Arranged Allegiances - 1x1 (Don't delete!)

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna woke the next day feeling rather confused. Had she really just had a dream where she and Ean were getting married? And was she only imagining the fact that she was extremely happy? Even Ean had seemed brighter than his normal self, and it astounded her that her mind could even conjure up such an image. Me and Ean, married.. It was still a large possibility, as the two might not find a more suitable match, but the idea of it being her own choice was practically out of the question.

She pulled herself out of her warm bed rather reluctantly. It was odd for Giovanna to not want to get up; she usually was eager to get on with her day. But since the realization that she was completely and utterly trapped, it was getting harder for her to look forward to anything at all. What would today bring - more pretend with Ean? Or perhaps watching him as he tried to find another woman to take her place. The second option was slightly annoying, which again surprised her. Shouldn't I be happy if he tries to find someone else? It would mean that perhaps she would have a chance of regaining her freedom. Perhaps. Or maybe her father would just force her into another marriage, so that she could take over in Anima. After all, a female heir with no husband was not fit for taking the throne.

It didn't take her long to dress and run her comb through her long hair. Remembering her father's orders to only leave her room when accompanied, she hesitated before creaking open her door and peering out. No one. Perhaps just this once... Her thoughts trailed off, and she smiled slightly before slipping out, for once not worried about the repercussion her father may bring for disobeying him.

Giovanna stepped lightly as she snuck down the halls, thankful that the marble floors were soundless; back at home, most of the floors were wood, and they would creak loudly. Not exactly ideal for walking quietly. But these floors were hard and cold, their rough surfaces not filled in with a seal; if anything, they seemed quite rough, with little holes everywhere, how the stone had naturally formed. It felt somewhat like being inside of one of the precious stones, and for a moment she stopped and just examined the walls, which were of the same material as the floor.

That's when she heard them - voices.

"-You really think that even now, we should be patrolling the boundaries more than ever?" She knew that voice - Evan. What was he doing here? Giovanna crept closer to the door that was slightly open, where the voices were coming from.

"Yes, I do; perhaps now even more. My daughter has been given the choice to find another match; if she does succeed in finding one before the end of this month, all deals will be off, and I suspect Mortifer will launch another attack." That was her father, and he seemed very grim, as if the idea of giving her a choice to get out of marrying Ean had not been his. Then who made it up - the queen? That didn't seem very likely, and Giovanna bit her lip, pressing herself up against the cool walls, trying to hear more.

"But you think she will find one."

The king laughed almost spitefully, and Giovanna flinched as the sound came closer to the door. Her father was pacing. "I didn't say that. She was given the choice, and I highly doubt that she could find someone that I would approve of." There was a slight pause, and Giovanna could imagine the look on his face; his brows furrowed, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"And why not, if I may ask? The princess is quite likable, and her beauty is well admired from everyone in the city."

"Beauty. Is that anything anyone cares about now?" His voice was spiteful. "My own son was poisoned before he could take the throne; I fear for Giovanna's safety now more than ever."

"I doubt that the culprit would try that again," Evan said quietly. Giovanna hesitated as she heard a slight edge to his voice, then she realized that he was only hurt about his death, just like she was. After all, he and Mateo were like brothers.

"That's why you're here." His voice was suddenly powerful, like it sounded when he was talking to his people. The king of Anima; who could lead the nation with a simple megaphone. "You are the general. Now with Mateo gone, you took his place, and gained my trust in turn. I know that you are close to Giovanna, and that she trusts you as well. It will not bring any suspicions on her part if you stay by her side."

"I understand." And Giovanna could tell that Evan meant it. She wondered if she should leave now, before one of them came out. Then she stopped as Evan began to speak again. "It will be my top priority. No one will get by me."

"And at the same time, perhaps it will come to Giovanna's attention that you could be one of the only men I would approve for the replacement of the prince."

Giovanna felt her blood run cold. Surely Evan would protest to this; he saw her as nothing more than a friend. She waited silently for him to disagree, but he didn't. Instead, she saw an image in her mind of Evan standing straighter, as if flattered by the King's words.

"Yes," Evan said quietly. "It would be an honor to take Giovanna as my wife. I've known her a long time, and I am confident that together we could be a good team."

She felt her eyes grow wider, and she took a step away from the door, wanting to run, when her father's laugh stopped her.

