The guards stirred at the announcer's command, though weren't quick to move. Hesitation seeped into their bones, for most of them had fought alongside Sir Casamir to vanquish the evildoers who had invaded their home and who had killed every single member of the royal family. All of them, except for one.
"Stop this," a cool voice chimed in. It sounded very feminine, yet brimmed with utmost authority and caused for the whole court to hold their breath. The announcer flinched and slowly but surely turned around in order to face its owner. "But! Your Majesty! He is━"
"Hannes, are you suggesting that I lack the ability to pass judgement on my own? You might be my chancellor, but this goes beyond your limits. When exactly have I given you permission to bark orders at my guards?"
Hannes, an elderly noble who had served the late king as well, paled in the face of those words. He was an arrogant and troublesome one, one who strongly believed in societal status and consequently disliked all sorts of commoners, as they were supposedly beneath those of noble blood. If it hadn't been for his house's financial wealth, he would have been discarded and dismissed from his position a long time ago already. The Laurent family specifically had been his bête noire for the longest of time, as they were the only house of common status which had been allowed to serve under the royal family as knights, even more than that, as their personal bodyguards. For as long as the von Ulven family had reigned, it was custom to have a Laurent knight watch over the king, his spouse and his offspring.
Luna narrowed her eyes at Hannes, her gaze pointed and cold, her usually sky blue eyes looking more like pools of ice than anything else. Luna Katrine von Ulven; she was the first queen to have ever ascended the throne of Hironedein and she was also the sole survivor of a Coup d’État which had taken the lives of her parents and her siblings. Her paternal uncle, Nero, had been the mastermind behind it all. He used to be the first in line to the throne and his battle prowess had been formidable, though he got dismissed as the heir due to his incapability to lead justly and fairly. He had been far too incompetent as to inherit the crown, and had attacked her family as a result of his wrath and denial of the whole matter. He'd managed to gain Randell's troops for his cause, a neighboring kingdom to the north, by promising to hand over the crown and all of Hironedein's lands in exchange for allowing him a chance to exact his revenge.
Ever since that awful day, Luna's heart had blackened with grief and had been scorched along with the bodies of her beloved. The only reason why she'd been able to prevail and to live on through all of those hardships, and to win back her kingdom, was because of one person and one person only.
Her gaze wandered from Hannes to Casamir; her protector, her sun, her everything. Only those who knew her well would notice how her face softened for the briefest of moments as their eyes met, only for it to harden again as she remembered why she'd summoned him here to begin with. She'd missed him. A lot. Her chest tightened as a current of emotions threatened to make her lose her calm and to cast aside all of the responsibilities that she had to carry as the new ruler of a kingdom which had recently gone through a time of war. Her people needed her. They need me, she repeated inside her head, as if to convince herself, I can't do as I please.
"Leave us. All of you. I wish to speak with Sir Casamir alone. And I want none of you to interrupt us unless I call for you."
The room buzzed with shocked whispers and new gossip, but the court did as it was told and within a few minutes, the large room was empty except for the scarred Lion and the Wolf who had lost its pack.
Silence weighed down on the atmosphere around them. She'd been a coward and a fool for following her chancellor's—no, her father's chancellor—advice. And she knew why she'd agreed to it in the first place. She'd feared to face Casamir on her own. Not because she feared him, but because she feared that she'd tell him the truth; that she loved him, after all those years of close companionship, and that she didn't want to be apart from him. As she had been a mere princess before her time as a queen, unable to inherit the throne, she thought that she'd be able to confess her feelings to Casamir one day. She knew that her feelings weren't unrequited, knew it ever since their first fateful meeting as young children, when he was introduced to her as her personal guard.
But now... now everything was different, wasn't it? She wasn't that young, happy and free-spirited princess anymore.
Luna stood up from her lonely throne and walked toward a window which reached all the way up to the opulent ceiling inside the throne room. This was it. She had to tell him.
"Cas, I...," she began, her voice gentler, using the name which was only exclusive to her. Although she'd kept him at a distance for the past weeks, in hopes to make this moment easier on her, on them, it really wasn't. She regretted it now. She should have used those few remaining weeks to spend more time with him, summon him at every moment possible in between meetings and work, to bask in his warmth and in his strength.
With her back to him, she stared at the intricate gardens down below.
"I will get married soon. After the war against my uncle, I’ve received countless of marriage proposals." Many of which she'd turned down, because they weren't Casamir's. "My advisors have all agreed, too. An alliance with the kingdom of Arr would be the best for Hironedein's future right now. It is powerful and wealthy, it has the mightiest military force in all of Gabhan, and it has helped us out greatly during our war against Randell. With Arr as an ally, it is very possible that a tragedy like the last one will never happen again. Prince Geralt will become my husband." Her voice never wavered and its timbre was distant and had a final hue to it, entirely betraying her true opinion on the matter.
Prince Geralt was the second in line to the throne and known to be a handsome and well sought after bachelor. He was also known for being quite infatuated with Luna for some time now. Although he'd been nothing short of kind and gentlemanly towards her in the past, she held no affections for him. Not ever. Only for Casamir.
Which was why she needed him to leave and why she'd decided to allow him to retire early. She would never be able to wed another man if he were to stay and watch her become someone else's bride.
"You don't need to protect me anymore. You've almost died so many times for my sake already. You deserve to be happy and to find happiness. Happiness which you won't find here."
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