The music slowed down to a halt just as Emory dipped Caroline down. He held their position for a moment, his gaze lingering on hers, before slowly lifting her back up. Still holding onto one of her hands, he bowed. "Thank you for the pleasure of that dance, Princess Caroline. I shall leave you to get a touch of fresh air should you wish."
Caroline blinked at Prince Emory. She stepped back and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Thank you, Prince Emory." She took another step back and quickly walked out to the balcony, walking slow enough so she didn't seem like she was rushing. She took a moment to catch her breath. The dancing had taken more out of her than she thought it would. This was why she never danced at parties.
"Excellent performance." Caroline jumped as a voice next to her spoke.
She sighed. "Thank you, Thomas."
"He must propose to you by the end of the festival. He knows he needs to propose, but he does not know when. So make sure it's soon."
"Thomas-"
"You want to protect your country, don't you?"
Caroline sighed, gritting her teeth. "Yes."
"Good girl. Enjoy the party, Your Majesty." Caroline watched him walk away, then went towards the party in search of the nearest champagne tray.
Emory watched as Caroline briskly made her way out onto the balcony. She really was a confusing woman…
He turned around to find his father with a very proud yet still firm expression. Wasn't there anything that made that man smile?
"I trust the dancing was to your satisfaction?" Emory asked as he approached his father.
"Of course, but you seemed to be enjoying it a little too much." The king rubbed his chin in thought and his usual disapproving demeanor returned. "I suppose it was all that talking you were doing. A king does not make small talk during a dance, and how unbecoming of a future queen to be into reading." he stressed the last word as if it were a sickness.
Emory's eyebrows knitted together as he frowned at his father. "I am not a king yet, father, and how dare you say that about the princess." he turned his back to the king, but glanced over his shoulder. "Reading feeds with mind, which has the ability to create things that an uneducated bastard such as yourself could never even dream of."
Leaving the king to wallow in his rising anger for Emory's clear disrespect, the prince left the ball and took himself outside to the gardens. The night was too beautiful to be spending it indoors surrounded by puffed up peacocks who didn't know left from right.
Caroline stared at Emory’s father in shock. She hadn’t heard their conversation, but she could tell harsh words were exchanged. He scowled at her and she quickly turned around. She spotted Thomas heading towards her again and rushed towards the garden.
Prince Emory was standing near the Ro she bushes, and unfortunately he was her only option right now.
“You do not have to talk to me, but I’m standing with you anyway,” she said, standing next to him. “And me being here does not mean I like you.”
Emory was completely silent for a moment as he just stared out over the gardens. The anger towards his father still bubbled deep inside him, and he feared that should he open his mouth he would end up showing his anger in front of Caroline.
What gave his father the right to be narrow-minded, when I successful king was one who was open to the idea of new things. A king like that could earn the respect of millions, knowing that they would be accepted in his kingdom. Sooner or later, Emory's father would fall and it would be his own ignorant ways that saw the end of his reign.
Emory knew Caroline wasn't happy. It wasn't fair on her that she was being forced into a marriage just to keep her father's kingdom safe. The prince's shoulders fell a little as a sigh left his lips. "I'm not going to propose to you."
Caroline inhaled sharply and whipped her head to look at him. “What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke? You have to propose to me,” she demanded. She wasn’t even aware that was something they were talking about, let alone flat out refusing to do it. She could feel her throat closing up. She glared at him. “Prince Emory. What kind of game are you playing?” They needed to get married.
"I can't." He replied, turning to look Caroline in the eyes. She was definitely an attractive woman, and something that made her even more beautiful was her love of books, but while Emory would have loved to engage her, he couldn't. "I know full well of what my father plans to do should our kingdoms fail to align, but I care more about your happiness. How can I wed someone who won't be happy? It isn't fair on you."
Caroline took a deep breath as she clenched and unclenched her jaw. “If my kingdom is safe I will be happy. Look at me and the position I’m in. I was fourth in line for the throne for the majority of my life. Maybe if it was fifth, or even seventh I would have gotten married for love. But I studied. Historically, I knew I would marry for political gain. This is not a new concept for me. I’ve made my peace with it.” She looked out at the garden. Admittedly, when her brothers died she had a small sliver of hope that she would get a position of power and would get to choose who she married, but that idea had quickly been squashed. “Is that the only reason?”
Emory thought about what Caroline had said, it was admirable really, the be putting the safety of your kingdom first—she would make a good queen one day—but while the prince knew that was the mindset he himself needed to have, he couldn't help but feel the need to be selfish, especially in a situation like this. "No one should be forced to marry someone that they aren't going to love or be happy with. I would be more than happy to wed you, but are you sure that you definitely want that for yourself. Put your kingdom aside for a moment and think about your own wellbeing. Do you truly want to be my queen?"
