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"Lady Arabella looks as if she is going to heave." Ari replies. Hunter twists round to see to Arabella. What he sees is not a woman about to heave. He only sees one pale Beatrice, an in charge Mary and a slightly green Arabella. He turns back and Ari has gone in a rustle of her skirts, her arm slipping from his grip while he was distracted. He sighs. Mary rises.
"I will follow her and make sure she leaves if anything dangerous is to happen." Mary kindly tells him before rushing after Ari. Hunter has to blink a few times to recognise the prim woman now racing down the halls after Ari. He bites down harshly on his cheek to stop himself running after them. Ari could be getting herself in a position where she could get hurt. Hunter wants to protect her from that. His heart stutters at the idea of her being harmed.
"Beatrice!" Arabella exclaims and rushes over to her friend. She places a hand on her forehead and checks her pulse. Hunter moves to hover over them. "She has fainted!" Hunter brushes Arabella to the side with a frown. He checks for himself that she is still breathing steady and that there is a regular pulse under his fingers on her neck. Then he arranges her on the chaise so that she is lying down on her side comfortably.
"Some people cannot handle the sight of blood." Hunter says without compassion. His actions differ however as he gentle props her head up on a cushion. "What do you think you are doing?" He literally growls and Arabella freezes on her way to the door. Hunter turns and pins her down with pitch black eyes. "Sit down by your friend." He orders.
"Lady Arisxandre has taken it upon herself to visit the injured. What is wrong with my desire to visit my harmed fiancé?" She asks him, her mouth drawn into a pout. Hunter scowls.
"Lady Arisxandre is not under my guard. She also tricked me otherwise I would have her locked in here also." Arabella glares at him, her ladylike façade shattering before his eyes, wrecked by him. "Sit down!"
"I refuse to be in a room alone with you." She admits honestly. Hunter sighs and glances down at the still unconscious Beatrice.
"We are not alone. Miss Frith is here." Hunter chuckles and shakes his head. "Plus you were very clear that what happened would never happen again. I trust with such strong words you have the willpower to achieve them." His eyes flicker to her still frozen figure. "Is there even some feeling between you and the Prince? Do you actually look forward to marrying him as a person?"
"You are heartless. He is downstairs, bleeding and in pain and you ask me this." Arabella deflects.
"Yet you are still here and have not made one move to go see him. He is bleeding, yes; he is in pain, most likely. But he is not dying and he will recover with the best care possible. You call me heartless yet you cannot even answer a simple question about whether you even hold affection for your future husband." Hunter calmly states the facts. Arabella hugs her arms around her. She considers running for the door but she fears he will catch her. She knows that if he touches her she will lose any sense of control. Even now she can feel the sparks flying across the room and the heat of his gaze.
"Love and affection will grow. This is a marriage for a kingdom. This is not a marriage based purely of emotion. A future king would be foolish to choose that path. He needs a woman who will support him, who will entertain his guests and be a listening ear. It is better to start off with respect and friendship." Arabella states with her head held high. Hunter inclines his head in agreement.
"But do you really have to be that woman?" Hunter softly asks, his voice taking on a gentle and soothing tone. Arabella slowly crosses the room to him and looks down on her sleeping friend.
"I am in too deep." She says. Hunter frowns wondering if she is referring to her future or to him. "I have to do my duty. This connection cannot ruin this wedding or my family. I cannot let it." Hunter rises to his feet from where he had been kneeling. He takes her hand and presses a kiss to the palm. She inhales sharply. "Hunter..." Her voice is weak, failing to be firm.
"You will not be happy with him." Hunter assures her. "You will regret it the day you say I do. Then you will spend the rest of your life thinking of what could have been."
"You do not understand Hunter. This is not just about me. And we barely know each other. I could call all of this off and suffer the consequences only to find out we disagree on almost everything. That is too great a risk for everything I have worked so hard to achieve." Arabella weakly tells him, her voice getting a little stronger as she continues to talk. "Please, I do not want to hurt you."
"Then do not." Hunter whispers, his hand coming up to rest on her neck, his thumb brushing her jaw line. She does not have the power to step away from the touch that sizzles against her skin. He leans in and she sees his eyes darken further. This time there is no time to be afraid as her eyes shutter close as he presses a light teasing kiss against her lips. A breath of air is between their lips and she inhales deeply. Fire leaps between them, the flames almost too hot in their chests. She leans forward and seals her lips against his and threads her fingers through his hair.
Love or Lust.
Hunter remembers these words. He thinks of Ari and breaks away from Arabella. Despite the incredible kiss he is still worried about her and what she will see. Surely the woman he loves should be on his mind when he is kissing her. He looks down on Arabella who stares at him, her lips red and slightly swollen. She is stunning. Why was that all that came to his mind regarding her? Arabella does not seem to be having the same inward struggle as she kisses his jaw, her eyes fiery as she watches for a reaction as she continues to pepper kisses.
