Adrian watched the people below him dance from his balcony. It's been two weeks since he'd been crowned and even less since he'd watched his sister die. But today wasn't the day to worry about that. This was a day for him… just like everyday has been. Feeling his stomach churn, he looks at his hands. For a second, he saw the blood of his sister's that stained his hand a few days ago. He still remembers everything, from her screams, her plead, and eventually, her silence. But now his hands were cleaned. His hands were cleaned and decorated with a nice ring. The finger that held this diamond looked ravishing compared to the others. The wedding decorations around him were bright white and gold as people made their way to and fro to eventually find their partners.
"Adrian?" Feeling somewhat frightful, he turned around with haste. In front of him stood Anry with her official wedding dress. While he was focused on his family drama, she was more focused on what dress to wear. On her body, she wore a sleeveless dress with sheath body to it. Along her head, she wore a floral headband with only white flowers attached. "Are you okay?" Although he wasn't feeling alright, he still nodded nonetheless.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just… tired." He rubbed his eyes as he spoke. Honestly he did know if it was the anticipation of getting married, or the actual ceremony that wore him out. "We don't need to end it… I need the sound." For the next few minutes. They both leaned themselves among the balcony. Making small talk as they watched civilians eat and enjoy the celebration of their new rulers.
"So," even though they'd been talking casually for a while, Anry still spoke in fear. He winced at the uncertainty in her voice. " My parents are by the door. They said they wanted to meet you. If that's okay." For a few seconds he watched as his newly wed fiddled with her dress. Meet her parents? The maid and the no good cheapskate Anry mentioned nothing but bad things about? Why? Did they have something to say? Something terrible? Rude? What was it? Still feeling nervous, he took a deep breath in and began to speak.
"Sure, why not. They're family… I guess." After giving his confirmation, he follows Anry to see Mr. and Mrs. Hiens. Not to lie, he felt a tad bit of jealousy when he saw Anry hug BOTH of her parents in joyfulness. Even with his father being alive, that's not a luxury he'd ever felt. Hugging both parents when times were rough. Telling both parents about your day. Being nursed by both parents. At the end of the day no amount of money could fill that hole. Not enough money in the world.
"Oh, King Adrian." When the mother finally realized who was behind Anry she opened her arm to devour all of his space. Her hug was…comforting, but in an uncomfortable way. While her arms were comforting, her hands were as cold as ice. The boy smiled as waves of shivers coursed its way through his back. "It's so nice to officially meet you." As her mom spoke she would constantly flap her arms, trying to get her words in order. Something definitely Anry picked up. As Mrs. Heins waved in excitement, Adrian took notice of how stone faced the father looked. When he first saw his face at the "wife heard", his face was glowing with that same excitement. Just an act he supposed.
"Was there a more serious reason you needed to see me?" At first he wanted to act civil. Maybe even actually enjoy the company of his in-laws, but the sight of the man's face brought his mood down severely. "Or did you come here just to jump around?" He made a mental note in his mind to apologize to Anry after the party. She didn't deserve this. But her two-faced parents did.
"Actually, we came here to check on you." The man's face softened to Adrian's surprise. "To give you credit, you've been doing great so far. But usually you would at least have you sis-"
"Thanks, but I'd rather not talk about it." He raised his hand in a polite manner to dismiss the conversation. He wanted to keep the conversation manageable so just dismissing it should be enough. And it was. The couple dropped any mention of his sister or anyone that had passed. The conversation focused on more… helpful things. Like their marriage. Or the fact that since he began ruling, jobs had started to get more and more available. What he failed to mention was that Anry was doing most of the field work, but he didn't mind taking the gratitude. The rest of their night consisted of just that. The parents give Adrian "credit" and he being too shy to push it away. They talked so long, Adrian almost didn't notice the place finally being done for cleaning.
"Oh gosh!" Mrs. Heins apparently noticed when he did. "We've been talking for so long." She then spoke of how they needed to leave. She had work in the morning and didn't want to outsleep her alarm clock. Her father, on the other hand, had plenty of time to sleep. He owns the blacksmith business. Stayed on top of it matter of fact. After Adrian looked through the old man's files. He concluded that if he wanted to, he could probably be a noble all on his own. His eyes stayed on the horrid man as they both headed out the front gate. How was it that all of the evil, cruel people always get to live? Horrid people, like Mr. Heins and himself. Even though he thought it, he already knew the answer. It was because they were willing to fight. They are willing to give up anything for the chance of life. Although they fought for different things. Heins fought for money and he fought for power. They both thought what the other wanted was stupid, but it didn't stop them. Not one bit.
"Congrats Anry." He spoke quietly and slowly so the one that was meant to hear it couldn't. "You truly are overlooked." Leaving those words to float in the air, he turns around to head into their room for the night.