Chapter Text
What in the world could he want?
Aristia wondered as she stared at the floor.
We haven't spoken in ages, and yet he comes back like this?
Threatening a knife against the Emperor, for heaven's sake?
Is he trying to get himself killed?
Or maybe...
“No. No, that can't be it. Silly me.” She laughed to herself, reaching for the cup of tea beside her.
“Something the matter, Your Highness?” the scullery maid asked, pouring a new cup of tea.
Aristia glanced up at the maid, smiling. “No, it's nothing.”
She stood from her chair briskly, dusting off her skirt.
“Could you run along and tell His Majesty I'll see him in a moment, please?”
“Right away, Your Highness.”
The maid was gone before she knew it.
Perhaps it was being alone in the room, or maybe the shock of the disruption earlier that day, but something felt... off.
Aristia brushed the thought away, tilting her head toward the window. She pressed a hand against the windowpane.
“Oh, Allendis... how I missed you. Will there ever be a chance I see you again? Are we meant to be apart? Even so, my heart has longed to see you...”
Were the words truly from her hazy mind, or had they come from the heart? She could no longer tell.
“Did I love him? Was that what it was...?”
She leaned into the thought, reminiscing about the times they spent together.
When he'd make her laugh, when he'd be there beside her when she needed him...
But she couldn't forget the moment he turned his back when she needed him to understand the most.
Or the look of disbelief, suspicion—whatever he'd thought.
“Why couldn't he believe me? Why?”
If he'd only understood her. If he'd only listened. Could any of this have been avoided? Or had they always been destined to leave each other?
Had Allendis ever liked her to begin with? Was he planning something darker?
Did he love her, or was she just a small part of his plan?
Had he been planning everything from the start?
A tear slid down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away, alone in that quiet, empty room.
She felt far away, distant from its coziness. Inside, everything seemed dark.
Like a void.
So alone, so empty, so, so dark...
She wanted to escape, yet it was impossible.
Drowning in her tears on the cold floor.
Would she ever get up again?
“Your Highness....has come to see you,” a voice called out to her.
Another thing that was so far from her, yet so close.
What had they said?
If only she could ask them to speak more clearly.
Her throat was glued shut, though. She couldn't speak a word without swallowing her tears.
“His Majesty has come to see you!” the voice called out again, this time much louder.
Aristia opened her eyes, which stung.
“His... Majesty...?” Aristia cleared her throat. “Yes, I'll go meet him in a moment. I said that.”
The maid shook her head. “No, Your Highness! His Majesty is here to see you. He's just outside the door!”
Aristia blinked. “No... why? I told you to tell him I'd come to see him.”
“I did! His Majesty insisted on coming to you, Your Highness.”
Of course he did.
“We've been waiting for ten minutes, so I came in to check on you. I thought you'd fallen asleep, so I told His Majesty to wait.”
The maid leapt toward the door. “Anyway, he really wanted to see you.”
In through the doors walked the Emperor, dismissing the maid. She ran off after bowing to him.
“Aristia.” Ruveliss' eyes sparkled, his love for her too apparent. Walking up to her, he glanced at her, frowning. “Hold on, have you been crying?”
“No!” She reached up to wipe her face. A betraying tear slipped down.
Ruveliss brushed his gloved hand across her cheek, his brow furrowing.
“Aristia,” his voice was soft, “what's the matter?”
She looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. “It's nothing. I just woke up from a bad dream, that's all.”
To her surprise, he leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Your Majesty..!” she murmured, evidently flustered, as she tried to push him away.
His lips lingered for another moment before he pulled away, tucking a stray hair carefully behind her ear.
“Had I known you had been asleep, I'd have waited to see you. What was the dream about?”
He looked into her eyes, his own filled with a mix of worry and affection.
Aristia stared back, knowing she should pull away, say something, just do anything to get him to leave, but she couldn't.
His gaze caught on hers, locked in. Almost like drowning in a sea, unable to catch your breath.
Falling deeper and deeper as they grew close.
Her eyes on his lips, his on hers, their faces inches apart. But...
“No.” Aristia said, trying to push him away again.
“‘No’?” Ruveliss repeated.
“No. Your Majesty, I... you must be busy. Don't you have work to do?”
He shook his head. “My work is all completed for the day. Aristia, if you're uncomfortable, you can just say that.”
She flushed, cheeks burning. “It's not that. It's...earlier...”
Ruveliss' cheeks turned red as well. “Oh... about that, I wanted to explain...”
“Huh?” Aristia blinked. “I mean, what is there to explain? Unless you had something to do with it? But that wouldn't make sense...”
Ruveliss looked at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I was talking about Allendis showing up, trying to—well, not trying to—threatening to kill you.”
His cheeks turned the shade of a tomato. “Oh. So that's what you were talking about...”
He covered his mouth, laughing nervously.
“That explains it, then. Allendis de Verita...” He said the name like it tasted bitter. “I see now. All the times you pushed me away, all the times you refused to believe I was in love with you...”
His eyes met hers again. “Aristia...”
Her heartbeat quickened at the mention of her name. Already flustered as she was, her cheeks burned more.
“Yes, Your Majesty...?” She swallowed, expecting him to say something like I love you again. Or propose. Something.
Ruveliss let go of her, standing up.
“Aristia...” He spoke once more, the tone of his voice twisting in a way that implied he was about to say something along the lines of an I love you.
He slowly kneeled down, reaching into his pocket.
“I don't know if the time is appropriate to ask this, Aristia, but...”
He looked back at her for a moment, staring.
She bit her lip, her eyes welling with tears.
Except this time, they weren't those of empty longing.
Was he really going to ask now? Even after everything that had happened that day?
Ruveliss opened his mouth again, pulling something out.
Aristia held her breath, waiting. She knew what he was going to say.
“Aristia,” Ruveliss whispered for the hundredth time, the object now in his hands.
A letter.
With the word Allendis written in neat cursive.
“Could it be... that you are in love with Allendis?”