Captain_Tucki @captaintucki - Tumblr Blog

OHMYGOD thank you for this event! your event prompts just gave me an amazing idea hehehe i hope you find this just as interesting as i have! May I request!!! Lohen & Soulmate AU (soulmates share the same fingerprints), EXCEPT Lohen is a criminal (or something less... illegal? like a phantom thief? UP TO YOU) and he left his fingerprints behind at the scene?! & Forbidden Romance & Royal AU? As for the words, perhaps laser pointer, gown, and suit? As for the song, this may be really weird, but I've been listening to this OST from Mystic Messenger's "villain" character route! https://youtu.be/v-gElAnxXyQ?list=RDv-gElAnxXyQ TYSMMMMMMM HEHEHE I hope you find this interesting!

request is for this event

summary: Since you were a little girl tracking trails of breadcrumbs to a loose dog or noting the ink used in certain correspondences, you had wanted to be a detective. Your parents entertained this dream while you were little, but as you got on in your teenage years they began to grow annoyed with your insistence on pursuing a career. You were a princess, yes, but that wasn’t the only thing you wanted to be remembered by! Your uncle took pity on your situation when you became an adolescent and let you apprentice under him in his detective work. After working with your uncle into your young adulthood, you were able to spend less and less time helping him due to your parents’ insistent marriage-pairing attempts. Your uncle knew your time would grow less and less as your marriage search became a priority, so he hired an apprentice to help you with your work that you did for him. Not only was the apprentice extremely annoying, he was also devastatingly attractive.

type: oneshot, fem!reader, not proofread

warnings: possibly ooc lohen, reader is unconventionally kissed (not by Lohen), murder, mentions of blood, poison, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of drugging, lohen talking about how he wants to be strangled by reader, sexism, (please tell me if I am missing something, this can get pretty heavy in a few places)

a/n: anon, I am sorry, I am so sorry 😭 this turned A LOT darker than I intended it to. But also A LOT longer, like 21K words….WOW. Please do not hate me too terribly.

Helping other people find their soulmates was something you had never seen yourself doing, but you didn’t hate. You could use your knowledge of collecting and identifying fingerprints from your detective work. It was another way you could give back to the people in your kingdom. Most importantly, it made the royal family look even better to the kingdom’s citizens, which meant your parents wouldn’t stop you from doing it.

The ruling that instated required carrying of a fingerprint card by every citizen happened around a year ago. It was due to your uncle’s convincing of how efficient it would be to have a record of everyone’s fingerprints in case of a crime. It had been your idea originally but obviously they would have laughed at you if it had been you to present it. You had gotten to add on to your uncle’s proposal. Suggesting you work with the people to ensure they all get their cards properly, maybe even do some match making with the single citizens that wanted it. What a great way for you to build a relationship with your people, right?

A lot of married couples came in terrified their fingerprints wouldn’t match only to leave excited about how accurate their intuition had been about their choice of partner. You had individuals pass through that ended up getting put into contact with their soulmate if you found a fingerprint match in your records.

Of course, there were some unlucky ones that were the first unique set of finger prints in your repertoire of files. You always had them jot down their address, promising to write if their soulmate was found and wanted to be put into contact.

The couple in front of you were one of the many lucky ones. You smiled at the two as you presented two identical sheets of paper with fingerprints stamped on them.

“Congratulations, you both have found your match.” You said with a kind smile.

“Oh thank you so much your royal highness! You will be the first to receive an invitation to the wedding!” The woman cheered, kissing the other lady beside her on the cheek.

You gave them a warm smile and thanked them graciously. Promising to send flowers if you could not attend their wedding, You copied their fingerprints over into small thick stationary, watching them sign the cards to indicate who’s was who’s. Then, you signed each card to prove a member of the palace staff had been present during the making of the identification.

After handing both of the cards back, you showed them out of your office and through your uncle’s study to the main palace hall. Waving them goodbye politely before leading the next waiting couple back through the small maze of rooms that were tucked away on this end of the castle.

You entered your office with another couple, this time a middle aged woman and man.

“Does the palace detective really have to put dead bodies on that table and examine them?” The middle aged woman inquired quietly as if asking a scandalous question.

Her hand gestured to the room that sat on the left side of your office. You laughed lightly and smiled at her. You couldn’t say that your uncle actually didn’t like looking at dead bodies and you had been doing the examinations here as of recently due to the excitement you got from it. No, that wouldn’t be appropriate for the kingdom’s precious princess to say.

