The Rousseau Royal Family hadn't brought female company. Maybe because they didn't trust my Father and the Chantelle Royal family enough to risk bringing women into our house.
I couldn't blame them. I wouldn't trust my father or the king either.
Crown Prince dropped his arm and I quickly joined my mother and sisters, who pretended to admire my ring.
Victoria gave me a look. I didn't know what my mother had threatened her with to keep her silent. I could tell that she had a scathing comment on the tip of her tongue. I shook my head at her and she rolled her eyes. Dinner was a blur. The men discussed the Royal issues and business while we women remained quiet. My eyes kept drifting toward the ring on my finger. It felt too heavy, too tight, entirely too much. The Crown Prince had marked me as his possession.
After dinner the men moved on to the lounge to drink and smoke and discuss whatever else needed to be discussed.
I returned to my room, but couldn't fall asleep. Eventually, I put a thick silk robe over my pajama dress , slipped out of my room and crept downstairs.
In a fit of craziness, I took the passage that led to the secret door behind the wall in the lounge. My Grandfather thought it was necessary to have secret escapes in the study and the fireplace lounge because that's where the men of the family usually held their meetings.
I wondered what he thought would happen to the women after the men had all fled through the secret passage?
I found Victoria with her eyes pressed against the peephole of the disguised door. Of course, she was already there. She whirled around, eyes wide but relaxed when she spotted me.
"What's going on in there?" I said in a bare whisper, worried the men in the lounge would overhear us.
Victoria moved to the side, so I could peer through the second peephole.
"Almost everyone's already gone. Father and His highness have details to discuss with King of Atmos. It's only The Crown Prince and his entourage now."
I squinted through the hole, which gave me a perfect view of the chairs crowded around the fireplace. Crown Prince leaned against the marble ledge of the fireplace, legs casually crossed, a glass of Scotch in his hand.
His brother Prince Mateo lounged in an armchair beside him, legs wide apart and that wolfish grin on his face.
Alexander and the second captain they'd called Romero during dinner sat in the other armchairs. Romero looked to be the same age of Prince Mateo, so around nineteen. Barely men by society's standard, but not in our world of deadly royals.
"It could have been worse," Prince Mateo said, grinning. He might not have looked quite as deadly as Luca, but something in his eyes told me he was only able to hide it better.
"She could have been ugly. But, holy fuck, your little fiancée is an delicacy. That dress. That body. That hair and face." Matteo whistled. It seemed as if he was provoking his brother on purpose.
"She's a child," Crown Prince Nikos said dismissively. Indignation rose in me, but I knew I should be glad that he didn't look at me like a man looked at a woman.
"She didn't look like a child to me," Prince Mateo said, then clucked his tongue. He nudged the older captain, Alexander. "What do you say? Is our Prince blind?"
Alexander shrugged with a careful glance at the Crown Prince. "I didn't look at her closely."
"What about you, Cap. Romero? You got functioning eyes in your head?"
Romero looked up, then quickly looked back down to his drink.
Prince Mateo threw his head back and laughed. "Fuck, Your highness , did you tell your men you'd cut their dicks off if they looked at that girl? You aren't even married to her."
"She's mine," Crown Prince said quietly, sending a chill down my back with his voice, not to mention his eyes.
He looked at Mateo, who shook his head. "For the next three years, you'll be in Atmos Rousseau and she will be here. You can't always keep an eye on her, or do you intend to threaten every man in the Aroma kingdom. You can't cut off all of their dicks. Maybe Mr Prime Minister knows of a few Eunuchs who can keep watch over her."
"I'll do what I have to," Prince Nikos said, swirling the drink in his glass. "Alexander, find the two knights who are supposed to guard Arabella."
The way my name rolled off his tongue made me shiver. I didn't even know I had two guards now. Uncle Raven had always protected me and my sisters.
Alexander left immediately and returned ten minutes later with Uncle Raven and a knight who I never saw , both looked butt-hurt that they'd been summoned like dogs by someone from Atmos. Father was a step behind them.
"What's the meaning of this?" Father asked.
"I want to have a word with the men you chose to protect what's mine."
Victoria huffed beside me, but I pinched her. Nobody could know we were listening in on this conversation. Father would throw a fit if we revealed the position of his secret door.
"They are good soldiers, both of them. Umberto has worked for me for almost two decades. Next is Aramark he is a trans warrior from our army. "
"I'd like to decide for myself if I trust them," Crown Prince said. I held my breath. That was as close to an insult as he could get without actually insulting my father openly.
Father's lips thinned, but he gave a curt nod. He remained in the room. Prince Nikos stepped up to Uncle Raven . "I hear you are good with the knife."
"The best," Father interjected. A muscle in Crown Prince 's jaw twitched.
"Not as good as your brother, as rumor has it," Uncle Raven said with a nod toward Prince Mateo who flashed him a shark grin. "But better than any other man in our territory," Uncle admitted eventually.
"Are you married?" Crown Prince questioned.
Uncle Raven nodded. "For twenty-one years."
"That's a long time," Prince Mateo said. " Princess Arabella must look awfully delicious in comparison to your old wife."
I stifled a gasp.
Uncle Raven's hand twitched an inch toward the holster around his waist. Everyone saw it. Father watched like a hawk but didn't interfere. Uncle cleared his throat. "I've known Princess Arabella since her birth. She is a child."
"She won't be a child for much longer," The Crown Prince said.
"She will always be a child in my eyes. And I'm faithful to my wife." Uncle Raven glared at Prince Mateo.
"If you insult my wife again, I'll ask your father for permission to challenge you in a knife fight to defend her honor and I'll kill you."
This would end badly.
Prince Mateo inclined his head. "You could try." He bared his white teeth. "But you would not succeed."
Crown Prince crossed his arms, then gave a nod. "I think you are a good choice, Sir Raven." Uncle stepped back, but kept his gaze fixed on Matteo who ignored him.
Then the Crown Prince also questioned the Trans man about why he got in army just to be bodyguard of a princess . He spoke really slow in above whispered voice about harassment he has to face there because of his gender. And how he will make sure to protect me .
"Sir Raven and Dame Aramark from today onwards I trust that you both will protect my future bride and whoever in this country thinks that they can have what is mine will suffer a fate worse than death. " When he said that the Crown Prince looked like the God of Death.
And I don't know why I decided to go back to the room after that while dragging my sister who still wanted to eavesdrop but relented to me.