A/N: I own nothing. Enjoy!
Piper looked up at Jason's study on her daily walk. To her disappointment, she couldn't catch a glimpse of him through the window like she usually could.
She sighed softly and turned her back from the main palace. While the flowers in the freesia and gardenia gardens didn't bloom, the garden still had unique sculptures and a hedge maze that made it still interesting to visit even in the snowy winter. Sometime in the course of her daily visits, someone had placed beautiful ice sculptures that glittered in the weak sunlight along the walkways. Her ladies-in-waiting had giggled and whispered that these ice statues were specifically placed there on the orders of the Cuoran second prince for the Cytheran princess to see. There had been no rumors of the Cuoran prince to do the same thing for the other princesses.
At this thought, she rubbed the mark on her wrist unconsciously. Secretly, Piper had hoped that Jason's different actions towards her could mean something...more. If she could only love one person in her lifetime due to this mark, then it wouldn't be a bad thing if he liked her even a fraction that she was beginning to. At the very least, she knew that the Cuoran prince seemed to dislike the Colchis princess and treated the Inferis princess with the expected cordiality of a diplomat. And Piper had to admit that she was jealous of Lady Annabeth's and Duke Percy's relationship. The pair seemed to be so in love naturally, without a care for their stations and responsibilities, which they somehow managed to pull off.
Sighing again, Piper looked back at the window. Still no sign of a living soul in the study. Of course, Piper thought glumly. Prince Jason must have been busy these days. Piper had heard rumors that Duke Percy was framed for attempted murder, so the Cuoran prince must be working hard to deal with the backlash. Then there was the scandal of the Colchis princess dropping out of the bridal candidacy.
Good riddance, Piper scoffed. Princess Medea had even thought to enchant the imperial physicians when they evaluated all the princesses at the trial that ultimately dropped Medea. It had taken all every bit of Piper's power to disenchant the physicians of all fascination magic.
"Princess. Princess."
Piper broke from her thoughts. She barely noticed her ladies-in-waiting and Sir Leo discreetly backing away to a safe distance. Prince Jason was there in the garden, wearing a kind smile.
"Oh. Your Highness."
Piper blinked, not expecting the prince to be in the gardens. He had never walked through the gardens much, she had found.
"I apologize, I was lost in thought and didn't hear you the first time."
Jason smiled again and gently took her hand and brushed a kiss over the back. Piper shivered, not from the chill of winter, but from the tingles that ran up from her arm. His gloved hand had brushed against the mark on her wrist.
"It's no worries. Have you been doing well?"
It had been hard to spend time with each other outside of the allocated luncheons during the bridal candidacy.
"I've been doing well, thanks to your care, Your Highness. How about you? You must be working hard these days."
Piper detected shadows under Jason's blue eyes that had not been there in the days prior to the winter ball. There had been many situations after then.
"I have been well, Princess."
Though his words were certainly meant to reassure her, Piper could tell he was tired. Jason was still lightly holding onto her hand, so she couldn't help but reach up with her other hand and brushed his cheek. There was some sort of red mark on his jaw that she rubbed off with her thumb. Jason closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. It was a rare moment to spend like this.
Piper hated to break the moment of serenity, but she had a lot of questions building up. Here in the Cuoran palace, she felt like a trapped bird at times.
"I hear Marquis Dylan has been sent back to Cythera," Piper ventured.
"Yes," Jason murmured. "The courts of Cythera will deal the justice he owes you."
"Hmm."
Pity, Piper lamented. But it wasn't up to Cuora's jurisdiction in dolling out the punishment, and it was an offense committed against her, a Cytheran princess. Marquis Dylan had a lot of connections back in Cythera. Piper could only hope that her mother would at least show some effort in dealing with the Marquis, though Piper was not the most favored daughter of hers.
"May I accompany on your walk, Princess?" Jason changed the subject.
"I would be delighted." Piper smiled back.
She slid her hand around his arm and the pair strode into the snowy garden.