“Yes! It’s quite a tragic time when he has to do such examinations. But let’s not dwell on such sorrowful things! You two are coming to have your fingerprint cards made, I presume?” You diverted the conversation elsewhere.

The rugged looking man sitting to the lady’s right nodded with a small smile.

“We’re new to the area, just moved into the east most village.” He told you in a rough voice.

“We’d never heard of this fingerprint card ordeal before. That is, until we entered this region! The king and queen are smart to collect all their citizens' fingerprints, in case of crimes.” The lady yammered as you readied your supplies.

Instructing the two through dipping their fingers into the ink then fully pressing them to the paper for a certain amount of time. After they had done their sets of hands on the papers, you pulled the blank cards out so they could start on fingerprinting those. While filing away their papers, you noticed their sets of fingerprints did not match.

This had happened before, only a few times though. You hadn’t nailed down a clever and reassuring script for two people who were finding out their life partner wasn’t their soulmate.

“Alrondé! You have to hold your fingers down for longer!” The shrill voice of the lady chided her husband.

“I did honey, I did! I held them down for as long as her royal highness instructed.” He insisted

“Then why do our fingerprints look different?” The lady argued, her confidence wavering slightly.

You turned on your heel, walking to sit opposite to them at your desks

“This does occasionally happen but you two are not the first couple to experience this.” You started in a reassuring voice.

“So you aren’t my soulmate? Thirty-five years of marriage and you aren’t my soulmate!” The lady exclaimed to the man, helplessly flailing her arms.

You tried not to physically cringe at the sound of her raised voice. Instead, immediately going into full emotionally-stable calming mode. Assuring the couple that if they truly loved each other then there was no need to worry about not being soulmates. They continued to dispute your claim, insisting to see their fingerprint matches if you had them.

You went to the filing cabinet you had organized by type of finger print, pulling the sheets out to quickly filter through and check if you could spot any matches within their allotted time they had with you. In reality, you should have just sent them on their way. Insisting you would need time to properly assess all of the files and ensure you found their match without being rushed. Which, was mostly untrue considering your nature. Most people could never forget a name but you can never forget a fingerprint.

After escorting the still unhappy couple out, you came back to find your uncle standing from his desk with a file in hand.

“A case?” You asked hopefully

“Indeed, a brutal one from the information included by the town’s guards.” He informed you

“Are you going to check it out?” You asked

Considering it was mid afternoon, the farthest distance he would have to travel by carriage would take about an hour. Meaning he would be there before sundown and back before dark.

“I am,” he replied shortly

“Please, just let me come along for this one case!” You begged your uncle, following him out of the large study.

“You have a meeting with a suitor tonight, your mom would never allow it.” He replied, double checking his papers

“I can tell her I’ve fallen ill.” You quickly say

“I will go again in the morning to gather more evidence. Why must you go this evening?” He asked, raising a brow

“Because all of the good evidence will be gone! Plus, I like processing the fingerprints!” You insisted

“I appreciate your help.. You would make a marvelous detective in another life.” He told you with a warm smile, kindly patting your shoulder.

“I don’t have to get married! Not if you tell my mother and father that you can’t handle the detective work on your own! You’re getting old anyways, who’s going to take it over after you pass?” You spoke passionately, stepping in front of your uncle so he couldn’t continue out of the doorway that lead to one of the large foyers.

He laughed loudly, the sound echoing off of the tall palace ceilings.

“Bringing my age into this? Really?.” He teased lightly, “you know my word does not hold weight with your parents.”

“You could at least–”

“I tried asking if they would allow you to continue your work with me after you began to meet with marriage suitors.” He cut you off, his pointer finger raised in a ‘matter-of-fact’ motion.

“And?” You excitedly encouraged him to continue and elaborate on the results of such a conversation.

He gave a deep sigh, looking down at the ground for a moment. Two fingers squeezed the bridge of his nose in disappointment.Looking back up at you, there was a small bit of sadness in his eyes, and it made your stomach drop.

“I had to hire an apprentice to take your place.” He confessed somberly

You felt a burning in your chest. Was your uncle really letting you go? The only thing that had given your life meaning was detective work. Helping bring criminals to justice and closure to families was what kept you going. You were supposed to throw all your work away for what, a husband? That wasn’t just iditotic, it was unfair.

