Boris was watching from afar, like he always did, at Dominic. He found comfort in it.
Despite is being his first approach, he found more flexibility in this position, less contact, more distance. He didn't know when the changes had started to happen, but those fuels in him that made him feel like lashing at Dominic had been rinsed out, like they were reset every time he looked like Dominic. Like he couldn't get mad at him.
It didn't mean that he couldn't get mad at him, it just meant the anger he felt now, the frustration felt different than his original rage. It was like targets had changed.
Boris looked up at Dominic, watching him bury his head in his books, his hands flying over sheets of paper and writing things, stamping and other actions Boris couldn't care less to notice. His eyes were pinned on Dominic's expression.
'I don't feel it...' Boris thought to himself. Before when he stared at Dominic's face for too long, he would feel a little sick, unsettled. Now he was unsettled in a different ways, the scrutinizing words he would utter in his head about the prince, were now about Dominic. The intolerable habits of the prince were now the annoying habits of Dominic. The royal glare of emerald now became the intoxicating gaze of Dominic.
'It's different,' Boris thought to himself. His looked away from Dominic, body stiffening and eyes staring at the room in front of him. Different was unsettling.
KNOCK KNOCK
Boris' head immediately turned towards the door. He turned back to Dominic who was looking up at him with startled eyes. Boris looked at the rattled gaze of emerald for a second before turning back to the door. His shoulders lowered, his body loosening.
His hand wrapped around the handle of the door and pulled it open. He stared at the space in front of him, about to turn away when he noticed the small head of black hair standing in front of him, his head lowering to meet her gaze.
"Princess Claudia," Boris muttered, his head bowing in a greeting.
Claudia assessed Boris for a moment and after a flash of amusement flashed in her eyes, she simply nodded, excusing herself into the room.
"Your highness," Claudia greeted, bowing before Dominic.
Dominic looked up from his books, his eyes widening with surprise and brightening. From his stoic face rose a grin, breaking into the silence that hung in the room before Claudia's arrival. "My Princess..." Dominic returned, standing up from his work. He was about to walk towards her when his feet refused to move and he sat down in the chair, his hand picking up a pen as he looked up at Claudia. "What can I do for my princess?"
Claudia blushed, her eyes looking down at the stack of papers on Dominic's desk. She looked away, sadness washing over her. "It's ok if you're busy though, I can wait..." she muttered, looking up at Dominic with a reassuring smile. "I just wanted to talk about something little with his highness. it's by no level of importance as the papers on your table. I can wait."
Dominic flinched, his eyes skirting to the papers on his table. He turned back to Claudia and then to the books, his gaze flustered, confused. Boris could tell.
In the end, Dominic stood up from his seat and walked towards Claudia. "Only for a moment though, I can't leave some of these documents out for too long," Dominic smiled, nodding towards his desk. He turned back to Claudia, offering his elbow, "So... to what question do I have the honor of answering to my future queen?"
Claudia grinned, her lips about to open when her eyes dart to Boris who stood in the corner of the room, his eyes locking with hers immediately after she turned to him. She turned back to Dominic with nervous eyes, "Maybe not here? Privately."
Dominic flinched upon hearing her proposition, his eyes glancing at Boris. They exchanged side glances for a moment, silent words being exchanged with each other upon eye contact. Boris stared back at Dominic's flustered eyes with a blank, stoic gaze. Dominic let out a mental sigh before he turned back to Claudia with a smile.
"I'm afraid that isn't possible, Claudia," Dominic chuckled nervously. "The security got a lot more tighter after yesterday. A lot more people are on the watch for villains in the castle, a lot ready to slice off the head of an enemy within 20 feet of me."
Claudia nodded her head immediately in understanding. She turned back to Boris and then to Dominic again, her head nodding towards the door. "Shall we go then?" she asked, "oh... and is it ok if I talk to him in a room alone, but with guards on the outside? I want to respect my Prince's safety too."
Dominic grinned, shaking his elbow again. He smiled when she took it, both of them turning around and heading out the door into the hallway.
Claudia looked around for a moment before picking a random door and dragging Dominic into it. Boris stood outside, his back pressed against the wall but ears so focused that through the little slit he had forced Claudia to keep open, he could hear their conversation.
"Your highness... I have heard some whispers..." Claudia began, her voice quaking hesitantly.
Dominic held her arm, staring into her eyes to give her assurance.
She cleared her throat and continued. "Your meeting today... I am a suspect of your poisoning?" she muttered, her eyes looking up at Dominic with sadness. Her eyes wavered when she saw the surprise in Dominic's gaze. She pulled away from him, turning her back to him as she trembled. "I- I heard it from a servant, the news from the meeting traveled to my ears faster than any other rumor in the palace. I... I am a suspect in the poisoning of his royal highness, aren't I?"