Jason smiled, though the corner of his lips drooped slightly. He had to be more careful of how he appeared in front of her, lest his future wife ran away. That one stray spot of blood on his face had come when he had to kill a few assassins that came after him. And of course, he could not tell the lovely woman beside him that Marquis Dylan would fail to ever reach the Cytheran castle. Some thieves would attack his carriage after they crossed the Cuoran border. And since Marquis Dylan would be shackled to prevent his escape, he would unfortunately be killed in the assault by unknown thieves.
It was a pity that Jason himself could not be the one to slice Dylan's hands off for laying hands on the Cytheran princess. But why dirty his own hands when he could hold the dainty fingers of the princess beside him?
"Shall we go this way, Princess?"
"Madam, the head gardener says that he would like to meet with you."
Annabeth looked up from the wedding plans. "The head gardener? All right. Bring him in and serve some fresh tea."
"He would like to show you something in the greenhouse, as he says it is of most utmost importance that you see with your own eyes, Madam."
Despite not being officially married yet, the employees of the ducal mansion had taken to calling her Madam.
Annabeth took a look at the clock. It was nine o' clock in the night. To be honest, Annabeth didn't want to go out in the pitch darkness and cold weather this late at night. Besides, Percy wasn't home yet. It looked like another busy night at the castle.
"Oh, very well. Bring me my fur lined cloak and gloves."
"Yes, Madam."
Annabeth soon trudged to the greenhouse. The workers had just shoveled paths in the gardens and walkways of the mansion grounds, but falling snow was beginning to cover the rocky paths again. The lit lamps hung along the pathways to illuminate the ground barely pierced their light against the whirling snow. It looked like another rough snowstorm again.
A steward opened the door to the greenhouse and bowed Annabeth in.
"Oh!"
Annabeth let out a gasp of surprise. Braziers and glittering glass lamps hung in the greenhouse, the flickering light not too strong but giving the atmosphere a warm and sultry feeling. Blue rose petals were strewn on the floor, leading deeper into the greenhouse.
She laughed, realizing that head gardener and Percy must have conspired together to get her here. No wonder some of her maids were extra giggly and sending her looks today. Well, she could stand to give the head gardener and whoever else was in charge of this plan an extra bonus this month.
Annabeth leisurely followed the trail of rose petals until the path ended right at Percy. His hair was carefully brushed, and she noticed he had taken more care with his clothes than usual. At least, she was sure that it wasn't the normal Black Knights uniform he had been wearing when he left for work that morning.
"What's this?" Annabeth asked.
It was natural for her to extend her hand into his offered palm. Percy merely smiled and placed a flower crown made of small blue rosebuds onto her head.
Annabeth looked around. The blue rose petals must have cost a fortune alone.
"When did you come back home?" She wondered.
"A couple hours ago." Percy admitted. "I tried coming back as early as I could so I could set this up."
A little table was nearby, with a vase full of blue roses and candles. Annabeth could tell her favorite lemon and blueberry cheesecake was already sliced and waiting on two plates. She had been so busy that she hadn't been able to eat a bite from dessert that night. Percy led her to the table and pulled out a seat for her.
"What a gentleman," Annabeth cooed.
"Always for you, my love."
But Percy didn't walk around the other side of the table as she expected. Instead, he kneeled down on one knee.
"Percy!"
Despite just sitting down, Annabeth stood up on her feet, her hand over her mouth. Percy grinned and pulled out a black velvet box.
"I do realize that our wedding is less than a week away, and that we were engaged initially through a contract...but I didn't want to have the rest of our relationship be based on a business contract. So, Annabeth, will you do the honor of marrying me-mmph!"
Before he had even finished his words, Annabeth had flung her arms around his shoulders, throwing the pair onto the ground. Percy laughed, the warm sound echoing in the large greenhouse, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I'm guessing that means yes?" He joked as he looked up at her.
Annabeth peppered his face with kisses, too excited to even answer, nor caring that both of them were lying on the ground. It was quite rare for Cuoran nobility to propose to each other, since many marriages were based on business contracts or for political gain. A proposal was a tradition reserved for commoners.
"A million times yes," Annabeth beamed.
"Good. I promise to make you happy for the rest of our lives."
