Part 1: Constance

Chapter 1: Emeralds and Sapphires

The world before the princess was beginning to spin. Each individual gaze felt like a pin sinking into her soul. Thousands of pinpricks had her fighting nausea. At the edge of the balcony, she wondered what would happen if she fainted, falling over the railing’s edge onto the cold stone far below. No villagers would bother trying to catch her. The ground was distant, but it seemed to loom ever closer with each passing moment. It would be such an easy slip if she dared to get much closer to the edge. She wondered if the heavy skirt of her dress would soften the blow or if the soft fabric would only be ruined with dust and blood. It would be a shame to tarnish such a well-made piece. The kingdom was always short on fabric; it would just be impolite to ruin so much of it so quickly. A clean white such as this was even harder to find. Usually, everything was just brown or black from years of wear. 

She was jerked out of her trance as the king took the spotlight back. The princess restrained a relieved sigh; relaxing wasn’t an option until she was back in her room. Her hands rested behind her back to conceal her fidgeting. The small bit of movement proved to be a vain attempt at warmth. As soon as the sun disappeared, the lake in the center of the kingdom did little to dull the bite in the air near the castle, as far away from the sanctuary as it was. Compared to the surface, the cold was inconsequential. That didn’t stop the princess from hating it above all else. 

A hand on her shoulder made her freeze. Peering up through strands of crimson hair, she saw the captain of the guard, Cassius, standing close behind her. His blue eyes were dark pools of apathy, letting no emotion show past the surface. The color was an anomaly in the kingdom and always appeared to the princess as a striking mystery she couldn’t help but invest herself in. Wordlessly, he shed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders before returning to a neutral position once more, eyes strictly on the king with an expression that suggested a lack of genuine attention to his words. The princess’s gaze lingered on the guard’s face long after he looked away. The man had been courting her since the beginning of the year. It was now the height of spring, and the princess found herself lost for any understanding of her suitor. He always reminded her of the desert above: his eyes the pale sliver of sky visible to the kingdom through the small opening at the top of the grand pitcave, his hair the smooth sand dunes always swept neatly by the wind, all in contrast with his warm brown skin. 

Restlessness turned the people into a sea of constantly shifting bodies. No one stayed still for more than a couple of seconds, and it was beginning to rub off on the princess. Still, no one dared speak. Not an offhanded mutter, not a whisper. The king’s words echoed off the tall stone walls with no opposition. The pressure of the underlying silence was beginning to feel physical. The princess pulled the jacket closer around her to stifle a shiver. As if in response to the growing disinterest, the king’s words came to a gradual halt. One last dull call and response rang out before the pressure of the silence was fully expelled by a growing din of voices and boots on stone as the crowd slowly dispersed. 

Light poured onto the balcony as the glass doors behind them swung open, enveloping the nobles in a welcoming warmth. Inside, a small ballroom was already flooded with people who had rushed to begin their festivities even in the previous absence of the royal family. Colors dotted the room like the princess had never seen, all produced by rare, extinct dyes only seen in the days before the Destruction. The jewels and precious metals dripping from the inhabitants reflected the candlelight in every direction, sending slivers of light dancing through the air as they did, mirroring the rise and swell of the crowd. Only for a second did the light dance before settling down as eyes turned to the royal family and lowered at their presence. The princess fingered her necklace, the pearls’ coolness unable to be felt through her silk gloves. The doors shut once more with a dull click that was only amplified by the silence of the hall. Cassius’s jacket was returned with the banishment of the chill of the outside air, and silk met silk as the princess took his hand. 

The music once more swelled, filling the room with a sweet melody, and the princess and the guard became just another pair twirling across the hardwood floor that could hardly be seen through the billowing skirts of noblewomen. The princess’s gaze fixed itself on an ever-moving spot in the distance, subject to the dull spectacle of whatever distracted face happened to appear over Cassius’s shoulder in the crowd. Her feet led themselves, following the well-worn pattern of old memory. The annual celebrations had yet to revive the enjoyment the dance once held for her.

“Forgive me for saying, Your Highness, but you seem rather… distant tonight. It seemed the same this morning when discussing tonight’s plans, but I assumed the festivities would lighten your spirits. It leads me to wonder what weighs so heavily on my princess’s mind.” Cassius spoke in a low tone, his voice even but hushed. The princess’s eyes darted up to meet his gaze, which hadn’t wavered from her face since their entrance. There was a slight pause before she spoke.

