The Prince arrived around noon. He was greeted by the King and Queen, and invited to have some tea while waiting for the Princess. The entire Golden Palace was buzzing with hushed conversations among its excited residents about the new guest. Everyone was curious to see how the future bride and groom got along.

Oriana was standing in front of the double doors. She couldn’t force herself to take another step. Intrusive thoughts filled her mind.

What if he won’t like me?
What if we have nothing to talk about?
What if make a fool of myself?
What if…

— I don’t mind staying here till evening, but I have a feeling that the Prince might feel a bit offended that his fiancée didn’t even come down to meet him. — Valeria was standing by the door, holding her hand on the knob, patiently waiting for the Princess to get ready to go inside.

— What if he is… unsightly? — asked Oriana, feeling the worries in her heart growing bigger and bigger. Each new becoming more unreasonable than the previous one.

— I heard some of the maids talking about him. They found him very handsome apparently.

— What if he thinks I’m unsightly?

— No one in their right mind would ever think that.

The Princess was about to launch another round of “what ifs”, when the meaning of Valeria’s words hit her.

— Was that a compliment? — The initial surprise in Oriana’s voice was replaced with brazen gloat — You think I’m the most beautiful in the world? Did my heavenly looks melt and charm that iceberg you call your heart? Do you find it hard to resist me? Do you want to drop on your knees and beg me to let you bask in my beauty for the rest of your life?

— No.

Valeria swung the doors open and entered the room.

— Her Highness Princess Oriana has arrived.

— What are you doing?! I didn’t say I was ready! — Oriana screamed quietly at the Commander.

— You seemed to go back to your usual insufferable self, so I assumed that meant that you are fine again.

Oriana cussed at Valeria under her breath, quickly made sure that her dress is in order, and followed her inside, focusing all of her efforts on looking proper and dignified.

The moment she entered the room, her parents’ eyes immediately focused on her, sending her silent words of encouragement. Gideon got up from his seat and bowed to her, giving her a polite greeting. Prince Emil also rose from his seat, but unlike the others, he had his back facing the entrance, so Oriana wasn’t able to see his face.

The knot in her stomach, that had loosened thanks to Valeria, formed again with an even more nauseating feeling. She squeezed her shaking palms and approached the Prince.

The first thing to catch the Princess’ attention were his eyes. Decorated with deep brown irises, almost completely black, they were like the night sky, inviting, mysterious, charming. Deep within them, however, Oriana noticed an indistinct flicker of something else, something…

Dangerous?

— Your Highness, we finally meet. I was waiting for this moment for so long. — Emil took the Princess’ hand and gave it a gentle kiss without taking his eyes off of her.

Sensing his cold, thin lips on her skin, blood rushed to Oriana’s cheeks and ears. For the Princess, who wasn’t used to physical contact, this level of skinship was more than she could handle, so she quickly took away her hand and looked away feeling bashful.

Unable to form any coherent thoughts, she only mumbled a “nice to meet you” in reply and went to sit between her parents on the sofa.

Gideon and the Prince also sat back, while Valeria stood behind the Princess.

The seating arrangement made it seem as if the residents of the room had formed two camps. In one, there was Emil sitting alone on the ornate sofa. The other belonged to Oriana, with her parents and the Commander creating a fortress that was meant to protect their biggest treasure from being snatched by the enemy. In the middle was Gideon, sitting between the camps, being the bridge that connects them and creating a common ground.

After all, he was the one that convinced the King to agree to the marriage. Being his most trusted adviser, he was often charged with finding the best solution to the Kingdom’s problems. The proposal to unite Aelius and Adler through the matrimony between the Prince and the Princess was one of those solutions.

He worked hard to negotiate, with King Charles, terms that would be beneficial to Aelius, then, he worked even harder to convince King Lucius II to accept the proposal. At the end of the day, no matter how much the King wanted to shelter Oriana, he couldn’t deny the opportunity that this marriage created for the Kingdom.

It was only natural that lastly, Gideon needed to make sure that both involved parties respected their agreement.

— Will you be staying in the Golden Palace until the wedding, Your Highness, or do you have to return to Adler after the ball? — he asked, interrupting the awkward silence that filled the room. — No, I informed my father that I will be staying until the wedding. I want to spend as much time with Oriana as I can. — the Prince didn’t hide his fascination with the Princess, not taking his eyes from her even for a second — I want to us to get to know each other, even before we get married.

Oriana felt like a statue of ice, melting under the hot gaze of the of the sun that was Emil’s black eyes. She never experienced anyone being this forward with their infatuation. She had an entire fan club of artists, who spared no words when singing praises to her beauty, but this was different. She felt as if he was staring directly into her soul, stripping her from any defense she built.

— That reminds me, I have a gift of sorts for you. — the Prince addressed his words directly to Oriana. — I’ve heard that there’s some trouble stirring in Aelius lately, so I asked Sir Arthur to come and become your guard. He’s the best knight in Adler, you won’t be safer with anyone else.

— That won’t be necessary. — it was the King, who replied to the Prince this time — We have asked our Commander to fill in that role. Nonetheless, thank you for your generous offer.

It was the first time that Emil’s eyes looked away from Oriana and focused on someone else.

The black orbs landed on Valeria. The passion that burned while gazing at the Princess disappeared, and a cold fury took it’s place, almost as if they belonged to two different people.

This extreme change caused the knot in Oriana’s stomach to tighten even more. She took a glimpse behind.

The Commander was standing with the same unfazed expression, her pure silver eyes calm as ever. It was almost as if she didn’t even notice the daggers sent to her in his furious stare. This serenity seemed to spread to Oriana too, because the unpleasant feeling in her heart eased.

