A/N: Please re-read Chapter 10 because I added a portion at the end! The external link is the outfit mentioned (if you're on the app just send me a message so I can send you the link). Feedback? Xx
I almost dropped my cup of tea when Giles informed me of tomorrow's schedule at breakfast. "A day off? Are you serious?"
"If today's work is completed, then yes. Your effort leading up to the ceremony and the banquet, as well as your wonderful performance at both, have been duly noted, and Leo and I are quite pleased with your dedication to your studies. Even Duke Howard has remarked on your commitment to improve."
"Really?" It was hard to believe that Louis actually didn't hate me, and I couldn't contain the smile at the news of all this approval. Here I'd thought I was barely passing everyone's expectations.
Giles took a sip of his drink. "This break was heavily insisted on by Sir Alyn."
My fork clattered onto my plate. "What?"
"He came into my office a few days before your ceremony and said that you appeared overworked. Of course, we couldn't find an opportune resting time until after the banquet, since it followed the ceremony so closely."
Alyn had told him to give me a break? Just then, I remembered when I'd almost run into him on the stairs, two nights before my coronation ceremony. I'd never asked where he'd been headed, considering I was on my way to crashing in my bed, but he seemed to go towards the line of offices. Had he gone to see Giles right after that?
I didn't know what to think of that. "I'll give him my thanks."
He nodded. "You may do what you wish on your day off, but please take someone with you if you go outside the palace. Leo was planning to go into town to do some browsing at the market tomorrow, if you wish to accompany him. But for today, you need to start preparing for a literary salon on Friday, which you will do with Duke Howard next, then you're set for regional dialects with Leo after lunch. . ."
I'd gotten better at horse riding. Or at least, I'd stopped clenching the reins so tightly that my horse thought I wanted to go backwards. Like Alyn had said, she'd warmed up to me and hadn't shown any signs of wanting to throw me off her, so that was a vast improvement, I suppose. When I dismounted after that evening's lesson, Alyn had already gone into the stables with Cavalier, leaving me to lead the mare inside and properly put away her gear.
Once everything was secure and safe, I began to brush her dark coat. Well, as much as I could seeing as she was being uncharacteristically restless and wouldn't stay still.
"Try brushing over here. It calms her down." Only slightly frustrated, I glanced over to where Alyn was demonstrating on his own, obedient stallion. Trying to mimic him, I ran the brush over that spot, but she didn't stop moving.
Alyn pushed me out of the way the moment she started stomping her feet in disagreement. As he stroked her flank and whispered into her ears with surprising tenderness, I could see the mare's face relax, and I found myself exhaling in relief myself. Though I didn't know why she was so worked up. Maybe I'd accidentally hurt her during the lesson?
"Is she okay?" He rubbed her nose for a couple moments, frowning. Then he ran his hand down her leg, stopped at a certain point, then raised her hoof and inspected it. He set it back down gently and picked up the next one in the same way. Without releasing it, he reached around on the shelf until he'd grabbed the hoof pick, which he used to gently scrape at something.
Only after he'd put the hoof back down and replaced the pick did he respond. "Yeah. Just had some stones stuck there. Nothing to worry about." With her placated, he took a brush off the nearby rack and picked up where I'd left off. Guess he wasn't taking any chances for me to get kicked in the stomach or something.
I bit my lip, wondering exactly how to bring this up. Well, might as well tell it to him straight. "Thank you for suggesting I take a day off."
"Oh." He paused in his brushing, seemingly taking a second to realize what I was talking about. "It was no big deal. You have to commit all your attention to your work, after all, so take a break if you need to." He straightened, giving the mare one last pat before putting away the brush.
"Well, thank you regardless." He just nodded, his expression serious, and I felt it was time to move on. But the offer that came out of my mouth next made me wonder why I thought that was a better alternative to an awkward silence. "Can you come along with me tomorrow?"
He stared at me for a long moment, and I felt my cheeks start to burn. I didn't even know why I asked, and now I was struggling to explain away his suspicious scowl.