“It is nothing to concern yourself with.” Her eyes fell back to their distant position, and her brow creased slightly. “I’ve simply been kept busy with preparations, with appearances. New political developments always seem to weigh heavily on my mind.” The princess’s words sounded quieter under a thick veil of detachment. She was much worse at concealing her emotions than he was; apathy seemed the only way to somewhat succeed.

“Ah, but the decision has been in the works for months now, Your Highness, and there is little to be done on your part. I would hesitate to call such a thing new.”

The princess’s jaw clenched. “Forgive me for allowing the weight of my decisions to linger longer than a mere moment as they seem to for you, Cassius.” An unintended venom accompanied her tone, and she cursed herself. The princess broke from the guard the moment the waltz gave way to silence, but one last glance his way proved that he had gotten exactly what he wanted. A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as the princess was swallowed by the throng of tittering nobles. Thankfully, they all seemed too invested in their own petty conversations to overhear their brief exchange. 

Before she was able to get more than a step or two away, a cold vice wrapped around her wrist, jerking her back. The ballroom blurred around her as, in slow motion, her dress fanned out around her, endless layers of creamy silk floating in the air, rippling like the soft waves of the lake. Strong arms encircled the princess, bringing her to a stop against Cassius’s chest as her skirt settled around her. A gloved hand tucked a strand of fallen hair back into her bun. The princess’s gaze remained firmly on the ground, intent on hiding the redness rushing to her face, however vain her attempts might have been. 

“Don’t think you can get away that easily, Highness.” Cassius lilted, his breath brushing the side of her neck, causing goosebumps to erupt across her skin in its wake. The princess was frozen in his grasp. She struggled to find words, desperately scouring her mind for a clever rebuttal, a petty insult, anything to cover herself with any shred of dignity. But her thoughts were drowned out by her heartbeat, and any words she managed to procure through the din seemed like a task of Sisyphus to actualize in speech. 

Just as quickly as she had been enraptured, the princess was released, and Cassius suddenly disappeared from her line of sight. Turning towards where he was standing before, her hand immediately jumped to cover a small gasp to see that he had dropped to one knee before her. In one swift motion, he disregarded every moment of planning that had gone into this moment between the couple and the royal family, throwing away all sense of preparation or dignity or warning. The entire ballroom seemed to freeze simultaneously, muffled gasps and whispers replacing the previous careless talk and laughter. Cassius’s words blurred together in the princess’s mind. Something about a perfect pair, something about ‘how it’s about time’, something formal, something rehearsed, something the princess couldn’t bring herself to fully listen to. Once more, everyone was staring. 

A velvet box had been procured from a pocket inside Cassius’s jacket, and inside it sat a delicate golden ring, little bands of metal dotted with tiny diamonds intricately wound around a small emerald. It was prettier than the princess had expected, and shone like it had just been polished. Only the best artisans could have woven such an intricate design. Green was her favorite color. She wondered if he knew or if it was a simple coincidence. Most likely the latter. He never once asked. In her admiration of the ring, she almost missed the most crucial last words of his short speech.

“Your Highness, will you do me the exceptional honor of becoming my bride?” Cassius’s words broke through the princess’s thoughts. She felt the heat return to her face, and for a moment, the slip in her composure came with a slight crack in her mental guard. All the edge had melted from his voice, forgoing his icy demeanor for something gentle, almost sweet. The question was spoken as if they were the only two in the room; a soft whisper directed to her alone, a breath in the air aimed to reduce the princess’s defenses to rubble. At that moment, she almost believed he was genuine. If either of them were ordinary citizens, she might have.

 The princess found herself unable to do anything but nod, as if in a dream. She delicately removed her gloves and her arm extended towards Cassius. Cold metal slipped onto her ring finger; light captured within the emerald danced with each movement of the gem. The guard rose to his feet once more and gently tilted the princess’s face up towards him, tearing her gaze away from the ring. His other arm wrapped around her waist, and again, she was caught in his embrace. But this time she wasn’t flustered. Her eyes were trained on his, watching as his gaze lingered on her lips, how his eyelids drooped when looking down at her, how satisfied he seemed with himself, as if he was a child finally getting the toy he had been asking for for years. If she didn’t know better, she would almost think it was cute. 

