Chapter Text
It was early in the evening, the light wrapped the land in a calm mood.
But inside the Zalpoyarny Palace of Snezhnaya, there were faint whispers of the servants.
"Hey, have you heard?" a young maid asked another maid.
"Heard what?"
"There is a rumour that Prince Alain from the Narzissenkreuz Kingdom is getting engaged!"
"Wait really?! But isn't he really withdrawn from the public? I mean even the people of his land probably haven't seen much of him."
"I know right? I wonder what he looks like."
The servants passed a small garden in the palace where a young princess was lying in the grass.
Columbina slowly opened her eyes. She didn't mean to listen to the conversation of the two maids but the content sparked her interest a little.
"...Prince Alain right? That name sounded familiar." Columbina thought. Just as she tried to remember more her three sisters Aria, Sonnet and Canon came running towards her.
"Columbina! We searched all over the palace for you! You shouldn't have wandered off!" Sonnet said in an angry voice but Columbina knew that she was just worried.
"...I'm sorry."
Aria and Canon tried to stifle their laughs, knowing that Columbina wasn't sorry at all.
"Seriously you're such an airhead Columbina!"
Columbina just smiled innocently in return.
"You should get ready Columbina. You're meeting your fiancé tonight, and you're going to live in his kingdom." Aria reminded calmly.
"Oh right. I forgot."
"Columbina really now? Did you also forget to whom you're getting engaged?"
"Uhm..." Columbina tilted her head a little.
Her three sisters looked at each other.
"It's Prince Alain." Canon eventually said.
"Oh, that's why the name sounded so familiar." Columbina said finally remembering it.
"Hmm? Have you heard about him somewhere?" Sonnet asked curiously.
"Well, I just heard some servants talking about him, and that he rarely appears in public."
"That's right! Even we don't know much despite the engagement." Aria said.
"Still I do hope that he is a nice man I don't want our little baby sister to suffer!" Sonnet stated, hugging Columbina tightly.
Columbina just giggled at the statement returning the hug. She was a little sad about having to leave her dear sisters, but she still wondered what kind of a person the prince would be.
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Columbina arrived at the Palace of the Narzissenkreuz Kingdom. The kingdom wasn't that far away from Snezhnaya, so the ride in the carriage wasn't really long. The weather wasn't as cold as in Snezhnaya and Columbina enjoyed the pleasant air on her skin.
A guard helped her getting out of the carriage and she thanked him. An old man who seemed to be the butler led her to the room where she would speak with the king before meeting the prince.
As the conversation started Columbina's mind wandered off not really listening to the king though she sometimes responded with a small nod to not appear rude.
"Father, I think you've been talking for too long. It appears that she isn't really listening to you."
At the new voice Columbina focused again but not on the king but on the person who just entered the room.
"Oh, Alain, you're finally here" the king said, surprised.
He turned his head to Columbina again "I'm sorry for talking your ears off Princess Columbina but I do hope that my son will do a better job." he said jokingly before standing up. "I have some matters to attend now so I will take my leave. I hope you can make yourself feel at home."
After the king left the person or rather Prince Alain shifted his attention to Columbina.
"Greetings, my lady. I apologize for barging in." Prince Alain said bowing slightly.
Columbina just stared at him and didn't say anything at first before quickly answering with a smile "It's alright."
The prince just looked at her as if analyzing his next move before he settled on the seat where the king had previously sat, opposite Columbina.
Since Columbina hadn't seen him in real life nor any pictures, she expected someone intimidating, but the young man before her looked really delicate. Columbina thought that he could even pass as a woman. His pale features were calm, unreadable, and his gray-blue eyes held a strange distance, as if he were merely an observer of the world from the shadows. His light beige hair was neatly tied in a bun with two strands on each side of his face.
"You're staring."
"Uhm... I'm sorry it's just that I have never seen you so I was a bit curious." Columbina said snapping out of her daze. She didn't realize that she was staring that intensely before the prince remarked on it.
"Hmm.." the prince just said looking Columbina directly in the eye. "Well, I probably should introduce myself. My name is Alain Guillotin, and I'm the first prince of this kingdom. Would you kindly tell me your name, my lady?"
"My name is Columbina Hyposelenia. It's nice to meet you Prince Alain."
"Please, just call me Alain, my lady." the prince said bluntly. Columbina didn't know why but the way Alain said "my lady" kind of ticked her off. It sounded really sarcastic.
"Let's address the reason we're here. I have no particular interest in marriage, but my father refuses to abandon the matter. So I do hope that you can cooperate with me."
Columbina was lost for words at first. She had expected that there would be no romantic feelings involved in this relationship, but she hadn't expected Alain to say it so bluntly.
"Could you maybe... elaborate on it?" she asked.
"Hmm, it's a little complicated, but to put it simply, we should pretend so my father doesn't complain about it. For example, acting affectionate toward each other when we're in public. I hope you understand. I will only ask you for this, and besides that you can do whatever you want, just don't bother me."
"I guess it's alright." Columbina said. She didn't really mind the pretending, and it sounded really tempting to have the freedom to do anything she wanted to. Back home she hadn't had a big role though there were times when people would stare at her with greed in their eyes as if they wanted to claim her. Her sisters would sometimes scare them off if they noticed them but she could still feel their stares.
"Well, that's good. Thank you for your cooperation." Alain said as he started to stand up from his seat.
"Wait. Before you leave can I ask you something?"
Alain looked at her "Hmm, sure. You may consider it a small courtesy."
"Why don't you show your face that much to the public?" Columbina asked curiously.
Alain's expression froze for the briefest moment before he regained his composure with a polite smile.
"I'd rather not discuss that." he said politely still holding his smile before he turned to the door. For some reason, the smile on his face made Columbina feel she should not ask again. Just as he was about to leave he turned to her for the last time "I hope you will enjoy it here though I can't guarantee you anything." With that said he closed the door leaving Columbina alone.
Her stare lingered a little bit at the closed door before she stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts drifted to the conversation she just had with the prince. She had the feeling that something was off, as if the prince were hiding something but she couldn't really tell.
She closed her eyes and a small smile formed at her lips.
"I think this will be interesting..." she whispered quietly to herself.