13th night of the month of Ice, 12:30, Midnight
The palace gardens are the most beautiful sight Loa has ever seen. With glowing flowers everywhere to light up the dark leaves, firebees floating up to some flowers, Mani bathing all in silver light and creating a fascinating ambiance that no other garden in Neth could create.
It almost compensates with the anxious feeling that fills Loa’s insides. How can she appreciate all this beauty when she is more worried about her impending marriage?
She should be happy. She, a second born, the Spare of the Saaga family, to be the future queen of Neth. But she is not. She cannot help it.
Loa doesn’t want to marry. She is not ready, not yet.
And not to Artemy, who she has known since they were babies. Who she doesn’t love, at least, not in the way marriage expects from her.
A sudden crunch of foliage makes her head snap up, red curls following the movement and looking willd-even without a mirror she knows most of them are loose from the updo her mother had insisted on-and looks around. Nothing seems out of place but she has not imagined that sound. It sounded like someone or something walking behind the bushes of the garden.
Another noise, this time behind her, and Loa whirls. She regrets sending that servant away, she should have waited with someone else, but she had wanted to breathe without having to worry about acting poised and noble.
And there, from the bushes, a dark and furry shape prowls forward. A caith, but no, not any caith, those live in the mountains and the forests, no, this one is a pet.
To her future husband no less.
Loa cannot remember the name, but she knows it’s Artemy’s.
The caith approaches her slowly, furry triangle ears pointed back in displeasure, long tail swing back and forth behind it and making a terrible rumbling. Just as it’s about to reach Loa, a whistle sounds sharp against the stillness of the garden and Loa breathes out, collecting herself and the fear that had taken over he mind.
It’s Artemy.
The caith prances towards its master, reaching his waist without problem, and Artemy scratches behind one of the animal’s ears, making the beast purr in pleasure.
“Not eating our guests Saghira” mumbles Artemy with a smirk on his face “I need that one, maybe the next one”
Loa giggles nervously and puts a lock of loose hair behind her ear. Artemy is in full prince garb, all black and teal, with a cravat at his neck decorated with an opal gem. His long white hair had been collected in a low bun at the back of his head, some locks missing their mark, but looking almost tastefully disorganized instead of what Loa felt when her own hair escaped its restrains.
“My prince” greets Loa with a carefully long bow, her knee almost touching the ground and her back at a perfect angle.
“None of that, Loa” chuckles Artemy and Loa raises her eyes. He looks almost as nervous and uncomfortable as her, and that is enough to make her relax.
“Artemy, it’s been a long time” she says as she settles back to her previous position.
“It has” he says shortly and then coughs awkwardly
They stay quiet for a few seconds and it’s enough to make Loa feel terrible. It’s awkward, embarrassing! What is she supposed to say? She had a whole speech prepared, but it had disappeared as soon as Artemy had entered the scene.
“How-how long have we known each other Loa?” Asks Artemy suddenly, a frown adorning his face, hands buried in his caith’s fur
“A long time now” chuckles Loa, smiling in remembrance, she doesn’t have to make much of an effort to find good memories of them as children, some, have become tainted with fights, but most of them are good, memories of a time when responsibilities were an unknown word that meant nothing to her.
“A very long time, I consider you one of my precious friends” says Artemy. He leaves his pet behind and stands in front of Loa instead. He is taller than her, just by a bit, but enough that she is forced to look up.
“I don’t like to lie to my friends” that makes Loa’s eyes widen. What?
“What do you mean?” She asks
“I will not love you like it’s expected of me, I will never do so. I love you, Loa, but never like that. Do you understand?” says Artemy, eyes immensely sad. With one hand-no gloves, how strange of him, hands warm and the color of coal because of his overuse of his Asha, contrasting deeply with his light brown skin-he reaches and holds the side of her face.
Loa smiles. How can she be so happy at being absolutely rejected? But she is, she is not alone in her feelings, even if they’re not born from the same source. Artemy won’t ever love her, because he is already in love with someone else, and she had forgotten, that he had been for a long time.
“How stupid do you think me, Artemy?” She laughs, it must sound mocking to him, as he flinches back slightly, but Loa holds his hand against her face.
“W-what?” He stutters out. Did she really catch the smug and sure of himself prince of Neth unaware?
“Really? That much? I’m not an idiot, Artemy, I have eyes” she continues, a wicked smile on her face. “Both of you were terrible at hiding it”
That is enough, it seems, for Artemy to understand, as he goes red in the face, eyes wide and mouth slightly gaping like a fish, trying, and failing, to form a sentence or even a word. How relaxing it is, to realize there was nothing to worry about.
“I hope I’m not interrupting such a tender moment” speaks up suddenly a voice and Loa’s blood freezes with it.
The caith, Saghira, rumbles unhappily and circles Artemy and Loa’s bodies like a terrifying guardian. There, under an arch made from two trees, stands Mikhe Drest, Infans and younger brother to the king, Artemy’s uncle.
“Uncle” says Artemy, his face looking like he had swallowed something truly foul. His hand drops from her face and Loa allows it.
“Nephew” smirks Mikhe Drest, tilting his head and eyes wandering to Loa “How wonderful, you seem to be getting along with your future wife”
Loa had not met Infans Mikhe before, or at least, not this close. He always stood a few steps behind the king, and he was an unsettling sight at the Night hall the few times Loa had attended with her brother. The Drest family’s white hair, that looked elegant in most of its members, looked oily in Mikhe, like he hadn’t washed it in months, shoulder length and hanging sometimes over his eyes. He wore refined clothing, but in unkempt ways most of the time, with only a half open shirt and stained pants. And then, there was his personality, he liked hanging out in the Mud District, insulting very publicly anyone that criticized him and starting fights, he spoke at council meetings mostly about making more laws to restrict nomad presence and he often insulted the service over the slightest of mistakes.
He was not a fun person to have against you. And something that was wildly known around Neth was the immense distaste the prince and heir to the throne had for his uncle.
“Of course, uncle” says Artemy, a frown on his face and whole body tense. Saghira hissed and Mikhe snarled at the beast in return.
“Be careful with that thing, nephew” he says with his lip half raised in disgust “We wouldn’t want your bride to be killed and eaten before she even gets to the marriage bed”
The Infans laughs and Loa lowers her head in embarrassment. She is glad this man will not be the one to advise Artemy when he is king. She prefers Infans Apollodora a hundred times over.
“Was there anything you wanted, uncle?” Asks Artemy, voice strained with forced politeness
“Ah, of course, I almost forgot! I wished to speak with you, but I didn’t know you were busy” says Mikhe “I’ll come find you later, nephew, when you’re free to talk”
“Thank you, uncle. I’ll find you at a later time” says Artemy
Mikhe tilts his head forward in a mockery of a headbow and waves at Loa with a cheeky smile before retreating back to the palace. Leaving Loa and Artemy alone again, among the glowing flowers of the royal garden.
“I think” starts Loa with narrowed eyes to the place the Infans had occupied mere seconds ago “That was the creepiest conversation I have ever witnessed”
That comment alone is enough to break the tension, making Artemy guffaw like a child and Loa giggle appropriately ladylike.
Yes, thought Loa, she could live with this, even if, in the end, there was no love, they could still be friends.
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