Cassius leaned down, his hand moving to cup her face gently. His lips were on hers before she realized it. He lingered for a moment, but it was long enough for her face to light up again for what felt like the millionth time this evening. It was a soft, sweet kiss, nothing more. Still, he had never done such a thing before, and she felt herself leaning into it, even as she cursed herself for it. And in front of the entire court… Suddenly, they were no longer the only people in the room. As soon as he pulled back, a pack of gossip-hungry nobles lunged upon them, swarming the couple with congratulatory words and praises of what a beautiful couple they made. The princess’s hand was grabbed by more people than she knew the names of, all scrambling to inspect the ring on her finger. The king and queen even came over to share some cold praises of their own before quickly retreating once more to the corner where they stood, quietly observing the crowd, not participating, not speaking. They might as well have been statues. 

The rest of the evening passed the same: dancing, socializing, being bombarded by people wanting to know every detail of the couple’s relationship, and ‘oo’ and ‘aww’ at everything they said. Hardly any words were spoken between the princess and Cassius, although they never left each other’s sides for more than a moment. No more kisses, no more dramatic gestures. The only exchanges they had were for the sake of others and heavily coated in sickly, sugary fawning over the other, mostly on the princess’s side. 

The castle was quiet when the princess left the ballroom. Torches lit up the dim hallways, but the light was placed sparingly; a new torch lit only when the light of the last almost entirely ran out. The princess supposed the servants didn’t want to put in more work than they had at this hour. She didn’t blame them. Her footfalls made no sound; she had taken her heels off the moment the crowd was out of sight. Cassius’s boots, however, clicked dully with every step, the noise bouncing off the tall stone walls to make it seem much louder than reality, especially in the otherwise silent hall. 

“You don’t have to walk me to my room, you know. We’re well out of the nobles’ sight now; there’s no use in keeping up appearances.” The princess broke the silence, keeping her voice hushed as though anyone could be listening around the corner, a habit she had picked up from years of palace life.

“A princess shouldn’t be wandering the halls alone at night.” Cassius had gone back to being detached. All sweetness had frozen over again. The princess sighed.

“You say that like I might be ambushed in my own castle. I’ve lived here nearly all my life, and nothing has happened yet. I don’t think I need a chaperone.”

“Do you really wish me to leave that badly, Your Highness?” He turned his attention back to her, his eyebrow raised. 

“That’s not what I said.” The princess said stubbornly, busying herself with yanking the ribbons from her hair with the hand not already taken up with holding her shoes and gloves. After a moment of struggle, her hair was set free in a cascade of loose, crimson curls down past her hips, creased in places from being up all day.

“At the very least, allow me to carry those, Your Highness.” Cassius extended his hand, in which the princess begrudgingly placed the load of accessories she was slowly shedding on the walk back to her room. She used her free hands to undo what remained of the minute braids that had been tied up into her bun. His gaze remained on her.

“Why do you insist on staring?” The princess spoke up after a moment of silence. He pointedly averted his gaze, an edge of annoyance to his voice.

“Am I not allowed to look at you either now?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Did you like the ring?”

“I-…” The question caught the princess off guard. “Yes… Yes, it’s very beautiful.” 

“Good. I was caught between emerald and sapphire, but then I thought, where else do you see green?” It was an oddly casual conversation, and the princess couldn’t help but wonder if there was some other reason he brought it up, although she couldn’t bring herself to find much of a reason. Perhaps he was trying to soften the relationship between them, make her more pleased with the idea of marrying him, fool her into thinking it was anything more than political, like he had tried before. That must be it. 

“A nice choice then.” The princess dismissed, her gaze fixed firmly on the hall in front of her as she swept her hair out of her face. Nothing more was said until they arrived at the little hallway inside the labyrinth palace that she called her own. Her shoes, gloves, and ribbons were handed back to her wordlessly, and she began to retreat back through the door to her room. But she was stopped from closing the door fully by Cassius’s hand on the wood.

“Goodnight, Aria.” He breathed, his voice barely audible, even in the silence. The princess froze in the doorway. His words lingered in the air for a long moment as she worked them in her mind. Aria’s eyes narrowed at his slightly, searching for any crack in his defenses reflected in his eyes. She came back with nothing. This man was infuriating. Another moment passed as she contemplated her next course of action. 

In a moment of complete abandonment of her senses, she leaned up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before immediately retreating back into her room as soon as his grip dropped from the door. That split second of shock on his face just before he was able to cover it gave Aria all the satisfaction she needed to justify herself. She had taken the victory between the two of them for tonight, even if it was a small win. If he could play pretend with her emotions so easily, then she would have to show him that she could do just the same. Smug and satisfied, she retired to bed, choosing to forgo the unpleasant task of thinking about her future in an arranged marriage in place of savoring her last moment of victory.