Talia remained standing, waiting for Prince Mikhail to leave as well, but he seemed to have no intention of doing so.
He sat with his back to her, his posture rigid. The chair was too small for him. They were always too small for him, and he always gave off the impression of one who was sitting on a child's seat, afraid to move, lest the chair break. He was always tense and silent... as if he were perpetually waiting for something bad to happen.
"She could have told me..." Talia began and paused, struggling to contain the grief and regret welling in the pit of her stomach, threatening to crack her voice at any moment.
He did not turn around or even acknowledge that he had heard her speak.
"Ora... she could have said... all she would have had to do, was explain herself... tell me what her intent was. She could have... sent a letter... she could have told me herself, before she left for Unaria. She could have... I don't... I don't understand. Why... why didn't she..." Talia covered her mouth as if she could stop the words by force.
Her lungs burned for air, but she could not seem to draw a breath without choking.
The man who silently sat before her, absolutely still, never once turning to look at her, had known. He had known from the very day he came to negotiate Vezda's surrender, that Talia had been the cause of Ora's death.
Every insult she'd flung at him, every accusation she'd made... every angry word she'd said-- he could have crushed her with that knowledge at any point, and yet... and yet... he had remained silent until now.
"Why didn't you tell me that-"
"I could not. My tongue is bound," he interrupted, still not turning to look at her.
Talia nodded slowly, even though he did not see her.
"You could have brought me here sooner. You could have-"
"I only brought you here so that you would understand why you must go to Frem," he answered.
Talia continued to stare at his back, both fearing and waiting for the moment when he would turn to look at her. Would it be with disgust? Would it be pity on his face, or would he remain expressionless? Did he know that the guilt of what she had done was making it difficult to breathe, or stand, or talk at all? Could he hear it in her voice?
"I must go... because... because I am a danger to everyone around me. I killed Ora with my impatience and anger... and you fear that-"
"I fear no such thing!" He growled, standing and turning to look at her so quickly that the chair fell over.
Talia took a step back.
"Is that what you think? That I brought you here to lay the cause of Queen Ora's death at your feet?"
She swallowed the lump in her throat and dropped her gaze to the floor, fearful of what she would see in his eyes.
"The Emperor was the cause. The Emperor alone... do you understand? If he... could do that... when he believed that Queen Ora was... fuck!" He growled as he winced in pain.
Prince Mikhail turned and, noticing the overturned chair, kicked it, sending it crashing against the bedpost. Talia flinched at the loud clattering sound it made.
He turned his back to her again, and massaged his face with his hand.
"I can never say what I mean to say. Whether my tongue is bound or free, it makes little difference," he muttered. "Even when I designate someone to speak for me... it doesn't matter. But know this: Queen Ora left Vezda with the knowledge that she would never return. That she did not explain it to you, is no fault of yours. I suppose she had her reasons. You did what anyone with bravery would do in your situation."
"You are being kind..." Talia murmured.
"I am being no such thing!" He snapped. "I want you to understand that nothing could have saved Queen Ora. Not her bravery, her wits, her status, an entire army... not even the Emperor's own belief that... that..."
She could hear Prince Mikhail grit his teeth in frustrastion.
"Even though the Emperor believed that she could end his curse, that she was the girl of the prophecy... even that did not prevent him from sacrificing her," Talia finished for him, sparing him the frustration that his bound tongue was causing.
"Yes! Exactly that. As long as you remain within the Empire, you are the winning card in his hand. You are the emergency fund, the sword in his sleeve. At any time, he could decide to use...your blood... to... to buy... yes. You understand," he said, taking a step toward her. Talia watched his boots as he approached, and frowned to herself.
"And you cannot afford for that to happen," she realized. "Whatever you, or Grieta, or the Duke of Yevin have planned... you will make certain that I am not here, so that he cannot save himself by sacrificing my blood to the ancient ones. You will not allow him to have a convient escape route through me."
She could feel Prince Mikhail's eyes studying her as he considered her words.
"That is... true," he conceded, "but that alone is not-"
"And that is why Ora made you swear to protect me, isn't it? She knew that it would benefit the rebellion to get rid of me before I stepped foot in Unaria, so she made you swear that-"
"She had no need to make me swear! I would never... I would... never... willingly hurt you," he said.
The tips of his large boots were almost touching hers now. Still, Talia did not trust herself to look at him.
"Because... you think I'm... pretty," she murmured, her voice tinged in bitterness.