"Giles said I couldn't go out of the palace alone, and I'm not sure exactly sure what I'm going to do but I'm probably not going to spend my day off inside although I'm not sure about spending it at the market with Leo with all that shopping and mental energy. On the other hand, I could also just hang out with Nico in the gardens or something, so in a way it's sort of a preparation thing for when I do decide, you know—"
"Sure, whatever," he cut me off mid-ramble. I blinked in surprise.
"Really?" I knew it was stupid to reiterate my lack of gracefulness, but it came out anyway.
"If Giles said I have to, then fine." His eyebrows knit together as he probably remembered the rest of my word storm. "You don't know what to do tomorrow?"
At my reluctant nod—I must have looked so stupid to be thanking him for a break when I didn't even have plans to spend it— he thought a bit before walking past me, shutting the stall door behind him.
He started for the exit, leaving behind a very perplexed princess. Then he glanced over his shoulder at me with a hint of an oddly mischievous grin. "See you tomorrow, Adelaine."
Even though it took almost fifteen hours, I finally got an answer to Alyn's cryptic salutation when he knocked on my bedroom door the next morning. After letting me sleep in an extra hour, Nico had woken me up so I could start getting ready, so I opened the door expecting him to have lugged a cart of tea over here or something.
The sight of his usual armor, cape, and sword replaced with plain civilian clothes threw me off long enough for him to start scowling. "What?"
"Nothing," I reflexively said. If all he wore around the palace was his uniform and his training clothes, I was bound to assume he owned no other outfits. "Uh, can I help you?"
"Are you almost ready?"
"For what?" My question was rewarded with a light flick on the forehead.
"It's your day off, isn't it? You asked me to come with you, so here I am." I had to laugh a little at his face, which suggested he thought I was kind of clueless. He frowned at that, but he just said, "Well?"
"Right. Um, yeah I guess I'm ready." Because my plans had been ambiguous until about five seconds ago, my attire had been versatile— just a top that was a sort of champagne color tucked into a knee-length black skirt (that was made of tulle!) and some simple flats. With a final scan of the room, I grabbed the bag I'd set out in case I did go shopping, and followed Alyn out the door.
After a trip filled with more short answers, I sat on Alyn's stallion, a few feet away from my former home. Although I'd only been living in the palace for about two weeks, a strange feeling of nostalgia washed over me as I stared at it. It was hard to explain, the experience of seeing a piece of yourself so . . . detached from the present. The flowers still grew in the window boxes, the vines still climbed the west wall, and the house itself was still in shape. Maybe it was the knowledge that I was the one that had changed that altered the view.
I looked over to Alyn, who had been carefully watching me, and he saw the question in my eyes.
"You didn't get to go to your house the other night," he said somewhat roughly, as if he was trying to cancel out the fact that he remembered what my three-in-the-morning mind had wanted last week. "I figured it had to be important."
Even though he didn't want me to say it out loud, I was touched by his thoughtfulness. I'd thought he'd just added my request to a list of reasons why rationale needed to be included in the princess elect requirements, but here we were.
"Hey." I lightly tapped his forehead with a small laugh, earning a halfhearted glare that faded out. Then I grew serious and directed my most genuine smile at him to let him know I did appreciate it. "Thank you, Alyn."
"You're welcome," he said, his small fidgets with the reins giving away his embarrassment. He cleared his throat and I pretended to not notice the small pink spots on his cheeks. "I'll wait out here so yell if you need help."
The spare key was still wedged behind the brick on the third step, and I couldn't help the wistful smile as I stood in the dining room, the afternoon sunlight hitting the window to form the familiar shadow on the wood floor. The small table sported a thin layer of dust, the fine particles dancing in the air, and the drapes looked a little worn, but the floor still creaked near the center of the room and the chairs were still tucked in around the table.
I eventually forced myself to move on, and I made my way through the kitchen and living room until I ended up in my bedroom. The memories were everywhere, settled like dust, and I had no idea what to bring back with me. The more I saw, the more absorbed I became, as if each recollection sucked me further into the odd sensation that only came when one was faced with an abundance of memories. It was crazy to think that that morning, I hadn't even thought about the possibility that I might not be living here. My palace mission was supposed to be a simple day-task, and look how things turned out. Well, one thing was for sure: I was no closer to obtaining Marie's flower today as I had been two weeks ago.