"No..no Claudia not to-" Dominic began his voice being cut off by a yell from Claudia.
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" She screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "I... I knew I wasn't welcomed as well as any future princess would have to the palace but... but to hear this... to hear this crude news of me, ACCUSING ME of your poisoning... I simply- I simply don't understand your highness," Claudia began, her voice wavering as she spoke, her hands clenching into a fist and tears running down her cheeks like steady rivers. "I didn't expect this to happen.. how could this happen? Do they not want me to marry you, your highness? Do they hate me?"
Dominic flinched, immediately stepping forward and pulling her into a back hug. His head rested on her shoulder for a moment, his head resting against hers. He stood for a moment in silence as he thought of an answer. Then a thought hit him a second later. He hugged her tighter, whispering in her ears, "O-of course not Claudia. It's just a common thought, a normal suspicion."
Claudia pushed Dominic away, her eyes glowering in frustration and hurt. "It's normal for a kingdom to suspect it's future queen of the poisoning of it's future king? I didn't know trust could be so flimsy."
Boris shifted in his stance as he listened, her words somehow resonating with thoughts in his mind.
Dominic grabbed Claudia, pulling her back again, his hands wrapping tightly around her waist. "No! It's not, I apologize for that, my princess. It's just their irrational fear. How else are they supposed to explain this, my love, they need someone to point fingers at whether it is a maid to a princess. if news of this gets to the kingdom and there's no one to blame, the kingdom will grow even more unsettled and worried. Debates will start and people will question my rule before I even begin."
"Then why didn't they blame the maid first?" Claudia continued, her head lowering. "It's not just that your highness! They also accused me of being a reason as to you being unable to complete your tasks. They think of me as a distraction! a bad influence! The wrong path for you to follow," she pulled away and turned to Dominic with her face full of tears. The glow in his eyes dimmed further as his hands rose to her cheeks to wipe them away. "They want you to leave my your highness..."
Boris' lips pressed against each other. 'Her words...' he thought to himself, 'they sound so pointed... so harsh and her anger quick to ignite...' His hand clenched into a fist as he listened. 'Every word he says just ends up snowballing on her doubts, multiplying them, quickening her explosion...' he continued, 'it doesn't even sound like she's listening to get comforted by him... it's like she's listening to...'
Dominic's hands brushed against her cheeks, wiping away her tears. "That's not true.. they just want closure..."
Claudia trembled, "No... your highness. First it was you," she muttered, looking up into Dominic's eyes, "first it was you who rejected my feelings that night and then now the kingdom is rejecting my loyalty. How am I supposed to be the next queen of my kingdom doesn't trust a single move I make?"
Boris' ears twitched at that. 'Rejected?' he thought to himself, 'rejected what?'
Dominic flinched, his hand twitching at her comment. His lips pressed against each other for a moment and his fist clench into a fist for a second before he let out a deep sigh and grabbed her hands, looking into her eyes.
"Claudia. You never let me explain that day and it is no reason that you should be worried about whether or not you'll be accepted into the kingdom," Dominic reassured.
Claudia shook his arm off and turned her head away. "No it does. You can hold my hand, smile at me, call me nicknames, give me compliments and bestow me with gifts but it's not enough. I need something more... tangible than that your highness. I need you to be able to hold me."
Boris froze, his hands tightening into a fist and lips pressing against each other. He didn't know why. He didn't know why but at that moment, something in him had flinched, froze at her words, shaken by the thought. He looked down at his feet, his eyes still listening closely to the chatter from inside the room.
Dominic stared at her for a moment, his eyes shaking slightly. He stepped forward and pulled her closer by the waist, his hand turning her head to his and eyes staring into hers for a moment. His eyes flicker down to her lips and a moment of silence passed before he pulled her closer, his forehead pressing against hers. "You know I can Claudia. In fact, that's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most when we get married. Just... not now."
Claudia looked up at him, getting lost in his eyes for a moment before she sighed, her head sliding off his and into his shoulder, pulling him tighter into a hug. "I... I'm sorry your highness," she muttered, "I just... grew cautious. I grew scared of what they would think of me, worried that you would toss me aside and fall for a concubine the first chance you get."
Dominic chuckled, squeezing her. "What a foolish thought my princess. Who else is going to charm me as beautifully as you do? Whose eyes are going to sparkle brighter than yours and gaze is going to paralyze me like yours? Only you."
Claudia chuckled, her head subbing against Dominic's shoulder. "Only me?"
