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"Aah, the man of the evening!"

Makai greets her with a suave smirk, walking up to the prince with the princess softly tagging along. Even though the others keep talking, all attention is now on them. Adelio's eyes still follow Margaret though, enchanted by her dress, drowning in her eyes. It's clear on her, for a second. It's clear how attractive she finds the princess. It makes Makai even happier, if that is even possible. He smiles more and pats Adelio on the back. That snaps her out of it.

She meets the eyes of a slightly confused Margaret and a smug king Makai. It takes everything in her power not to look at Margaret again. This is the first time she has ever experienced such a feeling. Attraction has been the least of her concerns during her entire lifetime, when every single day goes to keeping up the act of being a man. When she feels like a woman but is a man to everyone else, Adelio has always seen attraction to somebody as something wrong and forbidden. No matter how you look at it, attraction to men is immoral on the outside and attraction to women is immoral on the inside. But all of those thoughts wash away, with a single proper look at the princess. Her fiancé. And that feels more immoral than anything else ever has.

She has the most beautiful, deep brown eyes. There is something so innocent about them, yet so understanding. It's hard to explain, they are out of this world. Her hair matches her eyes, brown and soft and long, like that of an angel's. And her dress, the way it hugs her body so wonderfully, makes her look so pretty. She shines like a diamond under the sun, even in a dim room as this one. The colors of her dress are deep and defined, but even then they can't shine as brightly as her face. This girl might be the enemy, but for that moment, Adelio can't see that. All she can see is a girl as beautiful as an angel, nervous and scared, watching her with curious eyes. Adelio has a strange feeling. She wishes she could see this girl smile.

"Excited for the party? I've organized everything in your favor"

Adelio gives a nod, ignoring everything that just happened. She can feel the eyes of the brothers and the duke on her, but ignores them too. Outside the door, she can hear the party starting. Music is playing from the orchestra and people are talking. The buzzing of the life of the party starts to fill their ears. Margaret seems nervous about that. Almost as if it is her first party. But that can't be, right? Or are women here usually kept from attending parties? That would explain why this waiting room is filled with a bunch of men, not a single woman except for Margaret. And her. Right. She's a woman too. Not that they know.

Makai seems to notice that the party has started. A more serious expression comes over his face. With a gentle, encouraging hand, he leads Adelio to another, third door. Margaret follows without a word. It's a glass door, that leads to some sort of balcony. Adelio understands what this means. They have discussed this beforehand. A butler opens the balcony door, all other royals watching it happen. Adelio walks through, out into the open air. She misses Makai pushing Margaret out too by force, because it's happening right behind her. She misses the hesitant glare that Margaret sends Makai, her first and last show of defiance.

The door is closed behind them, and Adelio walks all the way to the edge of the balcony. It's a beautiful view from here. A starry night, the little white dots shining above them. She can see galaxies from here, and the big white moon. Down below one of the many palace gardens open up. It's a rose garden with a fountain in the middle, a statue of an old female goddess right in the middle of the water. It's a very romantic place. This is where hundreds of proposals have happened throughout the centuries. Now it's Adelio's turn, except she's on the wrong side of things. She's the man. After over twenty years of pretending, it doesn't feel unnatural at all.

And suddenly, there she is. Margaret, standing right in front of her.

Maud stares up at the man described to be a tyrant.

Her hands are shaking.

Can he see that? Can he see her hands shaking? He's a warrior, so he can probably sense her nervousness from a mile away. The beautiful view below the balcony does nothing to soothe her worries. Maud wonders if any other women have felt this way before a proposal. Standing on this exact same balcony, have any other princesses been in the same spot as this? In this nauseous state emotionally?

Maud looks at him. She knows that the others are watching, her brothers and uncle. So instead of focusing on them, she tries to focus on him. On Adelio, who stands here in front of her, just about to propose. She tries to focus on his face, and it's not hard. He's very handsome. That soothes some of her worries, just like yesterday. At least he's not a monster on the outside. A well-defined nose, a sharp jaw, somewhat fox-shaped eyes. His hair is beautiful, black and long enough to cover his ears. Looking into his black eyes, Maud likes that they are hard to read. It makes him look powerful and safe, something which Maud has always valued in a potential husband. There is also something confusingly attractive with that, but the princess doesn't understand it.

