Love Among Duty & War

Princess Ariadne was pleasantly surprised with Prince Valentin. She had encountered a number of others that were clearly more interested in themselves and the alliance than her as a person. Many of them were disturbingly narcissistic while others were horribly arrogant, only interested in bombarding her with their wit, accomplishments, and riches. Being truthful, Ariadne initially assumed that Prince Valentin would be a blend of both. His vibrant red hair was hard to miss and there were women gazing longingly at him from across the ballroom. It turned out that Valentin was an alluring young man of seemingly effortless charm and compelling charisma.

The fact that he seemed to be quite experienced in the art of courting a young lady was not lost on Ariadne. Still, she suspected that he was a gentle spirit and there were hints of something else there behind his golden hazel eyes. Ariadne had no idea what it was yet, but she trusted that she would figure it out in time. Prince Valentin would remain in her interests for now, she decided as they were stopped by another young man hoping to cut in. Ariadne mirrored his bow with a graceful curtsey before turning to her new partner and repeating the action again.

“Princess, I am Prince Cecil of Sorias,” the young man said, leading her into a waltz. “I must say, you are more beautiful than I was led to believe.”

Ariadne forced a smile, a mild blush rising to her cheeks even though she had heard that line quite a few times by now. She only replied with a quiet thanks as they drifted with the flow of the dancers. He began dipping into small conversation about his kingdom and his duties, but that was when Ariadne took the chance to scan the crowd for Vesper. She had been dancing with Irina only a moment ago, but when she spied her brother leading the lady knight, her mouth curved into a fond smile. Ariadne had grown up with them and it was soon after she had reached her thirteenth year that she began to notice just how familiar Vesper and Constantine were. Sometimes, she got the impression that Vesper was closer to her brother than herself and she often wondered if it would be different if it weren’t for their social standing.

She would admit that she often grew jealous of her brother when they were young, but it gradually changed as they aged and matured. Vesper and Constantine grew intentionally distant and even though her guardian knight laughed and jested about the absent Prince, Ariadne knew she was masking an underlying melancholy.

“Do you not agree, Princess?”

“Ah! Yes,” Ariadne was startled as her attentions were tested and snapped her eyes back up to Cecil’s gray ones. “I do.”

When he gave her a pleased smile and a bright blush crept up his face, Ariadne was alarmed as to what she had just agreed to. She stammered, intending to come clean and correct her error when they were interrupted by a new suitor. He was tall with a head of inky black hair that fell into his darkened brown eyes. Ariadne was immediately struck by the similarities of his stoic expression to Vesper’s Elite mentor. But while Vega was tanned and scarred, this young man was pale and hardly marked.

“Princess Ariadne, I am Prince Devotere of Vexadus,” he said, voice cool and steady. “May I cut in?”

She barely nodded her head in consent before he swept her into a flurry of wide steps meant to put distance between them and their previous spot on the floor.

“From what I gather, Prince Cecil is easily smitten,” Prince Devotere explained. “And you already agreed that you felt something ‘special’ about your meeting with him…”

“I- what?” Ariadne squeaked, horrified that she had unintentionally planted such an idea in someone’s mind. “Oh no, but I didn’t mean- I suppose that is what I get for failing to listen to him properly.”

Thankfully, Devotere just nodded his head and refrained from commenting. Ariadne let a small moment of silence lapse before tentatively offering some conversation. “Vexadus is to the west, is it not?”

The dark haired prince nodded his head, glancing down at her, “Yes, at the foot of the Fell Highlands,” he said. “Vexadus is still recovering from an old war, so it is not nearly as prosperous as Eustele. I hope I can see it back to its former glory in my time. I believe with your presence, I can.”

Ariadne flushed, though unsure of this expectation that everyone had of her to bring good fortune wherever she chose to go. She was mostly afraid that she would only amount to huge disappointment. Ariadne was not special, she hardly believed she was blessed, and she certainly didn’t practice any magic.

“I wish everyone would stop saying that,” she frowned. “I hardly believe that I would be capable of bringing such a thing. Whoever started that rumor must have been mad.”

A hint of amusement sparked in Devotere’s eye and tucked into the corner of his mouth. “I do not believe they meant it so literally. You are, however, a powerful symbol. Though you may not possess special abilities, your mere presence will strengthen the faith and morale of any group of people. Do not underestimate yourself, Princess.”

She was blushing now, feeling a bit foolish for have taken the rumor so literally. Perhaps Prince Devotere was going to think she had the mind of a child and maybe she still did. Ariadne laughed lightly, realizing that he didn’t express any antagonizing towards her silly ideas.

“Vesper says that often,” Ariadne mused aloud with a warm smile.

“Your lady knight dancing with the serious man right there?”

Ariadne looked up at his face and followed his gaze to her left, mildly surprised to see the lady knight locked into a tense dance with Vega himself. When they shifted, all it took was the line of Vesper’s brow to tell her that she was silently seething. Up until recently, Vesper had always been on good terms with her mentor. Nowadays, her duties to her Princess and her kingdom were straining her heartstrings, which was nothing like she’d ever faced before. Vesper had never hesitated to do what was expected of her as she was growing up, but now her bonds with the Princess she protected and the Prince she cared for was becoming complicated.

“Is something the matter, Princess?” Devotere asked her, concern subtly lining his tone.

