I find myself in the main garden five minutes before the appointed time. In our stay in the palace I had only ever been to the training grounds and the library, all of which helped me in assessing Elio’s skills and were only ten minutes away from Tia’s room if I used unofficial routes.

The main garden was the farthest I had ventured and it was a pleasant surprise. Due to the attacks in the Pavenia Empire’s palace, there are still sections that are yet to be reconstructed, one of which are the gardens. No one in our family were really fond of flowers, it existed to be a form of distraction for our foreign and domestic guests but the gardens in this palace was enchanting to say the least.

“May I accompany the lovely lady in her stroll?”

I turn around to find Elio in casual clothes. It wasn’t the first time I saw him in more comfortable clothing, his stay in the Pavenia Empire has been quite long and I sometimes paid a visit to the training grounds while Tia and Elio were sparring but somehow he looked more relaxed and alluring in his current clothing.

His trousers accentuated his thighs and his white shirt hung perfectly on his body, showing just enough skin to be seductive but charming. I smirk.

“So this is how you seduced women before you came to be married to me,” I tease and he reddens.

“I have never seduced anyone,” he denies and I roll my eyes.

“If you heard of my promiscuous endeavours, I heard about the ‘unending charm’ of the Ocelon Kingdom’s crown prince,” I say, trying to hide my amusement at his embarrassment.

While the information that I received from my spies in the Ocelon Kingdom mainly dealt with political and economic matters, there were moments when I had received news of how the crown prince managed to ensnare countless ladies by simply smiling. At the time I did not pay it any mind, I knew we were engaged but I always viewed it as a mere business transaction and nothing more.

He shakes his head, walking towards me and bowing, his hand outreached waiting for me to place my hand in his so I do. Once again he places a soft kiss on the top of my hand and places it on his arm, guiding me around the garden.

“First off I want to apologize for how my father behaved at breakfast. He can be quite insensitive,” he says and I wave it off.

“There was no harm done. After thinking about it, I do understand his reminder,” I tell him nonchalantly.

“My father and I hold many memories in this garden,” he says, stopping occasionally, letting me appreciate the beauty of the numerous flowers. I nod.

“I remember, you told me that you learned gardening from your father. Did you plant everything in this garden?” I ask and he shakes his head.

“I’m afraid not, almost everything here is the work of our amazing gardener but I do have a specific tree that I am proud of,” he says beaming.

He guides me deeper into the garden until we reach what looks like a clearing with a lake in the middle. Just a few meters away from the lake stands a low hanging tree with wide intricate branches enveloped in flowers with varying shades of red. The sight renders me speechless, I have never seen anything similar to the tree in front me.

“Quite a sight isn’t it?” Elio says and I turn to face him.

I could see the pride in his eyes and the genuine joy from his smile. This was something he was immensely proud of. Suddenly a thought crosses my mind, could this tree be a tribute for Lady Olivia? Was this where he brought her whenever they needed a place of solace? Was this where they confessed their feelings to each other?

Unexpectedly I felt like an intruder, as if I was an uninvited guest crashing a wedding party. It felt like an invasion of privacy, much like if I were seeing something I shouldn’t have. He gently pulls me forward, unaware of the unease that was raging inside if me.

He guides me under the tree, laying a handkerchief for me to sit on. I hesitantly take a seat. The shadow of the tree made everything on the horizon brighter and I found myself divulging the question on my mind.

“Did you bring her here often?” I ask, curiosity gnawing at me.

For what seems like five long minutes not one of us spoke. Only the rustling of leaves from the wind and the chirping of the birds stood evidence that time had not stopped.

“Yes, I did,” he answers softly and I turn to look at him, encouraging him to continue.

“This was where we spent most of our time together. Not many people have the patience to go through the whole garden and as you experienced, the path to here isn’t well maintained. As you could have guessed that was intentional, to discourage people from prodding further,” he says smiling.

I lean towards him, gently resting my head on his shoulder while I continued to watch the horizon. I could feel his surprise at my sudden closeness but I remembered what Tia said, I myself need to put in effort if I really wanted our marriage to work. After a few seconds he relaxes.

“Did you meet her at the gardens?” I ask and he shakes his head.

“I actually met her near the crown prince’s palace. She was crying because she was separated from her father and had gotten lost. After that, she frequented the palace as my playmate and we eventually fell in love with each other,” he says sighing contentedly.

“What attracted you to her?” I ask genuinely curious, I sneak a peek at him, turning my eyes upward only to see him smiling with his eyes closed as if he was remembering the moments they were together.

