One Day More - a Sartorias-deles fanfic

Chapter 7

Iris released a breath she had not realized she had been holding as soon as she escaped Alaraec.  She needed to think, and that was not something she could do well with him smiling down at her.  Half of their conversation escaped her memory; hopefully she had not made an utter fool of herself.  Besides with the dancing, of course.  When her...brother reported that back to her parents, they would make her practice for a full day.  Her feet seemed to hurt only thinking about it.

And learning she had met him already at the inn!  Something about that made her brain scramble even further.  Her thoughts were incoherent enough with simply being in a prince's presence.  She never would have expected this of her life; Iris never thought she would leave her town.  In part because her parents probably would not let her, but mostly because she had nowhere to go.  Now, though...now she had Remalna-city.  Now, she had Alaraec.  Or at least...Iris thought she did, and that idea scared her.  She had hoped he would have been cruel, foppish, rude, or boring, but he had not been any.  He was engaging, humorous, and benevolent, and Iris found herself liking him—which was something she could not allow to happen.  She needed to stay away from him.  Far away, because Iris did not want to have to manipulate him, and neither did she want to lie to him.  But then again, what choice did she have?  Iris had nowhere to go if her parents disowned her.  Alaraec was kind, but she doubted he would do anything to help her—her, a perfect stranger.  With parents scheming to overthrow his parents' rule.  Trying to usurp him using her!  No, he would probably blame her and accuse her of conspiring with them, and nothing she could say would change that.

Nowhere to go.

No one to turn to, as her parents had kept her isolated her entire life.

No one besides the librarian back at home even knew who she was.

The thought depressed her.

Iris watched Alaraec dance for a couple stanzas, but she did not like how the blond woman was gazing up at him, so she looked away...and almost made eye contact with Enda across the room.  Iris's face blanched.  The petite blond woman was sitting on a stool in an embroidered lilac dress, a man in a server's uniform occasionally stopping beside her to whisper something in her ear that made her smile.  Bren.  Iris could not breathe again, the weight on her chest too heavy as she scanned the room for somewhere to hide.  She settled into a deserted alcove behind a stone bust of some former royal, where she put her hand on her abdomen and tried to remind herself how to breathe.

How long could she hide here without her absence going unnoticed?

Not for very long.

Iris gasped as someone stepped into the secluded space with her.  Strong, large hands gripped her upper arms and shook her, forcing her to look up at the man her father had hired to serve as her escort and "brother" for the evening.  The only similarities they shared were dark hair and blue eyes—but where Iris's were cobalt blue, the man's were more of a sea green.  He was taller and broader, and the glint in his eye caused whatever breath she still had to rush out of her lungs as she tried not to cry out.

"What are you doing back here?" The man asked.

"I-I just needed a break," Iris shuttered.

"You're not here for breaks."

"I know, but—"

"No 'buts.'  You're supposed to be out among the masses, aren't you?"

Iris did not respond.

He shook her again. "Get back out there, or so help me, I'll—"

She wiggled from his grasp and walked back into the crowded hall.  Picking up a glass of punch from a passing servant's tray, Iris settled back in her corner and prayed Alaraec would not look for her.  Maybe, just maybe, the ditsy blond would capture his attention enough that Iris slipped his mind.  It would ultimately be better for all of them in the long run.  Iris was no one special—especially not important enough for the attentions of the crown prince but she could not make him see that unless she tired to make herself truly unbearable company.  Which she could attempt, but...Cetus would know.  Somehow, her father would find out because he always did.