Chapter Twelve

Evangeline took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The rose-coloured dress flowed around her body and her red hair had been pinned up loosely, a few delicate curls framing her face. She barely had any makeup on, knowing her future mother-in-law preferred the natural look.

If Nieve hadn't known her personally, she would have thought the redhead beautiful. In all fairness, ever since her trip to the market a few days ago, Evangeline had started to treat the brunette a little kinder. She still made snide comments, still snapped whenever her handmaid didn't respond fast enough, but the real anger was gone. At first it had baffled Nieve, she'd wondered how a simple fruit could change a person so much. She'd thought that maybe mangoes had a magic quality about them that mellowed a person out. But then she'd noticed Layla's change in mood as well. Her friend had refused to talk about it, but the brunette knew something had changed for the worse for her friend. It was the only reason she started to pay attention to Ryan. She tried not to, finding everything about him annoyed her; his privileged life, the way he seemed to think people bowing to him was just the natural way, and especially the way he had been flirting with her friend though he knew there was no way things would end in their favour. He had set her friend up for heartbreak, and now it seemed he finally had broken her heart. The Simia heir was completely ignoring her blonde friend, and for some reason he'd started flirting with his future fiancée. That, on its own, wasn't weird, necessarily, except he'd never done it before. It made Nieve trust him even less.

Ryan tried not to rub his stomach too much, though a heavy feeling had settled in it. He couldn't believe how fast time had gone by, and now he was about to get engaged. He didn't want to get engaged to Evangeline, even though he was pretty sure he'd fooled everyone about that. Except for Riven, of course. His guard always knew what was in his mind. He knew he mostly thought about his sister's pretty handmaid.

"Ryan, you know you need to forget about her," Riven said softly. It made him sound a lot like Lord Simia.

"I know," he sighed.

"Then do it. Come on, what's so special about her anyway?" the bodyguard tried a different tactic. After all, Layla was a common and his sister's handmaiden. Though he didn't need to hear his friend's thoughts to know that there was something special about her; her every thought was so pure of heart and positive. It was hard to be in a bad mood around her, and even harder not to like her. It was almost as if she radiated sunshine or love. "Stop thinking about her that way," he reacted when Ryan started internally listing every little detail that made her special and hard to forget.

The Simia heir gave his friend a sheepish look. "Sorry, I can't help it."

"You're going to have to help it. You've had infatuations before and you've always gotten over those in no time," Riven said practically. It was one of the good things about being a man after all; it was easy to see a woman as temporary fun or relief. The rule for the guards about not sleeping with the same girl more than once a year was mostly to protect the girl from forming any attachments, not the guards.

'You know she's more than that,' his friend's thoughts immediately rang in his head. He had to fight back a nod in concession, maintaining his stony look.

"I know," was all Riven said out loud. "But you're going to have to try. With your position come certain responsibilities and expectations," he continued being the voice of reason.

'Don't I know it?' Ryan complained forlornly.

"Think about your future wife," the guard suggested now, almost growling in despair when the first person his friend thought about was Layla. "The redhead, your actual future wife. Think about what makes her special," he corrected sternly, getting another eye roll in response.

To be fair, Ryan did start thinking about what he liked about Evangeline. There was no denying she was beautiful; she was well-mannered, as long as she wasn't talking to Nieve; she was well-bred; she'd laughed at his stupid jokes in the garden. But she wasn't Layla.

"Ryan," Riven said sternly.

"I know, I know," the Simia heir conceded. He took a deep breath and turned to face the mirror. Ryan was wearing a new uniform, as Royal Head of the Guards; it was one of the reasons that Riven was his bodyguard. It was a deep blue that, in combination with his dark brown hair, made his light blue eyes stand out even more; his eyes were one of the few outward features he'd inherited from his mother. He had the Royal insignia on his shoulders, the gold buttons down his chest. He looked every bit the part of the loyal heir, confident and content with his lot, but right now he felt far from it.