Adelio looks so handsome, it makes her feel small. Does she look even half as good? Is she attractive to him too? Is he dissatisfied with her? As a woman in this world, Maud can't afford to have her future husband dislike her. This man is going to be her only lifeline once they walk down the isle. Right now her lifeline is her brothers, especially Makai. She can't trust him with anything. Maud can only hope that Adelio will do a better job at making decisions for her, since that is what a man is meant to do. Rule over the women and treat them like objects. With great care. Will Adelio, as a described warrior tyrant, do that? Will he be what she wants him to be?

Those are the kinds of thoughts running through her head, as she watches the crown prince hesitantly pull out a small red box from his pocket. There is a dissatisfied look on his face. Like he doesn't want to do this. Maud doesn't want to do this either, but it still hurts that he wears the same expression. They are enemies, for a moment she understands. But then she doesn't. Even if they are enemies, she is the woman and he is the man. Maud wishes the men could understand, that no matter where the woman is from she is dependent on the man in this world, and always suffers from their hate. That women have no impact on the political climate whatsoever. That they can't chose their blood and family. That they will always be the victim.

That is why it hurts, when he gets down on one knee, hesitant about it. But Maud doesn't have a choice. As Margaret, she doesn't have a choice in this matter. It's almost romantic, seeing him there. Surrounded by a rose garden, under a sky lit with stars, with a handsome and strong prince kneeling beneath her feet. It's like a scene from the fairytales, he looks like that. Like a fairy tale. But Maud can't ignore the dread that she feels inside.

He opens the box. A beautiful, golden ring with a red ruby on it, stands within it. Maud admires the ring. For a moment she is grateful for everything that she has been given. A roof over her head, as much food as she would like to eat, clothes enough to drown in, jewels and books and shoes. Things she could only dream of when at the farm. Things that seemed so far out of reach. She never even dared to dream about a ring, let alone a beautiful ring like this one. An expensive ring like this one. Maud never appreciated it enough, all the things that she has been given since coming to the palace. But with one look at the ring, she appreciates it. No matter how terrible this marriage can get, at least she will have food and clothes and luxury. At least her kids will be brought up happy and satisfied with life.

"Princess Margaret-"

His deep voice, which makes her shiver, sounds through the open air balcony.

"Will you marry me?"

Even if it's all just tradition. Even if her answer doesn't matter, Maud finds herself touched. All of her worries are blown away. Looking at this prince beneath her, asking for her hand, Maud decides to be fooled. Even if it's just for today. She will let this man fool her to think that she can live her very own fairytale. As a princess marrying a prince. Because he just looks so attractive, staring at her with those deep black eyes, a red ruby ring right under her nose. She doesn't find it very hard to say:

"Yes"

Maud feels a little bit like property.

With a red ring on her finger. Standing next to her fiancé. Her fiancé, the scary crown prince, who has been instructed to keep an arm around her waist. They are standing above all other party guests, on an indoor balcony that stretches over the huge palace ballroom. The hand around her waist is all she can think about, her one and only distraction from the eyes of the nobles down below. All she has to do is stand and look pretty. The hand around her waist is a reminder of that. But still, she can't help but be nervous.

"I am overjoyed to announce the new allyship between two long enemies; our dear empire and the Red Lion kingdom!"

Adelio steps forwards, Maud automatically following him, as they are attached by the hip. She looks up at her fiancé just for a moment, and sees the same indifferent look as always. He doesn't even attempt to look happy. Thankfully, the nobles are familiar with his stone cold attitude, so they won't find it offensive or weird in the least. But Maud is uncomfortable by it, as she is now the fiancé of this potential cold hearted monster. His hand is around her waist and yet he acts as if they are still complete strangers, forced to be together. Well, to be fair, that is the truth of the matter. Two complete strangers, forced into this by higher forces.