"Indeed. It would be a very suitable match, and you are at least not a stranger to her. Perhaps she would agree to this."

Evan was probably smiling too. "Should I ask her if she would marry me?"

"The choice cannot be made by us," the king said quietly. "She must be the one to sought you out. That is the deal I made with the queen, and we must not interfere."

Giovanna knew she had heard enough, and silently she turned and walked swiftly down the hallway, and descended the stairs to the dining hall. There, she almost collided with a woman servant, who dropped the basket she was carrying. "Princess! You aren't allowed to leave your room unaccompanied! I was just about to fetch you for breakfast."

"Please, keep my secret. I will pretend that you went up to get me," Giovanna murmured.

The woman bent down to pick up the dropped basket, then nodded after some consideration. No harm done. "Very well, your highness. Come to breakfast, the Prince will be down soon."

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean slowly leaned his head back into his room, his hair ruffled slightly from the slight breeze. He had been leaning out of his window, letting the morning air wash over him. It wasn't as if he would be going out anytime soon; he was confined to his room after all, unless he had supervision. It was as if he had gone back in time, and was a child again, and yet he still couldn't even remember a time when he had been treated as such, not even when he had been young.

Shutting the window, and not too gently either, he pulled the curtains back over it, shielding the beautiful sights from view. It only depressed him, seeing the leaves of the trees swaying in the breeze, and the small animals and birds scurrying about. At least they had freedom.

He had been up for a long while, but he knew that he usually slept in much later and would therefore most likely have to wait for someone to come up and fetch him. Yes, he could always simply disobey the King and Queen's orders, and yet he found his feet planted firmly on the floor to his room, not even daring to take a step in the door's direction. He had gotten yelled at quite enough lately.
-
Not long after he'd went back to his room during the previous night, after his talk with Giovanna, Ean had found the door to his room beng knocked on twice sharply. Before he had even stood up to go open it, the door had opened itself. Ean stood facing his mother, who's eyes were burning with anger. She entered his room without invitation, shutting the door none-too-lightly, and walked over to her son.

"Time and time again I find myself in this position, my son." Her voice was quiet, but dangerously so; it was terrifying in an undescribable way to Ean, and he found himself taking a small step back.

"What position, ma'am?" he said hesitantly, already able to see the storm brewing inside of her.

"Ean Truen, you have disgraced me time after time, and I cannot take it anymore. You will learn to behave yourself, or you will be in greater trouble than you could ever imagine!" Ean flinched, and said nothing at her words, so she continued talking. "How dare you speak to someone like that, especially someone that holds such as high of a position in society as the King of Anima. You are not a foolish boy, Ean, but sometimes I honestly do not understand you."

"Mother, I apoligized, what more do you want?" Ean could not keep the anger and bitterness out of his voice and he sincerely wished there was a way he could take back his words.

The Queen's lip curled and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I want you to learn respect. I am going to say this once, my son, and once only. If you dare to be as disgraceful as you were earlier, you will be severely punished. I will not tolerate this behavior any longer. Do you understand me?"

Ean stared at her, hating her, his eyes and expression clearly showing the anger he felt. "Yes, mother." Without another word, he turned away, looking out of his window silently, his jaw clenched. How dare she treat him in such a way! Yes, he had been disrepectful, but still...
-

Ean scowled at the thought of what had happened the previous night. Oh, he had thought Giovanna angered him, but it was nothing compared to his mother. She angered him above all others, he figured.

Suddenly, a knock at the door had Ean turning towards it. "Sir, are you awake?" said a young servant as he peeked his head into the room. Seeing that the Prince was, indeed, awake and fully ready, the servent beamed at him. "Exellent. Shall I escort you down to breakfast, now, sir?" Ean held back another scowl; why did some people have to be so cheery in the morning. He didn't recognize the quite young servant, who was still smiling graciously up at him. Perhaps he was from Anima. It certainly seemed so.

"Yes, I suppose," Ean muttered quite ungraciously. Pushing past the small servant, he began to walk downstairs without another word. The servant hurried to catch up with him, making sure he was doing his job of escorting the Prince down to breakfast. Rather, it seemed that Ean was the one doing the escorting, and that was exactly the way he wanted it.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna couldn't bring herself to even taste the large amount of food that had been laid out perfectly by the servants. There was everything imaginable; toast, eggs, diced potatoes, and delicate baked cakes. Everything would at any other time be tempting, but as Giovanna sat stock still in her chair, she couldn't bring herself to even touch it. The servant that was serving her seemed a little hurt that she wasn't trying any of the food they had worked so hard to prepare, and a slight pang of guilt flushed across her. As if trying to comfort her, Giovanna took a sip of the black tea in the mug in front of her.

