Elianna grumbled and stirred, feeling the silky bed sheets wrapped around her petite body. Her brows furrowed from the sunlight streaming through her eyelids, and slowly, her eyes fluttered open. Her beautiful, celestial blue eyes scanned over the roof of her room before she tiredly rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes.

  Sitting up, Elianna looked down at herself, seeing that she was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, and her diary was sitting in her lap. She didn't know when exactly she had fallen asleep last night, but she knew it had to have been late. She tried to stay up, since Nicholas and his father weren't at dinner, as she, Freya, and Celine were informed they were busy with admin things. Tristan himself wasn't at dinner either, as he had informed palace staff he would be preoccupied with things. She had hoped to hear Nicholas going to his room so she could check on him before he went to bed, but it seems she had fallen asleep waiting.

  Looking out her window with squinted eyes, she noticed it was still early in the morning, as confirmed by the clock on her nightstand. Picking up her diary and storing it in her spatial ring, Elianna pushed herself out of bed and made her way to her closet, then to her dresser, pulling out clothes for the day: a black shirt and blue shorts. She undressed and took a shower, which felt refreshing as the water washed over her face. She then dried herself off and got dressed while taking care of her personal hygiene.

  Brushing and tying her hair back into a ponytail, Elianna looked at herself in the mirror, doing a once-over of herself. Satisfied with how she looked, Elianna walked toward her door, opened it, and stepped into the hallway.

  "Good morning."

  Elianna froze halfway out of her room, and her head snapped to her left. Her brows raised as her gaze fell on Tristan, who was casually leaning against the wall opposite hers. He was dressed neatly in opulent royal apparel, with a silver coronet atop his head. He had what looked like a multi colored cube that could rotate in his hands, and he quickly stored it in his spatial ring as his eyes set on Elianna.

  Tristan gave a smile as he pushed himself off the wall and stood straight. "Elianna, right?" He chuckled, placing a hand against his chest, "Sorry, I'm bad with names."

  Elianna's gaze ran up and down Tristan, eyeing him warily. She closed the door behind her, stepping fully into the hallway, "Yes, that's right."

  Tristan's brows seemed to furrow, and his lips twitched for a moment before he went back to smiling, "Ah, good, I'm glad I remembered." He stepped toward Elianna, extending his hand, "I don't think we had a proper introduction. I'm Prince Tristan."

  Elianna's eyes flicked to Tristan's outstretched hand. She knew the implications of not receiving such a gesture, but she didn't care. She looked at Tristan and crossed her arms. "I know."

  Tristan's eye twitched, but he maintained a smile as he slowly closed and retracted his hand, "It seems that my brother may have given a bad interpretation of me."

  Elianna scoffed, "Don't blame Nicholas. You did that yourself."

  Elianna looked at the guards behind Tristan, wondering how much trouble she was going to get into for speaking to the Gavarian prince like this. But she noticed they just kept standing a few feet behind Tristan, not reacting.

  Tristan raised his chin before nodding and letting out a sigh, "I see." He placed his palm flat against his sternum, "Allow me to apologize for such behavior. I assure you that is not how I usually am."

  Elianna raised a brow, "Really?"

  Tristan nodded, "Oh, yes, I am quite the gentleman, I assure you." He smiled widely, "How about this! I was planning to go for a morning stroll around the palace courtyard. Why don't you join me?"

  Elianna blinked, as she was definitely not expecting this. She shook her head, "No thanks."

  Tristan's smile twitched, "Come on, it'll be a good chance for us to get to know each other. I assure you that I am not this monster that Nicholas has made you believe I am."

  Elianna's eyes narrowed, "Nick hasn't made me believe anything."

  Tristain raised his hands, "A poor choice of words." He lowered his hands and tilted his head slightly, "Well, if you don't feel like walking, then perhaps we can spend time together while training." He raised his chin proudly, "I myself am an augmentor, like you, and have achieved my third star. I have been trained in the sword, and I believe I have developed a good skill. I heard you like to train yourself, so how about it?"

  Elianna tilted her head, "Third star, you say?"

  Tristan nodded proudly, "That I am. Impressive, no?"

  Elianna chuckled humourlessly, "Perhaps. However, I myself am a fourth star."

  Tristan's smile faded, and his eyes flicked to her chest, which sent an unwanted shiver down her spine. His eyes widened slightly, "That's..." His eyes snapped back to hers. "How?"

