A Dove's Tale

Chapter 70

The princes had barely settled on the sofas when the library door burst open, and there was Prince Clavis, red-faced, out of breath, violet hair in disarray, bolting across the room toward me.

“Clavis, shouldn’t you be hiding somewhere?” Prince Leon asked, laughing all over again.

“He’s faster than I thought,” Prince Clavis gasped, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me in front of him as Prince Luke’s massive frame filled the doorway.

“Clavis!” he shouted, his leaf-green eyes narrowed and angry. Leaves and twigs stuck out of his red hair at odd angles, and he, too, was red-faced and out of breath. I was having a hard time keeping a straight face, especially since everybody was laughing again.

“You wouldn’t hit my lovely accomplice, would you?” Prince Clavis asked, holding me in front of him like a shield.

“Accomplice?” I asked incredulously, craning my neck to look over my shoulder at him.

“Oh, good, I’m not missing anything,” Prince Silvio said, walking into the library with a satisfied smirk as Prince Luke stomped toward Prince Clavis and me.

“Yes, accomplice. You helped me pick my target, after all,” Prince Clavis said patiently, as if he were explaining himself to a child. As if he were the mature one in this situation.

Sometimes, he was infuriating.

“I did not.”

“Nobody believes that, Clavis,” Prince Luke growled.

“In Keith’s room, remember?” Prince Clavis asked, grinning maniacally.

“What were you two doing in my room?” Prince Keith asked, his golden eyes wide with surprise.

“I was cleaning, and he was looking for trouble,” I replied. “And I did not help you choose a target, Prince Clavis. I asked you not to prank Prince Keith, and I said if you had to prank somebody, prank your brothers. You’re welcome, by the way, Prince Keith.”

“Thank you, but-”

“But you didn’t say no when I decided on Luke,” Prince Clavis continued, talking over Prince Keith. “You just said not to tell you what I was going to do.”

“That’s basically giving him permission, Ivetta,” Prince Leon chimed in from the amused onlookers.

“So, this is your plan?” Prince Luke asked, towering over us. “Hiding behind Ivetta? Ya realize I can just pick her up an’ move her outta the way?”

“Not if I do this,” Prince Clavis said, snaking an arm around my waist.

“Prince Clavis!”

“Hold your breath,” he whispered in my ear.

“Prince Clavis, don’t-”

A small glass vial hit the floor next to us. I squeezed my eyes shut and clapped my hands over my nose and mouth as a blinding cloud of smoke enveloped me and an explosion shook the room. Prince Clavis threw me over his shoulder and bolted, leaving the coughing and swearing princes behind. I waited a moment to make sure we were clear of the smoke before I opened my eyes and pounded on his back.

“Prince Clavis, put me down!”

“Here, take this,” he said, throwing me at someone else without stopping. I stared up at Prince Chevalier in confusion as Prince Clavis tore down the hall away from us. Another set of footsteps came pounding toward us, and I looked back to see Prince Luke racing around the corner.

“Which way?” he asked breathlessly.

I pointed in the direction Prince Clavis had taken, and Prince Luke ran past us. The other princes tumbled out of the library, still coughing. Laughter rang out further down the hall, and I looked past a handful of servants plastered wide-eyed against the walls at Prince Jin, strolling toward the chaos with a wide grin on his face. It was then that I realized I was still in Prince Chevalier’s arms, and I looked up at him nervously, blushing to the tips of my ears. His crystal blue eyes showed definite amusement.

“You can put me down now, Prince Chevalier.”

He set me on my feet, and I looked down at my uniform, busying myself with straightening it and hoping I wasn’t as red as I thought I was.

“Looks like I missed all the fun. What happened?” Prince Jin asked.

“Clavis,” was the universal response from the other princes, who were gradually recovering from their coughing fits.

“Survived your day with Arianna?” Prince Silvio asked tauntingly.

“Yeah, and I could use a drink,” Prince Jin replied. “Ready to hit the tavern? You can tag along if you want, Ivetta.”

I glared at him as I undid my hair and finger-combed through it. “No, thank you.”