“At first, I think it was the ease with which she navigated through life. She always reminded me of a feather. She always seemed so weightless, floating around without a care in the world. When I was with her, I was able to shed everything that held me down. In those moments I forgot who I was and all the responsibilities that came with it,” he says and I nod, understanding what he meant.

“Do you miss her?” I ask mindlessly.

The peace and calm around us has coaxed me into a state of relaxation that I had not felt for a long time. For the first time in 17 years, I was not worried about the threat of assassins or traitors burying a sword in my back. It allowed me to freely voice out my curiosities, no holds barred.

“Surprisingly not as much as I thought I would,” he answers.

“Since I have met you my life suddenly became quite hectic, there really wasn’t much time for me to mull over my thoughts,” he says jokingly and I nudge him lightly.

I know that he must have a lot of questions but I also know that he wouldn’t ask them at the risk of offending me. I take a deep breath and brace myself. It was a unnatural for me to talk about personal thoughts and feelings to anyone other than Tia but I also know that he didn’t have to answer any of my questions and it was my turn to extend an olive branch.

“The first three and a half years after I met Tia we did nothing but bicker. We didn’t see eye to eye on anything,” I tell him, disbelief and amusement in my voice.

“It wasn’t until I was eight years old, during the 1^st rebel attack that I had started to soften up to him,” I tell him.

“It’s nice to know that you were a prickly child to everyone and not just to me,” He says jokingly and I roll my eyes smiling.

“Did you see the scar over his right eye?” I ask and he nods.

“He acquired that when he was protecting me. He was only ten years old but he held on to me while he wildly swung a small sword until he pierced the rebel’s stomach. We thought he would his sight,” I tell him, the memory of Tia’s blood soaked face as a child still fresh in my mind.

“Does this mean I have to get injured while protecting you for you to open up to me?” Elio asks jokingly and I just shake my head.

I appreciated how he intentionally joked. It made me feel more at ease, as if what I had been through as a child wasn’t as tragic as I remembered it to be.

“After that we grew closer. Our relationship didn’t start as a burning romance it was actually quite the opposite. We were friends and comrades for the longest time until it grew into something more,” I tell him, stretching my arms and lying down under the tree.                

I could feel him lie down beside me and after a few seconds of silence, he asks me

“What attracted you to him?”

“Hmmm. Word on the street is I am weak for beautiful men so it must have been his good looks,” I joke and he chuckles.

I close my eyes, thinking of the reason why I fell in love with Tia.

“He is the kindest and most selfless man I know. I have lost count of the times I have seen him risk his life to save countless people – victims of war, people in poverty, even enemy soldiers who defected and surrendered to us,” I tell him, remembering the times I cried when I thought he would be leaving me alone in the world.

“I have a huge scar on my back from the first year I went into war. If it weren’t for Tia I would have died then and he has saved my life countless times since. I feel safe with him. I trust him with my life,” I say, a bit afraid of his reaction to my confession but he just holds my hands and squeezes.

“I understand. I can’t even imagine what the two of you went through in the battlefield but would it be wrong of me to ask for a chance?” he asks and I turn my head to look at him only to find that he was already looking at me.

“Just a chance to get to know me, like you said we could start out as friends then see if it could lead to something more. I want to officially court you, if you would allow me to,” He says, holding on to my hand.

I sit up and face him confused.

“But you are already my husband,” I tell him.

He follows suit, sitting up and clasping both my hands.

“I am but we never really had time to get to know each other. All I’m asking is that you at least give me two days a week to spend time with you. I genuinely want to get to know you even after we get on with our daily lives,” he says sincerely and before I knew it I find myself nodding.

He releases a sigh of relief and beams.

“I thought you wouldn’t agree,” he says, explaining the obvious relief in his body language and I smile.

He really is quite different from what I am used to. He unabashedly shows his feelings and isn’t afraid of the aftermath. I knew it was his safe upbringing that gives him this privilege but it is a bit refreshing seeing someone of the same position as mine be as carefree as he is.

We make our way back just as the sun was starting to set. In our walk back he talks about the different kinds of flora we passed by and I unexpectedly enjoyed listening to his voice while he chattered away about a topic that I was never really interested in. I surprised myself because instead of being bored, I found myself becoming interested in his hobby, something that I never thought was possible.  

He escorts me back to my room. He pauses in front of the door and faces me.

“I enjoyed today, thank you for meeting me,” he says and I smile.

“I enjoyed it too, thank you for inviting me,” I answer mockingly and he laughs.

“I will see you tomorrow,” he says, turning serious and I nod, reminded of the fact that tomorrow his father will lose two of his friends.