Once every quarter, not quite coinciding with the seasons, the Lastrian Academy held a ball for some of its most distinguished students. Among it were high nobles, the highest ranking scholars, foreign dignitaries and celebrities that had spent some time in the academy and so on. It was one of the greatest parties that took place around the capital, and the largest event for the elite, since as it happens, the highest ranking aristocrats tended to be selective of who they invite to their ceremonies.

  For low ranking noble ladies, there were three ways to be known withing society, one was through parties organized by their own families, which wasn’t a viable option for many of them, other was in those organized by less selective nobles who were in the business of creating networks. It wasn’t uncommon that they could just walk in as pretty things in gorgeous dresses while those in power talked business behind closed doors, the parties being just an excuse to do so without having the eyes of the King’s watchmen on top of them, overseeing every transaction. And the third was being smart enough to obtain a position as a pupil of the academy.

  Rose had arrived there for a minor subject, ancient languages. Originally it was only because her father had left in writing his wish that his daughter had a proper academical formation, but the possibility to go to the ball rose and she stepped in to it.

  And the first three times she went to one she ended up regretting it. It wasn’t too much of a surprise, she didn’t have anything resembling a social life and her department, while full of people who were fun and highly enthusiastic about their topic, was not one that brought in the attention of those outside. For anyone who found out who she was, she was just a minor noble from a minor fiefdom and the only calls to the history of the country her House had were being disgraced centuries earlier and the fact that the late king and her father were close friends. Of course, that had made things worse for her in the face of the more social-escalation-minded around her, but it had also given her a single outlet.

  Rull, the prince, had been named Regent just a couple of weeks before, when his sister left Lastria to go on a three year journey around the world until she came to the age at which, according to tradition, she was to take the throne. Until then, she had left all executive affairs to her sibling, who couldn’t care at all about any of it. His Highness was a man of science, someone who became excited talking about numbers and equipment and theories. As far as she knew, he had only gone to a party like that one when the announcement was made, and to that one, because he was one of the most esteemed students at the academy.

  She looked for him on a room on the back, one a side to that room, on a balcony connected to that and then found him in a room under a staircase that went to the gardens. He was sitting on a metallic bench, dressed in a government uniform, and trying to juggle a plate of snacks and a rather thick book in his hands.

  “Your Highness.” She gave him a small bow before breaking into a soft giggle. “Found you!”

  He left the plate on a side and only partially closed the book. He was blushing a bit.

  “Well, thank you then. I guess that the next time I must hide better.” He groaned a bit, but was clearly not actually bothered at all by her presence. In fact, even excusing the redness of his face, he seemed relieved to see her. “Good evening to you, Lady Wynthart.”

  Rose frowned and corrected him. She didn’t like the fact that he was no longer using her first name, of course, she understood why that was the case, even if the ways in the land she came from were significantly more casual, she could accept that things over there, in the capital, were more stiff; titles and styles of address and so on were extremely important and failing to use them properly could create scandals; even if for those involved it didn’t matter, it was good practice to always keep up, lest one falters in a moment in which there is importance to it. And yet, she wanted him to just call her Rose.

  “There is a lot of noise upstairs.” She sighed. She was going to keep going with the sentence, but stopped herself before she used some contraction or more casual ways of addressing him.

  He nodded. “Even in the quiet spots, there are those who refuse to let one even think in peace, let alone read. Always drinking and eating and chatting about nothing. It would be natural to assume that conversations in events of the Academy would be more intellectual, but you can only hear so many times about Lady Monteso’s disastrous wedding before wanting to leave.”

  She had heard it three times that evening, for the record. The venue was awfully hot, even in the middle of winter, half of the event was to take place outside, but there was a surprise bout of intense rain, the seafood served was badly preserved and the lady’s butler had not only fallen from his horse, but in his delirium confessed to have had an affair with her. She didn’t know which parts were true and which ones weren’t, as the story changed depending on who told it, but the consensus seemed to be a complete disaster.

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  “And you are quite right about that, there is no real entertainment in mindless gossip.” She said, looking around and failing to see if there was another bench for her to sit on. Her maid, Petra, had insisted in her wearing some awfully tall heels with her boots, and as such, her feet were killing her.

  “Are we not mindlessly gossiping right now?” The prince quipped.

  She let out a small giggle. “Well, no, not mindless. We are criticizing it, are we not?”

