The castle hall glowed with hundreds of oil lamps suspended overhead, creating golden reflections on the made-up faces of nobles, ambassadors, and princes.
The marble seemed more polished than ever, and the strings of the violin quartet were spinning in the air like elegant butterflies. The plague still pulsed like a wound beneath the gleaming marble and crystal lanterns, but tonight, music, wine, and laughter would cover the fear like a velvet cloak.
It was all part of Queen Sibylla's meticulous plan to defuse tensions after weeks of rumors about Prince Kai.
A dance always served to distract the powerful and give hope to the people.
Kai descended the steps of the hall with his sister on his arm, both dressed as if they were going to conquer kingdoms with just a glance.
"And tell me, Kai," her sister said as she adjusted her earrings, "what will you do if mother tries to match you again?"
"Again?" Kai laughed with that theatricality that turned a laugh into a spectacle. I'll give her what she wants... only, instead of a princess, I will find a suitor richer, more handsome and more powerful than me.
"That's impossible," she growled, slapping his arm. You'd break the hearts of half a room.
"Yes, I know," Kai couldn't have sounded more distressed.
"Do you know what I need tonight?" She remarked, as they greeted a pair of dukes with an elegant bow. A suitor richer than you. More handsome too. Perhaps with a fleet of warships.
"And a flying castle?" Kai sneered, earning a subtle but deadly pinch from the princess, which he had to hide with fake smiles.
But her smile slowly faded as her little sister's eyes stopped on a man near the banquet. Brown skin, firm jawline, flawless uniform with a dark blue cape and an expression that seemed carved in stone.
Kai smiled, like a cat that has just seen a curtain move.
"I think I admit it," he crooned with amusement. I would have liked for you a future heir to a kingdom, at least a lord... but the head of the guard on the Silver Island is not bad at all.
"Don't talk stupid things. Such a union would not bring anything good to the kingdom.
"Oh, little sister, the only good thing about this kingdom... this is me.
She rolled her eyes as if it were a choreography already rehearsed a thousand times. Kai raised his glass of wine, and then he saw it. From the balcony, hidden behind curtains and thick glasses that couldn't hide his uneasiness, was Archie. He looked at it as if he were deciphering it. And he feared what he was discovering.
Just then, Sibylla approached, as serene as ever, in a golden-hued dress and a smile that hid more than it showed.
"Kai, my dear," he said in that soft voice that seemed to be in no urgency or hurry, "Princess Amara of Vaselin is delighted to meet you. Would you dance with her?
The foreigner was beautiful, dressed in a lavender hue that matched her clear eyes. Kai smiled, reached out, and they both slid onto the track.
As they twirled through the crowd, Kai listened to her talk about her passion for horses, maps, and constellations. Princess Amara was charming, spoke five languages and laughed gracefully. Everything was adequate. Everything was perfect. Everything was... boring.
Because his eyes kept going up to the balcony.
Archie was still there. In the shadows. Seeing. Pretending that he was not looking.
Later, the corridors of the north wing were half dark. The torches cast long shadows on the stone walls. Kai stopped as he turned a corner, sensing a familiar presence.
Archie was there, with his back turned, as if trying to decide whether to keep walking or escape.
"Running away from your future king?" Kai asked with his lopsided smile.
Archie turned slowly, and his eyebrows barely met.
"I was... airing me.
"By airing from the dance, or from me?"
"No. Just watching from afar...
"And what did you see from up there?"
"You," he said bluntly. Dancing like you want everyone to fall in love with you. As if you didn't care who it was with.
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"Oh... jealousy, Archie? You flatter me.
"It's not that," Archie growled, crossing his arms. It only bothers me that you play with everyone as if they were pawns. That princess seemed to be really enjoying herself.
"And what did you want me to do?" That he will reject it? Kai whispered, taking a step closer.
Archie hesitated. He swallowed hard. Recoiled.
"You shouldn't be so close...
"What if I want to be?"
Archie took it a step further, but Kai was faster. She cornered him without violence, resting a hand next to his face.
"Don't play with me," Archie said quietly.
"I'm not playing. If I played, you wouldn't be in that filthy laboratory, but in my chambers.
Another step.
Archie hit the wall.
Kai raised a hand and rested it next to his face, locking him in without touching him completely. Their faces were a sigh away. Gasping breaths filled the silence.
"Tell me you don't feel this," Kai whispered. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want him too.
Archie looked down. Trembled. And even so, he did not move away. Kai bowed. Enough to brush his breath. So that their noses could touch. So that the world would stop.
"I can't say... because it would not be true.
Kai closed his eyes for a second. I wanted to kiss him. By the gods, I wanted him. But he didn't. Because even he knew that some doors, once opened, could not be closed without making a sound.
The future king turned away from the alchemist. Archie opened his eyes, relieved, as if he had just survived a fire.
And he left. Leaving Archie with his cheeks on fire, his hands clenched into fists... and the heart beating in the hallway.