Chapter 31 : Dahlia's gone mad, hasn't she?!

After escaping from that...oh so unfortunate accident, we ra--retired to the princess' castle where we decided to have an impromptu sleepover and were each directed to a separate bath to bath with a spare outfit the castle had on hand for those emerging debachles.

Dayan, Lillian, and I retired into a...glaringly pink lounge to dine and talk.

"...So, Lillian...What was that about earlier?" Dayan asked, interrupting the tense silence I had been enjoying.

Lillian was quiet, too quiet, so I jumped in to defend her. Or spill the tea, rather. I've been desperate to get it off my chest, honestly.

"So, Lillian's Betrothed, Daniel Savataar, soon to be Lord Savataar, was recently seen in a particularly...scandalous place and...position with that harlot, the second prince is currently playing with, Miss Dahlia, who we have just met," I whisper silently. Or I try to. The echo is amazing in here.

Lillian put down her silverware in a clutter. Should've stayed silent.

...So dead. Mourn me, mothers.

"Daniel and I were never like that. Romantic, I mean. But we knew that we couldn't get out of the engagement so we decided to be...faithful to one another, at least. Until he met her. The homewreaker. I suppose it's public knowledge by this point. I'll have to talk to my father about a new fiance. Wouldn't want a poor woman's sloppy seconds," She said, her voice forceful and full of venom.

Dang.

Sucks to be Daniel. Hope the lay was worth it.

After another tense bout of silence I turn to Dayan, to dispel the...scent of my nearing death. And to change the topic.

"So, Dayan, word on the prairie--" She raised an eyebrow at my wording. "-I mean, the...talk on the town, in this certain society of ours, is that you have a beloved, and are in the works of getting engaged."

Though I could sense (because I'm a newly discovered empath who finally knows how to read a room,) her hostility, Dayan still gave me all the juicy, juicy details I wanted.

"Yes. Her name is Mayagra Vane. We met at a ball last year, you remember the one..." She trailed off awkwardly.

Yes, I knew which one.

"...She helped me through the mourning...She's an alpha, so I have that going for me. Although she is merely a Lieutenant, so my parents are hesitant, she has proven that she can provide for me and any children we may have. Will have. I know they were planning for you and Dre...seeing how close you two were, before..." She stopped again, fighting back tears.

Her last few words made me forget completely about the strange term, "Alpha", wrapped in my grief as I was, and I would surely regret that in the years to come, once I met him and certain...instances happened, leading to unforeseen gifts...major complications and consequences. But for now, I was just a fourteen-year-old boy, lost after losing his first love, tearing up at the implication that if Drake had lived, we would have gotten married, and live in a beautifully remote villa, with many children, and strangely, an Andaman Crane.

I didn't know the storm that was yet to come.