Caiden's eyes widened at my attire, glancing at me up and down before turning to the tailor who stood by my side, his hands coming together to clap in satisfaction.
"They're perfect." The tailor let out a sigh of relief, her smile spreading as she turned back to the outfit she placed on me, straightening out nonexistence wrinkles. I looked at myself in the mirror. White business-like shoes with black shoelaces. Long white pants, still with a crease down the side where they were ironed. A black button-up beneath a white suit jacket.
"I didn't know you had your ears pierced," Caiden muttered from beside me, and I glanced over to my left to look at his attire. He was wearing the exact opposite as me. Black shoes with white laces, black pants, a white button-up, and a black suit jacket. However, we both wore a red tie around our necks, bringing out a pop of color. And also, an earring in our left ears. Mine, a green the same color as his eyes; his, a pink, almost lilac color, the same as my own eyes. The perfect couple's outfit. There was something... strange about it.
"I did it on a whim," I admitted, glancing at the woman as she continued to modify my outfit slowly. "To get back at Romand, I think... you do realize that I'm supposed to wear official mage battle attire, right?" I asked, glancing over at him once more. In the past few weeks that we had been together, I found myself glancing at him more often. Staring at him when he wasn't looking back, just because I wanted to.
Something was wrong with me.
"Isn't it more intimidating if we wear similar outfits?" he chimed, looking up to meet my eyes in his mirror. "Plus, I think it's fun." I frowned at his response. He was clearly hiding something from me. There was obviously a reason he wanted me to dress up in this attire, and that he wanted to match as well. However, if I thought about it too hard, I would slowly start to come up with answers that I didn't want to receive, so I decided to ignore the pointless thoughts dancing in my head and focus more on a... "concrete" reason behind his actions. Which was, that there wasn't one. He was crazy. Obviously.
"Fine." I sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter either way what I wear. No matter what I desire or am supposed to wear, I would be forced to wear whatever you had chose if your ordered me to do so." His smile faded at this response, and a flicker of an emotion danced through his eyes. However, I couldn't quite read his face before he turned away.
"Let's get changed."
I changed back into my everyday attire, as did he, before we made our way towards his office, letting the tailors do their job in perfecting our suits. The ball was only a few days away at this point, meaning that we were busier than ever. And by we, I mean Caiden. He was busy making sure everything was set up properly; getting work done so that he could attend the night of and also have the next day free just in case something happens, and attending all sorts of meetings. While I was stuck trailing behind him, watching the bags under his eyes get darker and deeper every day.
"What else do I need to do today?" He asked me, his voice already carrying a slight layer of exhaustion. One difference that had occurred within these past few weeks was that I started to fill in as his secretary. Not too long ago, I had seen him struggling to keep all his tasks under control; and, knowing what it was like being surrounded by piles and piles of work that you had to do all by yourself, I offered to organize his days. So far, it seemed to make him feel better, and look better in the long run.
"A meeting with the mages over protection with the ball." I brushed imaginary lint off of my shoulders as he nodded towards the guards that stood before his office door, allowing them to open the doors for him so he could walkthrough. "New business proposals, a discussion with the chef over the finalization of the dinner menu, and a meeting with the decorators to finalize the ball layout." Inside his office, the chef was already there, a maid bowed her head as we entered, taking a tray, and quickly leaving. The doors shut behind us as Caiden spoke, looking at the clock that read "10:34" in the morning:
"Alright, let's get started."
***
A light knocking sounded on the door, causing me to stir from my seat in front of Caiden's desk. My hands were around a proposal that Caiden was supposed to read. However, I already knew that he had a lot on his plate and that he trusted me, so I was reading it for him, trying to see if it would be worthwhile. Something to note: if you are a noble who wants to show off your "gifted child", don't contact the King and ask for permission for a loan. No one cares if your child thinks he's a mage; he isn't. I promise you.
"What is it?" Caiden called through the door. His face was set in slight irritation, not necessarily at the work that had piled up, but because he was overwhelmed by the number of people he had to meet today. He typically got this way later in the evening when there had been multiple people that had already gone through his office. But unfortunately, there wasn't much we could do about it, other than to push through until it was all over.