The liquid made her feel like she was going to gag, and she quickly swallowed it, using every fiber of her being to stop herself from trembling. Evan was upstairs with her father, discussing tactics to make her want to marry him. Ean meanwhile was probably trying to find ways to get out of it, and make her be left with the unwanted task of marrying a stranger. For a moment she felt as if she were completely alone, and that everyone was against her. But when she looked up and saw Ean being escorted into the hall with a servant, she realized that maybe she had thought badly of him on purpose. He seemed so upset, so defeated even, to have to be escorted like a young child. Similar to the way she felt herself. It was unfair to her to think that he would have to be forced to marry, and for a moment was tempted to accept Evan's offer. That would at least free her fellow prisoner. Men had it easier when it came to taking over the throne; they didn't need to marry to ascend.

As soon as the door had closed behind Ean, and they were left alone, Giovanna returned her eyes to him. "That servant is from the castle in Anima," she commented, wanting to break the silence for some unknown reason. "He's very cheerful... isn't he?"

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean silently sat down across from Giovanna, his eyes cast downward. He didn't want to start arguing again, he didn't think he could take much more of that. So, he would simply sit there in silence until their lovely and caring parents told them what to do next, or what was planned for the day; he figured something as such would happen, for all of their other freedoms had been taken away, after all. And, even if they were allowed to choose where they got to go, they would have to be accompanied by someone. His stay here would certainly not be even remotely enjoyable, he already knew it.

When Giovanna spoke softly across from him, commenting on the servant, Ean looked up in surprise. She didn't seem hostile in the slightest, but Ean had figured she would not even want to speak to him, let alone have polite, not-forced conversation with him. He studied her closely, eyeing her expression, judging her tone, everything he could possibly do to see what she was playing at. But she didn't seem to be decieving him in any way, so he slowly began to nod in agreement.

"Yes; a bit too cheery if you ask me, though. Especially in the morning. But I figured as much; you are all rather cheerful folk, aren't you?" he said, only slightly teasingly. He didn't mean it in a harsh way, and he hoped she wouldn't be offended by his comment. It was the truth, at least, for everyone knew that the people of Anima were quite happy most of the time. Just as it was widely known that the people of Mortifer were practically the exact opposite. That had to be only one of the many reasons the two cities despised one another; and Ean wasn't surprised, anymore, by the animocity. After all, he had only known Giovanna for a few short days and he'd already been practically ripping his hair out.

Looking down at the food before him, Ean's stomach growled hopefully, but he made a face and touched nothing. It wasn't as if the food was disgusting, or anything of the sort actually; it all looked delicious. But he still was not a morning person, which also meant he was not a breakfast person. Thankfully, Giovanna didn't seem to be eating anything either, although that was a little more unusual than him not eating anything; usually she at least attempted to eat.

"Not hungry either?" he asked quietly, his eyes moving from the food on the table back to her blue ones. Those deep, hauntingly blue eyes.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna couldn't help but smile slightly at his words. But it was more of a sad smile, as if all of the brightness had been taken away since last night, when she had been sentenced to misery. It was obvious that something was bothering her, and she seemed almost hesitant to be talking at all. She wasn't sure why, but she found herself concentrating on his words, as if desperate to have something to distract her of what she had overheard; about Evan and her father talking about her like she was an object.

"Yes, usually we are," she said lightly, tracing her finger across the goblet of juice in front of her. "But that man has no reason to act otherwise; he has everything he could ever want. A good job, a loving family back in Anima..." And he doesn't have to worry about what I do. She left that part unsaid, however, as it would only bring up an uncomfortable subject for them both. So she contented herself with tearing pieces off of her napkin, and rolling them up into balls in her fingertips.

She looked up when he mentioned the food, and she was surprised that he was actually meeting her gaze. Usually he would just avoid it, as if she had something on her face that made him feel uncomfortable. She just stared into his dark eyes, not really focusing on what he was saying. Of course she wasn't hungry; how could anyone bring themselves to eat at time a time like this?

