-IV-
Verify
All that's fair must fade
in Asterye (Castle)
"And why are you hiding away from the party?"
Wide-eyed, Arielle threaded her fingers awkwardly around the wet black mask and quickly avoided his suspicious gaze.
When she first decided to attend the ball, she was secretly determined to spend the entire night hidden in the garden away from all the dreadful facades. The manor's garden was quiet, idyllic and empty except for the odd scandalous courtships masked under the moonlight, a few maids and footmen hurrying in and out of the noisy hall. As Arielle ventured deeper into the manor's sophisticated garden filled with structured hedges, she spotted someone near a small fountain.
Initially, she was only going to observe him from afar; but her curiosity was piqued by the individual removing their top hat and black mask, revealing blonde wavy hair.
Deep down, she knew she wasn't supposed to be hiding out in the dark with some stranger who was lying about his identity and was certainly not meant to be exchanging masks in an attempt to further her disguise. But, he had seemed strangely familiar, yet Arielle couldn't quite remember where she had seen him before.
My Lady!
Myrtle's stern voice startled her clouded recollection, and upon reflection, Arielle panicked at the thought of someone seeing her in the shrouded garden with a man, a stranger no less. The daily capital's newspaper would have a field day with such disgrace from the royal family before the coronation day.
"I—I have to go," Arielle stumbled, quickly placing the moist half mask over her eyes and shifting her attention to the direction of the manor hall.
The ball was about to conclude for the night, the sound of violins echoing across the breezy wind. She had to return to the carriage before all the guests moved out into the garden for the last dance of the night.
"I hope you enjoy your stay at Asterye," Arielle warned, afraid if she were to turn back, she'd have the urge to drag him away from all the hassle that was soon transpire under a firework show.
Arielle lost track of time and avoided moving out of her room the following day. Her excuse, she had feigned a headache from attending the ball and a slight fever from having stayed out too long in the cold with a flimsy dress.
Sleeping well into midday, Arielle ignored the scuffling sound in her room and the light seeping into her canopy bed. She turned to her side and pulled her velvet duvet over her face, snuggling into the dark soft mattress.
"Princess Arielle," a maid whispered as she made her way to the large bed and tugged the curtains to the side.
"Leave me be!" Arielle groaned, throwing a small pillow out to the pestering maid in her room. "Get out!"
"My Lady, I'm sorry. But this is urgent. I'm afraid the King has ordered for your audience."
What? Arielle, now wide awake, questioned mentally. Tossing aside her velvet duvet, she sat up from her bed in disarray. Her long lavender hair covered her dishevelled silk nightgown, and her wide amber eyes darted across the room.
"When?"
"Well... since you've returned from yesterday's ball, he wished to speak to you before lunch."
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place!" Arielle snapped, putting on her slippers.
The maid treaded forward to Arielle's large bed, withdrew the thick curtains further to the side and placed the small pillow back onto her bed, hiding a nervous swallow. Since her accident, the maids were all warned to heed the princess's childish temper, although now that the princess was well in her twenties, such behaviour only added to her already ruined reputation.
"Is he waiting at the banquet hall?" Arielle asked, curling the ends of her long lavender hair.
"I'm afraid so, my Lady. Myrtle is currently speaking to his butler on your behalf."
Arielle pressed onto her stomach and reclined back onto her soft mattress. What did the senile old King want with her now? She was still recovering from the arduous journey back to the capital and wanted to stay holed up in her room until her brother's coronation. Wasn't attending the evening ball more than enough? Why was it so hard for him to read the room and leave her be?
The velvet duvet was now hanging off her bed, and instead of worrying over the state of her bed, the maid stood in front of Arielle, waiting cautiously.
"My Lady, Arielle?"
Arielle heard her name cutting off her thoughts and raised her brows.
"Let's hurry before he sends someone to fetch me," Arielle observed, staring off at the open window whilst her maids assisted her with her dress.
A sense of unease washed over her as she walked along the rigid corridor towards the main dining hall, stretching out like a timeless abyss devoid of colour. The vintage-styled paintings of nature and previous rulers etched onto the walls near the grand dining halls seemed alive in her paranoid mind as if they were watching her every move.