The knights opened the door to reveal a small maid, her brown hair falling forward as she kept her head bowed in respect.
"The mages are here for their meeting, Your Highness." Caiden let out a deep sigh, his hand flinging down a paper before coming up to scrub down his face. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, knowing that this was the one meeting he was dreading attending. I wasn't particularly sure why, but I knew that if he had it his way, he wouldn't ever have to speak to the mages again.
Lopping his head to the left, he threw his left hand out in a rough gesture. "Show them in." The maid nodded and allowed the knights to shut the door as she went to get the mages.
"Last meeting of the day," I reminded him, standing up and making my way over to his side, my hands finding their way around my back and my heels clicking in place as I waited for Romand and the others to show up. My official position as his bodyguard was by his side, but recently, I found myself only standing there when others were present.
"I know," he murmured, allowing himself another beat to rest before standing up too, the sound of heels clicking on the floor finally pushing himself to put on a professional façade. The maid knocked again lightly.
"Come in." The doors swung open once more, revealing Romand, Lucy, Drac, Akan, and Nene who all bowed before making their way inside. "Please sit. Tess, please bring up some tea and snacks." The little maid bowed again at Caiden before the doors shut behind everyone. "It is wonderful to see you all again," Caiden smiled, looking at Romand. It had been a while since they had been face-to-face. The last time they had spoken was when I was appointed Caiden's bodyguard, so it had been a few months. Usually, I was the one who talked to them whenever they came to ask something, so Caiden had minimal interaction with them.
"It sure has, Your Highness King Caiden," Romand muttered back, making his way over to the chair that I had just gotten up from. "I hope everything has been well with Alan?" Caiden let out a small laugh, his hand waving in response.
"Of course, I couldn't have asked for a better bodyguard." He replied. I watched as the other four made their way into the room and chose to stand behind Romand professionally. We all stood there as Romand, and Caiden made small talk. It was only when the maid brought in the snacks and drinks did the room seem to fall into a more comfortable atmosphere. The other four sat off to the left, on the couch, their hands finding their way around the desserts that the maid had brought in.
"Now, King Caiden," Romand spoke, dragging everyone's gaze towards him as he pulled out a paper from his back pocket. There, the blueprint to the ballroom seemed to open before Romand like magic, no creases or folds to be seen. I guess he took Iban's advice to study the layout. "We have come up with a full-scale system surrounding the ballroom, and even the outside garden, should guests choose to leave the room for a moment..." Romand went on to explain where each mage would be stationed and at what points they would be making their rounds. Of course, I was to be Caiden's only mage bodyguard, allowing the other five to protect the crowds, and possibly, catch the one who could release demons that much quicker. He also suggested that they would be allowed to come a few hours earlier, to put in a new product he had created, that allowed the detection of demons that much quicker.
"That is fine, of course. It'll be hectic either way, the more safety measures the better." Caiden spoke immediately. Romand nodded in response. However, he took a while to speak up again, his mouth trying to form the words that he needed.
"Your Highness," he started with a much more formal approach, causing Caiden to raise a brow in response. "I believe it is in your... best interest... to let us know who it is your future partner is. That way, we can have mage's watching them as often as possible. Otherwise..." Romand trailed off, looking at Caiden's face as if waiting for him to snap in retaliation. However, Caiden only smiled in response, his hands coming up into a shrug position and adjusting in his chair so that he could rest against the back but still look regal.
"There's no need for all of that," Caiden responded. "I'm sure it'll be fine." Romand opened his mouth to protest, however, Caiden held up a hand.
"Archmage Romand. I do understand how powerful you are, and I am eternally grateful for your contribution, however, as the King, I demand that you listen to me. I will handle everything that needs to be done regarding the person associated with my announcement. That is something that I can handle on my own. Is that clear?" Romand froze. I could see him wanting to speak up but pushing that down and instead chose to nod his head in submission.
