Chapter Twelve - Comfort
2107 Words
After the accident at the dance happened, everyone decided to go to their respective homes because they all lost the will to dance.
Venus, on the other hand, got exhausted because a lot of people came to greet and praise her for her kindness, which she thought was strange.
It was normal to ask if she was alright after what happened back there. Venus thought she must’ve hurt her back.
She couldn’t understand why she was worried about that woman who killed her, maybe it was because they were good friends back then.
Or maybe because she was curious as to why that happened to her. Venus couldn’t believe she allowed herself to be in an accident like that.
‘Was she planning something devious?’ Venus mentally asked herself before looking at the gentlemen right in front of her.
These two men in front of her were silent as if they were just trying to be comfortable in each other’s presence.
All of them were silent when they decided to go home. She couldn’t bear the tension forming above them.
Luckily, the galloping of the horses came to a halt after they arrived at the kingdom of Rose. Venus asked to be there for the time being.
After they got down from the carriage, Louis approached Arthur first with a smile plastered on his lips.
“I would like you to go first because I need to speak with my wife,” Louis firmly said, so Arthur glanced at her.
Venus just nodded at him, so he bowed his head at them, “Alright, enjoy your evening,” After he said those words, he left.
Silence surrounded them when Arthur left. Louis immediately scratched the back of his head before looking at her intently.
“What do you think you're doing, Venus? Why are you always with that man?” Louis raised his tone.
“Don’t you know what issues will arise if you two were always seen together as if you’re husband and wife?!” He furiously exclaimed.
Venus then crossed her arms against her chest, “Why do you think I’m with him, Louis? You were invited to this party and you didn’t even bother telling me about it?”
“I received a letter together with Prince Arthur, I was certain that you would come since he was your great friend, did you go with Marie Alicia?” She raised her eyebrows.
“What? What are you talking about? I met Marie at the party, she was not my plus one, she just accompanied me because I was alone,” Louis explained himself.
Venus clenched her fists. She doesn’t know why she was livid, but she was sure it was her dark soul from the past that was forcing her to ask him those kinds of questions.
“You wouldn’t be if you invited your wife to come with you,” Venus bitterly smiled, “Why are you going on these matters alone?”
“Why are you not telling me these kinds of things? We ought to know what the other one was doing!” She firmly said.
“Because I’m a man! I’m capable of talking to people alone about businesses that we might need someday!” Louis explained.
Venus was caught off guard at what he just said, “I didn’t know that you were that kind of person,”
“You only see me as a woman to carry your offspring someday, you don’t believe in me being capable of handling a kingdom alone,” She bitterly laughed.
“T-That’s…that is not what I meant, Venus,” Louis sounded like he was trying to make her understand, but she shook her head.
“No, that’s exactly what you’re telling me a while ago,” Venus raised her gown before turning her back to him.
“I’m not going home to your kingdom today, I’ll stay here and manage the business with Prince Arthur, have a good night,” After she said those words, she left.
Venus couldn’t understand why tears were filling up her eyes. Her heart was full of emotions she couldn’t release, she was livid and hurt.
“Milady, are you alright?” Hanna greeted her after she arrived at her room. She sniffed before she silently cried.
“I-I’m not okay, Hanna, I‘m not,” Venus whispered while sobbing, forcing Hanna to give her a long, tight hug.
Hanna didn’t ask her anything about what happened, but her hug alone made her feel that someone was there for her, just like back then when everything was starting to be too much.
“T-Thank you for always being here for me, Hanna,” Venus solemnly whispered, making her lady-in-waiting tear up.
“I will always be here no matter what, my princess,” Hanna muttered sweetly. The two of them stayed in each other’s arms until she fell asleep.
***
The next day came by. Venus woke up with her eyes feeling a little sore because she cried too long last night.
“Good morning, milady, I already prepared your bath,” Hanna greeted her with a smile, so she reflected on it.
“Thank you, Hanna, what happened last night, please forget about that,” Venus bit her lower lip, so she just nodded.
“That will be our secret then, Your Highness,” Hanna playfully said, making her shake her head before she decided to stand up from her bed.
It wasn’t long until she was finished fixing herself up as she slipped on a cream dress that was filled with sequins.
Her makeup was only light even though she wanted to hide it with thick makeup, Hanna just didn’t allow her to have that.
“You can have your breakfast at the dining hall, milady, Prince Arthur is waiting for you there already,” Hanna informed her.
She almost forgot about him because of what happened to her last night, “Where are my parents?”
“I believe they left early to take care of important matters around the kingdom,” Hanna informed her.
“I see, alright, I’ll go eat breakfast,” After Venus said those words, she paced towards the dining hall.
It wasn’t long until she arrived there and saw that Arthur was just standing right in front of the table, “P-Prince Arthur? You haven’t eaten yet?”