You thought that if you had been useful to your parents they would let you pursue your dreams. You helped improve their image by tenfold, why couldn’t they do the same with your life? Unlike you, your parents thought all of the soulmate rubbish was nonsense. After all, they weren’t soulmates and they ruled seamlessly as King and Queen, didn’t they?

This was where the argument always ended for you. It’s where you would storm out and cry in your pillow for hours on end about being forced into a future you didn’t want.

“You can still help in your free time….” Your uncle spoke weakly, “...of course, you’d need to be careful so his and her majesty do not spot you…”

The offer, messily, took you out of full panic and despair. Your uncle opened his arms slightly, opening himself up for a hug.

“This new apprentice will need someone to be with him around the palace, he’s new to the kingdom. And teach him the system you’ve developed.” He told you, his voice filled with mirth.

You gave a proud smile as you both pulled away from the embrace.

“Well, when do I get to meet this new apprentice?” You asked your uncle, hands on your hips.

“Her royal highness, eager to meet me?” An unfamiliar voice said from behind you.

“Oh, you’re just in time Lohen!” Your uncle beamed, walking past you to the apprentice.

When you turned around to meet the eyes of the person your uncle had chosen, you froze.

His eyes…they were unlike any gem you had laid eyes upon. He had a teal and deep wine red gradient going inward towards his pupil, what a unique color pattern.

Under normal circumstances this would have been swoon worthy to you, but these weren’t normal circumstances. It wasn’t his fault that he was replacing you, but he still was. Despite this fact, your hand still instinctively tugged at the hem of your sleeve. This man may have been attractive but he was your trainee, nothing more.

“I’m Lohen, the palace detective’s honored apprentice in training. It’s a pleasure to meet you, your royal highness.” He spoke to you, confidently striding closer before giving a deep bow.

He wore formal clothing with many metal accessories, the most notable one being the singular earring hanging from his left ear.

You tried to peel your eyes away from him, but you couldn’t.

What was going on with you? There were cases waiting to be taken care of! He needed to be trained to use your perfect system of organization for aiding your uncle. Whatever attraction was happening you dismissed as dissipating nervousness after meeting him.

“The pleasure is mine, Lohen. My uncle has told me you have great potential in his field.” You replied, politely, reaching your hand out to shake his.

He took your gloved hand, meeting your eyes as he politely gave a gentle kiss to your knuckles. His eyes never leaving yours made the moment feel like it lasted forever. You swore his lips were on your hand for a minute, minimum. In reality, the motion was quick and the usual formality given to you by all gentlemen.

You felt a small tap on your shoulder. Turning, you see one of your mother’s maids nervously wringing her hands.

“Your royal highness, her majesty wanted me to come and retrieve you. She insists you must start preparing now for your dinner tonight.” The maid spoke meekly, as if scared you’d blow up at any moment.

“Oh, Jesaphine….you must tell my mother I’ve fallen ill. I cannot possibly come tonight.” You told her, faking a weak cough.

Jesaphine gave you a knowing look before turning to your uncle.

“She’s the only one that can show the new apprentice how her system works.” Your uncle offered weakly, now on the side of you tagging along for the case.

The maid gave a deep sigh, then a warm smile to your uncle.

“I’ll be sure to tell her majesty that our palace detective is taking care of her ill daughter.” Jesaphine stated before turning on her heel, walking off briskly.

You gave your uncle an apologetic look, knowing he’d be in hot water with your mother for this.

“Feigning sickness so you can tag along to a murder scene. An unconventional hobby for a princess, no?” Lohen asked you bluntly as you both followed your uncle to the awaiting carriage.

“Do not assume one’s hobbies based on their societal rank and gender.” You insisted, turning your nose up at him.

“Ahaha, do you really take me for a brute with such narrow-minded beliefs?” He asked lightly

“Someone will have to show you the ropes, how we do things here. My dinner tonight can be rescheduled, this case can’t.” You explained flatly, ignoring his question.

“Couldn’t your uncle take care of that?” He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“My uncle has not dealt with fingerprint records and blood samples since I was an adolescent.” You told Lohen

“Ahh, I see now. A princess with a double life as the palace detective's assistant, how riveting.” He spoke confidently, a playful lilt to his voice.

“You are correct in your observation. Do tell me about why you are here, training under my uncle?” You switched the conversational gears while straightening your shoulders, chin high.

“If it makes her majesty more comfortable, I can say I love paperwork.” He expressed admiration sarcastically.