"No," she murmured, dropping her gaze once again. Suddenly she felt the urge to tell him everything - about what she had just heard, about how trapped she felt... She wanted to break down sobbing, and almost wished that he would be there to comfort her. But Ean wouldn't do that, and she stopped herself from breaking down into confessions. This would only ruin the slight peace they had once again.

But then, she did want to tell him. At least, that she had found someone to take his place. He would be happy, wouldn't he? He should at least know; then it could take some pressure off himself. Even if Ean miraculously found a woman to marry, and Giovanna went back home, her father would find some way to make Evan propose to her, or force her to marry someone else. In a way, it was better this way. "Ean, I have to tell you something," she started, her voice suddenly urgent, as she looked up to meet his gaze again.

She didn't get to finish, though; at that very moment, the doors slammed open, and Evan strode in. He was not wearing the soldier armor that he had on when he was in duty in Mortifer. Instead, he wore an informal outfit, though his sword was still on his belt. Giovanna was sure that inside of his jacket, there were more weapons. Anything to protect her, as he had just promised the king. "Hey, Giovanna," he greeted, not even looking in Ean's direction as he approached her leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Giovanna seemed to pale slightly as he came in, suddenly not recognizing the boy she had known so well all of her life. Who had replaced him with this ambitious person? She quickly recomposed herself however, and the look of uncertainty was gone as soon as it came. She smiled as he kissed her cheek; in Anima it was a normal gesture, and a greeting. But to Evan did it mean more? After everything she had heard that morning, she couldn't trust anything. "Evan," she replied, looking up at him once he had stood up again. He was easily taller than her, especially when she was seated. "What are you doing here?" she asked curiously, pretending that she had not heard any of their conversation that morning. After all, it was not meant for her ears.

"Just stopping by," Evan said smoothly, his eyes still on her. He was openly ignoring Ean, and Giovanna couldn't help but notice. "One of the guards here had to go back home, so I took his place." His answer seemed quite believable, but Giovanna knew better. He was the general, and a simple job like guarding them would not be taken by the general of Anima.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean nodded once, slowly, only slightly understanding what she was saying. Yes, of course the servant would be a happy young man, what with everything she had said being taken into account. And yet, Ean found himself not quite believing that even with all of those things in one's life, that anyone could be truly happy. He had never quite thought that it was possible to be completely happy, and his opinion on the matter had never changed.

Although, Ean would admit that the people of Anima came as close as one could possibly get to being completely happy. There was no denying that no matter what, they always seemed cheery and in high spirits. He had always wondered how they achieved it; what did they have in their city that was so great, that could possibly make them so delighted constantly? Clearly it was something that the people of Mortifer did not possess. Or, perhaps his people were simply too stubborn and unwilling to be anything like the people of the other city, and refused to act in such a way. It would always be a mystery to him, he believed.

When she spoke up, saying she had to tell him something, the dark-haired boy immidiately snapped to attention. She had sounded so serious, and there had almost been a hint of concern or anxiety in her voice. He leaned forward ever so slightly, his expression curious.

Suddenly, when the doors burst open, Ean's attention turned towards them and the person entering the room. The solider from Anima - Evan. Ean's expression went from mild curiosity to an icy one, his eyes hardening and his eyeslids dropping into narrowed slits. He refrained from curling his lip in anger. What was that piece of filth doing here? As the other boy boldly and arrogantly strided across the room, quickly placing a kiss on Giovanna's cheek, something inside Ean burned angrily. How dare he come rushing into his castle, and act in such a way. And, to top it all off, he was boldly ignoring him. If anyone else had done it, they would have been punished severely. Ean did not care who this man was, or how close of a friend he was to Giovanna; no one acted in such a way.

When Evan said he had taken the place of one of the other guards, Ean's jaw clenched. He didn't believe a word this fool spoke; it was clear he had somehow weaseled his way into the castle, to see the Princess. And the look on the man's face practically screamed that.

"Just stopping by, eh? I'm sure," Ean could not help himself from speaking up. Every piece of him hated this man with a dark passion, and despite the fact that he had no reason except he did not like his attitude, he was still quite unsure of exactly why. "Sorry to say, but the Princess and I will be going out soon. What a shame for you, isn't it? You won't get to see your little friend," he sneered, staring at Evan with pure loathing, "So you should probably just run along, now. Oh, and I should warn you; ever walk into my presence again without recognition, and you will be punished. I do not care who you are, or who you think you are, nor what rank you are in your military, but no one has the right to treat royalty in such a way. Come to think of it, you should be bowing down to her, as well."

