"Okay… today is the day I make him take time for me," Cassia said as she finished applying the last of her makeup, making sure every detail was perfect.
Moving to her dresser to grab the last piece of her outfit, she frowned. "If he refuses me much longer, I… I don't know if I can keep trying as hard as I have been." She exhaled slowly. "I need something to show me that how I feel is truly mine."
She waited until the hour was late enough that most would have turned in by now. After checking her outfit and steeling her nerves, she left her room on the hunt for the Duke.
Before long, she ran into the head maid. Madam Flurret was cleaning the dining room along with two other maids. They were picking up after the evening's meal.
"Why do I have to do this… isn't there some other poor bitch that could do it instead?" one of the girls asked, letting out a sharp sneer after.
The girl to her right looked at her and laughed. "You are the poor bitch here, Cassidy," she said, continuing to laugh uncontrollably. "Who else is beneath your rag-covered ass?"
Cassia used the disturbance to pass by the hall they were in and continued on her hunt. "Man… I feel bad for Cassidy. I was there a few months ago. Hang in there," she said as she tiptoed along the side of the hall, making sure not to make any noise.
It wasn't long before she had worked her way to the business quadrant of the palace, making her way toward the conference room. "Jeric was scheduled to be there for a meeting with the Chancellor.
Echoes of yelling could be heard faintly, growing louder as she closed in on the room. She climbed to an upper area that overlooked the chamber from above.
She could see the Duke sitting in the chair at the head of the table, his men seated on both sides, followed by a few numbered generals standing in the back corner.
As she worked her way closer, the words and voices became clearer.
"That man is a bane to the entire population of Draevenhall. It is by his hand his people starve in the streets," the old man on Jeric's side said.
"I asked this of you last time; do you have proof?"
"Yes… we do. Sir Ronan Vale, the man is related to that woman you are so fond of." The man's words were sharp, filled with hate. "Jeric, that whore—"
"SILENCE! I will have your head if you so much as look at Lady Cassia."
He then looked directly toward where she was hidden.
Jeric's voice echoed throughout the entire room, his defense and the wonder of whether he had seen her causing a spike in Cassia's heart rate. Those words broke another link in the chain binding her heart.
"God damn… why does that affect me so much?" she whispered as she lowered herself from the platform she had climbed onto.
Once she was free of any possibility of being seen, she made her way to the hall Jeric would walk down after his meeting ended. She waited there until she heard the doors open.
Tightening her stance and making sure her dress sat right, she waited for him to walk by, tucked away in the shadow of the giant suits of armor that lined the halls.
A few minutes passed, and a few elderly men made their way out into the common area, but not the Duke.
"What is keeping him?" she whispered under her breath. "I need an answer to these feelings… tonight I'll learn just how I really feel, contract be damned."
A few more minutes passed, and then he emerged from the room, walking with his closest men and laughing as they went.
"I hope he's that kind to me. What if he's really mean and I'm just confused?" she muttered, chewing on her nails as she thought. "Alright… it's now or never."
She walked in front of the entourage and deliberately fell onto the Duke, letting out a shrill cry. Jeric caught her mid-fall with ease, his smile never changing. A few of the councilmen asked why she was there before being dismissed by the duke.
"Whoa… uh, hey. Try to be more careful, Cassia. Wouldn't want anything happening to that pretty face," he said as he set her upright on her feet, making sure she had fully regained her balance before letting go.
"Jeric… I, uh…" Cassia tried to get the words to form, struggling to get each one out before the embarrassment took over. "I really wanted to see you again. You've been distant ever since…"
"It wasn't your fault. There's some stuff going on I can't talk about, but we'll be together soon." Leaning forward and giving Cassia a warm hug, he said, "I promise… you are who I want. Just keep doing what you've been doing. It's only a matter of time, Cassia."
Hearing that, Cassia almost melted into a puddle, her face flushing bright red, radiating heat in waves. "I'll see you… later then?" she asked, her voice cracking between the words.
She started to walk toward her room, then turned and rushed back to Jeric's side. "No, I'm not waiting," she said, her nervousness gone."Tell me now, Duke Jeric. Am I just an object to you, or do you really have feelings for me? I need the truth."
"Cassia… we don't have time—"
"Listen to me…" Cassia said, her voice steady now. "I'm not wavering, Jeric." "Tell me how you feel, think about it."
For a few seconds, neither of them moved, and the air between them grew warmer as they passed.
"Oh, Cassia… who put these thoughts of doubt in your head?" Jeric asked, lifting her chin. "Not once have I said anything like that to you. Nothing about you was chance, Cassia."
Grabbing her hand, he led her through the section of the palace without stopping until they reached his door. "You've been in my mind ever since I laid eyes on you."
On the other side of those massive wooden doors were Jeric's quarters, the place she had dreamt of on many of the nights after her arrival.
He let go of her hand and used both of his hands to push the doors wide open.
Cassia followed him inside, her pulse pounding.
Jeric turned toward her, the tension between them suddenly sharper in the privacy of the room.
*CLICK*