You rolled your eyes, giving a deep sigh. Your uncle had to pick this guy out of everyone else to be his new apprentice.

“You are already aware of my comfortability level with things pertaining to forensic work. Don’t avoid my question.” You insisted harshly, keeping your chin held high.

“I have a passion for the brutally killed and tragically robbed.” He spoke easily, as if the words seamlessly rolled off of his tongue.

“Do you?” You asked, narrowing your eyes.

“Some may call me sick, your royal highness, but I find there is a lot to learn from the dead; especially about the living.” He told you with a cheery smile.

“Not afraid to get your hands dirty, that’s good.” You commented casually

“Weaponry is also a very interesting topic of discussion. Especially how each blade breaches the human skin differently depending on the holder’s intent.” He continued speaking, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

“It bodes well that you are passionate about these things.” You responded truthfully.

You watched as he moved to open the large door leading to outside the palace. Your uncle passed through, thanking him. You did the same as well, but felt your body move to walk by closer to his. This gave him the perfect opportunity to lean over to speak into your ear.

“Am I disturbing you, your royal highness?” He asked you

The feeling of his breath on your ear caused goosebumps to shoot through your body. You nearly stopped dead in your tracks, but forced your feet to keep moving forward. This was nonsense, he was nonsense.

“Not at all. There is little that disturbs me after what I have witnessed in my time.” You answered

“Hmm.” He replied simply, a content smile on his face.

What was he thinking? And why did you care what he was thinking? You didn’t! It was irrational to hate him for taking your place, it wasn’t his choice to boot you out of the position. Yet, you couldn’t help resentment from continuing to bubble up.

Sharing an hour long carriage ride with your uncle and this apprentice may almost be worse than the dinner you would have shared with a visiting prince. Key word—almost—because you’d take the company of your uncle and an annoyingly attractive apprentice over a prince set on marrying you any day.

—

The next day, the evening light filtered in through the office window. You lead Lohen to the examination room off to the side of the office. Your eye caught the golden sunlight catching on his muted teal hair. It looked smooth and soft to the touch, perfectly falling to frame his face. Noticing this made you aggravated, at yourself or at him, you couldn’t tell. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

“Before we take a look, did you read over the case file?” You asked him, forcing your eyes to focus on the covered body and not his face.

“Did you read over the case file, princess?” He asked in a matter-of-fact tone

Why did he have to switch from calling you ‘your royal highness’? You had just gotten used to the way the phrase rolled off of his tongue. Your heartbeat stayed at a consistent pace when he addressed you with the title. Now, he had taken fondly to calling you ‘princess’. Not an improper or rude way to address you, but surely an unconventional one.

“I’m not the one who’s in training.” You kindly reminded him with gritted teeth, “but yes, I did, I always do.”

“Alright….well consider me all read up on the file then!” He assured you with a confident smile

You sighed deeply, this was your replacement? You tried to shoo away the frustration your brain mustered around him taking your position. It was irrational to feel anger towards him but that didn’t stop your nails from digging into your palm out of annoyance.

Pulling the cover off of the nude body, you examined an older gentlemen with bruises on the sides and back of his head.

“Lohen, what do you think the cause of his death to be?” You questioned simply, stepping back and allowing him to observe the body.

He let his slender fingers hold the man’s bruised head. Parting his hair in a few places to better observe the damage. He continued to examine the rest of the body with its discolored skin and abnormally colored veins. You observed his fingers gently graze over a few patches of skin that had started to turn an unsettling shade. To avoid disgust, you imagined he was simply grazing his fingers across regular, healthy skin. This is where your brain betrayed you, and began to picture his fingers gently running over your skin.

This was obscured, you were a highly intelligent royal. Squinting your eyes shut quickly and opening them again, you forced yourself to glance over at the victim’s file sitting on a side table. You knew from reading it that there had been a highly lethal poison slipped into his glass of scotch at the local tavern. Although, the culprit obviously had a personal grudge considering the overkill of bruises from beating his head in. It didn’t matter that they had taken this guy out, clearly they still wanted to get a few punches in.

To anyone that didn’t read the file, one would assume he was beaten to death. Unless they had a trained eye for spotting the symptoms of a poisoned person.

“Poisoned by something…clearly whatever it didn’t have much of a taste considering he was able to drink it. His lips definitely indicate he consumed a sizable dosage. ” He rattled off confidently, pulling you from your thoughts.