"Only you," Dominic reassured.
Claudia smiled, her hands wrapping around Dominic's waist. "I'll believe you... don't break your promise."
Dominic laughed. "Of course."
They stood there for a moment, comforting each other.
Dominic stood with his hands around her words running through his head. 'It seems I have to take extra care of her... I can't have the future queen having all these doubts about herself and the kingdom before her enthronement,' he thought to himself. He stood thoughtless for a moment before a thought that had crawled into his head earlier reappeared.
"That reminds me, Claudia. How did you say you heard of this incident again?" Dominic asked.
"The servants and maids. It was gossip to them," Claudia sighed, "can you believe how much they can talk about issues like that?"
"No... I can't," Dominic uttered, a questioning tone lingering in his voice.
"Hm?" Claudia hugged him tighter. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I can't believe that they'd say that," Dominic muttered, "I can't believe the news would get to them at all."
Claudia flinched slightly, her eye twitching. "What do you mean, your highness?"
"The maids and servants..." Dominic began, "to prevent this kind of issue, the floor of the meeting is usually cleared every meeting so information doesn't leak and travel outside of the walls."
Claudia didn't respond, her voice quieting for a moment. She laughed seconds later, "What do you mean, my prince, do you mean to tell me guards and servants do not communicate to each other?"
Dominic chuckled, his laugh soon trailing into a monotone voice. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean," he replied, "the room that we use for a meeting is special as barely any sound can get through it. The walls are thick and so is the door. The guards on the outside can barely hear a thing that goes on inside the room unless the door is open, which it is never."
Claudia flinched. "Is that so..." she muttered.
"It is..." Dominic nodded, "so it's nearly impossible for any news to get out of the room. It's been tested before, multiple times."
"But what about the people inside the room," Claudia uttered, "they can always spill to others outside of the walls after the meeting."
Dominic grinned, "Most there have known me long before I could even recognize their faces and remember their titles. Most there have also been through hundreds of meeting and none of them spill of the information said. They were all sworn to secrecy."
Claudia stood silent for a moment, her heart quickening. Her eyes darkened and lips pressed against each other.
Dominic flinched, feeling her quickened heartbeat. "Are you ok my princess?" he asked, his hands about to push her away when she squatted his hands away, hugging him tighter.
"Yes I am," Claudia replied, her tone reduced to monotone.
Dominic stared down at her for a moment, before releasing his nerves. "Right..." he muttered. "Anyways, I don't understand how the information would have left the room otherwise. If there was a rumor too, Kalmin would have reported to me immediately as most of his works involve moving about the palace."
Claudia's grip grew on Dominic, so tight that his breathing staggered.
"So I don't know if there's any way for the news to leave the room.. unless there's somebody that's in the council or room that has been leaking information," Dominic muttered, his eyebrows furrowing, "and they would have to leak information directly to-"
Claudia chuckled. Her voice low and quiet at first before growing to fill up the room.
"My princess?" Dominic asked. "Is there something that-"
Claudia grinned, her hands traveling to the side of her dress behind Dominic's back and slipping into a hidden compartment at the sides. "Quite the thinker you are, my prince," she smiled, her tone losing all its sweetness and brightness. It sent shivers down Dominic's spine. "Who knew one of your endless spirals of thoughts would lead you to truth."
"Excuse me?" Dominic asked, her grip on her waist loosening, "what is that supposed to mean, Claudia?"
Claudia's fingers wrapped around an object in her dress. "Take a guess,"
Dominic flinched, pushing her away. He was milli-seconds late.
CLICK
His eyes widened as he felt the slash of something against his back and the stab of pain after. He gasped, his vision blurring from pain.
On trembling legs, his hands reached behind his back, pressing against a throbbing pain that ran from the middle of his back across to the left side. His fingers pressed against something warm and he peered down at his fingers, his emerald eyes widening as he peered down at the red on his fingertips. Blood.
"What... what is... this?" Dominic muttered, his eyes shakenly looking up to Claudia, spotting the knife in her hand.
"Surprise, surprise my prince," Claudia grinned, "I think I ended up revealing the present a liiiiittle bit too early."
The door to the room flew open and Boris ran inside, his eyes turning to Dominic first before turning to Claudia. His eyes rested on the knife in her hands and he immediately stood up straight, his golden eyes glowing with anger.
"What is the meaning of this, Princess," Boris spat as he walked into the room, his eyes fixed directly on Claudia.
"Guard..." Claudia grinned, the knife twirling in her hands. "Boris was it?" she chuckled, "his highness' favorite."
Boris stood in front of Dominic, his figure covering the hunched over shape of Dominic. "let's cut the chase, shall we," Boris snapped.