"Of course, King Caiden, I apologize for my impertinence." Caiden sat there, almost glaring at Romand for a beat before nodding as if making sure that he wasn't going to speak up again over the issue. Caiden slowly sat up, his hands folding beneath his chin as he continued to watch Romand.
"As long as you understand, Archmage Romand, we won't have a problem. Is that all?" Romand nodded, then froze as a last-minute thought came to his mind.
"Oh, if it is alright with Your Highness. Alan needs to come back with us to try on a new outfit for the ceremony. If it is alright with you, we will leave one of us here–"
"That is not necessary," Caiden interrupted with a flick of his wrist. "I have already taken care of his attire." Romand stopped, his eyes slightly wide in response. He opened his mouth again, seemingly trying to protest, but Caiden shook his head. "Now, Archmage Romand, if that is all, I wish for you to leave. I am a very busy man who needs to prepare for my engagement ceremony, after all."
The professional smile never left Caiden's face as Romand and the others spent a while leaving, their backs sloped in almost embarrassment or anger. The only one indifferent about the situation seemed to be Akan, who seemed uninterested about the whole thing. I waited for a beat after they had left, before I relaxed in my position, and made my way back over to the chair I had sat in before they had arrived, sitting down roughly.
"You were... something else," I spoke up. "Someone else." Caiden's brow rose, almost teasing me.
"How so?" We stared at each other, my face hopefully portraying something akin to passiveness, while he portrayed an emotion similar to mischief. It took a while before either of us calmed down and stopped the... unfortunately, childish staring contest. "Fine, you win." He said with a roll of his eyes and a flick of his hand. His body slouching even more in his chair, to the point that I thought he would slide out of it. "I don't think I can ever be on the same page as Romand." He admitted after a while of deliberation. "There's just something that..." he trailed off, unsure of where he was headed.
"It's fine not to like him," I filled in. "There doesn't need to be a reason." Caiden watched me for a beat before a shy smile spread across his lips. He looked away for a long moment, and silence filled the room as his mind wander on its own. I frowned at his lack of response. There didn't need to be an obvious reason as to why someone disliked another person. The interactions, the feelings, or even something as just the atmosphere of another person could make you uncomfortable or upset, there didn't need to be a particular reason why you disliked them. However, Caiden didn't seem to like that answer, which was why he was looking off into the distance, trying to figure out what he wanted to say.
"I do have a reason," he muttered after a few minutes.
"What?" I asked, having already forgotten the conversation, another proposal in my hands that I was deliberating over.
"I do have a reason, for not liking Romand."
"What is it?" I asked, genuinely curious. There were probably a lot of reasons why someone didn't like Romand, but I couldn't figure out why Caiden, who had barely any interaction with him would dislike him, and what that reasoning could be. However, he didn't speak again after that. Instead, he sat up and got back to work, flipping through papers with new vigor. And so, I left it alone, the silence hanging in the air as we continued to finish up his work.
Then, it was time for the ball.
~~~~
Hey guys! Saph here! Thanks for being so patient while I get back into the flow of school. And thank you for the number of people who have been finding my story recently! I see you all, and I greatly appreciate all the feedback I'm getting! I can't believe we are already going to the ball! I definitely see this ending in the not-so-far future, and I'm actually getting pretty sad! Haha.
Also, I'm not sure how well it'll turn up, but I placed a song at the top! It's called, "How to Eat Life" by the Japanese artist, Eve. I just wanted to share with you guys some of the places I get inspiration from, and Caiden is actually inspired by certain aspects of this song. You don't have to listen to it of course (just to let you know, there's some "graphic" content such as blood, eating grotesque objects, and more in here, so watch carefully), but I've recently been obsessed with Eve all over again, so I thought, why not share? And, if you're curious about where I get inspiration for my other characters, maybe in the future I'll add some more context? Who knows.
Alrighty, thank you all so, so, so much for reading! I'm so happy to be writing for you guys. As always, please let me know how I did and if there is anything that I need to fix. I'll see you all next time!