You wanted to stay calm and simply give an impassive ‘reasonable observation’ to avoid inflating his ego. Yet, you found your brows raising in surprise at his extensive knowledge and observational abilities. It was strangely attractive to you that he was able to dissect the crime’s nature so seamlessly. You needed to squeeze whatever part of your brain kept swooning over him with a pair of tweezers.

“Something to add?” He prodded, his hands crossed over his chest.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting an apprentice to be so observant.” You answered honestly

“Making assumptions based on my status? I clearly remember you saying—“

“Oh shut it, just take the compliment.” You cut him off with a glare.

You watched his eyes find your’s, a playful shimmer in them. He was definitely enjoying this, of course he was! Could your uncle have picked a worse person to hire on? Was this some grand scheme orchestrated by your parents to drive you away from detective work? Well, you weren’t going to let him win, you weren’t going to let them win.

“He has severe bruising on all sides of his head and face. Why beat someone if you’ve already poisoned them?” He pondered aloud.

“Personal grudge.” You answered shortly

“Imagine how exhilarating that would be. To have someone punching your face in while struggling to force your weak body to fight…” He giddily imagined, as if he was daydreaming.

“If you keep it up, I may just beat your face in.” You mumble under your breath, turning to note down your combined observations in the file.

There was a beat of silence before you felt Lohen standing behind you. While he wasn’t tall or even extremely muscular, he sure had a presence. He wielded confidence seamlessly in the way he stood, taking up space. You felt his face hover just above your shoulder, looking over your notes.

“That’s the most exciting thing you’ve said all day, princess.” He stated with a sadistic kind of anticipation in his voice.

Ateempting to write the name of the man, you watched your elegant script waver into scribbles. The name that was supposed to be ‘Julian Sows’ was now unreadable. You wanted to curse this arrogant and ignorant, well, not totally ignorant apprentice. The sheer fact that he relished in your irrational grudge just made you feel crystal clear annoyance. A wonderful emotion for your growing attraction to hide behind.

A fervent knocking sound radiated through the office and into the examination room. Quickly moving away from Lohen, you moved to answer the door.

“Your royal highness, it is time for you to begin preparing for your rescheduled dinner.” Jesaphine, the same maid from before, promptly informed you.

“Of course, let me just see to my—“

“If duty is calling, I insist you answer.” Lohen cut you off, walking to stand beside you, “I can take care of reporting the state of our victim”

You didn’t like the way his eyes shined with something akin to wonder when talking about the corpse.

“No, I don’t want you meddling in the organizational system I have built.” You denied him, holding your hand up in a ‘stop’ gesture.

He moved his hand to make the same gesture before jovially hitting your’s, as if in a celebratory gesture.

“It’s a deal then! Leave me to reporting the gorgeously infected veins while you enjoy a nice dinner.” He cheerily stated, before turning on his heel to walk back to the examination room.

You grumbled under your breath, walking out of the office with Jesaphine.

“He’s certainly…..an eccentric.” She attempted to politely spark up a conversation.

“Yeah, an eccentric pain in the ass.” You snapped, rolling your eyes

—

Jesaphine was a diligent and determined worker, however she wasn’t much of a conversationalist. Of course your mother didn’t mind this, as she was one to always do all of the talking. It isn’t that you weren’t a talker, it’s just that you couldn’t talk to Jesaphine about most of your life. Your detective work was a no-go considering she was easily disgusted by even the idea of murder or any brutal crime. Besides work, the only other big part of your life was fighting your parents in their decision to have you marry. Of course, you could not speak ill of your mother in the presence of her own maid.

It felt like hours had passed before your brain was struck with an idea. Sitting in your vanity chair, you wore an elegant gown picked by your mother for the dinner. As Jesaphine prepared her cosmetics to apply to your face, you turned and asked her a question.

“Who is this prince my mother has me meeting?” You asked

“His name is Ellis and he is the heir to a kingdom west of our’s. We’ve been on neutral terms with their king for years. The King and Queen are hoping to move the relationship to a more friendly one if you are to marry the prince.” She informed you, her voice distracted as she finished her work preparing the cosmetics.

“Do you know anything about him….as a person?”You hesitantly questioned

The maids and other palace staff were the best to consult for truthful information on other royals. Jesaphine typically was not first on your to-query list, not even tenth, but she was all you had.