  Elianna grinned, "Training. A lot of training. So, no, I don't think I will join you for training, as I don't believe you will be able to keep up." She shrugged, "Not like Nicholas can." She smiled proudly, "Who is a third circle, might I add."

  Tristan's smile vanished, and he looked at Elianna, gaze thick with irritation, "Pure luck on his part, I assure you."

  Elianna scoffed, "No. It's because Nicholas has worked hard and is becoming a great mage."

  Tristan's jaw clenched, and he crossed his arms, "You know, it is insulting to reject a prince, which you have not done just once, but three times."

  Elianna waivered for a moment, as she knew he was right. But, she wasn't going to back down, not now, "So? I'm still not going with you."

  Tristan gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Is that so?" Tristan looked at the guards standing beside Elianna's doors, "Guards. I feel like going for a walk." His cold gaze snapped to Elianna, "And Elianna here will be accompanying me. Ensure she does so."

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Elianna tensed as she whirled to face the guards behind her, and standing in front of Nicholas' door. She was thinking of what to do, whether she should run or scream for Nicholas. Then, her brows raised when the guards didn't move toward her, but instead shared an uneasy gaze.

  Tristan's eyes narrowed on the guards, "Are you fucking deaf? I gave you an order."

  One of the guards, who had two golden discs on his collar, signifying he was a sergeant, stepped forward and bowed, "Forgive us, Your Highness, but we cannot follow that order."

  Tristan's eyes went wide, anger and aggravation swirling behind his gaze, "Excuse me? You better have a good fucking reason why."

  The guard stood straight, "Because it is His Majesty's orders."

  Elianna's brows furrowed, feeling confused. When her gaze flicked to Tristan, she noticed he looked just as confused as she was.

  Tristan shook his head, "What are you talking about? My father's orders? What orders?"

  The sergeant spoke again, "His Majesty commanded that Lady Elianna be treated with the same authority and respect as that of one of the royal family. She is not to be ordered, commanded, or touched."

  Elianna's eyes went as wide as moons, as she was certainly not expecting that at all. Now, she wondered why Nicholas' father would issue such a drastic order. When her eyes flicked to Tristan, she noticed he was staring at the guard in disbelief.

  Tristan whirled, looked at the four guards behind him, and snapped, "Is that true?!"

  Another sergeant bowed, "It is, Your Highness."

  Tristan's hands balled into fists, and his head snapped to Elianna, glaring at her.

  Elianna quickly shook off her surprise and met his glare, now knowing he couldn't do anything.

  Tristan scoffed before he turned, nearly shoulder-checking the guards who moved out of his way. His guards then turned and followed Tristan.

  Elianna stared at all of them as they made their way down the hallway and let out a breath of relief once they were gone.

  "Are you alright, My Lady?"

  Elianna looked behind her, her brows raised, seeing the sergeant and the other guards looking at her, worriedly. She smiled, "I'm fine, thank you." She then eyed the sergeant curiously, "The king really gave that order? When?"

  The sergeant nodded, "Yes, My Lady. He gave the order a few days before your arrival, and reminded us when he returned from the hunting trip."

  Elianna's brows furrowed, "Why?"

  The sergeant shook his head, "I do not know, My Lady."

  Elianna nodded, her eyes falling as she contemplated. She stood there for a moment before sighing and turning toward Nicholas' room. The guards standing in front of Nicholas' room nodded to Elianna before sidestepping out of the way. Elianna smiled and nodded before approaching Nicholas' door.

  Opening Nicholas' door and stepping into his room, Elianna's gaze flicked to his bed. Her brows raised, eyes widened slightly, and her cheeks reddened seeing Nicholas lying in bed, shirtless, with the bed sheets covering him from the waist down. His facial features were relaxed, and his chest rose and fell slowly, as he was obviously still asleep. Swallowing hard and closing the door quietly behind her, Elianna stepped further into Nicholas' room and approached the bed.

  Elianna's face grew warmer with each step she took towards the bed, with several different thoughts going through her mind. Some of which had her face turning apple red. As she approached the bed, Elianna sat down softly to the side of Nicholas, watching Nicholas sleep. Her soft-looking lips curled as she gazed at his handsome features. She slowly raised her hand and gingerly brushed a few strands of his blonde hair out of his face.

  Nicholas started awake, his eyes flying open and snapping to Elianna, his breathing increasing in an instant.

