Chapter Forty Eight
The newly wedded couple returned to the capital hand-in-hand, although it was clearly an act to silence all the wagging tongues. Neither of the couple's eyes contained affection, which made people speculate that they were simply applying the self control and restrain they had used whenever they had to perform any duties together. This was something that they had many practice with, since she was the matriarch by default while he became the eldest son.
The marriage was definitely not going to be trouble free, but the couple was old enough to make sure that their disagreements would take place in the privacy of their bedroom.
Since it would be too suspicious for the senators to ask Messallina to do anything, she merely had to keep an eye on him and only report to them when something drastic happens. She told them, when one of them finally managed to find a way to talk to her alone, that Vayne treated her politely when it was possible to do so. However, dislike was still there, so the two of them argued quite a bit, although it was only harmless bickering at this moment.
"I told them that you won't be trying to get rid of me just yet, but you would be very careful in regard to my activities." She commented to him after that accidentally meeting. "I also talked with Drace."
"Was she surprised at seeing you alive?" he said dryly.
The judge in question had always bear a very strong dislike towards him, but it seemed to have reached an extreme zeal. There were even times when Vayne wondered whether he actually did something that he could no longer remember, as her prejudice seemed a bit too irrational.
"Drace is a good woman." Messallina said firmly and there was no trace of scorn in her voice at all. However, he noticed that there were still hints of exasperation.
"A good woman who thinks that I am probably smothering you with a pillow at this very moment." He said. Such a cynical comment was naturally not unusual from him or her, but she actually frowned and seemed rather uncomfortable.
"I think I prefer a dagger." She whispered and she actually touched her face before she let the hand slid to her neck.
What she was thinking was too easy to decipher.
"Did you see it?" he said very softly.
"Do you think that I would just watch and not do a single thing?"
Another man would apologise for the memory that he forced her to relive, as well as assuring her that such a thing would not happen again, that she has nothing to be frighten of.
However, Vayne was not such a person. Therefore, all he said was: "A foolish question on my part. Of course you would have done something. Even now, I am surprised at how fond you are of my brother's bastard."
"Fond is a word that can be used on many people and situations."
With that, she resumed her original task in front of her mirror- the best way that he could describe her action was preparation of her appearance.
During that week in the mansion, she did not wear any make up and only gathered her hair back with a ribbon at the very most. Therefore, he was most surprised at how long she would spend in front of the mirror upon waking up and before going to sleep.
"Unlike you, it takes a lot of work for me to look good." Messallina said. "Having a new husband would require some extra experiments."
Even though he was usually in the same room, she never once asked for his opinion. There were actually times when his eyes would meet with hers in the mirror and this would only earn a smile from her. He was not surprised, as this was something that she excelled in and needed no advice on.
He thought that she was like an actor trying various masks and costumes. Her make up and jewellries were props, just like her numerous gowns. They were put on for the sake of enhancing an image, not for her own pleasure.
Sometimes he watched her, impressed at the way she created and altered her image. He must also admit that she made him even more skeptical in regard to anyone's appearance.
An outer shell that was too easily put on.
"Anyone who thinks I just sit there and look pretty is insulting me." She had said scornfully. "They should attend one of the social gatherings where every word is a barb."
"And has your pretty but not empty head worked out what I want?"
That made her laugh, and she told him: "That your intelligent head still create foolish plans."
"Fond is a word I use for many." Messallina said as she went to sit beside him. "After all, fond is a word without consequences."
"Did you ever use that word with me?" he questioned as he looked at her real face: a sight that he was now very used to.
"I might have, but fond for you is different from the way that I am fond of everyone and anyone else." Messallina said thoughtfully. "You always were special, Carudas. And now you…"
A long pause appeared as he could tell that she had something important to say to him and he was determined to wait for her to say it.
"I think to use special now might be wrong." Messallina began slowly. "Just as I was not fond of you in the same way as I am fond of the others, you are special in a very different way. You are the most important to me. It is not that you gave me a purpose to live, because to live would always be a purpose itself. If you are gone, I will still carry on with my life. However, I will miss you very much and I will always wish that I am with you, even thought it would be foolish to think so."
She created another pause because she was rather nervous at his reaction. However, she decided that it was best to tell him now, least she lose her courage. Not only did she feel that he should know, she also felt that she must say it to his face.
"I love you. I am sure of this." She said before she quickly added the following: "You do not need to say anything, because I simply want to let you know."
This speech triggered a reaction that she did not expect at all. He actually smiled and kissed her.
"Thank you."
