A Dove's Tale

Chapter 29

The blood was gone when I sat in the alcove on my lunch break, looking down at the gardens through the window. Unevaporated moisture darkened the paving stones. If I didn’t know what had happened, I wouldn’t have given them a passing glance. But I did know, and my gaze lingered.

“Hello there,” said a friendly voice that nonetheless filled me with dread.

I sighed. “Hello, Prince Clavis.”

“You were all smiles yesterday,” he commented, sitting on the opposite end of the window bench. “Didn’t your mother like the beignets?”

Was that only yesterday? It seemed a lifetime ago.

“She loved them, actually. Thank you for asking, Prince Clavis.” I tried to give him a smile, but I knew it wasn’t very convincing. “I guess I’m just a little down today. Maybe it’s the weather.”

The window drew my eyes again, but not to the gray clouds advancing slowly across the blue sky. I was still looking at that spot in the gardens.

“Ah, Chev told you about the assassination attempt,” Prince Clavis said, chuckling as if he remembered a great joke. I didn’t see the humor in this situation, and I didn’t bother wasting a reprimand on him. This was normal for him. For all the princes.

His chuckling died down, and he sighed. “I wish he hadn’t told you. Your naivety is refreshing in this wicked place. If Chev insists on bringing you down to our level, I may have to try a little harder to kill him.”

My head snapped to look at Prince Clavis’ grinning face so quickly that I heard my neck c***k. His golden eyes glittered with mischief, but there was something in them that made me think he wasn’t joking. He laughed and sprang to his feet, holding out his hand to me.

“That’s enough of that for now. I think it’s time to put a smile back on your face. Come on.”

I looked doubtfully at his outstretched hand. “Where do you plan on taking me?”

“Where, indeed? Guess you’ll just have to see. But I can assure you, on my honor as a gentleman, there will be no blood or death involved.”

Gentleman? That wasn’t a word I’d choose to describe Prince Clavis.

“I think I’d rather-”

“Mope around? No, I can’t let you do that. Come now, I know you must be delirious with joy at the prospect of waltzing through the palace on a handsome prince’s arm.”

Was he living in an alternate reality?

“Prince Clavis-”

He sighed dramatically. “I suppose you’re right. We really should have a chaperon, shouldn’t we? I’m sure Luke will be delighted to accompany us.”

“Well, I guess if Prince Luke is coming,” I said reluctantly, placing my hand in Prince Clavis’ and resigning myself to whatever may come.

Prince Clavis laughed again and pulled me to my feet. “If we can find him, that is. If not, it will just be the two of us, a pair of carefree young lovers.”

He was spinning quite the fantasy for himself. Luckily for him, the morning had drained me too much for me to bother trying to correct him. He took off, and I allowed him to pull me along, a feeling of dread settling in my chest and building with every step. We were heading toward Prince Chevalier’s office. I didn’t want to deal with Prince Chevalier any sooner than I had to, and I especially didn’t want to have an audience around when I did. But Prince Clavis maintained a tight grip on my hand as he threw the door open. I stepped back against the wall next to the door so I was out of sight.

“Luke, just the man I want to see. Come here.”

Prince Luke’s heavy sigh easily reached me in the hallway. I felt the urge to smile when I realized he dreaded whatever Prince Clavis had in store, too.

“Yeah, sure. Just a sec, King Highness.”

Prince Clavis stepped back for Prince Luke’s appearance in the doorway. He hadn’t seen me yet, but I could see his tense, nervous expression as he looked at Prince Clavis.

“What d’ya want?” Prince Luke asked suspiciously.

“Now, where are your manners? There’s a lady present,” Prince Clavis replied, tugging me toward him. I was suddenly grateful for Prince Luke’s massive frame that blocked Prince Chevalier from my view.

“Oh, hey, Ivetta. You need me to get rid of him for you?” Prince Luke asked, his leaf green eyes lighting up when they landed on me.

I pursed my lips together, fighting the ever-increasing urge to smile.

Prince Clavis laughed. “I’ll have you know she practically begged me to whisk her away from here. But, since I am a gentleman, I insisted we get a chaperon for our little date. How very thoughtful of you to volunteer. Shall we go?”

He took off again, and I shrugged helplessly at Prince Luke as Prince Clavis dragged me along. Prince Luke sighed irritably and followed us.

“So, what actually happened, Ivetta?” he asked, easily catching up with us with his long strides.

“He interrupted my lunch break, and he won’t leave me alone, your highness,” I replied, unable to hide my smile anymore. Either Prince Clavis was delusional, or he was working really hard to cheer me up. I had a feeling it was the latter.

“It’s so adorable how you try to hide your true feelings for me,” Prince Clavis said, taking my hand from his and linking it through his arm. “But you don’t have to deny it in front of Luke. He’s our chaperon, after all.”

“If ya wanna slap him, I won’t stop ya. I’ll even hold him still for ya.”

This continued as we followed Prince Clavis through the halls and outside to a large grassy area that spanned between the palace and its church. Prince Clavis’ dream world became more and more elaborate, while Prince Luke and I remained firmly rooted in reality. Two completely different conversations took place at the same time. Just when I started to worry about Prince Clavis’ mental capacities, he would wink at me or say something offhand that assured me of his sanity. I stopped fighting a smile and embraced it, along with the laughter that bubbled out when Prince Clavis tested his last name on me - Ivetta Lelouch.

“That sounds like a fancy soap,” Prince Luke pointed out, also laughing.

