The Tales of a Cursed Warrior

XIII

The pretty blonde girl stood at the stairs they were on, dressed in a black floral gown. She stared at Cassius breathlessly, her hand over her mouth.

Cassius let out a quiet laugh, running a hand through his hair. "What are you doing here?"

Sylvia Green raised an eyebrow. "I'm here for Lex's birthday, obviously."

He smiled and gestured to Asteria. "Asteria, love, this's Sylvia Green. An old friend. Sylvia, Asteria Thorne, my fiancée."

Sylvia waved at her. "Hi, beautiful."

Cassius snorted. "You've always had such fine court manners, Lady Green."

"I try my best," she said brightly, flicking her hair over a shoulder. "So? How come you of all people finally got married?"

He raised his eyebrow. "It was going to happen eventually as we've always known."

"Yeah, but you said you'll marry for love," she said mockingly.

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and Asteria realised that he couldn't lie to her. Either that or he didn't want to.

"He did marry for love," she said gently, smiling at the blonde before turning to gaze at him. "We met a few months ago and things . . . just worked out, I guess."

Sylvia raised her eyebrows, a little smirk on her lips. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Congratulations on your son," said Cassius, his smile almost real. "Your father told me yesterday."

"Why, thank you," drawled Sylvia, grabbing a flute of champagne from a passing servant.

Asteria's eyes fell on Louis, the Lord's son from the previous day. "Excuse me, both of you," she said politely.

Cassius tightened his arm around her waist. "Where to, love?"

"I see someone I recognise," she said lightly, extending her hand for Sylvia. "It was very nice to meet you, Lady Green. I hope to see you again."

"Oh, you will," she said with a grin. "Nice to meet you, too."

Cassius kissed her cheek. "Don't get lost," he joked.

She smiled and walked away, grabbing a flute from a servant on the way. She might as well start drinking.

"Lord Rowen," she greeted, stopping next to him by the banisters.

"Your Highness," he said brightly, as though they were old friends. 

"None of that," she said, taking a sip and grimacing slightly. "Asteria will do."

He smiled and turned to stare down again. "Nice ball, isn't it?"

"Not the right person to discuss balls and gowns with," she warned.

He laughed easily, shaking his head to move his hair out of his eyes. "You know, sometimes all I want to do is come here in some mismatched nightwear, drunk and foolish, just to see how they'll react."

"You'll probably be banned from court," she offered. 

"Most likely," he agreed, bobbing his head. 

"Will it be worth it?" she asked, glancing at him.

"I wouldn't mind getting banned from court," he said, shrugging. "It's my parents that'll ruin the joy of the banning. Nobles do not take disgrace well."

"What will they do?" she asked, feeling her heartrate quicken.

He grimaced. "I really don't want to know."