Ean did not know what made him say all of it, but as soon as the words were out, he did not regret them in the slightest. Now they would have to go out and do something, yes, and would most likely have to be supervised, but he surely hoped Giovanna would simply go along with what he had said without a question. All he wanted was to get away from the solider, and get Giovanna away as well, at all costs. He would even make up with Giovanna, if that is what it took to get him out of the way. And yet, he still had no legidiment reason for his hatred, or at least none he could think of.

And, aside from all of that, Ean knew Evan could not argue with him; after all, it was of the upmost direspect to not bow down to royalty, or at least give even some type of recognition. Yes, he and Giovanna were friends, so he could understand why he had not been bowing down to the Princess. But he and Evan were far from friends, and despite the fact that he was of another city, it was Ean's castle, after all.

Looking over at Giovanna, Ean's expression was almost pleading as he stared at her. Please, he thought, let her agree and say we are going out to some place. I don't care where, as long as it as far away from this castle and him as possible. Please, Giovanna, just go along with it just this once. He swallowed, and looked at her hopefully.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna was shocked into silence as Ean angrily spoke up. Sure, she had noticed that Evan was making a point of ignoring the prince, but Ean's reaction had some note of hatred to it that was not justifiable by what had happened. She was momentarily silenced, just wondering exactly fueled his anger; it definitely was not jealousy. Perhaps it was just hatred for Anima? But then he would hate me as well... Then she stopped, realizing her mistake; Ean did. What, he expected Evan to bow down to him? Your friends didn't exactly welcome me nicely, she wanted to retort, but she held her tongue. They hadn't been respectful, or even pleasant. Quite the opposite, actually; they had welcomed her meanly, and had insulted her to the point of rudeness.

But there was something about the way Evan was glaring at Ean that kept her from defending him. It was a look that she had never seen him with; Evan had always been so calm and nice. What exactly was going on between the two that made them look so livid with anger?

The look of hatred on Evan's face was replaced quite soon after it had appeared, by a smirk. "My apologies little prince, I didn't see you," he said sarcastically, obviously annoyed that he had been called out. It seemed unfair that this man had a better chance with Giovanna than he did; after all, who really cared about her? Obviously not this Mortifer buffoon; he left her alone in his city, and I was the one who was there to comfort her.

Giovanna hesitated, unsure of who's side to take. Then she stopped. Why am I not able to decide? Who had been there for her after her brother had died, and who had she trusted her whole life? She had only met Ean a few days ago, and most of the time they spent together they spent arguing. But Evan had been upstairs only moments ago, discussing with the king how exactly to get the princess to suggest that they marry.

"Yes.. we did," she said suddenly, not looking up at either one of them as she stood up, swallowing. She knew that the two of them were trying to find other suitors so that they wouldn't end up married, and even if Ean were to find someone, she would probably marry Evan anyway. But at that moment, she didn't really want to spend time with the man that would soon start trying to seduce her into wedlock. At least she knew Ean wouldn't want to discuss their relationship. She quickly glanced over at Evan, and shrugged. "Sorry. My father told us that we were to spend the morning together." Her eyes met the soldiers', and she didn't allow any of her emotions show. In a way, she was daring him to object; that would only confirm that he had just been with the king. "Maybe we can catch up after lunch?"

Evan knew that she was lying. He had just been with her father. Silently he crossed his arms across his chest. "Well I was given orders to act as your personal guard until we return to Anima." He was careful to enunciate the word Anima, as if implying that she wouldn't be marrying this Mortifer man. If she were to return to Anima with him, it would mean that the marriage that would unite the two cities would not be taking place. "Your father himself asked me to accompany you anywhere you go. After what happened to your brother, you must understand it's a reasonable request." His tone was gentler now, but still slightly bold.

Giovanna blinked, his words doing the trick. "Fine," she murmured, stepping away from her chair and glancing over at Ean. "Are... are you still coming?" She wasn't sure why exactly she hoped that he would come anyway. It would only mean fighting. And maybe spending time with Evan alone might be for the best, as she found herself giving up. Getting to know this new Evan might be the best thing.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean stared back coldly at the man standing across the table, strongly disliking the sarcastic tone he took with him. However, he said nothing about it, not wanting to go further into the discussion.

