After dancing for hours, Alleyni and Kyald had to separate for the sake of their royal duties and Alleyni found herself alone with the most beloved of her family, Lyssa and Luiz. The two seemed unusually cozy, remaining side by side with the two kings and sharing private whispers. Lyssa had only condescended to dance twice the entire evening, which would have been royal suicide not that long ago; however, she was no longer the eligible princess but the conniving underling.

Luiz and Lyssa pulled Alleyni by the arm into a side passageway. Oh, marvelous. Cornered by my two favorite people.

"What a lovely reunion." Lyssa smirked, hand on her hip.

"Hey, now, we are family," Luiz reprimanded.

"Lyssa, it's been too long. Did I mention I'm engaged?" Alleyni grinned and pulled at the ribbon around her neck. Lyssa's face soured, but her lack of a rebuttal was almost frightening. "What's the matter, Lys? Mad at me?"

Alleyni was on top of the world, and the fact that her sister happened to be on the bottom was the icing on a cake Alleyni had haphazardly baked.

"Now, now, we need to keep this short. I have a visitor coming to my chambers in a few minutes and I cannot be late." Luiz gave his sisters a lascivious smile. "She has a few...surprises for me that I would hate to miss."

Alleyni frowned. "What do you want? In case you haven't noticed, this happens to be a celebration for my upcoming marriage."

"I never thought you would be the one to wed for power and then show it off in court, Alli," Lyssa retorted, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.

"I never thought you wouldn't be able to find a husband, Lyssa." Alleyni's hands formed into fists at the angry sparkle in Lyssa's eyes.

Luiz put his hand on each of their shoulders. "Now, now, children. Let's not fight. I only wanted to thank you, Al. For coming around to our side of things. You've placed us in the most fortuitous position."

Alleyni eyed him suspiciously. How could our goals ever be aligned?

"See, you're marrying the future king of Sari, and rather than deposing our father, Lyssa and I have chosen to align ourselves with the current king of Sari so we can all expect a share in the spoils." Luiz's fingers curled around her thin arm.

"So you're not fighting to depose Ghael any more?" Alleyni could hardly mask her bewilderment.

"A petty prize for small-minded fools. On Vinrys's side, there are many more lands to conquer and much more power to gain. You are just one piece of that puzzle."

Alleyni pointed a finger in Luiz's face and rolled onto the balls of her toes. "If you think that I would ever give either of you a share in whatever country I rule, you're mista-"

"Don't be naïve, Alli," Lyssa interjected, "We know you're convinced that you're far above the rest of us, but blood runs thicker than water, doesn't it? You can expect to hear from us once you become," she snickered, "queen."

Alleyni stepped away, knocking Luiz's hand from her shoulder. She could feel her jaw going slack, and her mind reeled to catch the implications of their words.

"Thanks for hearing us out, sister. I'm sure we'll be in touch. Oh, and congratulations on your engagement, by the way." Luiz grinned and patted her shoulder as the two nefarious siblings left her standing aghast by their betrayal. "You'll make an excellent queen, your majesty."

Snickering Lyssa and Luiz left her in the passageway where she melted against the wall and curled her knees to her chest. All of Alleyni's morals and desires conflicted with her engagement with Kyald, but she could not refuse him. She loved him. The words brought a sense of peace and dread at the same time. She wasn't quite sure what love was, but she thought it had to be the knowing. The knowing that they belonged together, that they fit together like two halves finally reunited, that he understood her without words. I love him.

Such a revelation should have brought peace, but instead forced Alleyni to face the conflicts she would not be able to evade.

"There you are, your highness. I've been looking for you everywhere." The last voice Alleyni could wished to hear interrupted her thoughts.

Normally, she would have responded with some witty barb suited to Varyn's churlish arrogance, but her thoughts were at war within her. Why does he always show up when he's least wanted?

"What do you want?"

Varyn frowned, the lamp on the opposing wall casting shadows along his bearded jaw as he sat against the wall next to her. "What's wrong, princess? Usually you're much more excited to see me."

"Go away."

"Did you expect your prince to find you back here? He never seems to be around when you need him."

"Varyn, go away."

His quizzical gaze displaced the self-importance that usually clouded his demeanor. "Alleyni? I'm sorry. I was only joking; what's actually going on?"

"You're the last person in the world I want to talk to right now."

"I've finally fallen lower than Lyssa and your father? I'm almost impressed with myself."

"Can you please leave me alone?"

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's none of your concern. You should know that by now even though you try to make everything your business."

Varyn frowned. "Was it your father? Luiz? Kyald? Vinrys?"

Alleyni sighed, exasperated with his tenacity. "There's so much that depends on me and what I do. I'm losing track of who I am and what I really want and what's right. I know I shouldn't feel lost, not with Kyald, but I just don't know."

Varyn's frown deepened, his eyes flashing serious. The change in his expression frightened Alleyni; this was the Varyn whom she had only briefly glimpsed, the one who chilled her to the bone, the one who almost seemed good.

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"I don't need you to analyze me."

"You think you can have it all."
His voice and his words were sharp and caught her by surprise. For some reason, she had expected a comforting banality or reassuring joke, even from him, but his words sounded more like a rebuke than an encouragement.

"What?"

"You can think you can everything. Your family, your throne, your homeland, your fiancée, your moral convictions and beliefs, your power. You think that your beliefs and even your identity can somehow fall in line with what you want. You're wrong. You can't have everything."
Alleyni closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to let his words hurt her, but it was too late. I don't want everything; I just want Kyald. But as soon as she thought this, she knew it was a lie. She wanted so much more, but she wanted it all with him.