That was enough because he was a man whose action speaks more then words.
"You know that you are special to me too." He added when she was about to turn away. "You are the only woman I would go through such trouble for."
A few months after their return, the two of them received what could be described as their first duties together. Since the emperor was an old man who no longer traveled, it was natural that they would send Vayne to represent Archadia in an international solution. Now that he was married, it was natural that his wife would accompany him.
A meeting between Archadia; Rozarria; Dalmasca and Nabradia, to discuss the fate of the two smaller countries. The fact that the latter countries were there could be seen as an act of generosity from the two large empires; but then, both side would rather secure an agreement of alliance instead of conquering the country and then having to fight the other. If it was an alliance, then the other must accept this.
At least for a while.
"Do these little kingdoms really think that they can just continue like this?" Vayne said scornfully as he began to go through some of his documents again. Not far from him, Messallina was packing. Unlike before, he was no longer always alone in his room. He did not mind as she was never irritating and was fully trustworthy. In addition, whenever he wanted to talk, she was always willing.
No one regarded this behaviour as unusual, as it would be more strange if he deliberately avoided her. His pride would simply not allow that. Therefore, everyone made the assumption that they were probably undergoing some domestic dispute whenever they were in the same room.
Thanks to the careful placing of a few furniture and decorations, they were able to stop their conversation whenever it was necessary, although they tended to only talk when it was at night, since he usually was out of the house anyway.
Unlike the last time that he was at such a situation, she was very careful with the packing of her clothes.
"Are you going for a holiday or do you want to transfer your entire wardrobe?" he commented suddenly, seeing the amount that was there.
"I am the wife of the emperor's eldest son, so I naturally need to be seen in a variety of clothing. A few days of being on an official business would result in this much. It is a hard balance though." She explained. "Too little would make your family look bad as people would gossip that I am being mistreated. Yet if I am too extreme, then it would appear as if I am extravagant, that I decorate myself in gold while children hardly have clothes."
"The trial and tribulation of being a woman." He said dryly and this earned a chuckle from her.
"Women are always picking faults with one another and these opinions would then be passed onto their husbands, and it would usually have an influence. Only those who are borne princesses could ignore this, as they are dependant on no one. Not that your family counts, though." This was said in an equally cynical tone.
She then began to sort out her clothes again and as he did so, he heard her mutter: "And it has to be in Bhujerba."
"Varela, I had to fight for the right of going." Vayne reminded her.
"It is not as if there is anyone else who is actually more qualified then you in regard to skills and position."
"Yes, but we are going to be meeting princes and princesses. No, not just that. Crown Princes and Crown Princess, heirs to thrones."
"Ah, Crown Prince Fernando Carlos Margrace of Rozarria." Messallina said. "His cousin mentioned him once or twice, as well as some of the Archadian nobles. They say he is very charming. I did recall hearing that he could never have been a possible candidate for the Dalmascan Crown Princess, as he was already married."
Messallina did not know much about the wife but she presumed that the other had some rank, and was blessed with both beauty and wit. After all, royalties often want the very best and most of the time, it was doable. Rather, the second and third part was enforced onto the children of those who had the advantage of the first.
"We will be meeting Crown Prince Rasler for the first time. Judging by my reports, however, his actions would be very predictable. As for his wife, the Crown Princess of Dalmasca," at this, her husband's smile became rather bitter. "We met her in Bhujerba all these years ago and I hope that she underwent some sort of an improvement."
"As long as she is not screaming that you killed her brother, then I will say that there is one. But what a contrast we'll be. The old cynical couple who only married due to politics and are only putting their hostility aside due to their mutual dislike of the place. The beautiful young couple who have the world in front of them would certainly put us to shame.
"Perhaps a bit too young. I do not believe that someone so young should be sent out to such an important negotiation."
This actually caused her to pause and her reply was a very soft whisper.
"Some children grow up extremely fast." Then, she resumed her normal volume. "Not that this matter too much, because didn't you say that the result is really predictable? This is really a show."
"Yes, and their smile will tell us whether they are children or adults." He concluded.
Archadia's version of what happened in Bhujerba was probably the closest to the truth. There were some sort of an insult which caused Vayne and the two other princes to fight. The result was regretful but understandable. However, since it was a private quarrel that Rozarria refused to acknowledge, Archadia would let it be.
As for Rozarria, it was very similar: that of an argument gone wrong. Where young people's mind were clouded by alcohol and impulsiveness.
