approaching step.

 “Oh hey,” he frowned, recognizing her voice. “I told you to call me Val, Lady Nikase. I didn’t know you had returned to Gaidos.”

She ran into him by chance, she had places to be, and he definitely had places to be. 

“I haven’t,” she clarified with a polite smile. “Technically, I haven’t left.”

“Wait—seriously?” He said, taken aback. “Why haven’t I seen you around?”

To his credit, it had been a couple of months since she’d attended an event as large as this. 

“Ah well, maintaining appearances at these sorts of events requires a kind of energy I don’t have.”  

The corner of his lip twitched into a grin, like he didn’t know what to make of her response. His teeth were bright in the light of the night sky that came in through the windows. “Respectfully, you know other places exist, right?” 

What he meant was that there were places that didn’t require the draining social life that sustained the Palace of Bevij, the heart and soul of the city of Gaidos. The Palace of Bevij was built to rival the palaces of the gods, and night or day, it promised everyone who visited the historical landmark an experience of a lifetime. The unforgettable, impeccable, Gaidos lived up to its name and more. 

The year-round festivities were enthralling at first, Nikase had never tasted food so wonderful, seen such great art performances, nor heard music so worthy of applause. In all its glimmer and glamour, the lifestyle was everything that was promised, but even that becomes exhausting after a while. 

Fortunately, Gaidos outside the Palace was less involved in the theatrics of the ‘gods’. It was a restless city, fueled by tourism, with a reasonable sleep schedule. Soon, Nikase found herself blending into the static hum of the city.

“I do.” She drew attention to the folder she held in her arm by tapping her fingers on the edge. Sheet music. “I… actually accepted a contract with the King’s Philharmonic. I’m a musician by trade, and my brother thought it would be good if I found work outside of Dofev for now.” 

“Ah, I’ll admit I’ve never been to the Philharmonic,” he said bashfully. 

“That’s not surprising.”

His dark eyes narrowed at the comment and his voice became flat. “Why do you say that?”

She really hadn’t meant anything by it. “Oh, it’s just that tourists are the sort to come through. We only see the high society at events like these. Congratulations, by the way.” 

His sour expression indicated to her that he didn’t appreciate her drawing attention to the celebration at hand. The Philharmonic was playing in shifts for three nights straight as part of a festivity involving his latest matrimony. His third or fourth marriage. 

 They were technically playing in rotating shifts, but Nikase signed up for all of them. Her logic being that, she’d be forced to attend the event regardless, and this way she could blend in with the band and draw less attention to herself. 

“What? Do you not think it's worth celebrating?“ she asked, amused. 

He crossed his arms and faced the window. When Nikase ran into him, he was walking in the opposite direction of the celebration, and it was now clicking in her head that he was avoiding something or someone. 

“What is there to celebrate?” He hesitated, aware that he was unloading on a complete stranger. “People like you and I don’t marry for love. We marry to unite countries, stave off war, to appease our elders.”

The truth, or lack thereof, wasn't what bothered her about his admission. Rather, it was how easy it was for him to lump her in with people ‘like him’. A hardly pardoned criminal and the future ruler of a nation, standing in the same vicinity, facing two greatly different futures. 

While she was of noble birth, she was definitely also disgraced. As much as her brother fought to amend that, this wasn’t a case of her punishing herself because of a guilty conscience. Although that did exist to an extent, it was easier to handle than the social aspect of the whole ordeal. Over and over again, she was having to face the reality of her situation, and it was beginning to wear on her.

To arrive in a place not yet tainted by the news of her trial, to experience the life she had before briefly, only to have it ripped out from under her days later. And then move on to another country or place to do it all over again.  People don’t ‘unlearn’ these things about you…. So why was Valkom acting like he had?

She glanced at her hands, and held the folder tighter. “I guess so.”

“Are you telling me you married for love?” With a slight turn of his head, his eyes met hers. 

“Honestly, yes.”

Her answer didn’t upset him. “Hm… fair enough. I was a stranger to love for a long time. As in, I thought it was a make believe thing.“  His profile softened, and something about his voice shifting down in tone drew her closer to the window.  

“When I was a young teen, I took a trip with my friend Lior’s family to see the Nedues for the first time.” The Nedues were a great mountain range that surrounded Bevij like a tilted crown embedded in the earth. They were mighty and notorious for their harsh winters. 

“It was then I discovered that her parents were an anomaly, they were the anomaly, they got to marry for love. The surrounding air radiated something I had never seen before. I don’t believe in soulmates, but their souls were united in some cosmic way. It suited them, it wasn’t off-putting like some people can be.

“When I returned home, I confronted my mother. I asked her if she loved my father, to which she said of course. So then I asked her if father loved her, and she admitted she did not know, but what mattered was that they both loved me very much.

“ I didn’t like that answer. Later, when I was with my father, I asked him if he loved my mother. He’s never feigned any of his sentiments, and being the blunt man he is, he gave me a candid response. He said that men like us are married to our country, above all.” 

Nikase processed his expression. In Dofev, men wore this sort of thing close to their chest, and if they did confide in anyone, it was never a woman. Life was just different in Bevij. 

“And you didn’t like that answer either,” she said.

“I didn’t. I feel quite robbed. What is the point of bearing all the responsibility of being king if you can’t choose who you marry? It’s ridiculous. At that point, I’d rather live in poverty!”

His outburst brought out a short fleeting laugh out of her. Were she to be completely honest, she had a vague idea as to how the politics in this country were, versus those of her home country. She had a good friend who kept up with this sort of thing, but it was her job. Nikase’s world was unfortunately limited to that of the music world. 

The events of her trial made her wish otherwise. Then maybe she would’ve stood a chance. Played her cards better. 

All the same, the results of her trial made her want nothing else but to slink into a hole with her beautiful harp, far away from her home, and play. Play until she forgot it all. 

“You can really only say that because you’ve never lived in poverty,” she remarked.

“Oh, I’m aware. It’s a very stupid thing to say, But I’m feeling pretty stupid today. Only a fool marries his country, if you ask me.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded towards the folder. “Am I keeping you from something?”

“Not at all. Although I should make my way to my seat before the director makes an appearance.” She eyed him over once again. “He’ll likely already be disappointed by your absence, so might as well try to stay in his good graces by being early.” 

“Will you be disappointed by my absence?”

It made no difference to her. As of late, when she played, her mind would drift off to the space outside her head. “No, I suppose not.” 

“Ah, then I don’t care to be there. Have a good evening, Lady Nikase.” 

She envied that a little bit. His ability to simply remove himself from situations. But alas, those weren’t the cards that had been dealt to her.