He really wasn't looking forward to the ceremony, in which the two heads of the families exchanged gifts. His father would present her family with the feast, as her father would present his mother with clothes, sweets and fruits. But that wasn't until after Ryan and Evangeline had exchanged the first promises to intend to marry. She would give him a gold bracelet, after which he had to give her a diamond ring.

Ryan couldn't help feeling a little sick, as he felt a cold sweat start down his neck. It was that part he really didn't want to partake in. As heir though, the choice wasn't his.

Layla was glad she didn't have to help the red-haired lady; she wasn't sure she could stop herself from damaging her engagement dress in one way or another, even though she knew she had no right to feel this way about the Simia heir. She tried not to think about him as she tightened Kaitlyn's corset, her lady's chattering washing over her.

"Are you alright?" Kaitlyn asked, seeing her handmaiden come over a little pale in the mirror.

"I'm fine, milady," Layla answered, holding a hand to her heavy stomach. The woozy nausea had come out of nowhere and settled almost just as quickly. "Must be all the excitement," she fibbed as she got back to work. Her lady didn't look entirely convinced as she kept an eye on her through the mirror, but soon went back to chatting.

Kaitlyn's dress was a beautiful pale blue, which matched her hair and her mother's appearance and outfit. It was also a variation of the family's favoured colour, as Ryan and Lord Simia would both be wearing a darker royal blue. Her dress had a silk underlayer and beautiful chiffon embroidered bodice, which sat beautifully over the corset that Layla had just strapped her in. The handmaid's dress was in the same style as she always wore, but instead of being leafy green it was a soft pastel blue to match her Lady. Nieve had been forced to swap her deep purple for a similar rose colour as the future Lady Simia.

"Lady Kaitlyn," a knock on the door announced the arrival of their sentinel escort.

"I'm not ready yet," the young royal turned to her handmaid with a panicked look, who quickly headed to the door. The blonde server opened the door a crack, just enough so she could see the guard's face.

"Lady Kaitlyn needs some more time," Layla said calmly, and she didn't need Riven's mindreading abilities to know what the guard was thinking as he fought not to roll his eyes. It was as if he'd been expecting that message.

"Lady Simia expects her daughter in the throne room by midday. I can give you another ten minutes," the guard informed her.

"Thank you," she nodded in response and closed the door quickly so she could finish getting her lady ready. The dress was mostly in place already, but they still had to adorn her in her accessories and finish pinning some of her curls up in an intricate half-up hairstyle. It was similar enough to Evangeline's but different enough to be beautiful by itself.

The two young women were just headed towards the door when the sentinel knocked again.

The ballroom was beautiful. Even Evangeline had to admit she couldn't find a single thing she disliked. It wasn't overly decorated, but the decorations that had been used oozed class. She kept her face on neutral, letting her perfected disinterested gaze roam over her surroundings, but her heart was thundering like it never had before. She was about to get engaged, the moment she'd been working for her entire life was finally there. All the hours learning to be the perfect wife for Ryan, studying politics, learning about foreign places and their customs; all so she could be a proper Lady. Her parents had pushed her, pushed her so hard she'd started to resent them for it. She'd even resented Ryan, but now the moment was finally there, she was happy. He was handsome enough, and after a while he'd become friendly, flirty even. Maybe she'd have it all; an important title, and a loving husband.

She joined her parents, dismissing her handmaids with a wave of the hand. They were free to do whatever they wanted, as long as they didn't bother her. She wouldn't be needing them tonight, not with her mother by her side. Her mother reached for her hand and gave her a gentle squeeze; the only show of affection she'd get tonight, but it was enough. She turned to the door when the first of her family started to arrive.

