Aliria

XI

"You haven't spoke since Lysa left?" Celia asks in astonishment at Tristan's unwillingness to speak to me for a day and a half now.

The wedding seems to be closing in and Tristan and I don't speak, he doesn't even look at me.

"I've tried, Celia." I say, "He just doesn't want to listen to me."

"Make him listen, Cassandra." She replies walking closer to me, "Show him you're the better option and he shouldn't be wasting his time on whores like Lysa."

"How would I do that?" I question

She smiles at me, "It's time for you to learn the Alirian way."

I raise my eyebrow confused, "The Alirian way?"

"Seduction."

*

Smiling at the guard in front of Tristan's room as he lets me into the room, I'm glad Celia sorted it like she said she would so this is truly a surprise.

The dress I was wearing was practically see through but this is the Alirian dress. He wants to be mad I'm a foreigner, I can show him how much I can change.

He came into the room a few minutes later with a quill and some inc in his hands.

"Cassandra." He acknowledges, "Who let you in here? I said I'm not taking visitors."

"Am I a visitor, your grace?" I ask innocently, "I thought I am to be your wife."

"We're not getting married." He replies putting the things down on a table next to me, "I thought I had made that clear."

I pretend to think about it for a second, "Yes, I do recall you saying some words do that effect but not doing anything it back up your claims."

He raises his eyebrow, taking a step closer to my sitting form on his bed, "You want me make the dissolution of our engagement public?"

"If you're man enough to do it." I challenge and he blinks rapidly, shocked since this is coming from nowhere.

He holds onto the bed posts on either side of me, "What makes you say that?"

"You just love threatening me with it claiming your love for Lysa is so strong. If you were a true man you wouldn't have allowed your mother to remove her from court." I explain, "Or maybe you just don't love her at all."

Tristan lowers his face closer to mine. "You better watch your mouth, Cassandra."

I lick my lips, my tongue skimming his chin due to the proximity of our faces, "Or what?"

His jaw tenses but he says nothing instead moving away from me.

"You know I'm right, that's why you act like this." I continue standing up and following him, "You know you've used her for comfort for 3 years and you're not sure if you truly love her. You probably don't even know what love is."

"I know I'm incapable of feeling love for you." He retorts which broke a little piece of my heart somewhere in there.

"You don't even know me." I say defensively leaning back in his bed, "You can't know if you're going to have love for me if you don't know me."

"I know you enough," was his response which made me laugh

"What do you know about me Tristan?"

"I know you're a spoilt princess who always wants to get her way and when she doesn't lashes out in horrible ways that is damaging to the people around her." He claims looking down at me with confident eyes