Chapter 8

I didn't remember much about the Royal Palace besides that it had a large main entrance and that creepy gargoyle statues lurked on the third floor.

"Roan…" Janson sighed and stood akimbo "I could…"

Kill you, strangle you, throw you off a cliff?

"I could not be more proud!"

Janson threw his hands in the air and paced excitedly.

"This is Wonderful. When I said you should work on your popularity I meant that you should conform but this…"

Janson stood akimbo again and walked back to the front of the bed where I was sitting.

"The whole city saw! I can't wait for the presses! You'll be heralded as a champion of the people and the Brittannicans can't hide it because there were windows everywhere and faces pressed against them. Your mother is going to love you for this. I have to go thank Thomas. Make yourself at home and don't talk to anyone while I'm gone."

I blinked five times before throwing myself back on the bed. Only Janson.

The room was periwinkle pink. I hated periwinkle pink. The covers, the couch, the wallpaper, all periwinkle pink.

What a day. All I wanted to was close my eyes and sleep.

And I did.

I didn't meant to but I was so exhausted from the boat ride and trying to save lives that I couldn't help but drift off.

Agnes came to wake me for dinner. She said that the palace was exquisite, they had a water drop system and that the tub filled itself and all she had to do was make sure it didn't spill.

I still felt groggy and almost fell asleep on the tub.

"Your Highness, Janson said that despite what you did today, you have to wear a pastel because that is the fashion here and that the Prince likes the color blue." Agnes said, she was scrubbing my head and I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Then blue we shall have, it just won't be a pastel."

It felt good to be clean after being manhandled.

Agnes was brushing my hair while I thumbed through an etiquette book that had been left on the bedrest. Every room had one.

"Agnes, what do you think of the prince?" I asked and watched her face through the mirror.

I watched a blush climb up her cheeks and felt her fidget with my hair.

"Janson says his a proper gentleman… he came by while you were sleeping. He wanted to talk to you but I told him you were resting and I didn't want to wake you because you were very tired and he said that it was fine and everyone else seems to like him well enough. The people certainly do." Agnes rambled and kept brushing a tangle that had long disappeared.

"I didn't ask what everyone else thought, I asked what you thought."

Agnes froze and blinked rapidly before answering.

"He's very nice, your highness."

I nodded my head in comprehension.

"Do you know what he wanted to talk about?" I asked, picked up a beaded necklace, and threated it through my fingers.

"He didn't say miss."

I nodded my head again and dropped the necklace.

"Why don't you get my dress and lace me up? I don't think my hair will dry anytime soon."

"Close your eyes and count to ten. If I haven't left, shove me out."

"But Miss… I can't shove you out!"

Agnes and I were a mess.

I needed to exit. I needed to go to dinner. I needed to pretend I was fine.

If I could only get through the door; I was terrified at what I might find out there.

We argued on how to get me out the door for what seemed like an eternity before I finally manned up.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. With a gloved hand I reached for the doorknob and twisted it.

I waited few more seconds before I twisted it and an age before I opened the door.

I was met with an empty hallway. The only good thing that had happened throughout my day.

The death of the villagers wasn't shocking. Brittannica was ferocious when it came to sanitation. We only made it worse by intervening. It was foolish to think that they wouldn't kill them just because we asked them to.

The hallway was dimly lit by candles and I had been in this palace enough times that I knew where the dinning hall was.

The silence only smoothed over the surface of my anxiety and I took deep breaths and pulled on my index finger to keep calm.

"Facing a court was nothing; I had been raised to do exactly that. It was just dinner, we were going to eat, chat, and play cards afterwards"

The trajectory from my room to the dining hall was long and it was lonely enough that my skin crawled and I let out a sigh of relief when I saw a footman.

He bowed and escorted me the rest of the way.

I could hear the laughs spilling out of the dining hall and see the lights that escaped through the cracks in the door.

Was I late?

The footman whispered to the announcer at the door and I braced myself and smoothed my dress down before the doors opened.

There was a collective silence when I entered. They were all still standing; they hadn't gone in the actual dining room yet.

Prince Terror was the first one to break away. He walked hurriedly towards me and held out his elbow.

I faked a small smile and took it.

He was the perfect gentleman.

The group of thirty returned to their joyous babble and the Prince paraded us around. Nodding and smiling at everyone but not interested enough to start a conversation.

"Princess Roan the color blue is rather becoming of you."

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. I couldn't tell if he was being honest.

"I heard it was your favorite color."

I felt his arm tense in mine.

"Princess Roan-

"Call me Roan, it takes too long for you to say something if you have to put princess in front of it."

"Roan" He said it like the name stung his tongue "I'd like to apologize for pushing you into a fountain. I was foolish and I am very sorry."

It was my turn to tense.

I was at a crossroads.

Everytime I saw him I wanted to gouge my eyes and run but I was just really tired and after seeing the wastefulness and vulnerability of human existence, I just wanted to give up my pride and move on. Or I was just really tired.

I pulled my arm from his and faced him.

"Lets be honest with each other. I like to think of myself as a logical person and I think it would only be fair for me to say that-"

The gong rung and left me with my mouth open.

It was dinner time.

The Prince took my hand and held it tightly and I was pretty sure that it went against the etiquette book.

"Can we talk after dinner?"

I nodded my head and he smiled and held out his arm.

"Oh and please call me Newt. Like you said, the prince part just gets in the way."