All princes and their first wives were invited to have dinner with the king. When we arrived, the king welcomed us and we greeted him in turn; then we greeted one another amongst ourselves. While the princes chatted and laughed (except Lucian), the princesses just glared at each other. There was some kind of hostility between them.
Lucian didn't go up to his brothers, he just stood beside me. None of them seemed to care about him, either. He had told me earlier that they didn't like him because he was the son of the devil. I wondered if they really believed that kind of blasphemy. Why did he say that he didn't know if he actually was the son of the devil?
Before my head imploded with questions, dinner was served and we sat down in our assigned places. Each prince sat beside his wife. The Crown Prince was sitting next to the king, and they were talking about something animatedly, waving their hands around wildly. His wife Elsa looked at me now and then. I wondered what her problem was? She was really beautiful, actually. Possibly the most beautiful of all the princesses, with her curly blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. Lucian and I ate our dinner in silence; he seemed uncomfortable, and I wondered why.
A guard came in and whispered something into the king's ear. The king stood up. "I have things to take care of, but enjoy your dinner," he said guardedly, and with that he left.
The crown prince stood up from his seat holding his wine glass delicately in one hand. "First, we shall welcome our little brother's bride," he said. "And then," he trailed off, clearly not fit to form complete sentences in his intoxicated state.
"And then," the prince next to him picked up where his brother had left off, "we shall tell embarrassing stories about our little brother to his bride." The brothers laughed. They may have been speaking of this as a joke, but something was off. Their laughs weren't genuine, they sounded stilted and vile to me. I could feel Lucian shifting uncomfortably beside me. The crown prince walked along the table and stood behind the prince and his wife that were sitting in front of Lucian and me.
"You must have heard the rumor about our brother, about him being the son of the devil. What do you think about that?" he asked, cruel mirth clear in his tone. I could see Lucian clenching his fists under the table.
"It's as you said your highness, just a rumor." I replied. I don't know why I defended Lucian, but I felt a strange protectiveness over him. The crown prince sent me a scrutinising glare, but he wasn't willing to give up. He was probably thinking of other ways to insult his brother. He had no right.
"So you don't believe them?" he asked.
"Should I, Your Highness?" I said in a challenging tone, mock sweetness colouring my voice.
The prince sitting in front of us continued, "Even his mother didn't want him after she gave birth to him." I couldn't believe my ears. How could he say something so cruel to his own brother? Beside me, Lucian's entire body tensed up, ready to spring at the brother sending cruel taunts to the both of us. Under the table, I reached out and gently laid my hand atop his, willing him to stop and consider his actions.
Lucian stilled. He raised his incredulous gaze up to my eyes, clearly surprised by my contact. I gave him a reassuring smile, and by intuition I could tell he had calmed down significantly. Turning to his brothers, I was furious. I hadn't known Lucian for that long and I didn't want to be married to him, but now he was my husband and I couldn't change that. I had only one option: to make this marriage work.
His brother looked at me, calculating. He must have guessed what I was thinking. "Well, I hope he treats you well," he said slowly, backing off.
"'Well' is an understatement of how he treats me," I said stiffly, and his brothers sent me a look. Disappointed? Lucian intertwined his fingers with mine under the table, as though he approved of me defending him.
***
For his entire life, not one person had stood up for him like this beautiful woman had. His wife. A woman who barely knew him and took no notice of the rumors that flew around.
She had surprised him with her touch and melted his heart with her words and smile. She hadn't believed the rumours about him, that even he sometimes believed about himself.
They arrived at their private chamber and went inside. She seemed to be in deep thought. He wondered what she was thinking about.
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Yes! Yes, I just... can I go outside to the garden?" she seemed to like being outside, so he decided to take her outside the castle. Her eyes twinkled when he told her he was taking her out.
In the courtyard stood the stables, and he led her inside to face Lucian's own horse, a beautiful chestnut with a white star on his flank.
"Can you ride?" he asked her. "No," she replied, embarrassed. "Then you should ride with me."
He helped her up and she sat behind him on the horse. "Hold on," he said.
She seemed to hesitate, but then she put her arms around his waist and held him lightly, almost not touching. As soon as they started riding, her grip tightened, pressing her soft and warm body against his back.
"Am I riding too fast?"
"No," but her tight hold around his waist said otherwise. Either way, he didn't slow down; he liked the feeling of her arms around his waist.