The castle gardens shimmered under the soft, silvery light of the full moon, casting an enchanting spell upon Liliana. She walked through the fragrant blooms of every imaginable hue heading toward Lyceus - as he had insisted she call him - with Jacks far behind her, acting as her dutiful chaperone.
Every night, in the month since their first dance, Lyceus danced with her.
He danced with other girls as well, but their numbers kept reducing until it was only her. Everyone else hated it - and her - but there was nothing they could do. He said he had already decided upon choosing Liliana, he was already in love with her but wanted to give her a chance to feel the same way before proposing.
It was the most romantic thing she could imagine.
She had told him she had loved him the day before and knew what was coming.
As they entered the heart of the garden, her eyes beheld a breathtaking scene. Flowers in full bloom stretched towards the heavens, their fragrance weaving a tapestry of nature's beauty. Fountains whispered secrets to the night, their waters gleaming like liquid moonlight. The stars above glistened like diamonds strewn carelessly across a velvet canvas.
Lyceus stood at the center of this enchantment, his midnight-blue doublet a striking contrast to the vibrant surroundings. He wore a single white rose on his lapel.
Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the scene. " Lyceus ," she breathed in awe, "what is all of this?"
She waited for him to reply, but the prince only swallowed. Several times. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He appeared to be at a loss for words.
He smiled, then, the barest touch of nerves visible on his face. He approached her, took her hand, and guided her deeper into the garden, going on one knee.
"My darling Liliana," he began, his voice steady but rife with emotion. "I had been planning this moment since the day we met. I think I knew then that you were the one for me. I love you, and I wonder if love is too small - too inconsequential - for the depth of my feelings for you, but I will s pend my whole life putting this into words."
Tears welled up in her eyes and trailed a path down her cheeks.
Kneeling amidst a bed of rose petals, Lyceus opened a small, velvet box, revealing an exquisite ring. A web of thin gold vines crawled up, twining around two gems - one gold diamond, one blue sapphire - that kissed at the crown of it. The sapphire matched his eyes and the gold, hers.
"Liliana," he continued, his voice betraying the barest shake, "will you do me the honor of becoming my queen, my wife, and my love for all eternity?"
For the first time in years, her heart felt close to bursting. "Yes."
Liliana had never had better tea in her life. She was almost certain Serendipity had put mind-altering substances in it but she didn't care.
They sat across from each other at a small, polished wooden table in a quaint little parlor with lace curtains gently billowing in the breeze. The room was adorned with delicate china teacups, a fine porcelain tea set, and the soft, golden glow of a gas lamp that cast a warm ambiance over the scene.
She twirled her fingers around a few strands of hair that had escaped her hair that had been piled on top of her head.
"I'm glad Apollo found Evangeline," Serendipity took a bit of pastry into her mouth, her tone earnest. "I think she'd be really good for him."
Liliana nodded, agreeing. The rose-haired woman wanted security and money and Apollo seemed good for her too. "Oh! Before I forget, I got you a dress to wear for the ceremony."
She pulled out a black garment bag, fighting the urge to smile at Serendipity's dazzled expression. "You didn't have to do all that for me! All the dresses I've seen you wear have been so gorgeous I've wanted to rip it right off your flesh. I would have been eternally in your debt with just the name of your designer."
She did smile at that. She loved when people complimented the dresses she put effort into. "You're looking right at her."
"You both were right about last night," Marisol stated, barging into Liliana's room with a barely awake Evangeline at her heels.
She bit back her comment about boundaries and personal space as the woman continued, "Not a single person recognized me as the Cursed Bride. Someone even asked me to dance. Did you see him?" Marisol bit down on her lip and smiled. "I think he was the handsomest person there - next to Prince Apollo, of course. He had dark blue hair, and bright blue eyes, and the most mysterious smile. His name is Jacks, and I'm already hoping-"
"No!" Evangeline shouted as Liliana looked longingly at her bed.
Marisol reared back as if she'd been slapped.
Evangeline cringed. "Sorry, I've just heard dangerous things about him."
Marisol's lips pinched tight. "I know the gossip sheets have been kind to you, but I would think that you'd still know better than to listen to the nasty words whispered behind other people's backs."
