The Nightingale

Chapter 13: Jealousy

— I hope it is the last time that you behave that way, you are my daughter, what you do is as if I did it, you understand? Don't you understand the position we are in? Don't you understand the position you are in?

Her father was really upset, Rukia had never seen him angry like that. He had taken it upon himself to make her see that leaving one of the princes and future husband alone on the dance floor could be interpreted as a challenge; the crown was fickle, if the king saw something that he did not like then it could be taken as treason.

— No father, I don't understand it. I don't want to get married, I just want to go back to Maranni.

It was the first time she responded to her father in that way, it was the first time she saw the surprise in her father's eyes at the way she spoke. He had told her the same thing the queen had said when she forced her to drink the tea. It was as if something big was happening and she didn't know it.

— I should send you back to Maranni, but that would be a reward for you; you will stay in the castle and serve the queen like the other girls and if the queen decides that you cannot refuse the princes' gifts then I will not intercede for you, there are things you must learn.

— But father... you know what happens when… — The fear of her father's words vibrated in her voice.

— I know, and if that happens, then I will have to find a husband to marry him with you. You don't want to be a princess, that's fine; you don't want to behave like a lady despite the privileges you were given, that's fine but you have to keep one thing in mind, Rukia, every action you take has a consequence. People have died for less than you have done, you were lucky that Prince Kaien interceded for you or you would be suffering the wrath of the queen.

— It was just a silly dance, father. — She dared to reply and for a moment she was afraid that her father would raise his hand to hit her; he had never hit her but he had so much anger in his eyes and words that fear appeared.

— At this moment I regret that I let you grow up in Maranni and not in the palace as it should have happened. Go to your room, you will return to court after the celebrations of the souls, the queen does not want to see you.

— But father... — Rukia felt the need to reply, to defend herself, but her father raised a hand so she wouldn't speak.

The following days she spent in the rooms of the Lord of Maranni. Her father had forbidden her to go to the celebrations in the temple of the Deities and to leave the castle grounds; she could go wherever she wanted within the castle grounds and for a moment she thought about going to the cliff where she had spent hours watching the sunset with Kon but she didn't; she didn't want to see him because she was still mad at him.

All Rukia wanted was to tell Orihime what had happened on the night of the dance, she needed to vent with a friend but when she entered the room that she shared with the other ladies, she realized that they weren't there. The room was impeccable, surely the maids had already picked up the mess that the Favorites always left but she didn't know where they were all.

She walked over to her bed and found a note on the pillow, it was Orihime's handwriting.

"Rukia, the queen will take us to a picnic to welcome the princesses, we will return in the evening. Orihime."

She did not know that the princesses were in the castle, she did not even remember seeing them at the ball although at the ball she was so upset that her memories were vague and treacherous. She left the note on her nightstand and picked up one of the books on Nelliel's table. There was no point in getting angry for not having gone, surely the queen was still upset with her.

She left the room and went to one of the inner gardens in the castle. Although the castle was on a cliff, it was so large that it had several interior gardens to be able to give light to all the rooms there were.

She came to one that was within the area that they could walk freely in the castle and she sat among the bushes that grew there. She missed her house, her orchard and her garden, and being among those plants, almost completely hidden, gave her that feeling of protection that she missed; if she closed her eyes she could almost imagine herself in her house.

Rukia felt so calm, hidden there in the bushes, that she didn't know when she fell asleep, it was that kind of peace she needed at that moment.

Kaien emerged from the Registry room with enough information to think. In that place there was a detailed record of all the events of the kingdom and the castle since Avanta was consolidated as a kingdom, every birth, death, marriage, treaty, war, even the climate of the day he was born, everything was written there.

He had been looking for a copy of the Accord of the Fall, of which there were only two original writings, one in Adelaar Castle and one in the Great House in Maranni; Kaien still wondered what they had done with the original scrolls that seemed to be suspended in time.

The copy of the Agreements of the Fall that they had, was placed in a frame that had a glass that covered it completely and a steel bottom, it was kept in a special area that they had inside theRegistry room, but despite the fact that more than a hundred years had passed since the Fall, the parchment looked almost new: the black ink still gleamed and the blood with which both kings had signed the document was still as red as if it had just been removed from their veins.

Kaien was interested, at the moment, in the marriage clause.