I saw the wooden box resting in its place on my bedside table. It stood out in the average decor of the house, mostly because of its smooth finish and small-but-elaborate gold motif on the front lock. With a small click, I turned the lock and carefully lifted the lid of my one real luxury. I gazed down at the store of objects, each arranged precisely in the hollow space. Pressed flowers, small metal trinkets, an empty bottle of perfume, intricate seashells, and a locket. My fingers instantly reached out to the last one, the familiar chain around my neck and my fingers deftly hooking the clasp before I knew it. The circular pendant rested easily against my skin, just below my collarbone and concealed by my neckline. It was a subtle comfort as I turned to the rest of the room. I had to make use of this trip, and if I thought about each item for too long I'd end up taking my house with me back to the palace, so I needed to focus.
Alyn didn't say anything when I returned— he just raised an eyebrow and asked, "Ready?" At my nod, he took my bag, handing it back once I was safely on Cavalier's back.
"Is there anything else you want to do while we're here?"
"No, I have everything I need. Thank you." I paused, weighing my next words. "Is. . . is there anywhere you want to go?"
His shoulder stiffened the tiniest bit, his heels halting just inches away from the horse's sides. I couldn't determine if that was a positive or negative reaction, but I didn't have time to dwell on an answer because he was already shaking his head and we were moving.
"Nothing that can't wait." On the ride back, he didn't ask why my bag looked so full, nor why I hadn't put the spare key back in its spot when I'd left. But I caught him glancing back a couple times at me, his brows furrowed.
"You weren't wearing that when you went in." His tone was declarative, not accusatory, and my fingers immediately flew up to grasp the necklace in question, tugging the pendant out to look at it.
"This?" At the leisurely walking pace we were going at, it would take some time to return, and I wasn't sure if I wanted that time to be filled with an awkward atmosphere. But I went ahead anyway, because I had time. "It's mine. My favorite, actually. I just wasn't wearing it the morning that . . . everything happened, so I never had a chance to retrieve it."
"It must be special."
"It is." My dad had made it for me as a gift at my mom's idea for my ninth birthday present, back when he still dabbled in metalwork, and I'd worn it religiously since. He'd gone out specially to find the flowers he knew I loved and my mom had pressed them for him so he could slip them between the clear glass, the petals permanently vibrant with color. The thought of their joined efforts to make me happy made me smile then, and I couldn't help but keep my fingers around the pendant on the way back.
It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at the palace, and to Alyn's reluctance, I helped brush down Cavalier because I was the main reason he had to go out today. Once that was finished, I went to my chambers to unpack my newly relocated belongings. Of course, I'd grown accustomed to the room, huge bed and vaulted ceilings and all, but it had been missing a personal touch. My wooden box soon had a new home on my bedside table; the freesia was moved into my mom's favorite crystal vase; I hung up the select clothes I'd brought back in the wardrobe; and I arranged the small stack of books next to the vase on the long table by the chair in the corner.
After surveying my subtle changes with satisfaction, I went into the courtyard for more fresh air. Dinner was still an hour away, so I could actually justify my walks in the garden. What I couldn't justify, though, was the sudden appearance of another figure standing further down the path, peering at the flowers adorning the arch. As I squinted against the sun, they shifted position and I saw their pensive expression.
"Alyn?" He turned at my voice, his surprise evident. "What are you doing here?"
He didn't answer right away, instead watching me, and I hesitantly walked towards him, meeting him under the rose arbor. His dark hair fell unevenly, some of the locks reaching his brow, and his dark red eyes held a small sign of sadness that I couldn't interpret. As if contemplating something, he examined my face with a troubled look.
"Here." Without waiting for me to comprehend, he took my hand and pressed his into mine, and I felt something drop in. He closed my fingers over my palm as he released my hand, stepping back. "I'm glad you got your necklace back."
Bewildered by this exchange, I hadn't even glanced down before he started to leave, and with a rustle of leaves, he practically vanished.
His abruptness and odd greeting had piqued my curiosity, and now his behavior was just mystifying. I finally opened my hand, and the first thing I saw was pink swirls closely resembling petals. It was a pair of delicate rose earrings, and I didn't know where Alyn had gotten them, or why he'd given them to me.