Claudia grinned, walking in a line parallel to Boris' position to a seat she flung herself into. "Feisty I see. I was wondering where all that anger and irrationality a scrap should have went," she raised her knife to him. "I heard you were tamed. Fed and clothed in the finest, chocked with teachings of the palace and coaxed with nice words. How's your stay going? Better than those rugged streets you live on right?"
Boris' fist clenched into a fist. "This is betrayal. You have acted in violence and wounded his highness with a blade. This will cost your head."
"Who him?" Claudia pointed to Dominic whose figure could barely be seen from behind Boris. She locked eyes with Boris and grinned. "That wimpy excuse of a prince?" she giggled, "I swear the only time he actually looked presentable was at events or meeting." She cocked her head to the side, looking eyes with the emerald laser that was pointed at her. "You sounded real manly in that meeting, your highness. Do you hide all of that under your luxurious clothing everyday or is that just an act you can pull once in a while when you finally stop crying like a baby?"
"WATCH YOUR TONE!" Boris yelled, a flash of lightening passing through his eyes.
"Why should you care?" Claudia's eyebrows raised, "you hate him just as much as I do, don't act all loyal now."
Boris' teeth gritted. "How-"
"Why?" Dominic asked, his voice wavering as he spoke. "Why did you do this?" he asked, "why would you do this to me?"
Claudia shrugged. "Because I don't like you? I mean did you actually think that I was going to bow down and lick your shoes as a 'Queen' whose only purpose is to carry the children of the king?" Claudia spat, "what am I a breeding animal? Am I worthless unless I put on a pretty dress and call you sweet words to sooth your ego?"
"Maybe you should have just stuck with that," Boris growled, "being a b*tch is worse."
"Woahhhh there horsey," Claudia grinned standing up from her chair. "You know I had the highest expectations from you. An outcast, rat on the streets brought into a palace filled with people he hates. I expected to see one of me! Just more... filthy. I expected to see anger in your gaze, an ever burning urge to destroy the palace," Claudia waved her hand to annunciate her words. She turned back to Boris, her eyes fiercing into his. "And I did see it. I saw it pointed at me, the person you should have rejoiced with meanwhile you looked upon that wimp behind you with calm, loving gazes. Hell, you did my role of clingy woman better than I did. You even pulled off jealousy."
Boris' eyes narrowed.
"Well... nonetheless, I still like you," Claudia grinned. She raised her knife to Boris again. "Will you accompany to the destruction of this kingdom?"
"Disgusting," Boris spat.
Claudia flinched, "Well then," she reached down, pulling her dress from the side, loud clicks of buttons followed as the trunk of her dress fell down to reveal pants. Pants and a sword strapped to her left leg. "I'll give you a few seconds to decide," she muttered, sliding her dagger into a strap on her thighs and pulled out the sword. Her eyes looked up at Boris, flowing mischievously. "While we fight, of course."
She launched at Boris a second later, her sword aimed at his heart. "Incoming~" she grinned.
Boris pushed Dominic to the side and jumped back, avoiding her slash. He reached behind him, grabbing the first object that he felt and lifted it over his head, throwing it at Claudia. It was a chair.
Claudia's eyes widened and she jumped back as the wooden chair flashed past her head. Her sword rose up as she jumped back, slashing at the chair
She looked up to Boris who wielded the chair in one hand. She let out a breath. "Strong, aren't you. Maybe I'll give you a few days with me first like Dominic did with you to tame you," she chuckled, swinging her sword in her hand, "maybe then you'll stop throwing chairs at me."
"Shut up," Boris retorted, pulling the chair in front of him like a weapon and shield.
Claudia grinned, running to him. "As you wish." She swung her sword to which Boris raised the chair up to. With a loud clang, her sword locked with the chair for a moment, piercing through one of the legs to another. She locked eyes with Boris and twisted her sword to swing at his eyes. He ducked, his legs swiped into her's knocking her off-balance.
She flipped backwards as a reflex and in mid flip, Boris threw the chair at her. Landing on one hand, she pushed off the floor and turned her body to the side, curving as the chair swept past her side, one of it's legs scratching her back as it flew past. It stung.
She landed on her feet seconds after the chair banged into the ground, her hand reaching behind her back. she looked up at Boris, her eyes narrowing. "You're experienced," she muttered, her grip on her sword tightening. "Sword fighter? Soldier? No one in wimp's army would be able to land a blow on me..."
She surveyed Boris as she walked back and forth. "What... are you?"
Boris loosened his belt, snapping it in his hands. "Shut up," he repeated, "you're annoying."