Looking over quickly at Giovanna, he did not miss the fact that she seemed to be deliberating something within her mind. As if she were choosing whether or not to go with him or Evan; the choice would have been obvious to Ean, but yet, he watched her glance from one boy to the next, contemplating something. He did not blame her, really, and he was even a little shocked that she had not simply immidiately chosen to go off with her little solider friend. She hated him, so it was surprising she had not called him a liar and said they had not, in fact, been planning to go out anywhere.

When she agreed with him, however, Ean held back a look of surprise. He couldn't hold back a small smile, though, and had to bite back a snappy retort to Evan; he was just happy to hear that they would be getting away from the arrogant man from Anima. He would most certainly, and without a doubt in his mind, be making this up to Giovanna.

His smile disappeared within a sudden instant, however. Evan was to accompany them, to wherever they went. On an order from her father. What was the King playing at; why have Evan, of all people, guard them, if he really wanted he and Giovanna to have some alone time, and get to like one another? The idea was ridiculous.

If he had been a dog, Ean knew he would be growling, and he almost felt as if a monster inside of him had sprung to life and was snarling at the man who stared boldly at the pair of the. He looked away, almost wanting to just go back into his room and sulk for the rest of the day. Although, he still did not quite know why; after all, had he really cared about going out with Giovanna? He suppose he had, in a small way. His main reason had just been to get away from Evan, though, but now that idea had been thrown to the ground, kicked and spit on.

Giovanna had looked at him almost, not quite, but almost hopefully as she asked him if he was still coming. He frowned slightly, contemplatively, unsure. He rather did not fancy the idea of spending the day with Evan, and yet he still found himself wanting to get out of the castle, and go some place with Giovanna.

He studied her for a few moments before answering, "If you want me to, Princess" he said in a soft voice. He would leave it up to her, and see if she really wanted him to come. If she said no, and wanted to just spend a little alone-time with her solider friend, then he could do nothing about it. He would go back to his room and technically not be to blame for not going. And yet, a small part of him - the part that held a monster that had wanted to rip Evan to shreds - wanted her to say yes.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna wished that Ean would have just said a straight answer. What was she to say now? Either answer would upset one of the two. But she didn't have much time to contemplate, for it would seem suspicious if she stayed silent for too long. "Yes, I think it would be best if you came," she said finally, smiling slightly as she added; "After all, our parents wouldn't be very pleased if they discovered that we spent the morning outside of each other's company." What could Evan say to this? He knew that their parents expected she and Ean to spend time together; her answer really had no reason to effect Evan.

But then again, her father had sent Evan along no only to protect her, but to try and get the message across to her daughter; that if she and Ean were not to wed, then Evan would be her only alternative. And so, partly thinking to defy her father's wishes, she crossed the over to where Ean stood, and took his hand. For the moment, she held another option besides Evan, and wanted to make sure that it was not entirely a lost cause with Ean. Perhaps... we could still come to like each other. But that seemed like a long-shot, because Ean had told her quite clearly so. So to justify her sudden contact with him, she murmured; "We should at least give our parents the idea that we're going along with their wishes." Her words were strictly for him, and she spoke them softly enough for Evan not to overhear. "After all, they still think this is an option." She met his eyes, as if trying to tell him that if it wasn't, she had already made up her mind; that she would be the one to make the sacrifice.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

When Giovanna smiled slightly and said that he should come, but only to please her parents, all Ean could do was nod and smile back. "Yes, you're right, this will probably be best. We're already in enough trouble as it is, after all," he said. Normally, he would not have said anything about the two of them being punished in front of Evan, but he knew that if he had been talking to the King, or had even overheard one of the servants gossipping, then he would have already heard about it. No use hiding it.

However, when she suddenly walked around the table and towards him, he was rather confused and his smile wavered slightly. And it wasn't until she took his hand that a look of pure curiosity crossed his features, but disappeared only a moment later. She quickly clarified her actions, though, thankfully, and he nodded once before placing the smile back on his lips. "Yes, good point; plus, I do enjoy the idea of getting under your little friend's skin," he whispered, a teasing glint in his eye. He laughed softly before leaning away, still hand in hand with Giovanna. "Ready?" he asked, mostly to Giovanna, but also slightly to Evan. He couldn't completely ignore him now, of course, but he would try his best.