"I didn't ask for your opinion on my life. If anyone is being unfaithful to their convictions, it's you. Slinking around the castle like a snake on some god-forsaken mission, flirting with princesses, insulting royals, stirring up trouble. I don't even know why you're here right now and I don't know why you think yourself so grand that you can give me advice."

"Don't turn this on me, Al." Alleyni cringed at his use of her nickname. "It's not that I want you to be dishonest to your convictions. That's the last thing I want. You're the only person in this place who still has any."

"You're just like the rest of them, you know. Trying to tell me what to do and who I am and what I really want."

A terrifying, menacing frown grew in the shadows of Varyn's face, and his eyes glinted like sharpened steel. Alleyni shrunk away from him as he rose to his full height.

"Don't ever call me one of them again. I came here to tell you that I've been preparing your escape route if you decide to leave for Corrina's. If you're still interested, I'll be at your door this evening. You can't bring anyone, and if anyone asks, it's for a training session. Have a pleasant evening, and congratulations on your engagement, your highness."

With a curt bow, Varyn spun on the heels of his polished boots and marched away. His dark shadow haunted her even in his absence. Alleyni leaned her head back against the wall, his harsh words churning in her heads. There is no one in the entire world who infuriates me more than Varyn. Sometimes, though, his words resonated within her. She wished that this were not one of those times.

By the time she rejoined the party, she had determined to shove the growing dilemma before her from her mind and focus on a night meant to celebrate her future life with Kyald. She danced with the prince again and again, and the looks they shared caused her worries to dissipate.

"You look worried," he murmured in her ear as she leaned close to him. "What troubles you?"

You. "Nothing of lasting significance, just uncertainty." If I choose Corrina, will I lose you? If I choose you, will I lose myself? Have I not already decided? Why can't I tell you of what worries me?

"Be uncertain of nothing. I am your certainty if all else fades."

"If things alter, you won't change your mind?" she whispered under her breath as she tremulously raised her eyes to his.

He smiled gravely. "Nothing could make me waver from you."

"Can we get out of here?" Alleyni whispered, her hand squeezing his arm.

"Of course."

With a wink and a tug on her hand, Kyald led her from the crowded party to the rooftop courtyard where they had found sanctuary many times before. The moon was a crescent, and the constellations burned across the night sky. Alleyni pulled Kyald behind her to the ledge of the castle where the wall plummeted down to the distant ground. Jumping onto the edge, Alleyni sat with her legs dangling over the side, merriment in her eyes. Looking at Kyald and the stars and the way they seemed so similar, sparkling, tantalizing, she smiled and beckoned him to join her, inches away from falling to their deaths. Kyald, the stars, and I. Forever.

He hesitated for a moment, eying the steep fall from the wall, but Alleyni laughed and tugged on his arm, convincing him to join her.

"You can see for miles from up here," he remarked in wonder.

"Of course! That's why I love it."

"You and I, we'll be better together. We won't let these royals change us or make us into people we aren't. We'll be happy together in our castle. It's safe there, not dangerous. We can have peace, true peace." Kyald's voice was wistful. "Just think of the tranquility we can bring to the world."
Alleyni said nothing but let the lull of his voice calm her fears. She wasn't sure how she would adjust to staying in a castle all the time or to having guards watching over her, but she was confident that they would figure it all out.

Alleyni murmured, "When you were little, what did you think would happen when you grew up? What did you dream about?"
She interlocked her fingers with his and looked up at him, their faces inches apart. His eyes were so pure, she realized; the blue was not speckled with any other colors. It looked like the winter sky had been captured within his gaze.

He smiled a little, a dimple forming in one cheek. "I never wanted to be prince, but I suppose I knew it would be inevitable. I just wanted peace and happiness. I wanted to fall in love even as a kid. When I was little, I lived in Brenlyn, in Avlyn. My father wanted to keep me safe, so he hid me there. I saw the couples in the tiny village, and the way they looked at each other. They had simple lives, and I've always wanted that. Nothing out of the ordinary, just peace."

Alleyni regarded him anew. She had not known that he'd spent part of his childhood in Avlyn, the primitive, ungoverned third country in the northwest of Brenlyn. His charm and sweetness betrayed his desires, and she could see how much he would rather have grown up as a shepherd's son or the apprentice to a blacksmith.

"I never wanted this either," she whispered, "this royal life. I never wanted it, but don't you think we can do good with it?"

"We can bring peace," Kyald said, relishing the word.

"We can bring justice," Alleyni murmured, her hands forming into fists. "We can start to undo all the damage our fathers have done."
Kyald smiled at her, brushing his hand through her hair that had long gone wild. "See, we'll make the perfect pair."

Alleyni leapt to her feet, pulling Kyald up with her. He wobbled for a moment, glancing down at the drop to the earth below them, but Alleyni just laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. For moments, minutes, hours, they kissed on the wall of the castle, yet still the doubts whispered in her ears. Will our love be enough to stem the tide of tyranny? Alleyni kissed him harder to drown out her own thoughts. 

~~~~~

What do you think? Can Alleyni and Kyald navigate the treacherous waters they've gotten themselves into? What sort of secrets do you think Varyn is hiding? Who the heck should she trust? You'll find out soon! 

Thanks so much for reading and helping The General and the Princess near almost 1k reads! I'm so thrilled by this and I appreciate each read, vote, and comment. Have a great weekend.

~ Hannah