Once Celeste returned to her room later that evening and was finally alone, she burned her letter from the prince. She didn't want to leave behind any evidence of this letter and knew that it would get her in trouble if it were discovered she planned on meeting the prince without a guard.
At midnight, Celeste pulled her cloak around her shoulders and glimmered to the Weeping Sapphire tree, where she found Aestir standing at the base of its trunk. His face was obscured by the shadows, and she took a moment to observe him as he gazed off into the distance. He remained motionless as she watched him, his back erect but his head bowed deep in rumination. Celeste finally cleared her throat to catch his attention, unsure if she should take another step forward before finally deciding to do so.
Prince Aestir inhaled sharply when Celeste abruptly emerged from the shadows and rushed over to her side. His lips drew together in a thin line as he greeted her, relieved she came alone yet apprehensive about how this conversation would go. "Princess…"
Celeste reluctantly lowered the hood of her cloak with trembling hands, only to reveal a face filled with dread and suspicion. She cast an uneasy glance at the prince, who met her disquieted gaze with a steely glint in his beryl blue eyes. Every muscle in Celeste's body was tense as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest, her lips pursed in an effort to calm her fast-beating heart. "I came alone, as you instructed…."
The prince nodded, ensuring a wide berth of space was between them as he prepared to confess he did not love her and did not want his suggestions to be misconstrued. "Princess… there's been a tremendous misunderstanding. And… and I'd like to clarify it at once so that the foundation of our marriage is built on logic and reason."
Celeste's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
The prince inhaled deeply, nerves knotting his stomach as he prepared to tell Celeste the truth. He let out a long sigh before finally speaking. "Princess, I don't love you. When I requested your hand in marriage earlier, it was out of respect for you and your customs. And when I proposed getting married during Lyphen, I didn't mean it as an expression of my love; I simply thought that it would be a more meaningful gesture to your people."
When the princess didn't respond, Aestir took a moment to observe her. He saw that she was rigid with shock and immediately regretted his words. "I-I understand if this deeply wounds your heart," he expressed, knowing full well they did. He paused to think of an appropriate response before continuing. "And for that, I apologize." Aestir couldn't even remember the last time he apologized to an individual, yet here he was doing it to someone he barely knew for a week.
The silence that followed Aestir's apology was deafening. He had expected the princess to be shocked but hadn't anticipated this response; her indecipherable expression and silence were a testament to the depth of the hurt she surely felt.
Aestir sensed that speaking again would only make the situation worse, and he looked away, finding himself searching for the right words, words that would comfort her and reassure her, but the longer the prince searched, the more he believed the only thing he could do for Celeste at this moment was just to be quiet.
He watched in abject horror as tears rolled from the princess' eyes and felt himself blanch. He had no idea how to fix this mess; it was entirely his fault for disregarding Reinden's advice. Aestir had made a grave mistake that would have indisputably severe consequences for his kingdom, and if the marriage were still allowed to occur, there would be a lingering resentment from the princess and her kingdom; all because he hadn't listened.
"Thank the Sun…"
Prince Aestir's jaw dropped, and he stared in incredulity at the relieved smile now spreading across the princess' face. He snapped his mouth shut and shook his head, believing he'd heard her wrong "Come again?"
"Sorry; I'm just very relieved." Laughed Celeste, swiping her thumbs beneath her eyes to catch any remaining tears. "I had been so terrified that you loved me and felt incredibly guilty because I didn't feel the same." The princess laughed again, feeling like the world's weight was off her shoulders. "I am relieved to know that you do not love me; in fact, I prefer it."
Now it was Aestir's turn to feel ameliorated. "Truly?"
"Yes; I didn't want to enter a marriage where I had all the love, and you had none. My parents might have fallen in love at first sight, but… we aren't them." Celeste explained, stealing a glance at Aestir as she expressed her truth. "I don't love you either, Prince Aestir."
The sound of unrestrained laughter filled the space between them underneath the Weeping Sapphire tree as Aestir bent over, his hands gripping his sides. Laughing was such a foreign sensation that he was taken aback by the act, and yet he had never felt such liberation in his life. When he finally came down from his laughing fit, he cast an apologetic glance at the princess. "I'm so relieved you don't hate me for what I did."
Celeste shook her head no, not wanting Aestir to think this. "Never! I could never hate you for being honest, Prince Aestir." She smiled softly at the prince. "I actually prefer it that way."
The prince found a soft smile stretching across his lips before he could stop it, and the pair grinned at each other before he realized he looked like an idiot, smiling for no reason. He quickly wiped that expression off his face, wondering yet again why being in Aephis caused him to experience such unregulated expressive highs and lows. "I appreciate you meeting with me; I could not marry you without you knowing the truth."
Princess Celeste nodded, appreciating the blunt truth. It felt refreshing not to be lied to for once. "Now that the air is cleared, how should we proceed?"
"How do you feel we should go about this?" Posed Aestir, sitting at the base of the Weeping Sapphire tree and sighing as he rested his back against its trunk. "You know your people better than I do."
Celeste's jaw nearly dropped as the prince asked her this, and she picked at a loose thread on her dress, almost too stunned to speak. "...You really want me to decide?"
The prince raised a confused eyebrow at the princess. "Yes; why wouldn't I? You're more acquainted with your kingdom than I am. I'd be a fool not to take your suggestion into consideration."
Hearing that her betrothed believed in her this much made the princess smile, and she sat down next to him, crossing her legs and wrapping her cloak around her more securely. "I suppose we go along with this lie. I imagine it would make things incredibly difficult for both of our kingdoms if we decided not to marry. I also suspect we both don't want to let our kingdoms down. If they choose to believe we are in love, then… let them. We know the truth."
Prince Aestir's face contorted into that of surprise and curiosity at the suggestion, his eyebrows arching up towards his crown. "I find myself agreeing with you, Princess." His eyes shone like the rarest of diamonds in the dim light of the glow orbs that surrounded them as he searched Celeste's face for any signs of regret. He was relieved to see none there and moved to relax back against the trunk of the tree, thankful he'd put his trust in The Void.
The pair sat in comfortable silence for the first time since meeting before Princess Celeste spoke, emboldened by the prince's desire for her to voice her opinion on the matter. "Would it be wrong of me to suggest this happens in our marriage?"
"That what happens, Princess?"
"Honesty," Clarified Celeste, turning to face the prince boldly. "I cannot assist you as queen if I don't know the truth."