Details:
Title: The Boy Who Fled
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Aly/Roald
Type: Oneshot
Inspiration: "She remembered the time her mother had caught her kissing at a party for Prince Roald's engagement. She grinned. The boy had fled, not wanting to deal with Aly's mother when she was displeased." Trickster's Choice, page 239.
Summary: Aly was at Prince Roald's engagement party, and Alanna caught her kissing a boy, but what if the boy had only fled because of who he was, not because he was afraid of the famed Lioness's wrath?
"Kisses are serious things," said Aly's mother. "You talk of them as if they're party favours."
But those hurried kisses shared on a dark balcony were more than party favours to her, Aly thought bitterly.
The Boy Who Fled
Her pale brown dress, "beige", Maude had dubbed it, with its low, square neckline, tight bodice and long skirts, swished around her ankles as she hurried out towards the outside doors.
She glanced back into the well-lit hall at the crowds of people everywhere.
No one even noticed Alianne of Pirates Swoop standing at the doors- a slim yet curvy, copper-haired girl dressed nicely, invited to this royal engagement party for only one reason.
She was the daughter of the famed Lioness- the King's Champion, the famous girl who had disguised herself as a boy just to get her shield.
Staring at the crowds, one particular woman stood out to Aly.
That woman was undoubtedly beautiful, her rose-pink kimono glittering in the candlelight, her smooth, black hair shining, her perfect, pale white face calm.
Yet she was subtly, Aly could see, looking for someone, her eyes shifting from side to side, searching the crowds for that person.
Guilt enfulged Aly, for she knew who Princess Shinkokami was looking for.
And she knew exactly where he would be.
Shaking off the feeling firmly and once again scanning the crowd for watchers, Aly slid out the balcony doors and into the night.
She could dimly make out a tall, strong figure leaning at the balcony railing, and as she approached, the figure turned around.
"Aly," Prince Roald murmured huskily.
One of his arms reached out to wrap firmly around Aly's waist, one lifted up to caress her cheek lightly.
Aly let herself sink into his warm embrace, relishing in the affectionate touch on her face.
She knew this was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away, to say that she wouldn't be the second woman, to say that she wouldn't cause Shinkokami's betrothed to be a cheat.
Instead, she moved closer to Roald, placing a slim hand on one of his, letting her lips curve up into a flirtatious smile.
The prince leaned in to place a kiss on her lips, tilting her chin up with his fingers.
Aly had used to be sure that she could keep a cool head in the arms of anyone, but since meeting Roald, she had not been half as positive.
Tonight was no exception.
Dizzy from Roald's kiss, Aly leant in for another, longer one.
It had all started upon meeting a handsome, black haired man in the palace halls when her mother had been had court, Aly reflected, through her daze.
She had been bored and had flirted shamelessly with him, not realising that he was Roald, the Crown Prince of Tortall.
To her credit, he had not told her until it was too late.
For by the time Roald had realised that Aly didn't know, and that he had to mention that he was in fact the Prince of Tortall, and engaged, Aly was already in far too deep.
They had kissed, they had caressed, whispered sweet nothings into each other's ears, like all the rest of Aly's suitors.
But unlike all the rest, Roald had captured, and held, Aly's interest.
Aly had never fallen in love before, but that was the only feeling she could attribute to her affections for Roald.
But it was so forbidden, so wrong.
Roald was engaged, and making it about a thousand times worse, he was a prince.
And the son of one of her mother's closest friends.
And, Aly suspected, the son of one of her mother's ex-lovers.
Roald held Aly's hand to his lips, kissing each finger lightly.
Despite Aly's strong distraction, she knew that she had to say something.
"You're engaged," was all she managed to choke out, her hazel eyes set on his lips, touching her hand, spreading a tingling feeling.
"If I could choose," Roald whispered, blue eyes capturing hers, "know that it would be you."
His lips covered hers again, forcing her out of that train of thought, forcing her into distraction.
This time, Aly was the one to pull away.
"This is wrong," she gasped breathlessly. "I shouldn't-"
Roald cut her off again with another kiss to the lips, then to her neck, then to her collarbone.
Aly closed her eyes, shivering faintly.
"You love me, don't you?" Roald asked, deep voice curiously flat.
Aly didn't want to share the truth, didn't want him to know and didn't want to show such vulneribility to a man she could never have.
But, of its own accord, her head nodded.
He skimmed a finger down her cheek to touch her lips. "I love you, too."
Aly forced herself to ask the fatal question. "And after you're married? After you have heirs? After you're king of all Tortall?"
His mouth bent down at the corners, his blue eyes saddened visibly. "Don't. Please don't. I didn't ask for this, Aly. If I could just be normal... just get married to whoever I want..."
Aly gulped silently, her well-trained eye reading all that Roald didn't want to say.
So after tonight, then, it would be over.
She would be alone.
Bored.
Lifeless.
"I'm truly sorry, Aly," Roald continued miserably.
Aly cut him off firmly, she couldn't think about it. "Stop. We still have now, tonight..."
This spurred another round of kissing, Aly's back ended up pressed hard against the balcony railing, Roald's hands on her waist, until-
"Alianne!" a familiar, dreaded voice called.
Blinking firmly to clear her head, Aly realised that her mother was standing at the balcony doors, her hands on her hips.
"Just what are you doing?" Alanna the Lioness demanded furiously. "And who is this boy?"
Sense came streaming back coldly into Aly's dreamy mind.
The chances were, she thought quickly, seeing as Roald's back was to the doors and therefore her mother, she wouldn't have recognised the Crown Prince.
There was only one option.
"Go," Aly hissed to Roald, giving him a light push, not bothering to care if her mother saw. "Just go!"
The last glimpse she had of him was his bright, blue eyes brighter than usual- she could have sworn she saw a tear forming- and his mouth forming swift words... "I'm sorry," Prince Roald mouthed to Aly. "Good luck."
And with that, the Prince vaulted lightly over the balcony edge, landing with a heavy thud into the palace grounds.
Aly pasted a flippant smile on her face to hide her hurt, misery and regret.
"Hello Mother," she said cheerfully. "Checking up on me?"
"It seems like I need to more often," Alanna grumbled, crossing the balcony to stand next to her daughter. "Who was he, Aly?"
"No one," Aly forced herself to say without a single tear slipping down her face. "Now look what you've done. It'll take me weeks to train another one to kiss like I want him to."
"Kisses are serious things," Alanna retorted furiously. "You talk of them as if they're party favours!"
Aly thought grimly that she really should consider a career as a professional liar.
She kissed her mother lightly on the cheek. "Oh, mother. They're serious for you," she said. "They're party favours for me."
But those hurried kisses on that balcony, Aly thought grimly, had been far more than a couple of party favours.
Throughout the angry scolding that followed, Aly made herself keep a light, flippant exterior, while inside, she was shattered.
Literally.
Her throat stung from unshed tears while her mouth smiled and laughed at her mother.
Her heart thudded painfully as, inside, she spotted Roald spinning the gorgeous Shinkokami around in a dance.
Her chest constricted at the thought of life without Roald, life without his teasing, smiling and laughing, life without his kisses and embraces.
Guilt filled her at what she had done- knowingly been, putting it delicately, "more than a friend" to a betrothed man.
But to her mother, Alanna, Alianne of Pirates Swoop didn't care about boys or kisses.
No.
They were merely party favours.
A/N: So it's over, my first Trickster oneshot :D I haven't even finished the book yet... haha. Oh well. What did you think?