"He seems like a perfect gentleman," Liliana lied. She'd be willing to say anything if that let her get back to her rather fascinating dream.
"You're right, I shouldn't listen to gossip, but it's not just the rumors." Evangeline darted a glare at her, her look full of warning and reproach, and tried to say it softer this time. "I've met Jacks. He was at the party that first night, and - I don't think he's good for you."
Marisol snorted. "We can't all marry a prince, Evangeline. Some of us are lucky to get any attention at all."
"Marisol, I-"
"No, I'm sorry," Marisol rushed out, color draining from her face. "I shouldn't have said that. That's my mother - not me."
"It's all right," Evangeline said.
"No, it's not."
"While I do so dearly like you, Evangeline, and tolerate Marisol's presence, I'd sincerely appreciate it if you two could kindly get out of my room so I could go back to sleep." Neither of them seemed to pay any attention to Liliana's words and she groaned, flopping onto her bed, a pillow tightly pressed against her eyes and ears.
It didn't do much to drown out the conversation. Marisol even sat on the edge of her bed. If the blasted woman wasn't careful, she was going to die a slow, gruesome death very soon.
"Did you ever play that game as a child - the one where there's a circle of chairs, and when the music stops playing you have to find a chair to sit in? But there's never enough chairs for everyone, so one person is always left without a seat in the circle and then tossed out of the game. That's how I feel, as if I missed my chance at a chair and now I've been tossed out of the game."
Liliana moaned, tossing her sheets aside as she got up once again. She was too awake to get back to sleep.
She had reached over for a cup of tea when the door pounded, startling her enough that she knocked over the pot, splashing the hot liquid onto herself. She let out a low hiss of pain, and dabbed at the already forming blisters on her skin.
The only person who'd ever knocked on their door was Frangelica, but her taps were gentle. These sounded almost angry.
Evangeline threw on a wool robe before rushing to the door. The wood shook as she approached.
"Evangeline!" Prince Apollo's voice cried from the other side. "Evangeline, are you there?"
"Open it!" Marisol urged her. It's the prince, she mouthed, as if his title meant his actions weren't at all alarming.
"Evangeline, if you're there, please let me in," Apollo begged. His voice held shades of fear and desperation.
She undid the latch. "Apollo, what's-"
Evangeline was cut off as the door opened and Apollo poured into the girls' suite, along with a dozen royal soldiers.
"My heart, you're safe!" He took her in his arms. His chest was heaving. His eyes were shadowed in circles. It was as though he didn't - couldn't - see anyone but her. "I was so worried. I should never have let you leave last night."
"What's wrong?" Liliana asked, pulling her robe tighter around her.
The closest soldier held out a damp gossip sheet for her to read. It was an engagement announcement by Kristoff Knightlinger which spoke about Marisol and Princess Serendipity ruining the engagement and the future wedding.
"What does it say?" Marisol asked.
"Just another twist on the truth," Liliana hedged. She took the paper from the guard and tossed it into the fire before she could see any of the words about her. She would only end up crying and moaning more. "Knightlinger is just trying to sell papers by saying Evangeline's in danger."
"No one has tried to harm me," the future Queen assured Apollo. "After you and I parted last night, Marisol, Liliana, and I returned here, and I slept until a bit ago."
Apollo cracked his jaw and turned to Marisol as if just now noticing her presence. Marisol tensed. She had stopped her tears, but she still looked small and fragile.
"My stepsister would never hurt me. In fact, is it possible to stop Mr. Knightlinger and The Daily Rumor from printing more nasty lies about her?"
Apollo looked as if he wanted to object; clearly, he believed the gossip. But the longer Evangeline looked up at him, the more he seemed to soften. The lines around his eyes disappeared, and the hard set of his broad shoulders relaxed. "Would that make you happy?"
"It would."
"Then I'll make sure it's done. But I need a favor from you."
Apollo cupped Evangeline's cheek. "I want you to move into Wolf Hall with me, where you'll be safe from any type of threat."
Absolutely not. Liliana would never go back to living in the palace.
Liliana went back to living in the palace.
To be entirely fair, it wasn't as bad as she had feared. The halls were haunted by her memories but she liked revisiting this part of her past. Her friends were long gone and the place they lived was the only piece she still had of them.
There was a knock on her door, soft. Evangeline.
