Third Arc (Fallen Heart) – 238. Artheur’s Curiosity II
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Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 238. Artheur's Curiosity II
The very stones seemed to resonate with the echoes of his dilemma, the clash between duty and the heart's yearnings. Rose's gaze remained fixed on Artheur, her eyes reflecting a blend of empathy and understanding. It was as if, at that moment, the past and present converged, offering them an opportunity to revisit the choices that had shaped their lives.
And then, like a revelation, Artheur's words shifted, delving into the rumors that had woven their way through the kingdom. "Before I met you again, I had heard a lot of rumors about you... Princess Rose seduced King Angelus and asked him to marry her for her family's sake... Is that all true? Were you really seducing him?"
"I never seduced him," Rose's voice cut through the silence like a delicate blade, its honesty striking a chord within the ancient stones. "At first, our marriage was a facade, a strategic move to quell the uprising of the Zephyrus rebellion. The plan was to dissolve the marriage once the rebellion was pacified. But now..." Her words lingered, a pause heavy with unspoken emotions. "I have decided to stay with him."
Artheur's gaze, a mirror to the questions that had long lingered beneath the surface, met Rose's intensely. "Do you stay with him to protect your family?" Artheur's voice held a mixture of curiosity and concern, a desire to untangle the threads of Rose's motives. "Is he the one who can't let you go? Or you can't leave him because he's the strongest king of Andromeda?"
In the quiet intimacy of that moment, surrounded by the very stones that had witnessed their journeys, Rose's response carried the weight of her emotions. "Artheur, I decided to stay with him because I love him..." Her words seemed to hover in the air, a confession that held both vulnerability and strength. "I still want to be with him... Even if he is not the strongest king of the Andromeda Continent... Even if he is only King Asteria's war puppet... Whoever he is, now or five years ago. As long as he is Angelus Raizel, I love him."
Artheur's gaze, once piercing and filled with determination, now turned downward, a portrait of acceptance mingled with sadness. His voice, when it finally broke the silence, carried a sense of resignation. "I understand..." he said softly, his words laced with a quiet melancholy that echoed in the chamber's stone walls. "Now I know, you stay by his side of your own accord."
Rose's heart clenched at his words, a mixture of regret and sorrow blossoming within her. She turned her face away, unable to meet his gaze. "Forgive me..." she whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of the emotions she struggled to contain.
Artheur's response was a bittersweet mixture of understanding and pain. "It's fine..." he sighed, his voice carrying a sense of acceptance that seemed to extend beyond the realm of their current conversation. "Our engagement was only a political agreement from the beginning." There was a poignant pause, as if the weight of his realization had taken its toll. "I'm the one who was wrong to have fallen in love with you..."
An awkward silence settled between Artheur and Rose. The heavy drapes that framed the windows stirred slightly in the cool evening breeze, as if nature itself was attuned to the emotions that had been stirred.
Both Rose and Artheur, figures from different paths of her life, stood there in the weight of the moment.
Rose, breaking the silence, turned her gaze toward Artheur. Her voice carried a sense of formality, as if she was wrapping her emotions in a veneer of etiquette. "If there's nothing else to talk about..." Her words trailed off, the unspoken implication hanging in the air like a question mark. She hesitated for a moment. "I will return to my room. Good night, Prince Artheur." The finality in her voice was clear, a signal that their conversation had come to an end.
Artheur, however, had other plans. As Rose began to walk past him, he reached out and gently took her hand, his grip firm but not forceful. There was a determined intensity in his gaze, as if he was grappling with his own emotions and the words he was about to speak. "Rose..." His voice was a mixture of vulnerability and resolve, carrying the weight of a confession that had been held back for too long. "I'm willing to sacrifice anything to be stronger than him so he can't take you away from me."
Note: OMG! Thank you for the fanart @thorkell_40k! This is absolutely stunning!
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Thorkell_40k· Oct 8, 2023
you are so very welcome!!!
