"B-but… what about the wedding?" She couldn't hide her disbelief anymore. Sure, the first time they met, the two of them were both runaways… in a way. But still, it didn't make sense that Arius himself was suggesting something incredulous as fleeing from the biggest ceremony of the century—which was not even an exaggeration.
"Don't get me wrong. I want to marry you. It's just…" He started approaching the gown again like it was some kind of magnet. "Don't you want to get away from here? The wedding they've prepared for us is nothing but a show. It's suffocating to perform for them."
He said so, but his eyes told otherwise. There was some kind of anticipation twinkling in his pair of almond eyes as he touched the long white sleeve of the dress.
"We can still go with it if you want to," his lips formed a small smile. "I mean, I don't mind going all through the stifling ruckus if I get to see you in this. I'd bet you'd look… so beautiful."
Whatever he was saying, she didn't quite catch it. Aside from focusing on trying to make sense of his logic behind the running away offer, he was mostly mumbling to himself.
But no matter how she tried to figure it out, her mind had already brought the tempting invitation to the surface of her thoughts. Maybe she wasn't much good at hiding her own desires as Mistress Real suspected.
Back at the shelter of House Ruby, she couldn't care less about how the headmistress and the other instructors saw her. She was always transparent about her lack of enthusiasm for whatever bigger-than-life cause they were ranting about whenever they held the classes for the young women there. From the very beginning, she knew what they were trying to do. She could hear the lies behind the encouragement of their words, the false promises of wishing better lives for them, and their manipulation disguised as guidance to doing the greater good.
None of those sit right with her. However, if she showed strong defiance towards their ideals, she knew she'd lose food and the roof over her head. So, she shut her mouth and led them to believe that she was only lazy, not defiant. After all, her priority was to survive, not to be a goodwill advocate or something.
And now… she's struggling to keep the lid that had been keeping her true wishes caged. His adamant offer somehow found a way to try and pry it open and actually, she was inclined to just let it.
"Where…" Arius whipped his head to her, his attention becoming an ignition to allow the ridiculous notion of considering the offer, "Where are you planning to go?"
A wider smile appeared in Arius' soft features, "Well, there's this small cabin in the outskirts of Nimeria. It's peaceful and quiet. No one would bother us to do this and that."
Zinnia's brows knitted together, low and deep. Nimeria is a rural area on the border of the nation. He really wants to get as far as possible, huh?
Arius probably interpreted her silent pondering as something else because he proceeded to explain in a hurry, "I don't plan on staying there forever! I mean… just for a few days, maybe? Or until this whole thing blew over—which would probably mean we'll have to go back the next day." His smile grew sheepish.
It dawned on Zinnia that this man wished to get away from here for certain even if it's temporary. It was still unclear why, but as his wife, wife-to-be, is it not her duty to support him? At least that was the excuse she came up with in her mind.
Ultimately, Zinnia's lips became a wide grin.
The next thing she knew, she was wearing her summer dress in the shotgun seat of a black sports car, feeling the wind blowing on her face as they sped towards the east. Strands of her red hair were undoing themselves from the bun style she kept.
Cotton clouds floated above them languidly in a sea of light blue. The sun peeked through the fluffy things in the sky every now and then, but it was too shy to fully reveal itself. Or perhaps, its bashfulness was another part of the spontaneous plan for an excursion orchestrated by the man in the driver seat. It wouldn't be too surprising if the sun was an accomplice especially when he couldn't contain his eagerness to get the heck out of the palace, raring to go since she gave her yes.
His expression was similar to what he had when she accepted the marriage proposal. Something so raw as his emotion that day couldn't be erased from her memories. It was burnt on the back of her mind without her meaning to. If it was just an act, Zinnia would give him the best actor award.
Just this thought process had her worrying. He was never the person she expected to be, not the king Mistress Real had been scaring them off with the way she discussed the history lectures. To start, he didn't even look like a man who had been ruling over the nation for one hundred years.
At the moment, he just looked like any overworked adult man who finally has the chance to go on a vacation.
Without giving away her actual feelings on the matter, Zinnia threw a side glance at Arius who was beaming brightly as his hand gripped the steering wheel. There was a genuine shine in his eyes that couldn't be concealed behind the sunglasses.