“I’ve heard he has won many horse races, the high ranking ladies in his kingdom seem to be fond of him. He hasn’t had any scandals that have crossed my ears.” She informed you as she applied the powders and cremes to your face.

You thanked her for the information, it was better than nothing after all.

The knock of a palace guard came sooner than you preferred. He had come to escort you to your dinner, which you had heard would be in the palace gardens.

Upon arrival to the extravagant space containing a myriad of greenery, plant, and herbs. The guard led you to a table set for two in the lower right corner of the space.

Prince Ellis stood by the table looking like any other prince. Dressed in a suit made of silk, satin, or velvet with glittering embroidery. He shook the hand of the guard standing next to you, then took your gloved hand and kissed your knuckles.

You immediately felt like you needed to wash your hands despite the lack of contact his lips had with your actual skin. He hadn’t bothered to say a single word to you yet, was he expecting to be greeted first? If so, he would be waiting quite a long time for a greeting.

The guard walked away to continue his patrol in the gardens as you both took seats at the table.

“The king tells me you are quite busy, what with having to reschedule this dinner.” He told you as he cut into the meat on his plate.

“Yes, helping my uncle takes up most of my days.” You answer

“I’ve always believed women like you to be so wonderful.” He complimented, his smile wide yet not reaching his eyes.

You didn’t like the way he phrased the compliment, it just felt wrong.

“Thank you, your royal highness.” You accepted the compliment, “but might I ask why?”

“You’re so nurturing helping your uncle in his older age. It means you’ll make a great mother.” He elaborated, his voice indicating it was the most obvious explanation ever.

You felt your stomach churn with nerves, and not the good kind. you fidgeted with your spoon, spinning it in your soap to distract your brain.

“Motherhood isn’t something I want. At least, not for a while, if at all.” You told him honestly, barely meeting his eyes.

He barked out a laugh before scoffing, looking across the table at you with a garish smile.

“I get it, you have hobbies. You can continue your needlework or whatever it is you do in your spare time even after you have children.” He attempted to reassure you, reaching across the table to gently lay his hand on yours.

You yanked your hand back more aggressively than intended.

“Easy there princess—“

“I think you mean your royal highness.” You corrected coldly, “and do not speak to me in that manner. I am not one of your horses that needs taming.”

He held your chilling gaze, his eyes blank. It was as if he was looking at himself in the reflection of your eyes, not bothering to acknowledge you

You both set in awkward silence for a period of time with the only sound coming from knives grating against plates and nighttime insects chirping.

“Are you always so…..difficult?” He questioned, chuckling a bit as if it was funny to call you difficult.

“I’m not difficult, I just know what I want, and I don’t want to be forced into anything.” You spoke firmly

“We’ve only just met and I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.” He spoke sympathetically

You simply continued eating your food, hoping the silence would strangle him.

“But I know that once you marry, you’ll want children. It’s how all women are, it is in your nature.” He told you, speaking as if he was making an astute academic observation.

You hated feeling insane and that is exactly how Prince Ellis was making you feel. Nothing he was doing or saying was technically cruel. At least, not in the eyes of your mother and father it wouldn’t be.

“Assuming all women are the same. Which…is a foolish assumption to make.” You replied curtly, taking another bite of your food.

This was the first time you saw something akin to a glare cross his face. It was quickly replaced by a smirk.

“You do not have to play hard to get, you know? You are a princess after all.” He said

“And you don’t have to keep playing hard to want.” You quipped, immediately moving a hand to your mouth.

It was one thing to make backhanded compliments and call his ideas or things about him foolish. But to aim something so negative at him directly was a different level, and you knew it. Your manners teacher would have slapped your wrists with her wooden ruler so hard the rash would have stayed for weeks if she heard you say that.

“From all the stories of you aiding your people in matchmaking and taking care of your uncle, I assumed you’d be different.” He stated

“Hm—there you go again—assuming.” You noted, now throwing caution to the wind with your manners.

“You know, maybe if you weren’t such a frigid bitch all of the time you would have a husband by now.” He insulted, standing up angrily

“My nuptials are honestly, none of your business, Prince Ellis.” You answered back

He let out a bitter laugh, putting his fingers to his forehead.

“Your parents practically begged me to come here and give you a chance. Enjoy continuing to sorely disappoint them.” He spat out before storming away.

