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Monster. Murder. Bloodlust. The whispers were always there, surrounding Rayburn like storm clouds, no matter where he found himself. He had always hated the noise, but not as much as now.
Prisoner. Threatened. Poor Scholar. They were whispering about Angela, guessing and deciding which story was true. But could he say they were wrong? She was trapped between Espelinds and Schwandells, threatened by them. She wasn't free to leave. Not in a safe way.
The thing he hated the most about the whispers was that it didn't matter how poor based they were, they still had a kernel of truth.
Rayburn stayed in a corner of the ballroom watching as Angela danced with her admirers. They were too many, and this time he couldn't just force her to stay on the sidelines. At least, it seemed she was having fun. She hadn't looked in his direction once since the music began.
Angela was being so nice to her partners, smiling captivatingly and offering them her full attention. But in Rayburn's opinion, none between them was all that. Smiling fools, all of them, thinking they could gain her heart with some clumsy words and regrettable flirtation. They also didn't know how to dance properly, they kept misstepping and trembling as if something had scared them.
Rayburn snorted. She was just being gentle, couldn't they see? She was too clever to fall for empty talks and too kind to ignore them. He just wished the commemoration come to an end so they could be alone. No more whispers, just Angela.
When the second Prince of the kingdom approach her, Rayburn didn't expect anything different from him. Though, for a change, he didn't tremble. He glanced straitly at the Duke cockily before facing Angela. He was more daring than the others, which became obvious when he dropped to one knee in front of her.
Suddenly, the orchestra fell silent. The whisperers weren't talking anymore, they were staring at that scene.
Rayburn saw Angela's complexion becoming paler while her gaze ran through the audience to the fool prince in front of her.
"I can't ignore your efforts!" The Prince shouted.
"Please, Your Highness," Angela's trembling hands rose in front of her like a request for composure, "stand up so we can talk calmly."
"How can I stay still when you tried so hard to get my attention?"
Rayburn was dumbfounded. The second prince was even more imprudent than his sister. Those declarations - so confident, so publicly - were doomed to become an unstoppable rumor. Once startled, rumors were impossible to take down. Angela could be easily get entangled in that forever. Maybe she would even be framed as a villain by the people of Vesstia if she didn't react in a way that pleased that prince.
The Duke clenched his teeth. He had learned the hard way that the only thing that seemed that could undermine a rumor was another one.
"It was a mistake, I never-" She tried, but the second Prince was too sure of himself to listen.
"Scholar Angela Ribbon, would you give me the honor of-?"
"She won't." Rayburn hadn't reached Angela yet when the eyes of the crowd fell over him and he got stuck. It was like a mountain had fallen over him, the weight of their gazes made him unable to walk, to talk, think, or breathe.
Angela was the first to react. "I'm sorry, Your Highness." She enunciated firmly, bringing all the attention over her once again. Rayburn finally could breathe. "I'm honored by the request so impressively done. But, I can't have my last dance with you." After her emphasis, the whispers got renewed. The story about that night had changed. Once more, Angela had turned the tide. She looked at Rayburn apologetically. "You see, I had already promised it to my Prince."
Coming from behind Rayburn, the Vesstian King presented himself in the midst of that spectacle. "This is a commemoration, why does the music stop?" When the orchestra resumed playing and the audience dissolved into couples ready to dance, he yanked his dismayed son off the floor and took him away surreptitiously. But not before smiling amicably to the 'Vesstian Scholar'.
As soon as the King was out of sight, Angela rushed to Rayburn. "I'm really sorry for involving you, my Prince. I didn't want Rudext and Vesstia to be at odds again and I didn't know what more I could say to avoid that." She was restless.
"Angela, you have done well." She had always acted boldly and reached results beyond expectations, Rayburn was sure that time wouldn't be different. For the first time, he was curious about what the whispers would say. He stretched out his hand to her. "Now, we should dance."
Beaming, she took his hand. "Weeeeell~~, if my prince insist!"