“Vesper has been my guardian since before I was born,” Ariadne said wistfully. “When all of this is finished, she will not be mine anymore.”

“Surely it can be arranged for her to accompany you,” he said.

“My father was the one who chose her for me,” she replied. “And now he is choosing her for my brother. She is to be inducted into the Elite shortly after my wedding. Her duties will remain here.”

Ariadne then blushed, realizing that she had said too much on inappropriate matters, rendering their conversation awkward and dead. She tensed, refocusing her attentions on the young man leading her and apologized profusely. “I’m so sorry, I’ve divulged too much unnecessary information,” she frowned. “Please, tell me more about yourself, Prince Devotere.”

“If it concerns you to that degree, Princess, then to me it is necessary,” he said seriously.

The blush on her face darkened and she shyly turned her gaze to his chest. She remained that way until another young prince approached and cut in. Ariadne gave the tall, dark haired prince one more coy smile before being whisked away with her new partner.

Later that evening, Vesper was quick to escort Ariadne to her seat for an intermission. The guests continued to dance and mingle around the long, lavish food tables set up along the sides of the ballroom. Ariadne helped herself to some fruit and cheese before drinking her water with careful poise. In reality, she wanted to gulp it down in order to quickly quench her raging thirst, but she was taught better than that. Vesper loomed over her shoulder, posture rigid with all the makings of a proper knight. But when Princess Irina made her way over, she quirked a curious brow to which the girl born of royalty answered with a mischievous smile.

“Princess, let us go out to the garden for a bit of fresh air,” she suggested. “It is a bit warm in here, yes?”

Ariadne blinked slowly at Irina, not really wanting to get up so soon after finally sitting down. But Irina was giving her one of those looks and she acquiesced to the idea with a mild nod. She rose from her seat, taking Vesper’s hand as the lady knight aided her down the short set of steps to join Irina’s side. Together, they floated across the marble floors to the massive glass door off to the side of the room. Irina glanced over her shoulder once to make sure Vesper was indeed trailing a distance behind them as they stepped out onto the grand patio leading into the gardens. They didn’t stop until they found the modest jade fountain in a quiet corner of hedges and sat down on a white bench beside it.

“My goodness, this is perhaps the most tiring affair I’ve ever had to endure,” Irina sighed, unfolding the fan dangling from her wrist to coax some breeze over her skin. “So many fine young men, I hardly know what to do with myself! What do you think, Ariadne?”

“From what I have gleaned so far, she’s fond of Prince Ciel and she’s ensnared Prince Cecil,” Vesper said, moving towards the edge of the fountain and perching herself at the edge of it. “I think I like Prince Alec though. He seems like he’s smart and he’s pretty bland. You could probably rule his country any way you please.”

“Vesper!” Ariadne scolded. “Prince Alec is simply modest, which is not such a bad thing. And what about you?”

“I saw her dancing with Prince Ciel’s guar-”

“Irina, please don’t!” Vesper cried. “I’m already tired of seeing that damn face. He can’t leave soon enough!”

“Aw, but I think he likes you,” the brunette pouted. “He really is quite handsome.”

“Oh, leave Vesper alone,” Ariadne finally said, an amused smile on her lips. “She had to dance with Vega tonight, after all. What was that about?” She asked, turning her eyes to the lady knight for answers.

Vesper glanced up at Ariadne and pursed her lips, not really wanting to say anything specific. The last thing she wanted was to put any sort of burden on the Princess and it was especially hard when her own worries often vexed her Princess. So instead, she shrugged her shoulders and cringed.

“The usual business, that’s all,” she said. “Nagging me like an old nanny.”

“Really? I thought you got along well with Sir Vega,” Irina’s brows furrowed together and her hand came up to touch her chin. “Are you sure it is not just a lover’s quarrel?”

“Irina!”

The Avestan Princess laughed, tears dotting the corner of her eyes. Ariadne was doing her best to suppress a smile of her own, but failed miserably as a quiet giggled escaped her lips. When it came to her relationship with Vega, Vesper was always easily embarrassed whenever Irina suggested anything more. According to her, the Elite knight was just someone she looked up to since she was a child.

“This isn’t even about me, girls,” Vesper stood up and put her hands on her hips. “What about you, Princess? Did you find anyone else you liked other than Prince Ciel?”

“Well… Prince Casper seemed nice and I enjoyed dancing with Prince Elroy,” Ariadne said, blushing and looking down as she fiddled with her hands. “And Prince Devotere, I suppose.”

“I haven’t been keeping up with who is who, but I’m sure I’ll get to know them better over the next coming weeks,” Vesper stepped up to them and offered each a hand. “Now I think we should be getting back before anyone notices a certain Princess is missing.”

After she helped them back onto their feet, Irina pulled Vesper’s arm to her chest and started to drag her back towards the ballroom. She protested as usual, reciting the guidelines of conduct, but Irina wouldn’t hear any of it. Ariadne smiled and joined in, taking hold of her other arm and practically hanging off of it. The entire night was so stiff that she felt that this was going to be a rare moment in which she could act freely and without an audience. Vesper was doing her best to keep her balance with two princesses weighing her down on each side, but she managed to gently pry herself free as they neared the patio and resumed her position behind them as they re-entered the ballroom.