The agreement stated: To honor the courage and blood of kings that runs through the veins of the lords of Maranni and their descendants; the first daughter of the lord of Maranni will marry the second son of the king of Avanta, thus giving her the title of Princess that she deserves.

In the records concerning those marriages there were various modifications in the weddings, but there was always a wedding between the families, in each generation there was a wedding between the royal family and the Maranni family. Even in his father's generation, his uncle had married Councilor Kuchiki's sister but they had both died in an accident when they were young.

The marriage was always arranged after the Principalities of the kingdom were officially declared so, sooner or later, Ichigo was going to end up married to Maranni's girl, no matter what plans Ichigo had to be the heir to the kingdom that was something that was going to happen. His father had declared him second prince and that would be, the sooner he accepted it the better.

He walked with that calm step, thinking about Ichigo and the inevitability of his marriage with Maranni's girl; no matter what Ichigo does to win the favor of his father, he was the second born, second prince and, if all went well, second in the life of Maranni's girl.

He was thinking about her and the warning he had given Ichigo the night of the dance, when something caught his attention: there was a small shoe sticking out of one of the bushes in the garden, it was something strange to see so he looked closely and noticed that it was not just a shoe, it was someone who was sitting between the bushes.

Kaien was surprised to see the Kuchiki girl asleep in the bushes with an open book on her chest. He looked at her for a moment and noticed how pretty she was, she looked prettier than the night of the dance.

— Yuki, don't eat all the chocolate.

That phrase seemed curious and made him smile naturally, the girl seemed to be dreaming. Maybe letting her sleep was not a good idea, evening was falling slowly.

— Miss Kuchiki, are you okay? — He asked in a voice that pretended to simulate concern as he shook her shoulder to wake her up.

He saw her stir a bit, like she was fighting to be let to sleep and it seemed really funny, so when she woke up, the smile that she saw on his face was genuine, not like the fake ones that he always used with everyone.

— Prince Kaien! Your Highness! — She said scared, getting up quickly from the floor. Kaien had moved fast so he avoided getting hit by how quickly the girl had stood up. — It is a shame that you have seen me like this. I'm so embarrassed.

Kaien could see the nerves and the blush on the girl's face, again he thought she was very pretty.

— The one who should apologize is me, I think I interrupted a fight for some chocolate. — He said with every intention of making her blush and he succeeded. The girl's face was red with embarrassment. He had to suppress the smile that caused him, it was easy to embarrass her.

— No, your highness, you don't have to apologize, I shouldn't have been there. — She kept trying to explain herself and that seemed adorable to him, but he also noticed that she did not lower her gaze, she saw him as an equal despite speaking to him with respect.

— But I think if I hadn't woken you up, you could have eaten that chocolate. Maybe I should give you a chocolate, to make up for the one I prevented you from eating in your sleep. — He suggested but the girl seemed nervous, he couldn't see if she was blushing or not, it was getting darker and the servants still didn't light up the garden. — Then let me accompany you to your room, the night is dark and the servants are taking time to light the torches.

He offered and the girl did not refuse. He offered her arm for her to hold on, and smiled when he saw that she accepted that gallantry; from what he had seen on the night of the dance and what Nell had said, he knew that she was a difficult woman and that appealed to him.

Ichigo was returning from his mother's rooms, he had gone to say good night with the intention of meeting Rukia on the way; the slap she had given him still hurt and he was not going to deny that he deserved it, but they also needed to speak.

They needed to clear things up.

Talking to her was the only reason why he had gone to the picnic with his mother and sisters, because the ladies of his mother's court would be there and he could speak to Rukia in private without the risk of her hitting him in front of his mother but she did not attend and, when he tried to sneak out of there and return to the castle, his mother did not allow it.

It was as if his mother could read his mind.

It was all too frustrating and he didn't need to see the scene he saw in that corridor.

There was Kaien, holding Rukia's hand in that polite gesture before kissing the back of her hand, like a goodbye to something that only concerns them. Rukia had her back to him but he knew her very well, by the Deities that he knew Rukia's silhouette well, and the light that came from the open door of that room confirmed that Rukia and Kaien were standing there.

Jealousy seized him, burning and boiling in his blood; Ichigo wanted to run up to Kaien and beat him up for the infamy of kissing Rukia's hand. He clenched his fist and, just before taking a step, Kaien looked up and saw him; it was a fleeting moment but he seemed to see a smile of victory on his face.

