the villainess gets revenge (alver x og cale)

Part 12

He lost power and influence defending her though and that was why she was confident that he actually fought for her. The ambitious prince she knew would never willingly lose political sway. He simply wasn't that sort of person.

His whole reason for getting engaged with her was to bolster his ambitions.

It made her want to trust him.

She wouldn't, of course, she wasn't so foolish as to allow anyone to grasp her weakness. But... perhaps, she'd trust him with a few things. Just to test how capable he was and to get a better use out of him.

She'd never admit that a part of her just wanted to rely on him. What a mortifying idea that was.

"Hey, your highness." Cale said, a gruff voice coming out in a rasp and scratching her throat on its way out. She scowled. "Wake up." She moved her hand nearly out of his to bap him awake but he instinctively held tight, bright blue eyes opening up blearily to look at her.

She scowled at him. "Oi. Water. Now." She rasped with all the respectfulness of the trashy lush she pretended to be.

Alberu's drowsiness drained away instantly. His other hand shot out to her face, checking for a fever as his eyes raked over her for signs of injury.

She scoffed.

Did he think she'd manage to get herself dreadfully injured in the short time he slept. She glared at him, ignoring the warmth in her cheeks. "Water." She repeated with emphasis.

Alberu wasn't entirely incompetent so he managed that much with speed and efficiency. Cale took the first sip, feeling her headache ease just a bit.

Ah, she'd been dehydrated. Made sense, they hadn't fed or watered her much while torturing her and she didn't know how long she'd been asleep.

She was hungry but she was used to being hungry so she dismissed the feeling immediately.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. She wondered when she'd ever seen him look so openly distressed. Was this too an act? For what audience?

She took her time drinking her water before she bothered to reply. "Just fucking great."

She did feel pretty good. With her headache edging away she could appreciate how many of her injuries had already closed up and healed.

"What's the situation?"

She'd assess what happened, what the prince knew, and then determine how much intel to trust him with.

Alberu frowned.

It caused Cale to pause. She hadn't seen him frown very often in either of her lives. And usually it was because she'd done or said something worthy of a frown. There was nothing wrong with her question.

Alberu's fingers grazed her cheek and the gesture was so strangely intimate that she was all the more confused.

"Rest." He said firmly. "We'll deal with the rest in the morning."

She scowled darkly at him. Who was he to tell her what to do? Besides, he didn't know how urgent all of this could truly be.

"Venion Stan is in our custody."

Oh. Well that improved matters. Some of the angry tension left her shoulders. She had questions but Alberu's expression told her that he wouldn't tell her anything else until she'd abided by his request.

"I want fresh air." She said haughtily, only to be contrary.

There was a queer expression on Alberu's face that she couldn't quite place.

Still, he nodded obediently and picked her up without bothering to ask permission.

"I can walk." She said crossly.

Alberu shrugged his shoulders and from this angle she could see how worry had worn down his otherwise handsome face.

Really, why was he so worried about her? It didn't make any sense at all. Perhaps he felt a sense of responsibility.

When the fresh air actually hit her on the balcony she realized exactly why Alberu had looked at her so strangely.

The time she'd spent in the darkness with nothing but the wretched stench of filth around her. It wasn't the first time she'd experienced something so grim but it was the first time she'd been able to see the sky so shortly afterwards.

Ah. She really had needed fresh air.

Cale sunk into Alberu's arms and looked up at the sky with a strange feeling in her gut between relief and trauma.

"...did the dragon live?" She asked, endeavoring to look as though she didn't care about the answer.

"He was with Roksu last I checked." Alberu replied and there was a strange edge to his voice.

"Ah, so you two met. That explains that." Roksu was intelligent and resourceful, of course he'd utilize the power of the royal family if he could.

"...you trust him a lot."

Cale shrugged, letting out a scoff as her eyes followed the meaningless patterns of stars above.

"I trust his capabilities." She said firmly.

Alberu could agree with that. He nodded mutely even though she wasn't looking at him.

They lapsed into a companionable silence until Cale's eyelids grew heavy and her head rested against his chest, listening to his gentle heartbeat as she allowed herself to be coaxed back into the abyss of sleep.