“Is Yves back yet?” Prince Licht asked.

A chill ran down my spine, and I glanced back down the hallway in the direction from which Prince Jin came. When Prince Yves returned, so would Prince Gilbert.

Prince Jin shrugged. “Not that I’ve seen.”

“Let’s go before he and Gilbert show up. I don’t want that creep spoiling my drink,” Prince Silvio said, grabbing my arm and pulling me with him down the hall. My stomach lurched at the thought of meeting Prince Gilbert while I was with Prince Silvio, and I yanked my arm free from his hand.

“I said no.”

“Don’t tell me you’d rather stay here and clean up that mess?” he asked, smirking down at me.

“Actually, I would,” I said firmly.

His sea-blue eyes flashed. “You little-”

“C’mon, Silvio,” Prince Jin said, clapping a hand on Prince Silvio’s shoulder and steering him away. “You’re not winning with her.”

I sighed and tied my hair back in a ponytail again, willing my heart to stop racing. The mere thought of Prince Gilbert should not be enough to upset me this much.

“How long until the smoke clears?” I asked.

Prince Chevalier brushed past me toward the library door and threw it open. Wisps of gray smoke floated out, but he walked inside with no hesitation.

“Guess it’s safe enough,” Prince Leon said. “Well, I’m gonna clear out Yves’ kitchen. Bet he’s gonna be using it tonight after dealing with Gilbert all day.”

“What does that mean?” Prince Keith asked.

“It means we’d better get some training in now before we spend the rest of the night eating sweets,” Prince Licht replied. “I’ll show you where the training arena is.”

They walked away, and I took a deep breath before following Prince Chevalier into the library, preparing myself to assess the damage.

It could have been worse.

Muddy footprints trailed from the door to the shattered glass that marked the place where Prince Clavis and I had stood. Leaves and twigs littered the trail, and my dusting rag lay abandoned on the floor. But the many decorative rugs had somehow survived unscathed, and the tea tray on the coffee table was intact.

“I live next door to actual children who are easier to handle than your brothers,” I said to Prince Chevalier, standing just inside the door next to me.

“Doubtless.” He glanced down at me, and then he spun on his heel and opened the door again. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” I asked curiously, following him back into the now vacant hallway.

“Before Eyepatch returns.”

“Oh,” I said, wincing. “Was I that obvious?”

“To me.”

I glanced back at the library door, biting my lip, but I knew there was no point in arguing about the mess we were leaving behind. He’d have somebody else clean it up. There was no point in trying to walk slightly behind him like a normal servant, either, so I fell in step directly beside him. He glanced down at me and smiled. I blushed and kept my eyes straight ahead, grateful there were no other servants along this stretch of hall. We were heading for the main entrance, not the servant’s entrance. He really didn’t care who saw us. I did, though, and I was glad that we hadn’t crossed paths with anybody yet.

“Charlie won’t be ready this early,” I said, more to break the silence than to talk.

“It doesn’t matter which carriage you use if I’m with you.”

“I guess not.”

Now I was self-conscious of walking with him, and I was thinking about riding in a carriage with him. We hadn’t been in a carriage together since the Rhodolite Foundation Day festival, when I had still been unsure if he even liked me or if he just thought I was a nuisance. I knew what he thought about me now. I remembered his arms around me this morning, his kiss in the gardens a couple of nights ago, and my heart was suddenly pounding out of my chest. He chuckled and grabbed my hand, pulling me behind a pillar in the empty entrance hall.

“Prince Chevalier-” I squeaked, my cheeks flaming hot as he pulled me close in the shadows. The smell of sweat mingled with the light scent of roses, a strong, musty smell mixing with the hard muscles surrounding me to make my head spin.

“Do I affect you so much?”

I stared up at his teasing blue eyes and his mischievous smirk, my mind scrambling for words amidst the confusion of my senses, but I was drawing a blank. He chuckled again and leaned in, his breath gusting across my ear.

“It’s unlike you to be rendered speechless, little dove.”

I swallowed hard, unable to look anywhere except at my hands on his chest. Hands that were not pushing him away, I noticed. “I-I thought we were leaving,” I stammered.