Ichigo could almost hear Kaien's voice in his mind saying "I beat you, now she's mine" and that only made him more enraged. Kaien left there, with that determined step, Ichigo began to advance with the clear intention of approaching him but this time it was Rukia's gaze that stopped him. Her violet eyes were firmly fixed on him, with that anger mixed with the surprise of seeing him there and not expecting to see him again.

— Rukia. — He said her name and reached out to her, even though they were several meters apart, but she just ignored him, entered the room and closed the door.

It had to be a fucking joke, this couldn't be happening. He needed to talk to her, he needed to know why they had been together but he wanted her to explain it to him; he knew that Kaien could lie if he questioned him.

He stopped in front of the door, it was the room of the Queen's Court. He raised his fist to strike it and stopped, stared at the wood with his fist raised, his heart pounding furiously, jealousy whispering in her ear and then he lowered his hand.

What was he going to ask her? Was he going to question her for having been with Kaien for a moment? Who was he to feel that he had any claim on her?

There was a possibility of marrying her but if he accepted that before her father forced him, then he would seal his fate as second prince; he would take away the possibility of inheriting the throne and leave the way free for the bastard Kaien who should not even be considered a prince. He couldn't allow that, he didn't want to allow that.

On the beach he told her the truth, he wanted her for something more serious than spending a single night together; he wanted her and he wanted the kingdom. At that moment the idea of choosing her as his lover came so abruptly that it was like a blow.

He could take her as his lover, and then what? He had to talk to her but first he had to clarify himself, he had to know what he wanted, he had to know what he could offer her and he had to know if she felt the same as him.

Rukia didn't want to talk to him but seeing him again made her feel so anxious that it took all her willpower not to run into his arms and kiss him. She wanted to hug him again and feel his scent on her, that afternoon on the beach hadn't been a lie and she was sure of that.

She never thought that Kon was really Ichigo, she always thought that he had said that name to her because he didn't want to get in trouble with a superior, not because he was actually the prince. She knew they should talk but she didn't want to, she was still very upset with him but the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that they should really talk; after all, she had lied to him too.

Fortunately the room was empty, surely everyone was in the bathrooms and no one saw that little scene; she had enough with what happened at the dance to give something else to talk about.

Rukia took her things to bathe and went to the bathrooms, when she opened the door she could hear the laughter and voices of the Favorites talking about how fun the day had been, how beautiful the princesses were and about Prince Ichigo.

Damn!

Rukia tried to ignore what the Favorites were saying and changed her clothes so she could take a bath; the laughter of the Favorites did not stop and although she did not want to hear them, she began to pay attention to what they were saying as she looked for Orihime, who was in a separate area, alone, carrying the hot water from the brazier where they heated the water.

The magical Adelaar had a system of pipes that facilitated bathing, the water flowed through the pipes and filled water tanks separated by marble walls where women met to bathe, at the bottom of those huge bathrooms there was a brazier and up there was a large open window through which the bathroom was ventilated and, as in the king's baths, there was a huge bathtub that was only for the use of the queen and the princesses.

— Let me help you. — Rukia offered to see Orihime with the hot water container and between them they tempered the water in the tank so they could bathe. — It was fun? The picnic. — She asked when they were both sitting on the marble stools before bathing.

— It was fun, the princesses are almost our age and they were telling us about what they were doing at Visnia Palace, the summer residence of the kings, until Prince Ichigo arrived; he seemed to be looking for someone but he did not find who he was looking for because he wanted to return but the queen would not let him do so. — Orihime looked at her with a mischievous smile as she said that and Rukia blushed a little.

— And why are they so happy? — She asked pointing to the Favorites who kept chattering about how handsome and strong the prince was; her jealousy was eating away at her just because they were talking about Ichigo.

— Because Loly somehow managed to stumble and end up on the ground screaming. The queen got scared and made the prince pick her up so she wouldn't walk and...

Rukia stopped listening to what Orihime was telling her, who seemed to give details that no one asked for about Loly in Ichigo's arms, and murderous jealousy took hold of her. She wanted to go to Loly and drown her in the water tank just for having the audacity to approach Ichigo, but she didn't; she and Ichigo weren't a couple, they were nothing, and she couldn't be jealous.

But she was, she was jealous in a way that she couldn't explain.

Thank you for reading.