Royally F**cked

XII: Duodēcim

Lavinia stood for a pause, mouth slightly agape. Had she heard that right? If he wasn't anyone other than himself, she would have thought him to be concerned for her. Against her will, her cheeks flushed. Turning her head sharply away from him to hide it.

"Close your mouth, you'll attract flies." The Prince drawled, that tell tell mocking tone echoing in her head. The illusion shattered. That was the crown Prince she knew.

"Thanks." Lavinia deadpanned, facing him once again as the blush dissipated. Just being around him gave her a headache, one moment he would say something kind, and she would get her hopes up. Then the next he'd go back to his default, cruel teasing.

It was enough volatility to give her motion sickness.

There was the slight sound of footsteps, and then a blur of crimson obscured her vision of Delvin. From behind Vaeros' back, she could see Delvins crystal eyes widening in surprise. This was novel! The great Ice Prince shocked by a mere Knight. Lavinia would never let him live it down.

Vaeros stood in front of her like a solid brick wall, unmoving and unrelenting. His hand resting on top of the hilt of his black sword.

"Excuse me?" Delvin blinked, taken aback. Vaeros tilted his head, as though accepting the challenge, though still he remained silent. Delvins back straightened, a sinister smirk lining his lips as his eyes narrowed. His hands began to raise, and in that moment Lavinia knew he was about to use his magic. Something that was strictly forbidden outside the walls of the Vespertine Kingdom.

Lavinia stood in front of Vaeros with a nervous laugh. "Calm down, Prince." Lavinia said pointedly, looking back to the Dragon Knight behind her. Clearly the poor man had misunderstood everything, thinking that Delvin had been accousting her.

"He just misunderstood." Lavinia offered up, pushing her hair back from her face. Vaeros didn't even seem to be bothered that Delvin was the Prince, and made no indication that he had misinterpreted the situation.

In fact, he seemed to double down, hand clenching the sword tighter.

"Lavinia, insubordination does not go unpunished." Delvin spat. For some reason, she got the idea that this wasn't just a mistake. It seemed more like the two of them were having a machismo competition. One she didn't want any involvement with.

"Delvin. Sorry, my Prince." Lavinia spoke, the Prince sent her an odd look. "We should leave, isn't it time for lunch? Let us go to the kitchens to get something."

She grabbed the man by his arm, tugging him slightly. He aquised to her, and when he wasn't looking she sent Vaeros an apologetic smile. The Dragon Knight seemed to understand, waving her a soft goodbye.

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Once again Delvin was placed inside the meeting room, as delegations between the two Kingdoms carried on. The Queen this time was on her own, the delicate golden dragon resting loyally on her shoulders.

"Have you given much thought to what we said yesterday?" Calandra quipped, tilting her head with a smile. It was almost as if she knew what he was going to say before he'd even spoken. It was irritating.

"I would be dumb to refuse." Delvin offered, "But I'm sure you knew that already. Support isn't unconditional however, is it? What's the catch?" He tapped his fingers in rapid succession on the table. An unexpected sorrowful look covered the Queen's face.

"What I'm about to say must not leave this table." Calandra commanded. Delvin nodded firmly, he knew when to keep a secret. "There's many things our Kingdom is lacking. Natural resources to keep up our animals, metals to build enough armour, food to keep our citizens fed."