Anybody But You

59

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Vibe: Black Hole Sun by stories (ft. Jennah Bell)

Refreshed, purified, and matured, Alice was once again ready to join the world—leaving her blissful dream behind as Godric kissed her passionately for one last time.

Pulling back from her sweet lips, he softly held her face, her blue eyes capturing his red ones. They didn't need words; they both knew well that their days together was something only they could know in secret. Every tender kiss, every caressing touch, every late night embrace... how with Godric's help, Alice learned the workings of her own body for the first time in any of her lives... it all had to stay a beautiful dream.

At least for now. At least until Alice got rid of all the danger awaiting them and Godric found a better destiny. It was unfortunate, however romance between them would only lead to Alice needing to lie to him and Godric coming to distrust her. She didn't want to give him a reason to hate her.

They had to have distance so that they could maybe one day create a better future than the one in her last life.

Before leaving for the purification center, Alice had set forth her next plan—getting Lucy off the throne. Just as she had come up with before the trial, Alice wanted Lucy to get involved with the Lucien Kingdom. During her time off from the world, Lucy had already reached out to her cousins, inviting them down for an official tea and social party at the palace—with certain noblepeople from Audovera that loved to talk.

Alice had also reached out to her brother, Joshua Leon-Arvel, who was a well known tutor for the Lucian royal palace.

The Audovera Kingdom was a cautious kingdom that look light footed steps with other kingdoms. This was due to how much power lived within its history—the land itself enriched in magics not seen anywhere else. This power ran through the entire underground system of the kingdom; making dangerous energies such as the forbidden magic possible. The kingdom had long since sealed it off, leaving it only accessible in a locked and hidden room somewhere on the castle grounds—holding the power to the entire land and the reason for Audovera's unbeatable status when it came time for war. Only through certain rituals (such as performing the forbidden spells) could someone bend the rules by unlocking a hidden backdoor to let small amounts out. As it was sealed away, the running power was deemed dangerous, unnatural, and something that could warp the very flow of space and time (and Alice had first hand experience with the truth of this).

It was because of this power that there was an unspoken caution and distrust surrounding letting outsiders in—a fear that an enemy may steal that power and use it against them. And as a result, the royal family, the only ones with direct access to the power, vowed to their people that they'd never bring someone who wasn't Audoverian into the castle—their sons would never marry a foreigner.

However, maybe due to the long stretch of passing of time since that promise was made, or because the Baldwin family was something that lived between the two, Narcisse was engaged to Lucy.

Lucy had never known the Lucien kingdom intimately and besides for a fake accent and red hair, she showed no signs of Lucian loyalty. She and her parents (who had cut most of their ties with the Lucien kingdom in order to live in Audovera peacefully) were considered Audoverian through and through by the people. Thus, with the vow in the far dusty corners of their mind, the Royal Family had no qualms with an engagement between the families.

However, if Lucy were to start innocently showing Lucien customs, that threat would once again spark an alarm until the engagement was annulled in a respectful and professional manner. Letting everyone continue peacefully with their lives after Lucy returned to being a good Audoverian citizen that didn't symbolize a terrifying threat.

...at least, that was what was supposed to happen.

~*~*~

A.N.

That last line hits different when you were cheering Alice on for her wit... ok foreshadowing... Ruin our high like that. That's fine, don't tell me right away then, I guess.

Hehe thanks for reading ❤️ what do you think is going to happen?