That was why Vayne loathed the false story so. It suggested that he was not someone in full control. Of course, he was the victim as it was the others who attacked, but the official version still indicated that he was at fault for not trying to find a peaceful situation.
For being a youth whose solution was to fight back. As he heard the senators' reproach and instructions of how he should conduct himself, he was actually rather tempted to really be so. At times, he almost wanted to laugh due to how much they failed to see.
But then, the senators had a reason to be in a rather foul mood. Not only did they fail to get one of their own to accompany him, one of the judges was going. Therefore, his father had his spy.
Messallina would be there, but she was obviously not good enough to them, as they performed their role too well.
"Sometimes you sound too convincing for your own good." Messallina chuckled as she sipped the wine he poured out for her. Regardless of the amount of time that he has seen her do this, he was still amazed at seeing her drinking it without any hesitation.
Despite the fact that he has yet to taste it himself. Despite the fact that it was a bottle that he could easily have tampered with.
"When you mention how you would deal with treacheries personally and then looked my way…it almost appeared as if you had already put poison in my drink." She said easily. "But you have made Larsa very upset."
"I told him that our history is not going to be fixed so easily by a marriage. His eagerness for our reconciliation almost makes me feel guilty."
"And so you take his body guard away? As if he is not already upset by not being able to come with us." She pointed out. "I know that you could have easily got someone else. Perhaps Zecht or Bergan."
"It has to be to be Gabranth and you will see why soon. What do you think of him?"
"The model citizen, so loyal and devout to his new country!" she said mockingly, raising her glass. "Let us all toss to him! After all, is he not an illustration for your brother's solutions of how we can all work peacefully together? His loyalty to your father probably rival the way a widow hold vigil over a husband she married for love."
"I thought so at one stage, but I am not so sure now. I think this might merely be a façade. Of course, the reason that it is successful is because he himself believes it. I think the true Gabranth is actually one filled with anger and it is an anger that is more powerful then the doctrine that he seem to follow so zealously. If my theory is right, then he would be a most valuable piece."
After all, he would be acting soon. Not only was Nabradia and Dalmasca of importance to Archadia, Cid's latest letter to him indicated that it was most important to them too.
Author's Note: I was stuck on this fan fiction for a while, but it seems that I might be having ideas again, which is really good. This chapter is quite important as we have a great progress on Messallina and Vayne's relationship. Due to what happened to them, their understanding on love is going to be a bit different. For Messallina, she has never loved someone before, while for Vayne, I think the only love that he has is what he feels for his brother, so there is the idea that there is different type of love. However, Messallina realised that she is probably in love with Vayne, because we can see how important he is to her. Yet at the same time, Messallina is a very rational character who is always very focused on her survival. Granted that she rather be beside him, she will still carry on with her life quite well. In the prologue, we know that she has a son with Vayne, but I think even if she did not have a son, she would still be able to carry on with her life quite well. It might not be the best life, but it would still be a good life. I thought that the line from 'Kiss me goodbye' really suit her: "go, if you must move on alone, I'm gonna make it on my own".
Moving on. Drace is not the only one that dislikes Vayne, but in Archadia, she seems the one that has a very strong prejudice towards him. She is willing to believe the very worst of him, and given that her reaction is so extreme, I can't help but to wonder: is there something that we have not see? This reminds me a bit of Thor, when Sif and Hogun immediately said that Loki was a traitor, and ignored any argument he makes by saying that he was just jealous. I find Drace's attitude a bit like that.
In the next chapter, the crown prince of Rozarria is going to come up, and my personal view is that Al-Cid is a royalty/prince by being the son of a prince or a princess instead of the emperor. Therefore, the crown prince would probably be his first cousin, with the current rulers being his uncle and aunt. This is because he himself said that he is only one of many, and I don't think a crown prince can just wonder around like that. On the other hand, he might very well be lying in regard to what he says, so maybe he is the ruler's child. However, I decided that he's not directly inline for the throne.
Initially, I was not going to give this crown prince a name, because he was just meant to be a plot device. However, once I started to write about him in the next chapter, I realised that I am actually quite interested in his character, and I would like to have him come out again. Which could be a good thing, because it could show us Rozarria's point of view a bit more. As a result, I created a name for him. Since Rozarrian seems to be Spanish (due to the way Al-Cid speaks), I pick the name Fernando for him. Fernando is basically the Spanish version of Ferdinand, the famous Isabel I of Castile's husband. As for his middle name, that is the Spanish of Charles, who is seen as one of the greatest emperor. I decided to give him a name because I actually quite regret never giving the empress a name.