Riven hated these tedious ceremonies, hated standing near a wall while more important primes filled the room. He watched a first batch of Evangeline's family arrive with a bored expression on his face, every single person announced before they were allowed to enter the ballroom. Evangeline and her parents stood near the entrance, greeting some family members with more kindness than others. A sudden change in the air made him frown and look around him. He seemed the only one to notice it and couldn't put his finger on what had changed until he realised he was sensing someone's fear; someone in the room was so terrified it was almost pressing down on him. He tried to keep his face neutral as he scanned everyone in the overly decorated room until his eyes fell on Nieve, her stare locked on a blond man, her heart thundering so loud Riven couldn't understand how no one else heard it. He walked past her to the windows, pretending to check the garden before he walked back and stopped between two banners hanging from the ceiling, closer to Nieve. He cleared his throat to catch her attention and motioned for her to come closer. He was surprised when she did so without objecting. In one swift movement he pulled her behind him, pushing her between him and the wall, between the banners so no one could see her. He had no idea who the man she was clearly so scared of was, but when the realisation hit him that this was quite possibly the man that had tried to hurt her, he hated him with an intensity he'd never felt before. He felt her tremble behind him, her breath so shallow he was scared she would faint, so without looking behind him he reached for her hand, somehow even more worried when she grasped it immediately.

Ryan was standing next to his parents near the throne, his eyes fixated on the wall on the other side of the room while he tried and mostly failed to keep his thoughts in check. Riven had to get his attention, which, since he could speak through his ability, wasn't that hard. The Simia heir turned his face so they were looking at each other and the guard asked for an excuse to leave the room. An excuse that would give Nieve a reason to leave as well. His friend almost smirked, an image of the bodyguard and the maid kissing in a dark corner instantly forming in his mind.

'Get your head out of the gutter,' Riven told him, ignoring the sudden spike in his own heart rate as he shook the image out of his own mind. He watched as Ryan frowned, the realisation something serious must be going on slowly dawning on him. Usually his bodyguard at least smiled at his teasing.

'If someone asks, I'll tell them you're out picking flowers I can give Evangeline. Nieve probably knows what she likes,' the heir thought.

Riven nodded, thanking his friend before he turned away, pulling a stunned Nieve with him away from the ballroom until they'd reached a quiet corner in an unused room of the castle. Not much unlike the image Ryan had had in his mind, the tall man realised. His mouth went dry and he had to tell himself now was not the time to start feeling… whatever it was he was feeling. The brunette was staring ahead, unconsciously biting her lip. The act drew his attention to her full, pink lips. The guard cleared his throat. He shouldn't be noticing things like that. He shouldn't be noticing she was wearing a rose-coloured dress to match her lady, or that she looked beautiful in it. But he did.

The sound of him clearing his throat snapped her out of her stupor. She doubled over, gasping for breath as she started to pull at the strings of her corset. "I can't breathe," she gasped, frantically trying to loosen her dress to get some more air in her lungs. She kept pulling at her corset until it was loosely hanging around her body. Her breathing was fast and shallow, her chest rising and falling in increasing speed as tears tumbled down her cheeks. Riven stood rooted to the spot, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been unsure what to do, unsure what the other person wanted or needed from him. But he couldn't read her mind. Her tearful gaze flitted around the room until it rested on him, and suddenly she was in his arms.

Riven didn't know whether he'd stepped forward and hugged her, or she'd dug her face in his chest first. All he knew was that he was holding her as tightly as he could, and that she felt fragile. This was nothing like her, she was strong and stubborn. She didn't need comforting. Or maybe this was the real her, and something had finally made her wall crack. Just enough to let him have a glimpse of Nieve as she would have been, if life hadn't forced her to always be tough. He bent forward and pressed his lips to her hair, her floral scent filling his lungs and making his heart swell. What the hell was going on with him? He needed to take a step back, to find someone else to take care of her. He was the heir's bodyguard, the strongest man in Serenissima. He shouldn't be comforting some maid when he was hired to protect the Simias. Not now there were so many unknown primes, and their help, walking around in the castle. Still, he held her tight. Still, he rubbed his hand over her back while murmuring comforting words. He didn't care if something happened to Ryan. He didn't care if something happened to his parents, either. But this girl in his arms, he realised with a shock, he cared about her.