— Well, the Commander herself, huh? — Emil spoke again, each of his words filled with malice. — I heard a lot about you, Commander. Apparently you are an extremely talented swordsman, even my knights speak very highly of you.

— Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kind words. I am afraid that the stories are needlessly excessive. I am not that impressive.

Hearing the perfectly proper answer from the Commander, Emil felt even more enraged. In the Adler Kingdom, there weren’t many people brave enough to oppose the young Prince. Even fewer were bold enough to act in such an audacious manner.

— Are you insinuating that my knights are lying?

Gideon sensed the threat masked in the Prince’s words, so he tried to interject, but before he could say anything, Valeria spoke again, with the same calm manner.

— I said no such thing, Your Highness.

— Oh, so you mean I’m lying.

— I didn’t mean that, Your Highness.

— Am I too stupid to understand what you meant, now?

— I didn’t mean to offend you, Your Highness.

The more he pushed, the more undisturbed Valeria acted. She kept her composure under the oppressive malevolence the Prince was attacking her with, making him angrier the longer it went. More than anything, he wanted to provoke her. He wanted her to get angry, to make a mistake. Anything that would let him punish her, and show her what it meant to go against the Prince of Adler.

— She’s really not that amazing. I mean, she can fight, but she’s still just a human, so how good can she be? — before Oriana knew it, the words started flowing out of her mouth — She has been here for many years, however, and her sister is my maid, so it just works better to have someone familiar from the Palace to act as my private guard. I feel more comfortable with someone I know.

The Princess wasn’t exactly sure why she started speaking. All she knew was that she wasn’t able to stand this suffocating atmosphere any longer. She needed to divert the Prince’s attention away from Valeria and stop him from attacking her anymore.

Oriana’s plan worked out and the moment the Prince looked back at her, the switch flipped again. The anger and malice disappeared as quickly as they appeared, making room for admiration and longing in Emil’s heart.

After this, the rest of the meeting was uneventful. The Prince was happily chatting with everyone in the room, except for Valeria, whom he pretended no to see.

Once the meeting was over, Emil offered Oriana a short walk. She hesitantly agreed, not wanting to trigger another wave of anger in him.

The Princess led him to the gardens, where they walked, admiring the handcrafted beauty of the landscape without exchanging a word.

A strong feeling of discomfort was washing over Oriana with every step they took without speaking. She was wondering if she should say anything to break the awkward silence between them, but she wasn’t sure what topic she should pick. The weird shift in the Prince’s mood earlier made her uncertain of how to act around him.

Oriana took a peek over her shoulder to make sure Valeria was still with them.

Even though Emil wanted them to be alone, he couldn’t deny the Commander’s presence. She was the Princess’ guard, so whenever her mistress went, she would go too. It was her duty to make sure that Oriana was safe at all times.

Valeria was following a few steps behind the couple, looking out for any sings of trouble. When she glanced behind and their eyes meet, the Princess felt relieved. She might hate the nagging and patronizing the Commander would always give her, but she couldn’t deny that her presence was giving her a lot of comfort and a sense of security in that moment.

— You know — the Prince suddenly spoke, startling the Princess — when I was a child, I would often have to spend a lot of time alone. My brothers were busy with their knightly training or their studies, and my parents were often away dealing with the matters of the Kingdom. There were times when I felt like I’m completely alone in this world.

Listening to Emil’s somber voice, Oriana couldn’t help but empathize. She knew all too well what it’s like to be alone for days on end.

— I’m sorry to hear that.

— It wasn’t all that bad. I got to do whatever I wanted and could even spend the whole day and night reading and playing.

— You like reading? — Oriana’s curiosity was piqued.

— I do, actually. When I was little, I would always read stories about brave knights going on a dangerous quest to slay a dragon or save the beautiful princess. It will sound stupid, probably, but I always wanted to be someone like that. — Emil laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck in embarrassment — I even begged my father to let me start my training earlier.

— I don’t think it’s stupid to have someone you admire. Even if it’s not a real person.

— You really think so?

— I do.

The uncrossable rift that had formed between them during their first meeting seemed to shrink as the overbearing feeling of awkwardness started disappearing.

The Princess stole a glance at Emil. He appeared to be in a much better mood than before. His expression softened and there was a pleasant smile painted on his face. Oriana had to admit that he was indeed very handsome.

— You’ll make me blush if you keep staring at me like that, Your Highness. — the Prince laughed cheerfully.

— I’m sorry! - the Princess quickly looked away, blushing from being caught — I was just… thinking… that you are quite good-looking.

The Prince’s heartfelt laugh resounded again.

— Well, I’m glad you think so. I was worried you would be disappointed with me.

— You didn’t! I’m just… I’m not good with people I don’t know.
— Me neither. Oriana, I… — Emil stopped suddenly, trying to find the right words — I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I think, I was just very nervous and when I saw you… I felt like I’m not good enough for you, so I started acting like the last idiot that I am. I beg for your forgiveness, Your Highness. — The Prince gave an apologetic deep bow, to show that his words were sincere.

Oriana didn’t know what to say. On one hand, there seemed to be more than meets the eye to the sudden surge of anger Emil displayed during the meeting with the King and the Queen. But his words and his actions in this moment felt genuine, and she could hear a note of disappointment and sadness in his voice.

— It’s okay. — She said — Just… Don’t act like that again. It scared me to see you like that.

— I won’t! This won’t happen again, I promise!

The previous awkwardness and discomfort disappeared completely, as Emil and Oriana continued their walk.

Once the ice was broken, the couple realized that they have a lot in common, especially regarding their experiences as the royal children and their hobbies. They roamed the gardens for hours, having a pleasant chat about all sorts of things, the distance between them almost completely disappearing.