Chapter Nine: Theorising

"You what?" Ophelia nearly screams, the shock of the news breaking her usually cool composure.

"Could you scream a bit louder? I dont think the neighbouring kingdom heard you." Analeigh snarks, popping a cherry from Ophelia's bowl into her mouth. She came into her sister's room that night to tell her the news. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have been as blunt as she was but the deed is done. Her sister was currently losing her mind now.

The room was quiet, save the lowcount down Ophelia was using to calm herself down. The sisters sat facing each other across a small wooden table. Between them, a single candle flickered, casting long shadows on the walls. Analeigh had casted a spell to conjure artificial butterflies around them, giving the feel of a quiet campout between the two of them.

Ophelia leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed and her finger pinching the bridge of her nose, no doubt wondering how she got stuck with a sister so impulsive. Her rich auburn hair was loosely braided, the ends carelessly thrown over her shoulder. "Let me get this straight," she said, her voice low and annoyed. "You kidnapped your fiancé."

"I think kidnapped is a very strong word."

"Oh?" She let out an incredulous laugh. "Then what do you call what you did? Drugging him, holding a neck to his throat, keeping him from leaving the palace-"

"Technically I didn't do that, like I said, I let him get away." She cut in.

"And poisoning him with something that deadly? Are you trying to get your post rescinded??" Ophelia exclaimed, clearly more worried about this than the person involved.

"Okay okay, don't work yourself up into a too much of a terrible state. Nothing like that is going to happen." She sighed as she got home, handing her sister some water so she could calm down. Ophelia accepted it with a grimace, not calming down in the slightest.

"What if they don't find the cure on time?"

"Then he'd be dead by morning."

"Analeigh!" She groaned, distraught by the other woman's lack of fear for her safety.

"You don't have to worry about it, he won't die."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know he has a capable healer with him and I already gave his healers permission to use the imperial apothecary this morning."

"Really? Have you been planning this since then?"

Analeigh scoffed. "Of course not. It was supposed to be a sign of goodwill, since we were supposed to be married today."

With that, Ophelia's eyes softened and she extended her arms for a hug. Analeigh rolled her eyes but acquiesces like she always does, falling into her arms and letting her stroke her hair.

"You're much too good for him." Her sister whispered into her hair. Analeigh tittered, squeezing her a little tighter.

"I know, that's what I've been trying to tell you."

"I can't believe you've been so kind and courteous to him yet this is how he repays you. Disrupting the wedding in such a terrible manner."

"He said he didn't do it."

"You believe him?"

"The rational part of me? No. Too much connects to him. But my instincts tell me he's saying the truth."

"Why?"

"It connects too perfectly. The rebels getting in without anyone noticing, them wearing his family shoes and all the minor details. It connects so well, it worries me. What if someone else did this and framed him?"

"Well they certainly did a good job because i cant think of anyone right now."

"What if it's Livia?"

Ophelia frowned, pondering on Analeigh's assumption.

"This is hardly her style and I don't think she has access to shoes that are exclusive to the Pelagios family."

"You're right but we can't be too sure. It's possible she has an insider."

"Good point." She replied, then went silent. Analeigh eyed her carefully before grinning.

"There there, I know you were dreaming of romance already." Analeigh jokingly patted her sister's shoulder, earning her a little smack on her head in return.

"I really hoped you would work out. Some couples in the past have done so."

"Well, it's not going to happen this time. For some reason, he hates me. I expected apprehension and maybe indifference, not hate." She pulled away from the hug to drink the water Ophelia had abandoned.

"I cannot for the life of me think of a single reason either. Does he think you're beneath him?

"I am a princess, regardless of if I was born of a concubine or the Empress herself. He is the one beneath me."

"Do you think it bothers him?" Ophelia asked.

Analeigh paused, then shook her head.

"He doesn't strike me as someone so fragile. I know most of these 'noble' men are uptight about titles but he's not that type of person." At least she hoped he wasn't that type of person. It would be pain to be married to someone so archaic afterall.

'Are you guessing or you're sure?"

"A mix of both. I might not be favoured by the court but he's the opposite. They love him there and with that, comes a lot of discourse on him and his behaviour. I've also seen how he treats his soldiers, he doesn't seem cruel."

"He tried to kill you." Her sister said flatly.

"He's denied that. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt."

"You said he hates you. You know he hates you, you've never been wrong about assessing people."

"I know he hates me, I just need to find out why. But he's not stupid, he can't just murder me without cause and expect to go scot-free. If he truly wasn't the one that sent those rebels to the wedding, we both might have a bigger issue on our hands than not getting along."

"Speaking about the wedding... are you sure you still want to go through with it?"