  Elianna flinched with surprise before she smiled softly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

  Nicholas seemed to relax quickly and returned Elianna's smile, "It's fine." He adjusted, seeming to stretch, and yawned, "What time is it?"

  Elianna eyed the clock on his nightstand, "Almost seven thirty." She looked back at Nicholas as he nodded and rubbed his eyes. "What time did you go to sleep?"

  Nicholas shrugged as he continued to rub his eyes, "I don't know. A little past midnight, I think." He removed his hands and looked at Elianna, "How was dinner?"

  "It was fine," Elianna shrugged. "It was just Celine, your aunt, and me." She smiled at Nicholas, "We missed you, though."

  "Yeah, sorry," Nicholas said and sat up, leaning against his headboard. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "My father and I had a lot of paperwork to go over. He just had dinner brought to us." He opened one eye, looking at Elianna curiously, "Wait, Tristan wasn't at dinner."

  Elianna's smile faded, instantly remembering her conversation with Tristan in the hallway. She looked to the side, "No. Which I'm not going to complain about."

  Nicholas opened both eyes and raised his head, his brows furrowing, "Hey, you okay?"

  Elianna shrugged, "Just annoyed."

  "About what?"

  Elianna met Nicholas' gaze, "Tristan. I ran into him this morning."

  Nicholas' face tightened, "What happened?"

  Elianna shook her head, "He was being an ass. First, he tried to play all sweet and tried to get me to spend time with him, by going on a walk with him or even training with him." She chuckled a little, "He didn't like it when I pointed out I'm a higher core level, or that you and he are the same level."

  Nicholas grinned slightly, "I'm sure he didn't." His grin faded. "Anything else?"

  Elianna scoffed, "He then tried to order the guards to make me accompany him, after I rejected his offers."

  Nicholas sat straight, his eyes flaring, "He did what?!"

  Elianna blinked in surprise, seeing the rage behind Nicholas' eyes, "But the guards didn't." Nicholas seemed to relax and grew confused, so Elianna continued. "It seems your father gave some type of order for the guards to treat me as a member of the royal family. I'm not to be commanded or touched."

  Nicholas looked astonished, and Elianna knew he didn't know anything about this order either.

  Nicholas leaned back against the headrest. "Well, that's interesting." He sighed, "I'm glad too. It stopped Tristan." He looked at Elianna reassuringly, "And, if that order weren't in place, I would've done something."

  Elianna smiled at Nicholas, seeing the conviction in his eyes. It filled her with warmth, knowing he would come to her defense. Then, she eyed Nicholas curiously, "Wait, do you have the authority to challenge Tristan? I mean, he is the firstborn prince."

  Nicholas' eyes fell, seeming deep in thought. He closed his eyes and sighed, "Yes, I do, per Gavarian law." Nicholas slowly looked up, looking out the window, "You see, Tristan isn't the crown prince, yet. The title of crown prince is a title given, not earned, and it is given by the king himself, to name his heir officially."

  Elianna's brows raised, "Wait, Tristan isn't the heir to the throne?"

  Nicholas shook his head and looked at Elianna, "No. He is in line for succession, but he isn't named heir." His eyes fell, "Without the title of crown prince, technically, he and I hold the same right to the mantle of king by law."

  Elianna's eyes widened, "You both have the same right to be king?"

  Nicholas nodded, "For now." He looked at Elianna, "Tristan's hoping that our father will name him the crown prince at the engagement party."

  Elianna's brows furrowed. "He said that?"

  Nicholas nodded, "He hinted at it during the council meeting." He sighed, and his eyes flicked to the clock, "I should get up. Then we can get breakfast."

  Elianna nodded, still a little stunned by all this information. Her eyes flicked to Nicholas, and her brows raised, and her cheeks turned apple red. She watched as he got out of bed, wondering if he hadn't noticed or didn't care that he was only in his underwear. She watched him walk over to the dresser, and she couldn't help but look below Nicholas' waist, thinking he had a nice butt.

  Nicholas grabbed a pair of underwear and pants, then looked at Elianna. "I'll shower and be out in a bit."

  Elianna quickly looked away to hide her blush, "A-Alright."

  Elianna looked out the window, hearing Nicholas go into the bathroom. As she sat there, looking into the distance, she was still processing the fact that Nicholas was technically in the running to be king.