There was a steep cutoff on the northern edge of the area, about halfway between the palace and the church, with a balcony built into the bank. Below, I could see the entire outer courtyard between the palace front doors and the outer gate of the castle wall. I leaned over the railing, taking it all in, while Prince Clavis gestured broadly and announced that his first duty when he became king of Rhodolite would be to rename it Lelouchia. A sudden roll of thunder eclipsed our laughter and startled me into looking up at the sky. The clouds above us were black, and the wind flattened the grass to the ground.

“Oops, that’s our cue to leave,” Prince Clavis shouted over the suddenly rushing wind. He took my hand, and we started running back to the palace, but the rain caught us before we made it.

“Sorry, my lady!” Prince Luke shouted from behind me. He scooped me up, throwing me over his shoulder as he raced past Prince Clavis for the door.

“Prince Luke!” I exclaimed, startled, but he didn’t put me down until we were inside. When he did, my face was red with embarrassment. I straightened my dress while we waited for Prince Clavis, who arrived soon after, completely soaked. Although Prince Luke had made a valiant effort, he and I weren’t in much better shape. We looked at each other and burst out laughing - well, Prince Clavis and I did. Prince Luke was suddenly stony-faced.

“What’s wrong, Prince Luke?” I asked.

“Your shoulder,” he said, frowning.

I’d had no trouble hiding those bruises so far. He must have seen them when he put me down and my dress was in disarray. They were quite a bit nastier than the bruises on my wrists.

“We’d better get cleaned up and back to work before we’re missed,” I said cheerfully, ignoring the look he was giving me.

“What are you hiding?” Prince Clavis asked, his golden eyes narrowing.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Prince Clavis.” I turned to leave, but Prince Luke linked arms with me.

“I’ll just walk with ya, my lady,” he said, flashing me his boyish grin.

“Me, too,” Prince Clavis said, taking my other side.

“This really isn’t necessary,” I tried to protest.

“Ya want me to show Clavis?” Prince Luke asked, frowning down at me.

I blushed. “N-no!”

I felt gloved fingers on my shoulder, pulling the fabric down. I turned with a start, breaking free from both princes and pushing Prince Clavis’ hand away.

“Stop it!”

My exclamation came too late. One look at his face told me he’d seen the bruises, too.

“I knew it was too much to hope that you only had the ones on your wrists,” he said, his golden eyes narrowed and unusually frightening.

“It’s already been handled, so can we please just drop it?” I asked, my cheeks hot with embarrassment.

Prince Luke shrugged, and when he spoke again, his voice was still as friendly as ever, but his green eyes were unusually fierce.

“Fine, if that’s what ya want. Where are ya headed?”

I sighed, frustrated. “The laundry, your highness. And I’m perfectly capable of getting there by myself.”

I spun on my heels and walked away, hoping they’d actually listen for a change. Of course, they didn’t.

“Let me give you some advice,” Prince Clavis said, easily catching up with me.

I steeled myself.

“Don’t bother about the stains. Chev goes through clothes pretty quickly.”

I looked over at Prince Clavis, surprised.

“Oh, were ya trying to clean Chevie’s clothes? Ya should just throw them out,” Prince Luke added, coming along my other side.

Chevie. What an adorable nickname for Prince Chevalier. That, more than anything, got me smiling again.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

They followed me all the way to the laundry, talking back and forth over my head like they had out on the lawn, as if bruises and blood-stained clothes didn’t exist. When we reached my destination, I turned back to them and smiled.

“I think I’ll be fine from here. Please go and get out of those wet clothes. I really don’t want you catching colds on my account.”

“Ya sure you’ll be okay?” Prince Luke asked.

No. Rabid clothes were going to attack me and take me hostage.

I’d been around Prince Clavis too much today.

“Yes, Prince Luke, I’m sure. And I’m going straight to the library after this, if you’re worried.”

“I’ll stop by and check on you in about an hour then,” Prince Clavis said with a wink.

“That won’t be necessary, your highness,” I said firmly.

“Oh, it’s necessary.” He smiled at me - an actual smile, without a trace of scheming. “You’re our little dove, after all.”

“Nobody messes with ya when we’re around,” Prince Luke added.

I didn’t like feeling weak, and I didn’t like to feel vulnerable, but I didn’t dislike their assurances.

It was well past one o’clock. If the stains hadn’t come out by now, they never would. I set about scrubbing and rinsing Prince Chevalier’s laundry and, surprisingly, some of it had come clean. His pure white cloak looked to be a hopeless cause, though. I gave it one more try, scrubbing at it for a while before hanging it up to dry with the rest, and then a shiver ran through me and reminded me of my own wet uniform. Goosebumps covered my skin as I peeled it off and tossed it with the rest of the dirty uniforms. I scrambled to pull on a new one, appreciating the extra warmth the long sleeves and skirt characteristic of the winter uniform provided. The warmth wrapped around me like a hug.

Prince Chevalier flashed through my mind.

I shook my head, as if that would erase the memory of his embrace. His last embrace. Because I told him he couldn’t touch me anymore, and I meant it.

Was he still coming to the library today?

I didn’t know. I didn’t know if I wanted to see him, and I didn’t know if he wanted to see me. But I did know that I had forgotten to go back to his room for his dirty dishes after I started his laundry, so I needed to do that now.

I sighed and headed out into the hallway. Rain pelted the windows; candlelight danced across the walls. I was in for a miserable walk home later.