Sure enough, she opened the door to see the girl clutching a letter in her hand. "I need you to come with me to meet Jacks."
Liliana took the letter and read it. They were meeting at noon the next day in Capricorn Alley. "What do you need to meet him for?"
"I'm going to ask him to undo whatever he did to Apollo. It's wrong and unnatural."
She bit back a groan. "I know we've had the exact same conversation many times but does why he's in love with you matter more than the fact that he is?"
"Of course it does. I want him to love me for me. Not because Jacks put a spell on him. I want a fairytale love story. I want it to be real."
"But it's not. Even you're not in love with him. The only reason you're here is because he's a prince and you find that attractive. There's an awful lot of double standards that you're harboring."
Evangeline's mouth opened and closed as though she were at a loss for words. "Please come. You don't even have to do anything. I just want you there."
Liliana huddled deeper into her fur-lined cape and rubbed her hands together, wishing she'd worn thicker gloves as she hurried down the narrow strip of fog and dark that was Capricorn Alley with Evangeline.
Away from all the docks and shops, this place felt like the sort of place a person would only find if they were lost. Snow had fallen across all of Valorfell overnight, but it seemed to have missed this uninviting spot, leaving its grim gray stones untouched. The only door had a ring of skulls emblazed upon it.
An unmarked black lacquered coach pulled up.
Despite herself, her heart kicked out several extra beats and continued to race as the door swung open and they slipped inside the carriage. Liliana had planned to stay silent the entire ride. She didn't want to converse with him any longer than strictly necessary.
Jacks looked like a debauched stable boy who'd stolen his master's coach. He lounged across one side of the carriage, one scuffed leather boot propped carelessly up on the cushions. A smoke-gray doublet was crumpled on the soft leather seat beside him, leaving him in a linen shirt with rolled-up sleeves and half-done buttons. She caught a hint of a rough scar on his chest, right as he set his jeweled dagger to a silver apple and began to slice. That was new.
"Do you stare at everyone like that, or just me?" Jacks looked up. Vivid blue eyes met hers.
She cleared her throat to get Evangeline to the point. "I need you to undo whatever you've done to Prince Apollo."
"What's the matter?" Slice. "Has he hurt you?" His eyes met Liliana's again and she knew why he was asking.
"No, I don't think Apollo would harm me. He practically worships me - that's the problem. I'm all he thinks about. He gives me bathtubs of jewels and tells me that I'm the only thing he needs."
"I fail to see how that's an issue." Jacks' sullen mouth settled somewhere between a frown and a laugh. Liliana couldn't help but agree. "When you first came to my church, you'd lost your love. Now I've given you a new one."
"So this is your doing?"
Jacks' eyes met Evangeline's, returning to ice. "Leave, Little Fox. Go back to your prince and your happily ever after, and don't ask me that question again."
"I'm not leaving this carriage until you fix Apollo."
"You want him to fall out of love with you?"
"Apollo doesn't actually love me. What he's feeling isn't real."
"It feels real to him," Jacks drawled. "He's probably happier than he's ever been in his life."
"But life is about more than happiness, Jacks! Don't pretend you've done nothing wrong."
"Wrong and right are so subjective." Jacks sighed. "You say what I've done to Apollo is wrong. I say I've done him a favor, and I'm doing one for you as well. I suggest you take it - marry the prince and let him make you a princess, and then a queen."
"No," Evangeline said. "Fix Apollo, or I'll call off the wedding."
"If you do that, you'll be the one destroying him," Liliana stated, speaking for the first time. "If you don't marry Apollo, he'll be more heartbroken than you can imagine. And it will never heal with time, it will only grow and fester. Unless Jacks wills it, Apollo will never get over his unrequited love for you. He will spend the rest of his life consumed by it until it eventually destroys him."
Then, the coach started rumbling ahead. She clutched the cushions to keep from falling forward into Jacks's lap.
"Wait - where are we going?"
"Your next assignment." Jacks's gaze landed on Evangeline's wrist. He turned to Liliana. "We're dropping you at the corner of Fleet and Turnstone. You should be able to find your way from there."
She looked to Evangeline who nodded once. For obvious reasons, Jacks wasn't going to take her with them. He wouldn't want to risk her finding out what he was up to. "Alright."