“Stop reading my emotions,” I accused and placed a pillow over my head like it would hide whatever colours he said he saw.
“Be glad I am not talking about the fact that you are all pale yellow. That dash of lilac is a positive improvement,” he remarked.
“I have no idea what that means. I feel you stole all of this from chakras and stuff,” I admitted.
“Or they stole it from me.” Would this man ever stop grinning? “Yellow means you are sad, judging by the mixing shades you are also regretful, sorrowful, and needy,” Rhylan waved a hand in the air as though chasing away a fly that came too close to him.
“Okay mister fortune teller, it’s not like you couldn’t read the fight I had with Ansgar last night from all the broken pieces of furniture behind you, but I’ll give you that.”
He turned to observe everything with a fresh eye, the fact that Ansgar had done this due to a fight seemed to brighten his morning.
“The lovely prince is so passionate, is he not?” Rhylan returned to that wicked smirk of his and I wanted nothing more than to slap that joy away from his face.
“Where is he?” I asked, scanning Rhylan’s expression in hope to read the truth on his features.
“Training with the commander and new recruits. They’ll be at it all day,” he explained.
“I’d like to go to him.” Before I gave him the opportunity to say no, I added. “Please.”
He stopped for a beat, analysing my request, but replied dryly. “You will have enough time to see him tonight. The day is reserved for your trousseau and you are already late.”
I wanted to protest, to fight him, but I kept myself in check. I would not give him the satisfaction, not after last night. “What is your plan, Rhylan?”
“Oh princess, you know very well I can't tell you that,” he replied like it was obvious. I scanned him, looking at me from the doorframe, without taking a single step inside the bedroom, not even by accident and said, “Then why should I help you?”
He tsked, the displeased sound of his tongue pulsating into my eardrums. “Princess, how do I explain this to you so your little brain finally understands?” he changed his tone of voice to make it like talking to a little kid. “If you do not cooperate, your little fuck boy go bye-bye. Forever this time.”
By the slithering darkness in his gaze, I knew he meant it.
“So what is it that you need from me?” I swallowed my urge to regurgitate in fear at his threat.
“I need you to act like in that movie humans love so much, with the door,” he pointed.
“Huh?” I replied with a frown.
“They are on a ship and they die?”
“Titanic?” I asked, surprised.
“That’s the one,” Rhylan replied happily. “For two hours, they distract you from death, showing you happy pictures of a couple. I need you to do that for me, only for two weeks. Until Autumn Solstice.”
“So I am a distraction from death?” I asked with a trembling voice, terrified that he would point another threat at my prince.
“Exactly. I need you to smile, be polite, take strolls with me through the kingdom, and act like you are in love and happy, or at least semi-excited about becoming a princess to the Fire Kingdom,” he extended his arms at the mention of the kingdom, yet another one of his theatrical gestures I had come to recognise. They came in some of his most sincere moments, even though he struggled to show otherwise.
“And how can I do that? How can I pretend to be happy and excited for a wedding I do not want?”
Rhylan pursed his lips, thinking for a short while. “Imagine it is all planning for your prince. Think of it as though you are marrying him and all of this is training for what it’s to come. I'm sure the first thing once you get out of here will be to take you home and marry the hell out of you.”
My stomach contorted. I didn’t know if that was his intention, but he gave me unimaginable reassurance with his words, the fact that he had expressed a possibility for both Ansgar and I to leave this place.
“You will help us?” I asked, hope accumulated in my veins.
“If you behave,” he sharpened the words and turned his back to me. “Now be a good sprout and get dressed, we shall discuss more at breakfast.”
And we did just that. Rhylan and I had breakfast together and he told me about what was expected of me as his future consort, the laws of the kingdom, and how it would be acceptable from today for me to stroll unaccompanied through the court halls and share a table with the royals.
It ended upwith me spending a very long day standing in front of a mirror with various females spinning me around and measuring me, having only a few minutes allowance to eat a quick sandwich. The result of the day’s work was a long dress that was brought to me with a dinner invitation.
