Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

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Macy had seen the King's fiance. She had arrived a week before the ball.

In Macy's mind, the woman was the exact opposite of everything that Princess Lumi was. She was a swirl of silver and white and muted shades of purple and green.

She was vibrant in her own way, but it was the comparison of looking at the moon when you had never seen the sun.

You didn't know the meaning of being blinded until you raised your head to the daylight.

That comparison was what made Macy race to her room, frantically tear through the dress she had been working towards originally for the ball, and completely starting anew.

Princess Lumi could not go in white. Or silver. Or any color.

It had to be gold.

Solid and pure gold.

Macy did not even bother to think about the original idea that had been thought up between them of the simple and elegant dress that was going to be worn made from unblemished white.

Forget that.

Macy wouldn't have her Princess standing next to that woman in such a pale comparison. She knew Lumi was capable of outshining her and any woman who would be in attendance.

When she showed Princess Lumi her finished work the day before, she expected an outflow of praise and applause. It was by far the loudest and most vibrant dress that she had ever dared to wear.

But the look on Princess Lumi's face was not what Macy had expected. There was a pained look in her eye when she took it in.

Macy stared at her, unsure of what she was thinking.

"It's you," she said, holding the material up and pressing it to the Princess's skin.

"This is who you are. And where you come from."

The Princess's eyes rose to meet hers and to Macy's shock, she saw tears there.

"Thank you," Lumi had whispered. She had hugged her. Macy felt her cheeks heat at the memory.

The praise had not been as loud as the thought it would be. 

Macy concluded that the dress had meant more to the princess than she would ever realize.

*   *   *

The ball was not held in the throne room.

The throne chair had been moved to the ballroom.

A platform had been created so that the chair could be seated on it. Next to it sat another chair.

For a second, Marcos has a wild thought that the King had constructed it for the Princess. But then he saw the King come in with Lady Elowen on his arm.

He felt himself breath a sigh of relief, not sure why his mind had taken such a giant leap in the wrong direction.

There were already many people gathered. Marcos though, was keeping his eye out for one person in particular.

He was not disappointed.

She came late. Of course she came late, but he wondered if the entrance was just to add even more to the dramatic flare.

Late or early, she still would have turned heads towards her.

"There she is," Felix whispered next to him.

"I know," Marcos mumbled, annoyed and amused that Felix had also been watching for her.

How to describe it...She took their breaths away.

Marcos could feel the guards' eyes on her, their duties completely forgotten in the moment as the emotion of pride filtered through all of them.

Her dress rippled down her, a short-sleeve gown of pure gold, with swirls pressed into the design. She had taken the culture of her land, and painted upon her face. Gold stained her eyelids, flowing out to give her an unearthly appearance.

And upon her head...well...Marcos would never dare call it a crown, but a band of gold passed over the top of her head, small inch long rays sticking out to make it seem as if she was not a tossed aside princess, but a deity of some form taking a mortal body, and possessing their souls.

Conversations stopped when she walked by. Eyes followed her. Heads turned to openly stare.

As was custom, she was led and presented before the King.

She bowed low before him, her head dipping down before rising and turning away.

And that was that.

Marcos watched though, as the King's own eyes gazed at her.

But she did not make a scandal. She did not approach anyone.

It was the other way around.

Many men approached her, and none were denied.

Marcos did not think she ever stopped dancing. Partner after partner, she was passed from one to the other.

Some even reapproached her, asking for a second dance, only to be pushed aside by the new male that had been wanting to claim his first.

Without attracting much attention, she had become the life of the party.

Marcos noticed though, that no one from the Winter lands ever offered her their hand. It was always either the Spring or Fall kingdom and one dark haired male whom Marcos did not recognize.

He noticed it too late, but something strange was happening between the princess and summer lands.

Marcos thought they would be happy to see their lost princess. But none from the south went and greeted her.

"Have you noticed..." Marcos whispered quietly to Felix.

"That no one from the South lands is talking to the Princess?"

A guard next to them leaned further in also, joining in their conversation, "Not even her brother."

"Her-?"

Both Marcos and Felix's eyes examined the crowd.

"Which one...?"

But Princess Lumi was closer to them than they anticipated. She approached them, smiling up at the males.

"Hello...I hope you are having fun?"

Marcos coughed nervously, straightening back to his former position of standing guard. Felix and the other guard had been standing to close. That might have been what caught her attention.

She eyed them curiously before Marcos realized he had not yet answered her question.

"Yes princess...we are fine. And uh...are you doing well?"

Only she would be the one to approach the guards on duty and start a conversation.

Lumi's eyes examined the room as she thought.

Up close, Marcos was able to see that she was even more radiant. She had taken great pains in her appearance, and the results showed to him once again that she belonged with royalty.

