Upon returning to the palace, Zerath offered to walk with her till her chamber. Their steps echoed in the silence of the corridor that was lit up by the half-moon's brilliance in the sky outside. Vivia's pace became slower and slower the more she walked.
"It seems like you're quite tired."
"Yes?" She looked up, surprised. "Ah, no. I'm not that tired."
"You toured the city quite a lot. It would've been taxing. You should take a good rest now."
"Will you be resting too?"
"Not quite. I've some pending work to complete."
"So late?"
He smiled. "Lucian will kill me if I slack off anymore."
"Oh. That's right. He is quite stern and particular. You two seem like good friends rather than a lord and an aide."
"Naturally. He was one of the first people I bonded with when I first entered the palace. Father had appointed him as my aide. He taught me the ropes of palace affairs and my Crown Prince's responsibilities. He is serious, but it's fun to be around him."
"Yes, I know that. His seriousness is his charm, haha," she chuckled. "Considering his stoic personality, it was surprisingly easy to get along with him."
Zerath paused. "That's a little unfair, Lady Vivia."
"What is?"
"You colluded with him for just one prank, and it feels like you two have grown fond of each other. Are you leaving me out?"
Vivia coughed hard.
Zerath's eyes narrowed, and he turned to face her. Each step bridged the distance between them as if the corridor itself was shrinking to force them to come close.
On a normal day, Vivia would have stood her ground, most definitely matched his teasing spirit too. But her feet inched backward until her back hit the wall.
"W-What do you mean? There was no question of leaving you out…"
Breathe, breathe, Vivia. Have you forgotten how to breathe, idiot?
While his eyes never left hers, he raised his hand, his fingers reaching out to catch his collar. They playfully tugged at it as his long drawn silence raised the temperature of the invisible tension between them.
"Hmm? I certainly felt left out. I didn't quite like that."
Her lips pressed together. A light, subtle smile played on his lips, but it were his eyes that bounced the goosebumps up and down all up till her spine. They patiently gleamed half-teasing and half-accusing. The latter half felt like…Zerath would do something to her. She didn't know what, and it was exactly that mystery killing her.
Speak, speak something. I cannot lose my composure like this. Where are my snarky comebacks when I need them the most!
Then came her salvation. Or not.
"...Zerath."
They turned at once, and Vivia swore she dropped straight to hell - for Nefarion, Rudaheim's King and Zerath's father, was staring right at them.
Zerath, on the other hand, didn't look too perturbed. He calmly withdrew and addressed him. "Father."
Vivia was speechless.
That's all you have to say when he saw us…like that? And I'm still in a man's clothes!
An abnormal amount of heavy silence remained stationary between the three. Vivia wanted to reveal her true identity and uproot any seeds of Nefarion's budding suspicions toward his son's orientation, if any, but what she ended up saying was,
"I'll take my leave…! It has gotten so late, now look at that."
Nefarion watched her escape at the first chance she got with lightning speed. He then walked upto to Zerath in extreme and heavy silence.
"Father," he smiled. "Did you have dinner?"
Nefarion looked at him intently, his body trembling a bit. "…Is it true?"
"What is true?"
"Your feelings…for the coachman. I heard it from the knights when I was passing by," he breathed out shakily.
Zerath's brow twitched hard.
Time for some special training lessons I guess.
He smiled reassuredly. "Be at ease, Father. He isn't coachman Ril but Princess Clairette. She played a prank and was disguised as a man, that's all."
His eyes widened slightly. "That was her?"
"Yes."
"I see, I see. So then…do you like…Lucian instead?"
"..."
"I heard from those same knights that you were quite…intimate with him."
The silence grew uncomfortable.
Their training lessons have just gotten harder, Zerath thought with an impending smile.
Zerath held his hands, which were shaking too hard and felt too cold for his own good.
"Father, if and when I get married, it'll definitely be with a woman. Please be at ease and breathe. I think you'll collapse."
"No, I'm fine," Nefarion looked calm, or at least he tried to be calm. "I just want to know."
"I told you."
"...Are you sure? Is the reason why you keep Eurus close to your side is because you want to adopt him in the future? If you like a man, then your own child would be…"
Zerath stared.
How in the world did he reach that conclusion with just a few rumors?
"Father, please trust me."
Nefarion studied the sincerity in his eyes and nodded slowly with a subtle sense of relief in his demeanor.
"I mean…" he looked away, "I wouldn't have said anything against it…It's just that…"
"I understand, Father. You don't have to explain."
He patted his shoulder. "Good, good. Truth be told, I want to see a grandchild with your golden eyes."
He cleared his throat. "I hope you will. You should go and rest, Father."
"It's you who should be resting. Tomorrow is the festival at Casca for your honor. Their new lord mustn't look tired and lethargic. So go. You've lots of things to do tomorrow."
—
Rushing back to her chamber, Vivia collapsed on her feet, her back slid down her door.
That was such a scare…I really thought the King would eat me raw.
She sighed and rested her chin on her knees. In all the confusion, she had lost her chance to talk to Zedath. Regarding the orphanage, regarding the sky festival…she felt she had many things to say to him, but her words had failed her. Only her drumming heartbeats remained in the wake of his angelic smile that had pulled her out of that dark hellhole of the past's painful echoes.
Her hand reached to her chest, leading up to her throat that felt hot and pounding. Whether eyes open or closed, all she could see was Zerath smiling at her with his breathtaking beauty. All she could remember was how safe she felt as they walked along the streets together.
Her gaze stared in the distance in a daze, a soft smile tugging at the strings of her lips.
"Zerath…"