"My Lady." She jumps back, her eyes wide and alarmed. They first fall on Beatrice but she is still fast asleep. Next they both look to the doorway where Ari stands, her expression hard to decipher. "The Crown Prince Theodore has requested your presence." She declares coldly. "Your betrothed." She adds on, her tone finally showing disgust.
Lady Arabella stays completely still where she stands. Part of her refuses to acknowledge that someone saw her and Hunter. Someone holds her life in their hands. "Lady Arisxandre..." She starts. Ari shakes her head and rotating on her heels she strides away. "Hunter." Arabella implores him, eyes wide and frightened.
"Go to Theodore." He orders before running after Arisxandre.
He catches up and grabs her arm. She wastes no time in yanking it from his grip. But she does not continue to run away. She stops and faces him. "I know what I saw and nothing that comes from your lips will convince me of any other truth." She states quickly before he can speak. "If you were anyone else I would have to tell him. I have known him since I was a child and he is a good man! He does not deserve this. I view him as a brother and you have put me in a position that I do not want to be in."
"Ari..." Hunter reaches out to her. She backs away, her gaze untrusting.
"He may be a good man but he has an image to keep." She shakes her head and rubs her eyes. Now he sees the tears in them and he again wants to reach out. He wants to comfort her. But she will only push him away further. "I hold a great deal of affection for you, Hunter, most likely the wrong kind now that I have seen that. You are not a fool so I can only assume that you know the danger you are in."
"She does not love him."
"You think she loves you?" Ari questions. "She certainly finds you attractive; anyone can see that, but love?" She bites down on her lip to stop herself. "Is she leaving him? Is she terminating the engagement? Those are the first steps a woman in love would take in her position."
"How would you know?"
"I know because if I was in her position I would have done so already for you."
Hunter blinks in surprise at her confession. Ari rubs her neck with one hand and looks anywhere but at him. She is kicking herself for admitting such a thing after seeing what she has. Clearly she can never live up to a woman like Arabella. She has neither the grace nor that effortless beauty. If only she had known before her heart became involved. But that was before Arabella; that was back in Usani when she first began falling. It was not until she saw him again that she knew.
"I do not want to speak about her but I will say this. You will be beheaded, or hung, or killed in a manner both painful and embarrassing if he finds out and she has not called off this engagement. You are in danger simply because she is engaged and that will never change. If she breaks it off successfully, without injury, you still will have to wait to be together. You will not be able to show any affection for months until suspicion has faded away.
You are playing with fire in its most dangerous form. Are you entirely sure that she is worth it?"
Light footsteps save him from answering. He turns when he sees the disgust on Ari's face come back to life. Lady Arabella stands there now, looking anxious and more nauseous than she did before. "I told you to go to Theodore." Hunter reminds her.
"I could not. I need to know what she plans to do with this information." Lady Arabella calmly proclaims, her gaze brushing past Hunter to fasten on Ari. If Ari was a little less hurt, a little less angry she may find this direct attention intimidating. She does not. Ari stands strong and her eyes do not wander away. Arabella is failing to bring any fear into the younger woman and she does not like what that means. "Lady Arisxandre. He will not believe your word above mine, not with your family's history."
Ari laughs, the sound harsher than usual. "You refer to my father." Hunter's focus jumps back to Ari. She glances at him. "You may have wondered why it was only my mother I did not want to disappoint. My father is dead, hung by the Royals, Theodore's father to be exact. The King. He got close to the Queen, friendship, nothing more. However the Royals have an image to uphold. The King got jealous and decided to make an example of my father. Seems mighty similar to what will be the consequence of you two." Ari speaks with a small tremor to her voice, her eyes finally dropping away from Arabella's.
"Exactly." Lady Arabella coldly agrees. "So why would he believe you over me when you clearly have reason to lie and seek revenge."
Ari lifts her chin and gazes directly at Arabella. "I advised you to get all of your facts before coming to a decision, my lady. I am not going to tell Theodore, but not because of you." Both women's eyes flicker to Hunter. Ari rubs her arm in discomfort. "Regardless, he would believe me over you."
"You should escort Lady Arabella to her betrothed. He will be wondering what is taking so long. You would not want to raise his...or Orion's suspicions." Ari tells them both. She then turns and walks away. Hunter fights against himself to go after her but knows that she is right. His duty is to take Arabella to Theodore.
So they have finally been caught out! Do you believe Ari when she says she will keep their secret? What about that confession of hers? How about Arabella using Ari's painful past to keep her silent?