Claudia stared at him for a moment, a smile growing on her face. "A whip?" she muttered, her eyes looking down at the belt in Boris' hand, "gosh... I'm starting to like you even more." She lunged at Boris with her sword, both of her hands wrapping around the hilt of her sword.
Boris placed one foot one step behind him, his eyes looking up at Claudia, golden gaze pinned on her sword. He could see it, their movement. His hand held onto the belt for a moment then right when her sword was about to slash at her body, he raised it up, snapping at her wrist and in her moment of confusion, wrapped it around the sword, pulling it to the side.
Claudia's eyes widened for a moment, as the direction of her sword is flung to the side but seconds later, her gaze focused and her leg raised up, swiping at Boris. His other hand bent and caught her leg.
A gasp leaves her lips as she looks up at him, her eyes looking up at his. She flinched. His eyes didn't move, they didn't turn to her legs at the unexpected change in movement, in fact, they didn't even recognize it as an unexpected movement. Her eyes waver as his eyes locked with hers, the golden rays in his piercing gaze stayed steady, unbothered, undisturbed.
He had seen it coming.
His hand with the belt pulled her sword down, taking her down with it. She let go of a sword for a moment as he pulled it down, her left hand ready to hold her up when she hit the ground and right ready to grab the loose sword before she did. As she reached for the loose sword, her body slowly nearing the ground, when Boris' pull on the sword changed, throwing the sword up into the air.
Her eyes looked up at the sword for a moment, recognizing it's location before hitting the ground, her hand breaking her fall as she rolled over, yanking her leg from Boris' hold. She looked up, just milli-seconds before the sword reached Boris' hold and lunged at it, her body jumping g\to reach the sword.
'Just a few inches-' she thought to herself as her hand neared the sword's hilt. Just an inch before touching the sword, her hand is yanked back by a rope like object and she's pulled to the ground by a strong force, the sword falling straight into another's hand.
She never got to touch it, a belt wrapped around her hand tightly and the sword's hilt being held by big hands. Boris' hands.
She looked up at him as her body banged into the ground, her eyes glowing in confusion as she wondered how she had been stopped. Her eyes looked up at his hands. The belt had been switched to his other hand. In that moment where he eyes had looked up at the sword to mark it's location, he had switched the belt's location to his other hand, freeing his right hand to catch the sword and using the belt on his left to pull her back.
A gasp leaves her lips as her eyes wavered. 'No...' she thought to herself, using her left hand to try and push her off the ground. A firm leg stepped onto her stomach, pinning her to the ground. She looked up at Boris, trembling when his golden eyes looked down at her. 'No...' she thought again her eyes looking up at the sword and then back to Boris.
He peered down at her with blank eyes. Not a dose of emotion in them as he stepped on her, pressing her into the ground like she had with her gaze earlier. She shivered as she maintained eye contact with him, her eye shaking in fear as the sword in his hand lowered to her head, pressing against her neck.
There was a sting and a drop of something warm ran down her neck to the back of her head, dropping onto the marble floor. Blood.
Boris stared down at her for a moment, his eyes coldly pressing into hers, a jarring gaze that showed not an ounce of pity. Then in a second, a flash of emotion ran through his eyes and a smile slipped past his lips. He bent down slightly, his shoes pressing into her abdomen as mockery glowed in his eyes. "Got you."
She shuddered.
From a corner close to the door, rustling could be heard as Dominic stood up from his position on the ground, his eyes staring in both awe and confusion at the scene before him. He peered down at Claudia who looked up at him in frustration for a moment before her eyes settled into disgust. A slight smile passed on his lips. 'So that's what your eyes really meant to show...'
He stepped forward, his eyes looking at Boris. A second later, his golden eyes are drawn to emerald and they stared at each other. Dominic shuddered as his eyes locked with Boris'. It was like a cold draft passed through the room, like a shiver ran down his spines. He was intimidating.
Boris immediately looked away, turning his gaze to Claudia. "What should we do wit-"
The door of the room slammed open and a figure runs into the room.
"YOUR HIGHNESS! ARE YOU OK?! I HEARD NOISES I-" Kalmin began, his voice trailing off as he looked at the ground, his eyes widening, "what in the wor- BORIS WHY ARE YOU STEPPING ON PRINCE-"
"Kalmin," Dominic called out, his eyes looking down at Claudia.
"Y-yes your highness," Kalmin replied, bowing his head to Dominic, "don't worry about it! I'll send him to the cells immediat-"
Dominic turned to Kalmin, his emerald eyes drained of all their color and voice drained of all his energy. He began his walk towards the door, his eyes locking with Kalmin as he passed, "Call a meeting."