Chap 2
Rhiannon flounced her skirts one more time before nodding to her bodyguard, Johnny that she was ready for an audience.
The burgundy silk showed her pale skin off and she knew the dress had cost a year's wages for one of the servants nervously flitting about. She fervently hoped she looked calmer than she felt. The expense on display was a farce. Her family and kingdom were bankrupt from the long wars and the hope for peace had been fleetingly close. If only the kingdoms could find peace.
She looked around the ornate hall with its stark white marble walls and high vaulted ceilings. The ceiling panels were clear, allowing a framed view of the sky and the variety of ships orbiting above from each home-world attending. The men were dressed in formal wear and she felt stifled in her corseted dress with the puffed skirts. So many skirts that it was difficult to walk.
Johnny opened the door and bowed slightly as Jack Harkness, Prince of Boeshane entered the room. As the rest of the delegation entered she took the time to take a good look at who might have been her brother-in-law.
He was taller than she remembered. His hair was still unruly and flicked around his face as he removed his large coat to place on the back of his chair.
His long legs folded under the table and he finally looked at her. She saw his eyes for the first time. Brilliant blue. She hadn't noticed that last meeting.
Although, to be honest the last time was their first meeting and that had not gone well. It had been the night of her betrothal announcement to Grey Harkness, the younger brother of the Prince, who had mocked his family's choice of bride. To have been called a "heifer" was so insulting and his comment that she was not worth the dowry his family was paying cut her to the bone.
Had it not been for the desperate need for a truce between the two planets she would have been happy to call it off. After a century of war, this merger was necessary. Whatever the cost. She couldn't fail her people
To have Johnny standing behind her chair and feel his grip tighten on the wood was both terrifying and exciting. Rhiannon loved Johnny, but he was a commoner. To know this horrible brute of a man would demand she warm his bed instead of her gentle Johnny filled her with dread.
Grey Harkness, Duke of Boeshane had seemed uncaring and uninterested in her or the bonding. Their meeting of families had been a cold formal affair and she had wept in her chambers afterwards. The stories of him beating a servant for not shining his boots or openly slandering her planet were all looking like they were true as he'd spouted his righteousness at them all.
The two royal families had come together this time to discuss the fact that the one she had been betrothed to, Grey "I'm a bloody Duke" Harkness, had eloped with a commoner. Under different circumstances she would have been relieved. A strange man given to moments of silent staring into space as though he could see something she couldn't. Whoever this Gwen was, she was welcome to him.
After yesterday's revelation and a sleepless night she was forced to sit though pointless arguments when it didn't really matter who was to blame. The truce was still forfeit. As the families raged at each other she looked over at Jack who was as uninterested as she was. As he looked around the room he tensed and became intensely still. She followed his gaze and saw her timid little brother Prince Ianto slipping through the room as he quietly headed for his favourite spot, the gardens.
Rhiannon looked back at the Prince and watched his eyes widen as Ianto stopped and looked at Jack, then bowed politely. To her surprise Prince Jack rose and followed her brother from the room like he was in a trance.
As Prince Jack watched from afar, Ianto sat on a nearby seat and threw crumbs for the birds that gathered excitedly at his feet. Jack knew only the cold ice of loss. The last two years had been cold and lonely. As he watched the young man he wondered if anyone truly felt the fires of passion anymore.
The lithe young man showed grace and style in his tailored garments that looked prestigious but it was rumoured that the young prince designed them himself so that they may be re-tailored thus saving credits the next season.
His closely cropped hair was a reminder of his military days. As Jack recalled the young prince had served two tours of service, one of them off world fighting marauders to their system. This young man had fought for all three waring planets. And he looks good in a suit, but as they say … that's harassment that is.
Too soon, it was time to go and as Prince Jack kissed Rhiannon's hand he couldn't help but wonder if the families could ever come to an agreement.