The King's Bride

Chapter 29

Killian DuFort

Finding Nova wasn't so difficult, after the guards had given Killian her location. He made his way down to the garages, his dogs trotting—well, Claus was trotting, Alban was too old for more than a speedwalk—alongside him. He'd been told she was in a car, and since generally the place was pretty empty save for the drivers, it wasn't hard to find which car it was.

Upon knocking on the window, seemingly startling her, Killian waited for Nova to collect herself for a few moments. It was clear that she had been shedding tears, judging by the ferocity of which she was scrubbing at her face and under her nose. Eventually, the woman opened the door.

As soon as there was nothing between them anymore, the dogs took great interest in Nova, both of them moving forward to snuffle at her. Of course, Alban lacked the energy to be as friendly as Claus, but if he did he would be jumping just the same. The dogs seemed to make Nova a fraction better in terms of mood, for she giggled a bit, her voice still a little tear-clogged, and tried to pet the dogs into submission. Killian let them greet each other, before giving a whistle and calling the Hovawarts to heel.

Nova cleared her throat once she was released, and got to her feet, closing the car door behind herself. "Your Majesty," she said softly, keeping her head down.

Fantastic. His soon-to-be wife was going to refer to him as "Your Majesty" the rest of their lives. That wasn't suspicious at all. Killian let it slide and shook his head slightly. He could work on that later. "It's suppertime," he announced.

"Oh," she responded, crossing an arm over her torso to hold the other.

"Come on." Killian gestured for Nova to go ahead of him, and she rather robotically moved forward. He turned and walked beside her, assuming she didn't know where she was going, and being the more assertive one in the directions.

Though he was going to be the more assertive one in everything, he could already tell. He told himself that Nova would become comfortable in her own time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

But his mother had been right, and Killian couldn't just trust Nova to assimilate herself on her own. If this was going to work and not rouse suspicion, they were going to have to at least be comfortable in each other's presences. Killian was only uncomfortable because Nova was exuding discomfort, so yeah. That was going to have to be worked on as well.

"You can speak, y'know," he told her as they walked through the halls.

"I have nothing to say, Your Majesty," she responded. It sounded like a prerecorded message.

Sigh.

"At least pretend you aren't miserable, please?" he said. "You don't have to be happy about this, but sheesh. I'm not that bad." The king let out a breath. He still thought it strange that Nova wasn't some degree of excited about this. Plenty of women would be jumping at the chance to marry the king and become his queen consort. Entirely for the power and money, whether they were actually attracted to Killian at all or not.

He realized that this was the argument for him choosing literally anyone else, but what was done was done, alright?

Killian held the door to the dining hall open for her, and she stepped inside rather awkwardly. "There she is~!" said Amelie, smiling. She...was the only one smiling. Amelie seemed to pick up on that as well, and her own smile faded. "Are you okay, Miss Nova?"

Nova was quiet as she took the only empty seat besides Killian's. However, she nodded her head. "I'm fine, um...m–my lady."

Amelie tilted her head. She opened her mouth to respond, but beside her, Eleanor touched her arm to stop her.

Killian took his own seat at the head of the table, and the hounds slunk underneath it, most likely hoping for scraps. Unfortunately, Amelie was often guilty of indulging them. Her brother often tried to scold her, but she rarely listened.

Dinner went with about as much chatter as usual between the family, all except for Nova, who chose not to partake. She ate in silence, and barely ate at that, likely only swallowing enough to keep herself from starving before deciding that was it. After Eleanor had stopped Amelie from asking Nova what was wrong, Amelie refrained from attempting to speak to the woman, as did most everyone else.

Except Erika, who did try once, but after Nova didn't seem all that interested in conversation, the princess gave up.

Killian got the distinct feeling that he was looking at the rest of Nova's time here in a nutshell. He was definitely going to have to work on her. First and foremost he was going to try and repair the damage his blackmail had caused, and find a way to get Nova to at least not hate him anymore, though getting her to love him was the goal. He was a good actor, but he had a feeling that was going to be difficult for her considering her current feelings towards him.

....All that could be done after the wedding.

After dinner, everyone retreated to do their own things. Nova was the first to leave, excusing herself as soon as it seemed appropriate and running off to her room. Once she'd gone, Killian exhaled, and he caught Erika's eye.

She was glaring at him.

He glared back at her and left the room himself. Amelie followed after him, and pulled him to a stop before he got too far down the hall. "What is it, Amelie?" he asked, turning to face her with a frown.

She was frowning too. "Is Nova okay?" she asked, looking concerned.

Killian rubbed at his face slightly, before nodding his head. "She'll be alright," he said, exhaling. "It's just, uh...a lot to get used to, y'know? She's not used to all this."

Amelie nodded slowly, though she still looked a little worried. "Okay...."

"Just let her be for now, okay, Amelie? I'll...I'll talk to her. Why don't you take Claus and Alban outside for me?"

That seemed to brighten her attitude, and she nodded, patting her legs for the dogs to follow her before moving away.

Killian turned again and started heading for where Nova's bedroom was. Since the day was winding down, he decided now was as good a time as ever to talk to her about a few things. When he arrived in front of her room, he knocked on the door.

There was silence at first, and then, "Who is it?"

"Me," Killian responded.

"...Oh."

For fuck's sake.

He opened the door and stepped inside. Nova was lying on the bed, her back to him. A soft sniffle escaped her. Killian moved towards the bed, sitting on it with his back to her as well. "Look," he said quietly. "I know this isn't...ideal for you." God knows why. "But it's not the end of the world. Alright? It'll be fine."

Nova remained silent, save for her sniffling.

The king sighed. It was going to be a long while before she would even speak to him, never mind let herself relax here. Instead of continuing to try and force it tonight, he merely fed her some rather important information. "The wedding's in two weeks," he murmured. "People are going to be in and out of here preparing you for it. Just...throwing that out there." Killian stood up from the bed and moved for the door. He took a glance over his shoulder, but Nova hadn't moved.

He did notice that she shook, which implied she was struggling to contain sobs.

"Goodnight, Nova," he said softly, before exiting her room and shutting the door.