Siren Call

Carriage Confessionals

Adalynn peered up at Prince Reili with as much grace and demure charm as she could muster but the shaking nature of her petite frame had her concentrating on valiantly holding down her breakfast before it splattered across the room.

Her body begged her to flee from the overwhelming uncertainty that consumed her and for a moment, she was sure she was going to lose the battle between her and her stomach.

A fissure of irate confusion blossomed in her mind. When had she become such a startled rabbit that bolted at the first sign of danger?

Anger began to creep in following the wake of her revelation and lent her courage she hadn't felt in years. She would leave this wretched man who doomed her and she would find her way home or may the gods damn her soul for betraying her people.

"Good morning, Crown Prince Reili. It is a pleasure to see you today," she softly greeted and she did not miss the brilliant grin that broke across his face.

"A pleasure to see you today as well, Lady Adalynn. I trust that you are in good health following your magnificent debut last night?"

"Oh yes, thank you for asking."

"Now, as you may have been made aware, I've arrived today to hopefully take you out upon a tour of my city. As I recall last night you stated that you hadn't had a chance to see it."

Truth be told, that was one of the last things she recalled about last night in his presence, but she nodded along anyways.

"Well, what do you say?"

Adalynn carefully took in the expressions of those present in the room. Lysandra was certainly hopeful and a little maddening in her encouragement; Leonel was certainly suspicious and yet approving, and her own prince stood there expectant and eager as they waited for her verdict.

She shouldn't. She truly, utterly shouldn't, but how else was she to find access to the Dantu library where she may very well find a map pointing the way home in big, bold, red ink.

Oh bother, what was the harm?

"Yes, I would love to," she genuinely agreed and vowed silently to have this last day with the prince to hold secretly in her heart for the days to come. Surely one day out would not be her undoing. After all, most stories need a bit of legwork before it gets to the truly interesting part and perhaps her story was not over yet. 

He released a relieved sigh and fixed her with a more bashful smile than before.

"Excellent. Shall I lead you to the carriage now, milady?" he teased lightly as he offered his arm for her use.

"Oh, but would we not need a chaperone?" she asked in confusion as her eyes slid over to her disagreeing guardians. They sat discreetly to the side, leaving her to be unhindered in her choice but their expressions were not so schooled as to hide their clear emotions. The gleam in Lysandra's eyes was much too bright and for all her work, she might as well have gift-wrapped her to the prince herself. Leonal, on the other hand, could break stone with the hard furrow in his brow, and she could see the internal battle he was wielding.

"I'm much too pregnant and Leonel here has work to do," Lysandra breezily exclaimed and a startled Leonel turned to her.

"I do?" He inquired blithely as his gaze flickered between the prince and Adalynn.

Lysandra responded with a none too subtle hiss of threatening words before Leonel glumly echoed her words to them. Adalynn wasn't sure why he even bothered sometimes, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at their antics. If Lysandra had her way, she'd be off to pick out her wedding gown and they would happily host the event before sundown.