A slim metal band slid onto her finger. She hardly noticed the blue diamond or design set onto the platinum band when she bent down and kissed Percy again. In Annabeth's exuberance, she didn't notice that Percy was holding her more tightly than usual.
The wind howled outside while the snowstorm slammed ice into the windows. While on cold, blistery days like these, many people would gladly stay inside, Marquis Ares was glad for the cover. Less people outside meant less prying eyes so he could easily funnel more mercenaries and soldiers into Cuora. Of course, the marquis gave little thought about the feelings of forcing soldiers to travel in deep snowdrifts and winds that froze their limbs.
"I believe it would be best to attack in three days before the wedding of Duke Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase," Count Luke Castellan said to the group of nobles heading the aristocratic faction. "Once those two are wed, they have financial backing from the Chases and the influence of the ducal and royal family."
"What prevents the Chases from providing the financial resources regardless before their daughter marries into the Jacksons?" Another countered. "We all know the Chases are staunch royal family supporters. It would have been better for you to marry Annabeth Chase first."
Count Castellan's expression did not change, though a muscle twitched in his cheek. It was a sore spot for him, and it stung his pride that Annabeth had actually declined his engagement proposal.
"Well, Lady Soleia Eluard is not a bad financial backer, either. She will provide us some funding, right, Count Castellan?"
Count Castellan looked uncomfortable as the talk turned to his new fiancee. "Well, most of her money is tied up in different companies and assets. It might be hard to gather funding there."
Marquis Soleia's former husbands still had family that were clamoring for capital and inheritance funds that they claimed belonged back to the deceased families'.
"Enough." Marquis Ares commanded. "We shall attack on the night of the wedding. Most of the attendees are from the neutral and royal family faction. On that day, they will all be gathered in one place in the wedding hall, and far from their lands and soldiers where they can defend themselves. The royal castle will also be navigating the wedding since Duke Jackson is a part of the royal family. The Black Knights will be distracted with guarding the wedding while the royal castle will be left defenseless. The White Knights Order will pretend to guard the castle as we invade within. It will be an easy matter to kill King Zeus since we have word that he's sick in health. Queen Hera will be just as easily disposed off. We will catch them off guards the most when we attack on the wedding night. Princess Medea has also agreed to strike on this day, and she will help us overcome any obstacles in the castle."
Marquis Ares sneered. "Let the happy couple have their moment. After all, it is 'till death do us part,' no?"
A/N: Happy Lunar New Year's and belated Single Awareness Day! For those alone during COVID-19 and Valentine's Day, here is my gift of an update for you all! Meanwhile, I'm typing up these cute fluffy, adorable romantic scenes while I'm sitting in my single ass wearing sweatpants. Sigh, it's fine. Maybe I'll meet someone in med school or once this pandemic is over.
I've been reading the webtoon "I Don't Love You Anymore", and OMG I don't think I've hated another second male lead, almost as much as Sovieshit from "Remarried Empress." If you ever want to be stressed out, read either of these webtoons. In "I Don't Love You Anymore," the female lead makes a smart choice in ditching her fiance of 10 years because he neglects her and she's treated like trash by practically everyone because her mother was a maid, then suddenly the asshole fiance/second male lead decides he wants the female lead back as soon as she breaks up with him. AFTER THE EX-FIANCE STRAIGHT UP DOESN'T CARE ABOUT HER AND WAS THE ONE TO GIVE HER AN ANNULMENT PAPER IN THE FIRST PLACE. AHHHHH!
I can't believe the second male lead doesn't know how the female lead has been treated like trash for all her life. He had ten years to get to know her and her situation, but noooo, he wants to pursue her after their annulment. You had your chance, dude, for ten years. The second male lead's name is Duke Wistash, but I'd like to call him Duke WisTRASH. The first male lead is the only male who is not trash in that story and has my seal of decency approval.
Anyways, sorry about that rant. Makes me wonder whether I should write my next story with a second male lead who is as annoying and aggravating as the ones from these webtoons. Generally, people tend to love the second male leads more than the first male lead, (cough like my man, Han Ji Pyeong from the kdrama Start Up who really screwed up his 10+ year lead).
Well, hope you liked this update, and see you next chapter! The end is coming nigh, lovelies T.T