To Keep the Healer In the North

Darius stared at Xion as if the healer had just asked whether the sky was blue. Was it not already obvious?

"I don't have one," Darius answered flatly.

Xion's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed as he studied the boy. He was pondering if Rael was speaking the truth or just bluffing him.

"Really? I thought it was normal for someone in your position to be engaged for political reasons."

"It is," Darius admitted, "but I never agreed to such arrangements."

Xion leaned back against a pillow that hadn't been there before, "So, no secret lover? No long-lost childhood sweetheart waiting for you in some distant castle?"

Darius shot him a dull look. "No."

Xion chuckled. "Well, that's a shame. I was expecting something."

The carriage swayed gently as they continued down the new road.

Xion was not entirely wrong. However, Darius did not feel the need to tell the entire truth.