Cassian tumbled through the bushes, ending up in a small, empty area surrounded by leaves on all sides, with the open sky above. A girl was standing near him, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and excitement in her expression. She held out a hand, pulling him to his feet as he composed himself.
"Hello there!" she said brightly. "Why were you being chased by the guards?"
Cassian picked leaves out of his hair, and patted dust off himself. "Not even going to ask if I'm alright?"
"We, you seem quite well to me. This is the most interesting thing, so it's what I have to ask first!"
Cassian laughed. "If it's that important to you, fine. I'll tell you."
A sudden thought struck him.
She doesn't seem to know who I am. He looked her up and down, but there was no recognition in her eyes.
Should he tell her that she was speaking to the hated villain prince right now?
The girl in front of him was carefree. Her messy blond curls fluttered in the breeze, and her smile shone radiantly.
She'd said hardly a few sentences, and yet, he found himself wanting to keep talking to her. Maybe it was because she was the first person in a long time who'd looked at him without disdain.
Maybe I'll just come up with a white lie for now. I'll tell her about myself if we meet again after this.
"I just stole some food from the kitchens," he shrugged. "I was pretty hungry. The head chef saw me, and boy, was she mad. Sent some guard after me, while she screamed 'THIEF!!' so loud everyone else in the palace probably thought there'd been a murder!"
The girl giggled. "You're talking about Mrs Jouterre, aren't you? I met her just yesterday. She did seem like the type."
He nodded vigorously. "I know, right?"
The girl suddenly looked skeptical. "Wait… I counted at least seven guards. Does stealing some food really warrant that much attention? Well, I've only been here a few days, so I'm not entirely sure of every process yet."
"Weeeell…" Cassian scrambled to think of a cover story. "I-it just happened so fast, you know. There was a lot of confusion, and the guards probably thought I did something much worse, so…" Then the rest of her words sank in. "Have you really only been here for a few days? Who are you, actually?"
The girl took a step back and curtsied. "Emelia Daizels, daughter of Royal Commander Theora Daizels, at your service. Also, I'm not entirely convinced by that story, but I'll let it slide. For now!"
She's the daughter of the royal commander?! Oh, shit. Maybe I shouldn't have lied to her.
"And you are?" Emelia asked. "The most important part is out of the way, so I'll be taking your name now."
"What do you mean, taking my name? That's a weird way to put it."
"Just answer the question, man!"
Cassian put up his hands, like a guilty criminal. "Alright, alright. My name is…"
Names, names…
"Victor," he declared.
"Victor what? Come on, I can tell you're a noble from those clothes," Emelia pressed. She seemed thoughtful for a second, and then became apologetic. "Oh, sorry. I'm actually here for training as a royal detective. Slipped back into the habits a bit quickly. My bad, you don't have to answer."
Cassian breathed a small sigh of relief, but simultaneously, his heart plummeted.
She must know about Cassian Vanderbilt. She probably just hasn't seen me, so she can't recognize me on sight.
"It's fine. Thanks for helping me, though. I'd've been in real trouble if they caught me. They probably would've thrown me in the dungeon."
Emelia laughed again. "You think? Getting arrested probably wouldn't end well for you, rich boy!"
She had a strange, yet friendly way of speaking. She was quite unlike anyone else he'd ever met before. They kept talking--and before Cassian knew it, an hour had passed.
"--So, they told me I could just take a look around the palace, y'know, to get used to it all. I've been to all sorts of manors, but this place really takes the cake. The whole reason I made it here is because I got lost in these huge gardens!" Emelia giggled.
"Oh, really? That's nothing compared to me. The very first time I went looking for the library, I went through a door I thought was supposed to lead to it. But it wasn't! Next thing I knew, I'd been stuck in some obscure closet for an entire day," Cassian grinned.
"Victor, you're damn hilarious, you know that?" Emelia leaned back, smiling. They were now sitting on the ground together, looking up at the open sky, watching the clouds go by.