A sigh threatened to escape her lips. She decided to swallow it to avoid disturbing the peace he seemed to be swimming in.
Though Arius had been a burst of happy energy throughout the trip, no conversation dared to flow between them. Arius was never the chatty type to begin with even though he always looked like he has a lot to say. And Zinnia, well, she learned that one of the best ways to avoid giving herself away was to say nothing at all.
When Arius stopped the car, it was outside a simple cabin. A stone pathway to the door with potted plants by the side appeared to be welcoming them. Zinnia was elated to see the lake just behind it, a perfect background for the house of her dreams. It was like someone took it out from the daydreams of her childhood and made it into a reality.
An unrestricted smile found its way to her lips as her eyes took in the dream-like structure.
"You like it?" The mask of composure she was supposed to wear became nothing but a forgotten prop. Even with Arius' eyes on her and the distinct gentleness in his voice, she could only bask at the moment. A simple nod was all she could give in response.
It got even better when they got inside.
A large and cozy beige sofa awaited in the living room with a carved coffee table across. The fireplace seemed to be untouched; an open kitchen just beyond a couple of steps from the living room, a marbled island counter situated at the center; two dark flush doors on the right which appeared to be the bedrooms; and a double-glazed door at the other end of the house showing a tiny glimpse of the lake.
Zinnia held herself in a suspension of disbelief for a moment, not noticing that Arius dialed a number on his phone. A muffled anger from the device had pulled Zinnia back from her daydream.
"Where are you?" Judging from the clear but irritated voice, Arius never mentioned leaving the palace to his advisor. That would explain why he didn't even activate the holo-vid for Xerxes to see him virtually even through the phone.
"Somewhere far and quiet," he said as he draped his leather jacket on the accent chair beside the sofa, followed by the careless drop of his body on the same seat.
Zinnia decided to feel the cushion of the comfy sofa and settled on it, anticipating her input might be needed in the phone conversation.
"Did you forget that it's your wedding day? Lady Zinnia was also reported to be—Wait a minute. Is she with you?"
"Yup," Arius began toying with the white petals of the ornamental flower on the center vase of the coffee table.
Even without the speaker mode on, Xerxes' exclaimed frustration was apparent. "What are you doing?"
"Spending the day off?" The man raised his brows with a hopeful and mischievous grin.
"On your wedding day?"
"Well, Zinnia is with me so…"
Silence. Then there was an audible sigh from the other line.
"You should've at least given me a heads up."
"If I did, you would've done everything in your power to stop me. So… nope." Zinnia directed an incredulous stare at Arius.
He was supposed to be in his thirties—at least the records would say despite a hundred years of his reign—yet the way he acts like a child seemed to be a consistent trait of his. And by the looks of it, Xerxes, his advisor and butler, was already used to dealing with this side of the king.
Before the advisor could say another word, Arius spoke again, "Don't worry, Xerx. We'll be back tomorrow. Until then, I'll leave the palace matters in your capable hands," the playful grin never left his face when he tapped the red button.
He stood up and suddenly addressed Zinnia who had been intently observing him with a look of disbelief. He gave a different kind of smile, supposedly a comforting one, before announcing that he'll be by the dock to see what kinds of fishes live in the lake.
With that, he went inside one of the bedroom doors and came out in a different t-shirt, a thin moss green vest over it. He had also changed into nylon pants with a bunch of pockets. A basic fishing rod and other equipment in tow, he marched on to the back door and disappeared behind it without a word.
Left stunned with only the void to respond to her, Zinnia started falling into a spiral abyss of questioning everything. Tons of things she wanted to ask, yet the only person who could answer them was already out the door doing whatever he wanted.
This was just the beginning of her mission, but things were already slipping out of control. Even though part of her wanted this escape, she couldn't allow herself to stray from her original purpose.
But how the heck would she be able to deal with all the unknowns thrown her way when Mistress Real seemed to have forgotten mentioning the teeny tiny bit of information that King Arius not only has an appetite for extemporaneous schemes, he also has the habit of driving the people around him insane.