Caroline brushed at her hair, the most exasperated movement she could make without ruining her hair. “Why are you asking me to think about that? I can’t think about that.” She stared out over the garden, then quickly turned her head to make sure no one was listening. “Fine.” She turned back to Emory. “I don’t want to be anyone’s queen. I don’t want to marry anyone. I would want to be queen without a king. The only posible way around that would to have a prince consort, but that would never happen. I want to be queen. I know I could be a good one by myself.” She was silent for a moment, then looked at Emory again. “Are you sure it’s myself you’re concerned about?”
"I'm sure." Emory wasn't lying, he was genuinely only concerned for Caroline. He had known the princess since he was young, and since then it had been drilled into him that at some point in time he would be wedded to her. It would be a lie to say he didn't like the idea of Caroline being his wife, but as time went on he realised that it was important to think of the happiness of others as well as yourself—a lesson he would always be thankful to his mother for.
The image of a very angry father popped into his head, and he could almost feel the slap he'd been dealt all those years ago when he had first shown compassion for another besides himself. Being compassionate wasn't what Emory was supposed to do, it went against everything his father taught him. But he just couldn't bring himself to be forceful with Caroline.
He looked down at the princess, a sad glimmer in his eyes, before a defeated smile grew across his lips. "You're truly a beautiful, strong woman. I have no doubt that you would be a good queen." he started to turn away, his body moving in the direction of the hedge maze not too far from the roses. "I'd be proud to have you by my side…" his voice trailed off as he entered the maze, he needed a way to distract his racing mind.
Caroline went after him with a small roll of her eyes. “Then take me by your side.” Or whatever wording will make you happy. “Why are you so against this? I’m fine with it, and I thought you were too.” She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She had stepped out here to cool off and she had long since cooled off. She forgot how cold it could get.
"At one point I was." Emory shrugged, unbuttoning his jacket and draping it around Caroline's shoulders. "But then I learned that for a relationship to work, both parties need to be happy. You say that you're 'fine with it', but by being married and having a king beside you, it restricts you from making every decision for yourself. Granted, you have that restriction with advisors, but not to as much of an extent." Why was he lying to himself, why was his brain telling him not to engage Caroline? Because it went against everything that his heart was screaming.
Caroline pulled Emory’s jacket more tightly around her. She was thankful for it, even if he was mad at him. It smelled like him. Well, what she guessed he smelled like. She had never been close enough to him to find out. “Yes well it’s not like I have much freedom as it is. And it would be a little hard to have freedom if my kingdom is taken over. This is our only option.”
Emory slowed to a halt, turning to face Caroline. "So you're telling me, if we were to wed for the sake of your kingdom, you would be 100% happy?" He was by no means convinced that was the case, and he felt a little stupid asking for clarification, but women confused him with their double meanings and their vague answers.
Caroline let our a sigh, watching the cloud of fog her breath produced. “100 is a large number.” She looked at Emory. “I’m not going to be 100% happy with any option I have. But this is the best option. I will be happiest with this option.” She still didn’t understand how he didn’t see that his father taking over her kingdom was by far the worst option. “My kingdom is important to me.”
(Aw, poor adorable, confused straight boy)
"I understand that." After all, Emory knew what it mean to be the ruler of a kingdom, the importance of keeping it alive and well. He stood in silence for a moment before taking a deep breath. "So what now?" It seemed like a daft question, but considering they were somewhere inside a maze, in the dark of night, with no light source—asking what their next move was seemed like the only appropriate thing to talk about.
“Now you propose to me. Well not now. This is the first time we’ve seen each other in a long time. That would look suspicious. But for now . . . “ Caroline looked back. She could hear the faint sounds of music and laughter. “We could continue our walk. The party can wait for us a little while longer. Plus, it’s very loud in there.”
Finally, something they could completely agree on. "I never much liked these lavish events." A soft chuckle floated from Emory's lips, his body relaxed into a more casual stance. No one was likely to come looking for them in the maze, so would it have been so wrong to be a little less formal? "What's in the center of this maze?"
Caroline laughed in disbelief. “You? But you handle them so well. You’re so poised and proper. I’ve never seen you panic because someone asked you a question.” She shrugged as they kept walking, guiding him down the right side of a fork. “I suppose you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”
"My father taught me well I suppose." Emory smiled, following Caroline through the maze. The sky from where they were looked amazing, billions of stars cluttered the blackness, and not too far away the moon glowed. "I will say," he hummed, nudging Caroline with his shoulder. "Something good has come out of tonight, I've realised."
“Oh?” Caroline picked a petal from a rose as she passed it. She stroked the inside of it with her thumb. “And what would that be?” She smiled first herself. This night wasn’t nearly as disastrous as she had thought it would be.
"I get to spend time with you as a real person rather than as a prince." He offered Caroline a warm smile that reached his eyes. Never before had he smiled like that to someone else. Emory picked out a small lily from a nearby bed and carefully wove it into Caroline's hair. "You have a beautiful smile, you should wear it more often."
Caroline smiled and shook her head. “Oh come now. We’re not real people.” She could feel her heartbeat speed up as Emory put the flower in her hair. She stiffened. No. She would have to nip that one in the bud. Feelings made these things by a all the more messy. “Don’t flirt with me Prince Emory.”