A pearl of sweat trickled down her neck, amplifying her growing anxiety. The King rarely summoned her to the banquet halls, preferring to talk to her through letters and demands conveyed by his butler.
"Your Majesty, Princess Arielle is here at your request."
Arielle stiffened at the mention of her title, dread sinking into her core. She gripped her purple dress and bowed rigidly, "Your Majesty."
The King ignored her greeting and kept reading the newspaper, flipping over the pages and coughing here and now. Arielle waited nervously, then glimpsed at his closest butler, who ushered her to the dining table filled with freshly baked pastry, fruits and hot vegetable soups.
Arielle obliged and was glad the King didn't utter a word, too preoccupied with reading the newspaper on the latest events of the Navy. If she squinted a little more from her seat, she could spot a wanted poster of a pirate on the back cover.
Monkey D.? Arielle tilted her head to the side and returned her gaze to the dining table filled with all sorts of meals. Has the Prince returned from his diplomatic voyage? The King was far too ill to eat the freshly baked food laid out like a decoration. There was far too much food for either of them to complete.
The dining hall was quiet and dreary, punctuated only by the frequent sound of coughing. Arielle flashed a small smile to one of the maids standing by the exit door and treaded slowly to the farthest seat away from the King.
His closest butler stepped forward, holding onto a glass of water, "Your Majesty, please."
The King raised his hand and dashed the newspaper to the table, "It's fine. I want to be alone with Arielle now."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Arielle kept her eyes trained on her plate and pondered why he wanted to speak to her alone. Her racing heart fretted at all the possibilities dotting her mind.
Was he finally going to marry her off now that the Prince was to take the crown? Or perhaps he was finally ready to spill the royal secrets now that he was approaching old age.
No, the King was never the type to share his secrets, nor was he the type to let anyone know of his plans. But, the thought of the King finally acknowledging her trembled her core.
"How did you find yesterday's ball? I hear you returned earlier than planned."
Arielle bit her lips and looked down at her purple dress, "Oh...I—it was great! It was my first time attending such events again. I learned a great deal."
Not knowing whether or not the King wanted to hear any more of her lies, Arielle kept her mouth shut and continued to fiddle around with the fabric of her dress.
The King hummed and stroked his beard. "There's a reason why I've invited you here."
Arielle quickly placed her hands on her thighs and sat upright, eager to comprehend the King's peculiar request of having breakfast with her this late.
"There are esteemed guests residing here, and before we invite the guests over, I'd like to warn you that it will be your responsibility to ensure their stay here at Asterye is as comfortable as possible."
Oh. Arielle blinked at the odd report. Esteemed guests?
The King tried to stifle another cough. "However, until the Prince's arrival, it will be your duty to represent the Prince and not get in their way."
Guests? What kind of guest required her to act on behalf of the Crown Prince, who was supposed to be home this week? And, what did he mean not to get in their way?
She opened her mouth as if to retaliate but kept her mouth shut and decided against arguing with the King, who had turned his attention to the door and back to the royal table filled with food. He closed his eyes briefly as if to prepare himself mentally for what he was about to share.
A chilly wind gusted into the hall from the study-stoned walls, forming goosebumps all over her body. A few more minutes passed in silence. Arielle scrambled her mind away to discern who the guests were, and the King tried to stifle in another cough. To her surprise, the King reached out to grab onto the newspaper and held it for her to gloss over.
"Read the second paragraph," he coldly demanded, pushing the newspaper onto her.
Arielle squinted and tilted her head, skim reading the paragraph and searching for the King's name in the newspaper. Other than describing a shipwreck event and the latest information on the changing tides of pirates, there was nothing on the King nor Asterye Kingdom itself.
"Look closer at the image."
Arielle frowned and pulled the newspaper close. The image of the shipwreck was far too blurry to spot anything unusual.
"The floating banner," the King pointed out.
Oh. Beneath the wreckage and the Navy flag, a white coated white and red banner was floating on the water with petals of flowers. But Arielle still had no clue why he was focusing her attention on a simple shipwreck caused by the seas and peered up at the King.
His watchful stern eyes scanned the empty hall for any onlookers before landing on her.