“Shh.”

I shivered at the soft hiss of his warm breath in my ear, but then I heard another voice, one that was further away and sent a shiver of fear up my spine.

“Well, you are a fine tour guide, Yves.”

I closed my eyes and buried my face in Prince Chevalier’s chest, afraid to even exhale for fear the sound would give us away. His hand pressed my head into his chest and his arms tightened around me, holding me securely while I trembled uncontrollably.

“Thank you, Gilbert. I believe you now owe me a similar introduction to Obsidian,” Prince Yves said, his voice colder than I’d ever heard it.

“Ah, yes, of course. I’ll have to discuss that with the Emperor, of course, but I will endeavor to return the favor soon,” Prince Gilbert replied pleasantly, as if he hadn’t noticed the frigid temperature of Prince Yves’ voice.

I dug my fingers into Prince Chevalier’s jacket, clinging to him long after their voices faded away. He stroked my hair in silence, and I gradually relaxed against him. When the trembling stopped and the tightness in my chest eased so I could finally breathe unrestricted, I felt his breath against my ear again, his fine hair tickling my cheek.

“We should go.”

I nodded. His arms loosened around me, and I stepped back, taking a deep, slow breath.

“S-sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said coolly, stepping around the pillar and beckoning to me. I followed, glad for his hand resting lightly on my arm, even when we stepped out into the courtyard full of guards. He strode confidently past them and helped me into a carriage, and then he took the seat next to me, closing the door firmly behind him. His arm came around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, and I didn’t fight him.

“Did you know he was coming?” I asked in a small voice.

“Yes. How is your mother?”

The abrupt subject change didn’t startle me. It was a distraction, just like him pulling me behind that pillar, and I welcomed it.

“She was better when I saw her at lunch.”

“Good.”

I sighed and sagged against him, wishing it really was good, but she could be worse again when I got home. And even if she was feeling okay, I would probably have the nightmares to contend with again tonight, and then there were another four days of the gala, another four days of avoiding Prince Gilbert…

“He said he might come to see me tonight,” I said softly, the unwanted memory from this morning’s carriage ride coming to mind. “If Prince Licht wasn’t around.”

“He’s welcome to try,” Prince Chevalier replied. “Killing him is unfortunately not an option, but if he sustains an injury while harassing you, he is unlikely to seek retribution and risk the embarrassment of such an occurrence becoming public knowledge.”

I looked up at Prince Chevalier and the smirk on his lips. “You’d like him to try, wouldn’t you?”

“He won’t, though I enjoyed envisioning the possibilities if he did while I was training with my knights. You were enjoying yourself until he returned.”

I nodded and laid my head on his shoulder, following his prompt to change the subject and proceeding to recount my day. He listened, his arm resting comfortably around me, his soft smile and occasional comment encouraging me not to leave anything out, and it occurred to me he had a hand in all of it. Prince Clavis first thing in the morning to cheer me up, Prince Licht at lunchtime to give me a break from Prince Clavis, Prince Leon later in the afternoon to check in and make sure I was doing okay. And all the while, Prince Chevalier was working behind the scenes, doing whatever he needed to do to keep me safe and Prince Gilbert under control.

Why had I fought this for so long?

“You don’t have to send anybody to pick me up in the morning,” I said, smiling brightly by the time the carriage jostled to a stop. “The guards can check the carriage before I get on.”

He chuckled. “Less than twenty-four hours, and you’re already arguing against the measures I’ve taken. I won’t take that risk with you.”

“But if the guards check the carriage at the palace and then here-”

He stopped me with a finger over my lips. “No.” He shifted on the seat, his warm blue eyes coming closer, and his finger lightly traced around my lips. “You take care of your mother, and I’ll take care of you, little dove,” he murmured, his eyes flicking down to my lips and back up to my eyes.

I nodded, my heart pounding out of control again.

He dropped his hand from my face and sat back against the cushion, reaching over to open the carriage door. I swallowed and slipped past him, keeping my eyes down on the ground as I darted into my house. Mother was going to tease me relentlessly about my blush today.