ততততত

𝐈 𝐌 𝐎 𝐆 𝐄 𝐍

I place Tobin's map next to mine on the desk, studying the vast differences between them.

Whoever attempted to make his map certainly had poor recollection of the castle. Rooms are placed where they shouldn't be, and half of the walls remain missing. No wonder Tobin made the foolish decision to cross the royal library's roof last night.

I take out my graphite, fixing Tobin's mistakes and repairing them with my own edits. In the morning sun, I draw each line over the old, recalling every hallway and pathway within my home. It's not long until I find myself lost far away from my reality.

Last night, I should've reported Tobin to the guards. There was no reason for me to keep him hostage in my bedroom, and any sane princess would have alerted someone who would deal with him. Yet, those deep brown eyes held golden constellations in them, and I followed each one until they revealed a whole new world. There he was: rugged, tousled, and ever so alluring. His skin appeared so scarred and sunscorched that I know he's no stranger to hard work and labour, and his deep chestnut locks of hair were a mess—a mess I wanted to rummage my fingers through. It's a shame he hides himself beneath a mask, because he's one of the kingdom's most remarkable treasures.

I only wonder why he decided to scale these walls. It's clear someone sent him, someone with a terrible memory of the Lagulon castle. It's not often that someone tries to hijack the palace, but there's a part of me that just wants to trust Tobin with all my heart. Maybe it's those damning eyes, or his dangerous smirk that makes every ounce of blood in me warm.

He's a criminal, and yet my brain won't get him out of my head. Daydreaming of him like this should be illegal.

Fortunately, a knocking on my bedroom door pries me away from working on Tobin's map and of course, thinking of that same sneaky thief.

"Come in."

The door opens up to my father, the king, standing on the other side. He's dressed in royal garb, obviously prepared to make an appearance to the royal council regarding the war. For a man who has a plethora of stories about him running away from his royal responsibilities as a teen, he suits the role as king so well. He blames my mother for whipping him into shape.

His lips curve, although strained as the barrier of last night's conversation builds between us. "How are you holding up?"

"Could be better," I place the chunk of graphite down on the desk, turning towards him. "And you? Have you figured out a way to end this?"

He shakes his head as he paces into the room with sluggish steps. "I see you're distracting yourself."

"I thought I'd redo the map of the castle," I lie, trying to hide the fact that I stole this map from Tobin while my arrows pinned him to the wall. "There were some errors on my original."

He chuckles. "You? Make an error? I doubt it."

"You know I'm not perfect," I scowl at the tease, hiding the rest of Tobin's map beneath another slip of paper.

My father sighs as he pulls up a loose chair, sitting beside me with his thick arms crossed across his chest. The war has created wrinkles and bags under his once bright grey eyes. He was always so youthful, regardless of his age. Now, time catches up to him faster than he anticipated.

"There's no plan to end the betrothal just yet, Imogen," he begins. "But we need to come up with a plan. You and I."

I swallow. "What would this plan entail?"

"Short term—keeping you as far away from King Leighton as possible, and procrastinating on setting a wedding date. The longer we can do this, the better off you will be. Long term..." he pauses, sucking in a heavy breath. "We train you for when you leave the castle—"

"No," the word breaks from my lips, helplessly. "I can't do that."

My father shakes his head, ignoring my plea. "We train you for when you leave the castle to go to Adorid as his wife. We'll make sure Leighton agrees to have a maidservant go along with you. She will be trained to watch over you, and I'll make sure there will be constant contact between you and I."

He wants to make plans for after the marriage, a thought that sickens me.

"Can we stick to planning out the short-term?" I quiver.

He nods. "Of course. King Leighton has already insisted on meeting with you regarding the betrothal. In a few days time, he will be arriving at our castle, and we will welcome him and his party for a feast." He narrows his gaze, his eyes stern. "We will all treat him with honour."

"And we're supposed to forget this man is waging war on our borders?"

"Well, I don't think he'd appreciate us pointing fingers at him," he grumbles. "We will have to view him as a guest, tending to his every need and want. We anticipate he'll want to start talking about wedding arrangements right away."

The weight on my shoulders crushes me more than before. I could run away from the castle, but that would put all of Lagulon at risk for destruction. Even I know that Adorid will destroy us if I don't follow along with their agreement for marriage. Every fibre of my body hates the idea of King Leighton. Yet, I hate to be the reason for my kingdom's demise.

"So what is your suggestion? He's just going to come here and pick a wedding day for us, and we both know that day will be sooner than later."

My father's jaw tenses. "Yes, that's why Lorcan suggested we convince Leighton to clean up the warfront first, then we swing our attentions to the wedding."

"How much time would that buy us if Leighton decides to play along?"

"A few weeks at most, most likely less."

A few weeks. Right now, it feels like I'll be residing in the Adorid castle in a matter of time. If I blink, these fleeting moments with my father might already be slipping away.

"So is that all the time you think you can buy us? A few weeks?"

"I'm trying, Imogen."

"I know you are," except the four words leave my tongue in a desperate cry. "I just never thought it would end up like this."

"Neither did I, duckling." He pats me on the shoulder, then nods to the half-finished map on my desk. "I'll let you think this through on your own. I know that your mind can come up with a better solution than Lorcan and I combined."

"Thanks," I mumble, my thoughts swarming around me like piranhas. Right now, the objective is to extend the wedding day as far away as possible, but I doubt the feat will be easy. King Leighton is known to have a demanding temper, and if anyone dares to cross him... then he'll make sure they never forget their mistake.

My father stands up from his chair. "If you need me, you know where I'll be."

He leaves me alone with my crippling esteem. I need to keep myself tied together long enough to forge a plan. If I let this marriage break me now, who knows how Leighton will take advantage of my fragility in the future. I need to play strong and brave, a princess of power, just as my father raised me to be.

But gods, it's hard, especially when you know the result you secretly want isn't the one you need to seek.

As the graphite slides across the map in one fluid stroke, I force myself to stop glooming over the wedding and distract myself with the recollection of t last night's escapade.

A thief. In my bedroom. For hell knows what reason.

A part of me doubts he'll return, for I fear I scared the thief away. I know he never stole what he intended—that I could tell from the slight hunger revealed in those brown irises. He'll want to satisfy it, and the only way he can do that is when the light fades.

Only now, I know he wants something, and I don't intend to make it easy for him. As I reanalyze Tobin's map, I can almost make the guess where he'd cross over the walls. Or more likely, cross under. When he's ready to seek another rush of adrenaline, to be hunted down once more, he'll return to the castle.

He'll think he has the upper hand. He's a thief in the night, tiptoeing through the dark shadows under stealth moonlight. And when he thinks he's won this round...

I will strike him down with an arrow.

── •✧• ──

A little bit of an earlier update! I have to work tomorrow all day, so I didn't want to deprive you all from reading the next few chapters.

Also, I want to thank you all for the immense support I've had for the first four chapters. I always appreciate reading comments and reactions from you all, as it makes my story seem that much more real :)

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