"Aster is missing," the King whispered gravely. "He was last seen crossing the treacherous grandline."
Arielle gasped, at a loss for words. The King rarely called the Prince on a first-name basis ever since he took on some of his duties. The two royals were constantly at each other's throats, headstrong and with unyielding pride.
A heavy feeling of doubt crept in, whispering to her that perhaps there was some hidden meaning in the King's speech. The grandline was immense with all sorts of daring tales of missing ships, relentless waters and disappearance from even notable pirates. It wouldn't be unnatural for a shipwreck to happen in such a quaint ocean. The dreadful grandline was no paradise for any voyagers.
But he was with the Navy and other highly esteemed noble constituents of various Kingdoms for a diplomatic meeting. The world government wouldn't allow such mishaps to occur straight at their doorsteps unless pirates were involved.
What about the upcoming coronation?
Arielle shook her head, unable to find the right words to express her muddled-up thoughts, and kept silent.
A long exhale whistled past the King's lips, which ended in another heavy thick fit of coughs ringing across the tense dining hall.
"Your Majesty..." Arielle began feigning concern.
"And you still refuse to call me father," the King replied, frowning at her formality.
Arielle lowered her head and bit her lips to repress her scoff. "I..."
"No matter."
The King waved his hand and continued, "Frankly, he's not lost at sea—I don't believe it. Aster is well-versed in navigation and trained alongside the Navy. He knows his way around the ocean."
"Then are you proposing the Prince was betrayed?" Arielle blurted out, not following his train of thought.
The King only hummed and stood up from his seat with a faraway look in his grey eyes. There was a slight pause before he returned his gaze to Arielle.
"You are not to share this with anyone."
Arielle nodded, understanding the severity of such information leaked would mean the end of the Royal family. But for some odd reason, her stomach fluttered at such a notion. The end of Asterye royalty would mean her freedom to be her true self. An Arielle without the rumoured labels of insanity and traditional titles of influence. An Arielle that can be independent and travel across the infamous blue seas.
The King rang his bell, and instantly the grand doors swung open, distributing her cluttered thoughts. A cool breeze wafted inside, sending a shiver down Arielle's spine. Three guests emerged into the banquet hall, each wearing masks over the eyes. Only once the guest had stepped closer did Arielle realise the blonde traveller from last night was still wearing her mask. She could hear the King calling for them to the table, and Arielle felt her pulse racing higher and higher as they came closer.
"Come, Come. We've prepared much for you all."
"You didn't have to, King August," the blonde traveller said, deep tone with a hint of surprise at the food displayed over the large table.
"It's the least we can offer," the King insisted, taking a seat once the guest was seated. "We've waited long for your arrival."
Arielle couldn't help but peer up at the traveller who had made his way to sit opposite her. His dark eyes met hers, and a gentle smile graced his lips as if he saw through her lies, and at that moment, her heart skipped a beat. Afraid he would say something in front of the King, Arielle frowned and diverted her attention back to her lap, mentally preparing for the worse.
"Please, let me introduce my only daughter, Arielle." The King declared, placing his cup down on the table.
Arielle flickered her gaze to King, whose brows furrowed in disapproval as if she had made a grave mistake in front of his esteemed guests. She quickly glanced back to the blonde traveller in front of her, a surge of fear gripping her gut. Did the King expect her to introduce herself to them? What if he were to say something about her lie?
Arielle managed to keep her composure and stood up. She gave a small quick curtsy, "Welcome to Aterye. I am Arielle August. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"A Princess," the traveller corrected with a curt tone.
Arielle pressed her lips together, "Yes, Princess," she repeated with gritted teeth as the traveller unveiled the mask and revealed a familiar scar covering his left eye.
She vividly recalled seeing his face plastered in various newspapers, and instantly her irritation over her title faded. It made sense now why the King wanted her to fill in for the Prince. If the Prince, who was with the Navy had trouble with pirates, then it made sense for the King to grant an audience with Revolutionary Army and why he had seemed familiar.
"The only Princess of Asterye greets the revolutionary army," Arielle admitted quietly, biting on her lips and sitting back down.
A/N: Thanks for all the follows and favourites. Have sort of planned out a sketchy timeline for this story and will try to update more regularly this month.