You Should Organize A Ball

The next day is more bleak than the ones we've been having of late, with gray clouds blocking the entirety of the sky. The air is full of moisture and constantly threatening rain, though no drops have surfaced just yet.

Despite the weather, I'm in a fine mood after the most recent letter from my father.

"Loralie, what did you do! Lord Eliades just withdrew his marriage proposal. He said rumors were abounding about you and the king. What happened? You know we were depending on this after your failure to secure marriage with the king. Now I will have to start from the beginning to find someone who will have you. Why must you be so trying?"

I suppose word of my naked swimming adventure with the king got back to Harris. I'm so delighted to be rid of him. I wrap a thick shawl about my shoulders and head outdoors, thinking today will be the perfect opportunity to sneak away for some air. No one else is likely to be outside. Not in this weather.

I take a fresh sketchbook with me and go in search of the gardens Kassian mentioned his mother maintained while she was alive.

As I round the stables, an arm snakes through mine. I'd think that Hanisa or Risana if I didn't feel the distinct muscles hidden beneath a copper-colored jacket.

"Loralie," Leandros says, "I thought I saw you disappear outside. You aren't planning on abandoning us, are you?"

I adjust my grip on my shawl so that I might more easily hold on to the arm of the most narcissistic man in the palace.

"With naught but my sketchbook?" I ask.

"Fair point. What are we to be drawing today? It must have slipped your mind to ask me to model."

I let out an unladylike snort. "I don't draw people. I draw designs. For me to then sew."

"And we're out in this chill because…"

"Well, I'm here because I thought the gardens might be a lovely place to draw inspiration from. I can't fathom why you're here."

"I saw an opportunity to finally catch you alone. Any other time I try to approach you, Kassian shoots daggers at me with his shadowy glare."

"I hadn't noticed," I admit.

"That's because you're so taken with him. But he's not here now," he says in a naughty tone. "Tell me, when can I take you away from here again for another night of fun?"

A sad smile rises to my lips. I like Kastien. He's ridiculous at times, but fun and kind. Not to mention handsome. His manners run a bit short, but he has to be at least a thirteen by Risana's ranking.

But he can't make me a queen.

I'm about to open my lips, but Kastien turns and places a fingertip against them. "No, don't say whatever you're thinking. I can tell I won't like it. Take some time. Wait for Kassian to do something to upset you. Then come find me with your answer."

We come to a stop before an iron gate, through which I can see rows and rows of flowers. Kastien halts.

"I'll leave you to your sketching. But do come find me if you decide you're in need of a model. Nude or not." He gives me a wink before striding off. Such a little devil, but I find a wide grin on my face as I let myself through the gate.

Brick-lined trails wend through patches of flowers. First, I pass by the roses. Each row varies by size and color. Some are all one shade, while others are tipped with pinks and yellows. They're cared for immaculately, with not a dying bloom among the plants.

Farther along, I see beds of other species.

Chrysanthemums and daffodils and tulips, but I don't go exploring just yet. I stop before one of the rose bushes, the petals a sun-bright yellow. They flare to the most stunning red orange at the tips, and I can't help but stare at the individual blossoms. How they remind me of the flickering colors of fire.

One flower hasn't quite yet bloomed. With just a few orange tips peeling away, it looks like an ember slowly extinguishing. Growing smaller, rather than larger, as I know the blossom will do.

A dress takes shape before my eyes. A yellow gown with orange tips about the hem, individual petals pulling away from the skirts. Finding a nearby bench, I seat myself, flip open to an empty page, and move my pen rapidly against the parchment, letting the dress take shape.

"May I join you?" a deep voice asks.

His voice.

I look up, and I can hardly believe that Kallias has entered the garden. He looks so out of place with the black attire he's chosen for today, with the shadows surrounding his person.

They don't seem to belong in a colorful garden. Percy trots along beside him. But, as some idea gets in the beast's head, he takes off like a shot through the garden, jumping over a nearby hedge of flowers and giving out a loud yip.

Probably spotted a rabbit.

I turn back to his master.

May I join you? he'd asked. Such manners. Kastien assumed he would be welcome. And whether Kassian actually has any intention of leaving if I were to tell him so will remain unknown. I can't ever see myself turning him away. Not just because I need to win his heart.

But because I like him, and I want him near me.

"Please do," I say, and turn my nose to the empty space beside me. He sits, keeping an appropriate two feet between us on the bench. "How did you know I was out here?" Or perhaps he didn't. Maybe he wanted to go for a turn about the gardens, seeking the outdoors and potential solitude as I was.

"I saw you out the window."

"And you followed? Were you not in a meeting?"

"I was."

I look up from my sketch, giving him an inquisitive look.

"I decided I'd rather be out here with you, and I cut it short." Pleased, I return back to my sketch.

"Are you designing a new outfit?" he asks.

Again, I find myself pleased. Pleased that he would know exactly what I'm doing, because he knows what I like. "I feel at a disadvantage," I tell him. "You know my hobbies, but I have yet to learn yours."

Kastien mentioned fencing and riding when we went out together, but surely there is more.

Kassian cups his hands in front of him and leans his elbows on his knees. "I used to enjoy fencing above all else, but since I became king, I have been unable to have a partner who wasn't made of straw."

"Oh." I hadn't thought of that.

"I do like riding and spending time with Percy. I've always been fond of animals, but even more so of late."

As if hearing his name, percy comes bounding back over, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He sits before me expectantly, waiting for a scratch behind the ears. I oblige him.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I can't touch another human, but my abilities aren't affected by animals. Percy is the only companion I can have. Some days, I even spoil him and let him in the bed."

I hadn't even considered that. That he would seek out contact in other ways. With his turned-down head, a lock of hair sweeps over his brow. If he were any other man in the world, I would reach forward and smooth it back.

"I used to play the piano," he says more quietly. "Most everything I learned how to do, I learned from a tutor, but not the piano. My mother taught me herself. She loved music."

I swallow past a sudden lump in my throat. Is that sympathy? For him? Even softer than his utterance, I ask,

"Would you play for me sometime?"

"Do you like music?"

"I think I would like your music."

He turns toward me, and just like on the first day we met, a jolt goes through me at the connection of our eyes meeting. The breeze flutters now, sending that lock of hair brushing against his brow.

My fingers twitch, and I look down at my gloved hand.

Slowly, so very slowly, I raise it.

Moving as carefully as I would toward a startled horse or a frightened child, I let my hand drift toward Kassian, toward that lock of hair.

His gaze shifts to my glove, and I can't begin to guess the trail his thoughts take.

But I move at a pace that gives him what feels like all the time in the world to stop me.