The Second Day of the month of Palefrost
The Royal Palace
Ernien was Cecil's trusted companion.
He was a tall, built man who had been trained for several years to protect Cecil in case of emergencies.
It was rare to see Cecil without Ernien's company unless the flighty prince sneaked outside the Palace by himself in the night to seek the company of the beautiful women of the cities around.
Cecil's mother, generally, turned a blind eye to his activities and Ernien saw no need to go beyond the queen's own protective instinct.
The man looked out onto the ground below from where he stood, several feet above Palace grounds.
Cecil and Aldith had closed the doors to Cecil's room and had not asked for any assistance for several hours.
Aldith Everglower had shown up that morning in a dress that would raise several eyebrows in a court of decency.
Ernien himself had felt his eyes linger hungrily at several parts of her body when she'd sashayed past him to walk into Cecil's room.
She had hurried into the palace to keep from the eyes of the senior persons of the Royal Family which was understandable.
Although the rest of the family had not spoken to the pair for a week, the queen would not be too pleased with a bride-to-be who attracted attention from every male passer-by.
Ernien waited patiently as he watched the evening sun slowly sink to the horizon.
There was a hustle of activity behind him and he turned around to see Aldith walk out of Cecil's room.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Cecil asked for someone called Ernien to escort me down to the carriage. Would that be you?"
Her voice was soft, throaty.
"That would be me, madam. Please follow me."
Ernien started down the passage into the dimlit staircase that led down to the courtyard.
"Just a minute," her whisper stopped him.
She took two steps down before snaking a hand into his arm, "Please go slow. Let me just hold on to your arm."
Ernien nodded, feeling her breast graze his skin as she cozied into his side, "Of course. Please be careful… the steps are steep."
"It's so dark here!"
Her voice was a husky whisper, her body still touching his arm.
It's a closed space, he told himself. There was very little place for the lady to keep her distance.
His body began to heat up at her touch.
"Ernien, I would like to ask you something…"
He nodded as they continued to walk down the stairs slowly.
"I'm worried about Cecil… he's not very safe here without me. Would you be so kind as to inform me whenever his family comes to speak with him?"
Ernien paused their descent and Aldith stopped walking as well.
"I'm afraid I cannot share details of the palace with you that way, madam."
She turned to face him, her lips puckering, eyelashes drooping down over her gorgeous eyes, "I will marry Cecil soon anyway… I just don't want them to disturb his mind before the tests. You know how important those tests are for your master, don't you?"
Ernien hesitated, "The master is rather adamant about not seeing his family himself. I'm sure he'll be fine."
She stared at him for a moment before nodding, the palm of her hand reaching out to touch his chest.
He flinched slightly, "Madam?"
It was difficult to not notice the bounce of her body when she inched closer to him, her tight dress revealing most of the movements even a tiny jerk made.
Aldith smiled a coy smile, a corner of her lips lifting.
Her heavy breasts slowly inched closer to his chest, "You have such a toned body. You must train so hard…"
Ernien swallowed when she backed him slowly into the wall, "I serve as Prince Cecil's bodyguard."
"You do?" her voice cooed before she pushed her curvaceous frame into him, "No wonder you have all of these muscles… so strong. Cecil certainly doesn't have these. So many women must want you."
It was several moments longer before Aldith entered her carriage.
"Please take care of my future husband," she stated.
"Of course, Madam Everglower," Ernien said, his face flushed and hair tousled, before he closed the door of her carriage.
The Second Day of the month of Palefrost
The Mansion of the Riverloves.
Xyla Riverlove had never thought she could be more nervous and excited in the same moment.
The man she had developed a crush on and had secretly loved for more than a decade stood in front of her asking for her help.
He was even more breathtaking in person and she wished there were a law that would punish him for it.
Prince Augustus was talking to her about the bride he had picked for her childhood friend, Prince Elliot.
"I hope Elliot didn't spew venom about me," Prince Augustus laughed.
Xyla shook her head, "He has only wonderful things to say about you. He loves and deeply admires you."
Augustus blinked, clearly surprised by the response, "Is that so?"
He smiled at her, "I'm glad."
Xyla's heart did another flip, the way it had kept on from the moment the man's visit had been announced.
"Xyla, this is where I need you cooperation," He took a step closer, his face serious, "I wish for the people and everyone in the palace to believe that the bride is a foreign princess."
Xyla nodded before she stopped, "Oh?"
Augustus sighed with a smile, "I do not want Elliot to seem in lower ranking than that of Cecil. Aldith is a noble-,"
"Gutter rats are still gutter rats, nobility or otherwise."
Xyla blinked the moment the words left her mouth.
Prince Augustus watched her in shock, his mouth still open.
If there was a way to slip straight through the ground, Xyla would pay for it with all her mortal possessions.
A chuckle burst out of the prince's mouth before he gave her a large, close-mouthed smile, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
He continued to smile while the silence threatened to kill her, her own mind racing at how unnecessary it had been of her to blurt out what she had been thinking.
"How nice that you look out for Elliot so much!"
Xyla's head had bent down the moment she'd said the words and she managed a smile, "I'm so sorry… I wasn't thinking."
Prince Augustus waved away her apology, eyes sparkling and still trained on her, a corner of his mouth lifted.
He continued the conversation and Xyla was grateful, "I would like for you to pose to be the bride's friend."
Xyla was unsure of what that entailed.