  Rose suddenly yawned. She didn’t know what time it was beyond the fact that it was clearly far past her usual bed time. Most nobles in the party usually kept themselves awake through a mix of teas that she found disgusting, taste wise, and thus refrained from ever taking. She looked through the archway that led to the room. Had it been daytime, she could have seen the building of the dorms beyond the lines of trees on the sides of the canal, at the other end of the garden. It was all pitch black. Any student who wasn’t at the party was probably fast asleep.

  “It has been a pleasure to see you, your Highness. But I should take my leave.” She said, her eyes half-lidded. She was exhausted. “You know, we should meet more outside of your duties.”

  He got up from his seat, placing the thick book somewhere inside of his coat in a way that had to be extremely uncomfortable. He then went up to her and grabbed her by the arm in the most gentlemanly way he could. It was far from the way proper gentlemen did it, far too awkward, but she appreciated the gesture.

  “We should, we definitely should. But regrettably, my duties, unwanted as they may be, leave me no time whatsoever. It is being in the academy and then going twice a week to the palace and spend a full day there doing paperwork. It may come as a surprise to you, but my grades are becoming lower because I cannot seem to be able to keep my mind in the right place. It is always either in one or the other and it is just so difficult to switch.” He sighed, the frustration clear in his voice. “Next year, once I graduate, I will still not have that much time for myself, but I am however planning to go on a trip.”

  Rose arched an eyebrow. “Is that so, your Highness, where?”

  “Lardam. I want to be on top of the Bridge of Miracles overseeing the river.” He said, looking up towards the stars as they left the room under the stairs.

  “Well, then it will be a shame, would it be not? The Bridge of Miracles is famously a place for lovers. Like Vitorio and Segimunda in the play, who met in the bridge on last time as the city is being put under siege, because they know it will indeed be the last time for them.” Rose couldn’t resist to talk about it, he knew that the Tragedy of Vitorio and Segimunda, that being the abridged title, was one of her favorite plays. She had even read through the novel it was based on, it being thicker than a brick not even slowing her. “And you, your Highness, are a sad and lonely man.”

  That came out nastier than she wanted, but she knew he wasn’t offended.

  “I may be sad now, given how much I loathe my position, and yes, I may be lonely.” He began, right before moving the hand that was holding her arm down to hold her hand. “But both of those things, with some effort, are in fact easily fixable.”

  She arched an eyebrow. Deep down she knew what he was going to say, but something inside of her also keep her dense enough to go with the charade. “And how will that be, your Highness?”

  “Because if you are with me, Lady Wynthart, I will be neither sad nor lonely.” He smile at her. It was a gentle, honest smile, one that filled the heart with fluttering warmth and made tears appear in her eyes.

  “Us. In the bridge of the lovers.” She said, her voice weak. He nodded and then she hugged him. He hadn’t declared yet, of course, and she knew he would do so when they went on the trip, but this was as much as that.

  She was giddy, euphoric, if he had been blushing earlier, and was still blushing at the moment, for the record; she was red as a tomato. Her entire face felt hot, and she had to let go of him and fan herself with the night’s air. She knew that her gestures were the same as saying “yes” and she was perfectly fine with that. She loved him. She had loved him for years, their status, and the fact that he hadn’t show that much interest until recently, having been the only obstacles to their relationship after a lifetime of knowing each other.

  But now, as the Regent, him starting it would mean that no one would put a stop to it, and once it becomes official and his sister returned, they could easily get away into his private life. Living comfortably and happily in that lovely villa of his. It was perfect.

  He took her hand, by surprise.

  “Then, Lady Rose of House Wynthart, would you do me the favor of being with me and supporting me, until I can let go of these terrible duties of mine, and thus make you, my love, into well… whatever you want us to be: My bride, my partner, if it comes to it even the mother of my children… I want to be with you Rose.” He said, his voice breathy. It felt like this was something he had kept inside for a long time and finally, finally, had left out, leaving him spent and breathless.

  She said yes. But of course, she let a little wrinkle in it, so that she could say yes properly when they were in the bridge.

  As they were then going back to the dorms, Rose felt something shifting deep inside of her, she felt a kind of liberation withing her soul, as if she was losing something but also gaining it. As if this had shifted her entire life. And of course it did. But it also happened in ways that she couldn’t even begin to understand.