"Will Sirona be alright?" Daphne asked worriedly as she glanced at her empty chair. That burn did look pretty severe.
"Healer Sirona might be highly skilled, but so are my healers," Prince Nathaniel said reassuringly, patting Daphne’s hand so briefly that she almost thought she imagined it. "Rest assured, I will spare no expense in ensuring she is fully healed."
Of course, his healers would make sure to keep her in the infirmary for as long as possible. It wouldn’t do for her to run back here and interrupt his long-awaited quality ti with his lost fiancee.
"Thank you, Prince Nathaniel. You have been most gracious." Daphne bowed her head lightly.
"I must. It was my staff who injured her by accident," Prince Nathaniel said, gently dabbing at his lips with his napkin. "And from your reaction, Healer Sirona seems to be soone dear to you. That’s even more reason to care."
Daphne thought about it and nodded. "She is. She feels like a dependable older sister, and she helped a lot."
Prince Nathaniel gave her a worried look. "May I know why? Did you get sick often?"
"Oh no, not really," Daphne gave a sheepish laugh and then stared at the tablecloth, her eyes tracing the delicate patterns made by mint green lace and gold thread.
She couldn’t let him know the full truth.
"Let’s just say it has just been... an eventful stay these few months," Daphne said wryly. "I cannot say the beginning was ideal, but I had a wonderful ti for most of it."
Other than the tis Atticus acted like a complete prick, of course.
Prince Nathaniel frowned. "Princess Daphne, you are safe with . You don’t need to worry about speaking your mind. "
"Prince Nathaniel?" Daphne asked, bewildered.
"To say sothing like that was not ideal...The incident must have terrified you in the beginning. I can only imagine the worst... If my sister was stolen before her wedding and taken to a far-off land like Vramid, I would have been frantic with worry," he confessed.
Then he stood up, the legs of his chair screeching loudly in protest at the sudden movent.
"Prince Nathaniel? What is the aning of this?"
He then got on his knees. "Please accept my apologies."
"Whatever for?" Daphne asked, imdiately leaping up from the chair as well in sheer panic. "Please get up!"
She grabbed Prince Nathaniel’s hands, trying to pull him up. Daphne couldn’t have the Crown Prince bowing in front of her. This was too much to bear!
Yet Prince Nathaniel remained kneeling, his eyes filled with anguish as he gazed up at her.
"I have failed you. When you didn’t arrive in Raxuvia by the proposed date, I foolishly assud that you had taken extra breaks during the long journey. By the ti I realized you were missing, it was already too late," Prince Nathaniel said, guilt coloring his every word.
"My n ca across your broken carriage, your servants slayed and left at the roadside like carrion. I feared the worst. We did our best to search for you, but the trail had gone cold. Thankfully, the heavens have sought to give a second chance to make ands for my earlier mishap. "
Prince Nathaniel finished his spiel with one last bow of his head. "Please, forgive ."
"There’s nothing to forgive," Daphne said easily, tugging at his hands, eager to get him off his feet. "Please get up. You were not at fault. You couldn’t have known Atticus wanted to kidnap . I didn’t know either."
"Truly?" Prince Nathaniel looked up hopefully. "You do not bear a grudge?"
"I could never," Daphne said as she gazed into his eyes brimming with sincerity. He was a true gentleman. "Now please get up, before I get angry."
"If that is what you wish, I shall oblige." Prince Nathaniel finally got up, and Daphne heaved an internal sign of relief as they both sat back in their seats, a servant quickly refilling their tea and biscuits.
"Still, you must know I’m very sorry to have caused you undue hurt. If I had been more stringent, perhaps I could have prevented the kidnapping."
Daphne could only let out a wry laugh. "Prince Nathaniel, I can tell you from personal experience, you could have done nothing to change the outco. Nothing gets in between Atticus and his goals."
"... Is that what you see yourself as? A goal for him?" Prince Nathaniel looked upset again. "Is that why he refuses to honor you as his wife?"
Daphne’s tongue froze.
"My apologies for overstepping," Prince Nathaniel imdiately added after seeing her reaction.
"No, it’s fine," Daphne said woodenly. At least Prince Nathaniel wasn’t blaming her. He laid the bla squarely at her husband’s feet.
"It’s just upsetting... to know a wife I could have loved and cherished for the rest of my days, has landed in the hands of such a man who couldn’t treat her decently," Prince Nathaniel said, giving her a sidelong glance.
He was indignant on her behalf!
Daphne couldn’t help but blush. His words briefly conjured a fantasy where they married and lived in wedded bliss, and Daphne never had to deal with a husband that kidnapped her or lied to her, or ended up in dangerous situations with criminals.
They would have very blonde children.
Even though Daphne knew better than to act vain like so of her siblings, she was fully clear that every single mber of the Reawethen royal family was blessed with good looks. Any child of hers wouldn’t have looked too far off, especially coupled with a theoretical husband that was so beautiful he looked like an angel that had descended from the heavens.
But she would not have awakened her powers.
Daphne’s hands instinctively touched her earrings. For all of Atticus’s faults, Daphne would always have this to thank him for. Once she trained herself, she would never be powerless again.
Her heart clenched with guilt. No matter how many what-ifs and maybes, in the end, her husband was Atticus. She shouldn’t be conjuring up imaginary lives with people that would not and could never be part of her life so intimately.
Deep within, Daphne knew too that she didn’t want it to be any other way.
"If he went to so much effort to take you, then he should have treated you better. if he was going to break off an already present agreent between two existing kingdoms, possibly causing war, then he should have made every effort to cherish you," Prince Nathaniel continued firmly. "There is no excuse for his behavior. As a king, it is foolish. As a gentleman, it is appalling."
Daphne smiled graciously. "Thank you for caring about my welfare, but I would advise you to not say such things about my lord husband. For all his faults, he’s still my husband."
Prince Nathaniel froze minutely, before a small smile crossed his face. "You are as beautiful as you are magnanimous. Ah, but I am distracting you from your al. Would you like another cup of tea?"
Daphne could only laugh, relieved that Prince Nathaniel wasn’t pursuing the issue. "That sounds lovely. Thank you."
The conversation diverted to lighter topics, such as Raxuvia’s famous sights and weather, along with different culinary delights. As Daphne talked and laughed with the prince, she failed to notice two pairs of eyes glaring daggers at her back from a distance.
"My brother knelt for her? ...How dare she seduce him!"
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