Makai gestures at the crown prince and her, with a smile on his face. There are curious looks and excited smiles among the nobles down below. Maud wishes that she could be at least half as happy as they are. She should be. Just before the announcement, she glances down at her new ring. It fits perfectly around her finger, and matches her dress. It doesn't really match her personality, but it is similar to Adelio in many ways. So it's like she is wearing him, apart of him is on her. That's what marriage really is for women. The shift of ownership going from their male family members to their new husbands. The ring on her finger is a symbol of what it's going to be.

"I present for the first time; My sister, Princess Margaret, and her fiancé prince Adelio of Red Lion"

The crowd erupts in cheers. Maud bravely shows her face to the crowd, standing above them without shying away. Adelio is stoned faced as usual. Makai gives the crown prince a pat on the shoulder. Adelio looks somewhat angry at that. Maud sees it all happen in the corner of her eye. He must've been forced to marry her, and Makai and Adelio can't be very good friends. If her brother is going to continue taunting Adelio, Maud is afraid it will affect her relationship with him. She just wants to live a peaceful life, is that so hard? She just wants to live to the best of her efforts.

The ball continues after a while. The royals head down to the dance floor, all of her brothers and her uncle first, leaving the two of them standing alone on the indoor balcony. Other than his proposal, Adelio has not said a word to her since they met. It's awkward to be with him alone. Maud pretends that everything is fine, staring out over the crowd instead of at him while they wait for the others to walk down the stairs. Eventually Adelio tugs at her waist, leading her towards the half-spiral staircase. She follows him and lets him lead her down the stairs, one careful step at a time. It's almost like they are both terrified to mess up and fall, knowing that so many people are watching them down below.

Once they reach the ballroom floor, Maud gets a chance to look around. She sees the dozens of crystal chandeliers high above them, giving the room light despite the darkness outside. The cream-white marble floor shines like a mirror, it's been polished for hours, Maud can tell. It's a huge hall with eight large windows, ten times the size of her, on each side of the ballroom. Long and heavy blue curtains hang from the windows. There are white pillars in between every window, and servants standing right next to them with trays of food and drinks.

Otherwise it's hard to see anything. People gather at the center of the room like a flock of sheep, blocking her view. Adelio can probably see above them, Maud is stuck with the shorter viewpoint. Even though she can't see the orchestra, the beautiful music signals its presence. A new song starts and dozens of people gather their husbands and wives to dance. Maud looks up at Adelio, expecting him to drag her out to the dance floor too. What else were her dancing lessons for? But he stays stoic and still, not moving a muscle. With this little enthusiasm, he won't have anyone convinced at the altar! Maud finds him ridiculous. Could the prince at least try to look happy and engaged?

So she decides, like all good princesses, to take matters into her own hands.

Tugging at his black suit sleeve, Maud catches the attention of the prince. He looks surprised to see her doing anything, eyes wider than before. Maud looks at him with begging eyes, just a little nervous of the man described to be a bloodthirsty war hero. She tries to be brave, putting on a desperate and annoyed face as she tugs at his sleeve again. Adelio doesn't seem to be getting the hint. He raises his eyebrows, showing that he doesn't understand. Maud bites her lip as she realizes that she has to break her silence in order for him to understand.

With the most quiet voice she can muster, Maud finally says something other than a simple 'Yes'.

"Ask me for a dance, people are watching"

At least words seem to get through his thick skull. Maud fights the urge to roll her eyes. Adelio nods in realization, sighing before holding out his hand for her to take. He doesn't seem very happy about this, but at least he's doing what she asked him to. Maud feels her heartbeat picking up while looking into his eyes, and for a moment she is disgusted with herself. Yes, he's attractive, but he's the enemy. Keep it together.

"Will you dance with me?"

And with all eyes around them on her, Maud says yes with an appropriate shy smile. She lets her hand rest in his, and hopes to god that he is good at dancing while he leads her off to the dance floor with an unbothered look on his face. They stop somewhere in the middle of the room. Maud is sure that her brothers are watching from somewhere behind them, but manages to ignore that thought when Adelio looks into her eyes again. His hand goes around her waist. Maud tries not to hold her breath.

Slowly they start to follow the music, dancing the same waltz as everyone else. While the room spins along with them, Maud finds herself suddenly lost in the black eyes of her fiancé.

Suddenly the line between forced and wanted becomes blurred.

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