Suddenly, Emelia sat up, glancing at her watch and gasping. "Oh, no… It's already past eleven. I was supposed to meet my mentor ten minutes ago. He's not going to be happy."
Cassian sat up too. "Will you be back?" he asked hesitantly.
She frowned. "Not today, I'm afraid. But I'll be here tomorrow. Do you want to meet back up here, around nine in the morning?"
He nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."
Emelia stood up, readjusting her clothes. "Today was fun, Victor. You better be here tomorrow, alright?"
"Yep, don't worry. I will!"
She waved back at him, then disappeared into the bushes.
Cassian sighed, suddenly feeling empty.
I made my very first friend. At seventeen. What kind of person does that?
He lay back down on the hard ground, staring up at the beautiful, clear blue sky.
What now?
Cassian was never given any formal education--when he was young, his nanny had taught him to read and write. That was it. Ever since then, he'd filled his time with reading books, searching for new knowledge.
Now he was alone again, and he didn't have anything to do--except go back to his room, and continue reading The Villain Prince's Survival Guide, and see what else it had to say. So he steeled himself, and left the hiding place in the bushes, after carefully sticking his arm out to see if anyone was there.
The gardens were empty, but as beautiful as ever. Roses and exotic flowers were arranged in neat row after neat row, and the background scent of the entire garden was incredible.
He'd always loved this space, because it was almost always quiet, save for the odd royal event. There were a few isolated gazebos, and all he had to do for peace was avoid the gardeners.
But in recent years, his calm world had faced… a disturbance.
A certain ambitious woman also liked the gardens.
Arylenia Ross.
The only daughter of the powerful House of Ross, she'd been paired with the crown prince in an arranged marriage as soon as he'd come of age. For reasons Cassian neither knew nor cared about, the two had still not had their wedding yet, three years later. He supposed it would come soon, but it would make no difference to him either way.
She'd been living in the palace for four years now, and Cassian still had not gotten used to it.
Arylenia was one of the worse ones--people who vehemently asserted that he was a monster, and the royal family should do something about him.
And she corrupted Phyllis with her vile opinions.
Once, Phyllis had hated Cassian just a little less. He wouldn't insult him outright, or anything along those lines. But then Arylenia came along, whispering god-knows-what into her fiancee's ears, and before long, Phyllis treated Cassian just like the other nobles did.
Of course, his hate eventually made him kill me.
It had been a few hours since his revival now. The shock of such a sudden death had been hanging in his mind like a loose thread, but after meeting Emelia, it had shrunk back, just a little.
Cassian began slowly walking around the garden, taking his time while also watching out for any sign of people.
His clothes were now thoroughly messed up--they were inside formal wear, not meant for wandering around the outside and getting into chases. He wondered if old Eneta had heard of what happened to him.
Will she snitch on me if I go back?
There was really no telling what that unpredictable woman would do at any given moment, so he decided to avoid her, too.
Indifferent one minute, an absolute bitch the next… It's hard to keep up with her personality changes.
He was halfway through the garden when he saw her--Arylenia Ross.
I'm really down on my luck today, Cassian thought with annoyance. The sight of her was enough to ruin his day. Hopefully she wouldn't see him as he passed.
Arylenia was drinking tea, sitting calmly at one of the raised gazebos, reading a newspaper. She appeared to be fully engrossed in her activities, so she probably wouldn't notice him creeping by…
Crunch!
A stick that had definitely not been there when Cassian stepped forward snapped loudly, and Arylenia's head shot up, staring right at the source.
I'm caught…!
"Well, well, who do we have here?" she sneered. "The scheming little villain prince. What do you think you are doing, Cassian?"
Ugh… she sounds like Father. She has no right to say things like when, when she's only a few years older than I am.
"It's nothing to do with you, Arylenia."
"That's Miss Arylenia to you, brat!" she snapped.
"Yeah, yeah. I don't give a shit."
Cassian rolled his eyes. If she gives rude, she'll get rude back.
Just as he was about to turn away, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He froze--there was only ever one person who did that to him.
"You're foul-mouthed as usual, Brother."