She couldn’t take her eyes off him because he was wearing a bright red formal attire suitable for a prince.
Arthur was breath-taking and it made her heart skip a beat, he was the only one that gave that kind of feelings inside of her.
He looked as if he came straight out of the long novels she read about romance, “I waited for you,”
“O-Oh, you knew that I was coming?” Venus curiously asked and thought that was amazing that he knew.
“Well this is the only place we can have our meals, and I’m pretty sure that you didn’t leave with prince Louis last night,” He smiled.
“Y-You also knew about that? Did Hanna tell you?” Venus wondered, making him chuckle while shaking his head.
“Believe me, I just took a wild guess,” Arthur sounded like he was trying to make a joke, so she just chuckled.
But he really knew that she didn’t leave with him because he heard their argument. He even knew that she cried to her heart’s content last night because of what they talked about.
He was worried and wanted to cheer her up, but he didn't know where to start. Both of them decided to sit down and were served by the royal maids.
“What happened to you? Are you alright?” Arthur decided to ask even though he was nervous on the inside.
He just doesn’t want to see his mate like that, “W-What do you mean, Your Highness?” Venus almost choked on her meal.
“Your eyes are sore, you cried last night, didn’t you?” Arthur claimed, so she immediately bit her lower lip.
“T-This is why I told Hanna to make my makeup thicker,” Venus sadly smiled before drinking a glass of water.
“I had an argument with my husband last night,” She started sharing what happened between them, so he thought it was bad.
“I’m sorry that you have to hear that, I’m sure he doesn't mean it,” Arthur tried to cheer her up. He couldn’t even understand why he was almost siding with his rival.
“No, he does mean that, he’s that kind of person, what he says, he means it,” Venus just exhaled a lungful of air.
“I just can’t believe that I didn’t notice it before, if I knew…I…” She couldn’t continue what she was about today.
Venus was sure that he would find it complicated, “I apologize for sharing with you these depressing things, I must’ve ruined your breakfast,”
Arthur shook his head, “I promise you that you didn’t,” He smiled before deciding to finish up the rest.
“What if we take our business matters outside of the palace?” Arthur suggested, so she wondered for a moment.
“W-Where would we go?” Venus curiously asked, so he just had this amusing grin plastered on his lips.
“You’ll know soon enough if you’ll come with me,” Arthur beamed before he escorted her to her room to get changed.
“You’re going out of the palace with Prince Arthur, milady?” Hanna curiously asked, so she just nodded at her.
Hanna was currently helping her slip on her dress before she decided to fix her hair, “I-I am, I don’t know where he’s going to take me,” She admitted.
Her lady-in-waiting just smiled before finishing her makeup, “I hope you’ll have fun, milady,” She mumbled.
“I hope so too,” Venus nervously replied to her. She thought that she can’t afford to go out like this because she has to check her notes.
Things around here have been changing, when she argued with Louis last night, she knew that her path was changing.
She also heard from Hanna that he went home last night, so she wasn’t sure about some things she assumed would happen.
“You’re done, milady, let me escort you outside,” Hanna suggested. Venus nodded before she took one last glance from the mirror.
She was wearing a plain, yet elegant beige dress and she was also wearing a pastel blue hood just in case she would come home late.
Her copper-brown hair was tied up as Hanna placed a shiny ornament there to complete her elegant look.
After the two of them went out of her room, they stopped upon seeing Arthur waiting over there, dressed formally to impress someone.
The two of them knew that he was really good-looking, every lady that would look at him would fall head over heels for him.
“P-Prince Arthur, I didn’t know that you were waiting for me,” Venus approached him with a smile on her lips.
“Well, I can’t wait to go out with you, milady, shall we?” Arthur offered his hands to her, so she glanced at Hanna.
“Are you sure that you don’t really want to go with us?” Venus curiously asked, so she just nodded.
“I’m certain milady, plus someone has to know your whereabouts, just in case someone would look for you, I would tell it to them,” Hanna replied before shifting her gaze to Prince Arthur.
“Please take care of my princess, Prince Arthur,” She requested before bowing her head, which made him smile.
“Of course, I wouldn’t let anything happen to this special lady that I’m going to be with for this whole day,” Arthur then glanced at her, “I hope you don’t have any plans?”
Venus just shook her head, “I have some notes needed to check, but I can do that later when we get back,”
“That’s great news,” Arthur just smiled after she accepted his hands. He placed her hands to allow them to cling to his arms.
That gesture made her heart skip a beat, but she immediately shook her head and just waved her hands at her lady-in-waiting before they went towards the main entrance.
Some strange touches made her heart feel warm and fuzzy on the inside and she couldn’t explain why.
To be continued...
- Writer
