Elian's POV
*****
"Oh... Estella." Princess Aurora parted her lips in surprise, eyeing Estella with barely hidden suspicion. "You're the last person I expected to see here..."
Elian nearly held his breath as Estella turned fully to face Aurora while the maids following the princess surrounded him.
He glanced at them wearily, wondering what the fuck was happening.
Was this some kind of setup?
"Good morning, Princess." Estella bowed with a silvery voice and even though her back faced Elian, he could already imagine the fake smile on her face.
Oh, how he would love to smack it off her face one day.
[You'll have to be strong enough to handle whatever retaliation she throws at you first, fruitcake.]
Elian clenched his jaw as Estella continued speaking with well-calculated calm.
"I only came here after seeing Lucian rush in. He talked about an assassin coming in to kill Elian and looked... Troubled. I had to come see things for myself."
The two girls stared at each other in silence, Aurora dimming her sharp silver eyes at Estella.
From what Elian has observed during his stay in the Palace, Aurora was far different from her brother.
Unlike Lucian, she wasn't judgmental toward common folk. And more importantly, she was never judgmental toward him as an Omega.
In fact, Elian had one fond memory where Aurora stopped some maids from bullying him when they were both sixteen.
"Leave him alone or I'll see to it that you're sent to the dungeons bound in chains. Then you'll know how it feels to be trapped in a situation you can't control."
A soft smile spread across Elian's face when he remembered that.
She rarely ever directly interacted with him but the few times they had crossed paths, she left a mark.
Suddenly, Aurora cleared her throat, plastering a smile on her face. "Well, Estella, thank you for being so... Caring. But if you don't mind, I want to speak to my future brother-in-law."
Elian's eyes widened.
Brother-in-law?!
[Aww, she's already you and Lucian's biggest shipper.]
No fucking way...
Meanwhile, Estella seemed frozen to the spot at first until she glanced back at Elian.
There was a dangerous glint behind her golden hazel eyes but it disappeared almost instantly as she smiled warmly before bringing her gaze back to Aurora.
"No problem, princess." Estella bowed, her hips swaying confidently as she walked past Aurora and then out of the room.
When the door finally clicked shut behind her, Aurora rolled her eyes, twisting her lips as she fixed her gaze on Elian.
"For a second I thought she'd never leave." She chuckled, stepping forward as her long silver hair bounced behind her. "How are you doing this morning?"
Elian blinked, a bit mesmerised by her hair and the moonstones glimmering on it.
People always argued who was more beautiful in the royal court between Estella and her.
To Elian... Aurora easily took the cake.
[You're gay, fruit cake. Get your priorities straight... Oh wait, you can't.]
Elian's eyes twitched for only a moment before he smiled at Aurora, bowing. "I'm fine, ma'am. T—"
"Ah, ah, ah..." Aurora interrupted, placing her right hand on his shoulder and helping him get back on his feet. "Aurora. That's my name. I just called you my future brother-in-law, so what's with the formality?"
Elian raised his head, straightening his spine as he swallowed hard.
Staring at her from this proximity was low-key intimidating, even with that sweet smile on her face.
"Anyway, you didn't join us for dinner last night. Why's that?" She asked, withdrawing her hand from his shoulder and then walking around him, lingering at his back.
Elian parted his lips, glancing around at the maids who seemed to be trying their best not to look judgmental in the presence of their princess.
"I-I was exhausted and had to retire to bed early." Elian managed to speak, smiling awkwardly as he held back from glancing at her.
Silence.
He subconsciously held his breath when he felt the princess staring at his back for several seconds.
Was he being paranoid or did it feel like she was trying to probe him?
"Okay then." Aurora finally muttered, her voice cheery as she snapped her fingers at the maids. "Please, get him out of these clothes and prepare a hot bath for him in his bathroom. Pick out something suitable for breakfast when he's done."
The three maids standing around Elian quickly went into action.
One scurried to the bathroom while another went into Elian's walk-in closet, which he hadn't even bothered exploring since he arrived.
As for the third, she stepped forward and gave Elian a friendly smile before gesturing for him to raise his arms.
His face heated up with embarrassment as he shook his head. "This... This is unnecessary. I can get off the clothes myself and—"
"Nonsense." Aurora scoffed, her heels clicking as she walked around to stand in front of him again. "You're mated to the Alpha Prince and Beta of the empire. Lucian might be a blockhead for now, but that makes you royalty."
She tilted her head, her silver eyes glinting under the sunlight streaming through the windows. "You understand that, right?"
Elian pursed his lips but managed to nod as he reluctantly raised his skinny arms.
The maid standing only inches in front of him smiled again as she helped him out of the long-sleeved shirt, exposing his lean muscles and dry chest to the wind.
Goddess, help him... He felt like sinking into the ground.
[Oh, but the fun for today hasn't even started...]
.
.
By the time the maids were done with him, Elian was standing in the middle of his room dressed in a regal outfit.
It was a purple blazer with a sleek and shiny fabric with golden embroidery at the edges of the collars and sleeves. Two buttons were undone intentionally, leaving part of his chest exposed.
He also had a silver necklace around his neck and wore a form-fitting purple trouser that matched the purple blazer, his silver white hair permed to a perfection he's never seen in his life.
"Perfect!" Aurora screeched with far too much enthusiasm when she walked back into the room and saw him, clapping her hands. "Just perfect. I can't wait to see the look on Lucian's face when you join us for breakfast looking like this."
Wait... What?
Before Elian could speak, she stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the room.
He didn't know what terrified him more — facing Lucian, or how much he suddenly wanted to.