She could still feel his eyes on her, and she saw him raise his hand slightly, as if he would reach out and stroke her face, but he paused, and his hand dropped limply to his side.
"The Emperor... will die," he said in his low gravelly voice. "He will fall because he must. He has done too much evil in the world. He is hated and feared beyond any man I have ever met, and if he is not stopped, he will do greater evil still. I cannot raise a sword against him myself, but I can get close enough to bring one who can... and the moment the Emperor falls... the very moment..." Mikhail paused as he struggled to find the words that could slip past his curse. "You cannot be here on that day. It will be like a house of cards when you pull the bottom support... do you understand?"
"You will die as well... as will Ilya and... I suppose... countless others," Talia said slowly, considering it for the first time.
"When the Emperor falls there will be a madness that descends... fighting...every strong or ambitious man rushing forth with swords drawn to claim the throne," he mumured. " and you... you, the last princess of House Eosin... you could give the appearance of legitimacy to a man who needed it. You would be a prize many would covet."
"I could free you...maybe... if you would let me try. There are books I could find... spells I could attempt. My blood is-"
Mikhail caught her chin, and raised her face so that she was forced to look at him.
"You blood is... too precious to spend on one such as me. You owe me nothing. I have long since accepted my fate," he muttered.
He was staring at her mouth, and while still holding her chin in his hand, ran his thumb roughly over her bottom lip.
"And that is why... isn't it?" She whispered.
"What do you mean by that?" He growled.
"That is why... no matter how hard I knock, you will never open the door. That is why you will only allow yourself to see me as a 'pretty' distraction!" She realized, pulling away from him and taking a step back. "You intend... you have always intended... to die when the Emperor does!"
Prince Mikhail scowled and turned to the table.
He calmly reached for the wine and poured himself a glass. With his back to her once again, he cleared his throat and calmly took a drink.
"I simply have no desire to complicate matters any further," he replied dully. "I know what I must do-- what I will do in the future. My path is set. Once I discharge my debt to Queen Ora and to yourself-"
"I am saying that it does not have to be this way!" Talia insisted, reaching out to catch his arm and tugging at it, hoping that he would turn and look at her again. "If you and I work together, we can figure out a way to-"
Prince Mikhail moved so quickly she was startled. He turned and caught her around the waist, crushing her against himself. With this other hand, he covered her mouth.
"Stop," he whispered harshly. "Stop with your promises and your hopes and your blushing cheeks, and all your tender words. How can anyone who has led armies and ruled a country be this naive and tiny and defensless? Do you know that I could break you in half with nothing but my bare hands? Do you understand that I could be ordered to do so at any time? It frightens me. I cannot focus on anything with you so near, always running toward whatever might do you most harm! What if you free me? What then? If I were not bound, if I had any other choice, do you think I would still be here? Free me and see how fast I run, how quickly I abandon my people and country to my brother's twisted schemes. Give me no reason to release you and I would not. You would find out quickly that I am not the man you think!"
Talia froze. To be at once, when she was not expecting it, so closely pressed against him, to feel his heat through her clothes, the solidness of his arm as he held her tightly, and his face hovering above her own as he stared greedily into her eyes-- her heart raced, and it was not from fear.
The image of the two of them, fleeing together in the night- leaving behind both the dangers of the Unarian Empire, and the ravaged and war torn country of Vezda- of finding some far off warm place and living every day for themselves and every night passionately in each others arms...
She swallowed hard, as her eyes blurred with unshed tears. Her traitorous heart clung to that vision even as she tried to dismiss it from her mind. It would never be. It was a life she would never have-- that they would never have.
His hand moved from her mouth to gently stroke her cheek.
"Ssssh," he whispered, though she did not speak. "I have committed so many horrid and unforgivable crimes and you know it well, though you pretend you don't. Put it out of your head, Princess. There are men far better than I, far more worthy-"
"Such cowardice!" She hissed.
"Cowardice?" He repeated, scowling in confusion.
"Yes, cowardice. Even knowing you were my enemy, knowing that you killed my father, that you brought Ora to her death, that you serve an evil that could destroy all civilization, that you are bound like a dog to serve an Emperor more demon than man, and that you have chosen death over hope and life, even knowing that there is no future for us, I would give you my heart if you but asked for it," she accused.
"You tempt me to prove how evil and selfish I can be!" He scoffed. His arm tightened around her and he again caught her chin roughly in his hand. "I will teach you not to offer lightly what-"
His words ended abruptly at the hurried sound of knocking upon the door.