Now it was Analeigh's turn to stare incredulously.

"It's not like I can choose not to marry, it's a requirement for me to take the throne."

"What if you gave it up?" She asked quietly. Analeigh was shocked silent so she continued.

"You've faced so much in a day and you didn't even get married."

"It wasn't that bad-"

"You nearly lost your life multiple times today. All this before your coronation. How is it going to be after? How long are you going to keep escaping with your life?"

"Leighann." Analeigh uses her hardly used middle name. "We're royals, we'll always be in danger. This isn't new."

"But this time, you're getting married. To a person that hates you so much, he's willing to risk capital punishment just to get rid of you. Does it not worry you? How can you be so blasé about your life?" She said, heartbroken.

"I know you want to protect me. I know you love me and that's why you're saying this." She sighed. "But I can't keep this up. I was chosen. I went through the trials and won. I worked so hard to get here. I trained everyday for years, despite not having access to what most of our siblings had. I got picked by the council of priests, I can't go back on it now."

"I know. I know, I'm just scared." Ophelia sniffed, gratefully accepting the hankerchief Analeigh extended towards her.

"It's okay. I have you, I have Aulus and I have myself. Who dares stand against me?" She joked, adopting a grand voice. Ophelia giggled, just like she planned, and slaps her shoulder playfully.

"No one. Just a man with an army of three hundred thousand and the court's favour. No issue." She jokes back.

"Exactly." Analeigh snickered.

"Do you have any idea when the high council will announce the new wedding date?"

"It's dependent on the gods so who knows. It could be tomorrow, it could be next year."

"You're not bothered?"

"Why should I be? Regardless of the date, I'm still the heir to the throne. Only thing that changes that is my death."

"How morbid."

"It is what it is." Analeigh shrugged.

She knew she had enemies and that her actions that night would probably bite her in the ass. But she had gotten something from it, so she wasn't too bothered. There was no concrete evidence but she knew deep down that Leonidas wasn't the one that ordered that attack. She was sure he hated her, oh she was definitely correct about that assumption especially when he seized control and held her down back in the hall earlier that night. But he didn't start the chaos in the wedding hall.

Meaning someone else did it and unfortunately for Analeigh, the suspect pool was vast.

At the top of the list had to be Livia. She was one of the most indignant about Analeigh being chosen. She was apparently friendly with Leonidas. Acquainted enough for a nickname, Analeigh thought derisively. She doubts Livia would try to frame Leonidas tho, if they were really lovers. It was counterproductive to fight so hard to be with your paramour then get them killed.

The next suspect was the Empress. She barely said a word since they held the trials and was the only person in the palace that said nothing about Analeigh getting picked. Everyone else had a positive (Aulus, Ophelia, Felix even though it was just a neutral congratulations) or negative (Livia, Lucius, Analeigh's mother) reaction. It was surprising and a bit unnerving since no one knows where she stands. She was also the only suspect Analeigh could think of that had enough power to frame the Pelagios family.

The last major suspect was Lucius. He was only there because of his motive, but Analeigh couldn't see him crafting a plan that didn't blow up in his face. He was all talk and no action, she has never had anything to fear when it came to him. But, she remembered the wise saying that a foolish man could still be a great enemy when underestimated. She wasn't going to take her chances.

These are just the suspects from her family. There could be someone from the other noble houses behind this, after all, more than half of the court was against her. The section that supports her don't really support her because they know her, but because she was picked by the council. They were loyalists to the kingdom before they were loyalists to the royals. For that, Analeigh admired them.

"Well." Ophelia said, breaking Analeigh's train of thought. "He's going to think twice before trying to harm you again."

"That's right." She nodded, self satisfied. The poison she used was something that others barely used since the ingredients for making it were almost extinct. Leonidas would have to thank his lucky stars that she already allowed access to the apothecary because that was the only place in the whole kingdom that had its antidote.

"Before the wedding, you will still have to attend events together and apologise to the citizens that attended the wedding."

"I know. I plan to prepare consolation gifts and words for the awful experience they must have had. Now all they'll remember about the day was the attack. I was hoping it would be my amazing dance moves."

"I'm sure they'll remember that too." Ophelia placated. "Will you be fine? Parading around with him so soon."

"Oh that's no problem. I figure he's the one that'll have a hard time holding back his anger at nearly getting poisoned to death."

"True."

"Besides, I am to rule alongside him. I need to spend more time around him."

"For amicability?"

"No, we're way past that. It's not happening again. I need to keep him close, just in case he gets some funny ideas."

"And if he does?"

"In that case," She shrugged. "I'll just have to take him out before he takes me out."