"I'm okay... but I think it's time I retire. I can't leave though without one of you." She eyed them apologetically.

Marcos gave her a sympathetic smile.

Of course- she had probably been ordered to stay within the ball and to not leave unless personally escorted out.

It was at that moment that a male passed by.

With Lumi and the male so close, Marcos had a flash of realization that they looked somewhat similar.

Marcos had never thought to use the word beautiful to describe a male, but that was the first word that came to his thoughts as he wordlessly passed, and walked away from them.

His long hair was pulled back in a styled knot that showed the rich display of jewelry around his neck. The shirt he wore dipped down low within the front, the clothing loose to display the body of a warrior.

Thin pink scars ran up his arms, showing vividly against his dark skin.

Lumi stared at him for a fleeting second, before turning back to Marcos with an unbroken smile.

"Would you mind Marcos?"

"No, Princess." His voice was probably too gentle. She gave him a knowing look, understanding passing through her that he was aware.

In the quiet of the hallways, she spoke softly and briefly, addressing his unspoken question.

"I am considered the forgotten for my people. It helps them grieve their loss if they consider me gone from them fully. They will not acknowledge me because to them, I am dead."

"You sacrificed yourself for them." Marcos whispered

"They still love me," Lumi said simply. Her voice never broke. "But I am not the princess. I am not their sister or their daughter. I am the Winter King's property."

With the most heartbreaking smile, Lumi looked up to Marcos and said, "I'm glad I was able to see them tonight."

*   *   *

King Theros stood in front of her door.

The ball had just ended, but the sun would rise in several hours. It had lasted late into the night.

But she had left only several hours in.

He had watched her go, but more importantly, he had watched the male walk past her without a single word.

His fist had clenched tightly to the chair, frost growing along the edges of his nails before the King took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

He was aware that many were looking at him- especially Elowen. He was aware that he had reacted this same way several times during the night, when she danced with male after male after male.

One dark haired male in particular - someone he knew she would have been shocked to learn the true identity of - had danced with her three times. Three times.

No one had secured a second dance, yet he had gotten three.

Theros violently shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, remebering a past moment from the ball- 

"Is everything okay?"

He had turned to look at Elowen. She had that knowing look in her eyes.

He nodded, ignoring the rest of her words as he stared blankly into the open space.

The time passed slowly. He waited impatiently for it to go, counting it down.

And now he stood in front of her door.

Without knocking he opened it, catching sight of the guards who stood outside before he closed it shut behind him.

He should not be coming to her. Not this late and not just after the ball.

As he thought, she was already asleep, curled up in a small ball in the middle of the bed.

She always slept in the smallest nightgowns, but she had told him one night with a laugh that they were her daily dresses worn in the summer Kingdom.

He had quickly pushed that thought aside.

He had been pushing a lot of thoughts aside about her lately.

Trying to clear his head of everything, Theron wearily took off his jacket and boots. He removed everything else until he was just with his pants and undershirt.

As quietly as he could, he pushed himself next to her, gently moving her body so that it would be closer to his.

He stopped when she stirred awake, her eyes blinking sleepily up at him.

Her hand came up, softly caressing his cheek before it fell back.

"I guess so," she mumbled.

He felt an involuntary smile tug at his lips.

But then awareness seemed to hit her as her eyes flickered back open, staring with a tired drop.

"You came," she whispered.

He couldn't seem to help himself. Without thinking he leaned to her, softly pressing his lips to hers. Her hand came up again, grabbing his chin to hold him in place.

She pulled back, a lazy smile gracing her face as she shook her head.

It was only then that he noticed the slightly pink rim around her eyes.

"You've been crying," he pressed his thumb to her cheek wiping away her sorrow that was already gone.

"Yes," she admitted.

"It's because of your brother." He felt anger shoot through him at the image of him walking past her without a glance.

"Yes," she said again, "but I knew it would be like that. The reality was hard to handle."

Her words seemed to crack something inside him. He pushed that away also, fighting against his thoughts and emotions that were threatening to flood his mind.

"I'll have him leave," Theros said with authority.

Lumi suddenly laughed, turning fully to face him, "No...that won't help anything. It's the way of my people. The memory of me from when I was their sister, daughter and princess is the one they want to keep. Not the one of me being here -," she motioned towards the balcony, "in this place."

"You volunteered. You gave yourself freely and they-,"

She gently placed a finger on his lips, leaning closely to further cut him off with a kiss.

She pulled back, smiling.

"It is how they are able to move on. Don't be angry at how people choose to handle their grief."

He decided that he wouldn't throw her brother out. For her. But she still had a pained look in her eyes as she whispered her words to him.

Something in him wanted that look gone.

He wanted it erased, but he felt anger towards himself at the thought.

Instead he only turned her around, letting her press her back to him as he stared out the balcony window, and watched the coming winter storm.