You had been called many things during your time as a princess. People loved to give you praise face-to-face but criticism and hate were often delivered in less direct matters. Nonetheless, this wasn’t the first time someone had spewed insults at your face, a handful of men had. You didn’t care about their opinions and you wouldn’t start now. But this prince had just unlocked a dangerous part of your brain.

Was I really just the family disappointment? Does everyone else also think I’m a frigid bitch? Is that why my parents are really sending me off? Does my uncle not want me anymore? Does he think I’m a disappointment?

You stormed out of the gardens, ignoring concerned glances from guards and greetings from maids passing by. Weaving effortlessly through the palace halls, you saw your vision growing blurry with tears. Hastily wiping them away you lectured yourself, you weren’t going to cry. All you needed was the familiar secluded space of your office. The plush chair and smell of fresh ink on paper lit by lamplight would calm you down. Being in your safe haven would help you rationalize the situation you just came out of and the lingering feelings that followed.

Opening the door to your uncle’s study, you quickly closed that same door behind you. Your tears were starting to successfully be pushed back despite the still gaping pit in your stomach.

Opening your office door, you stepped inside with your eyes laser focused on your desk chair. The room was dark from a lack of lit lanterns, but you knew exactly where your office chair was. Your lack of attention to everything else caused you to now have a pair of arms wrapped strongly around you, and a dagger to your neck.

“State your business in her royal highness’ office.” You heard Lohen command, his voice void of any humour or warmth.

“What the hell, Lohen! It’s me, her royal highness!” You exclaimed, feeling the before pushed back tears brimming in your eyes.

“How do I know you aren't just an imposter?” He questioned, pressing the knife closer to your throat.

You were so over this evening and all the emotions that it had conjured. In anger and exasperation, you kicked backwards into his groin, causing Lohen to double over and loosen his grip on you.

Moving to sit at your desk, you went about getting out parchment and a pen as if your life depended on it. Lighting a single lantern to illuminate the space.

“Alright, alright, I believe it’s you.” Lohen wheezed in pain, “only you could give me such a thrill.”

His words didn’t fully register in your brain, you were too focused putting pen to paper, trying to ignore how loud your brain was getting.

Tearing your overly elegant gloves off and tossing them to the side, you started to draw fingerprints to soothe your brain. Each fingerprint you drew was unique and arbitrary, nothing like you had seen before.

“Excuse me?” Lohen called, leaning across your desk and snapping his fingers in front of your head.

Your face had been down focused only on the paper, body hunched over the desk.

“I sincerely apologize for trying to attack her royal highness.” He spoke in an overly flat voice, clearly coated with sarcasm.

You continued drawing your fingerprints, not fully registering what he was saying. You pressed the pen harder into the paper, making the ink come out darker. You gripped the pen tightly, nails digging into the skin of your palm as you wrote.

Suddenly, you felt a hand hover atop yours. It made you remember Prince Ellis, it made your brain detonate.

You jumped back out of your office chair, letting out something between a curse and a yelp. Your vision blurred from tears brimming in your eyes.

You could see a familiar figure slowly approach you through your blurred vision, one that belonged to your least favorite apprentice.

“Your royal highness…..you are bleeding…” He spoke softly, “your hand…”

You finally let your eyes meet his blurred face and you felt the wet trickle of a tear run down your cheek.

“Lohen, what are you talking about?” You tried to sound lightly exasperated, it wasn’t working.

“Your palm, you’ve dug into it with your nails.” He told you simply.

You looked over to see your knuckles white around the pen. The writing utensil now damaged from how tightly you had been squeezing it and with how much force you had been forcing the tip to the parchment. You let it fall to your feet so you could examine your palm. Your vision starting to become less blurred.

“Let me bandage it up for you. As an apology for ambushing you.” Lohen offered

You allowed him to sit with you in the windowsill with a box of medical supplies. He poured a bit of alcohol over the cuts your nails had made. The liquid stung and it made you flinch slightly. You couldn’t help but catch the small smile on Lohen’s face at your reaction.

“For someone who is supposed to want justice for the innocent, you sure do pleasure in their suffering.” You insulted weakly

“Haha, I see her royal highness has very quickly regained her frigid bite.” He teased, his smile still soft.

“I’m not a frigid bitch!” You insisted, the words pouring out of your mouth before you could stop them.

Lohen dropped your hand for a moment, turning around to retrieve the bandages. When he faced you again, he looked at you with an unreadable expression.

He carefully wrapped the bandage around your ungloved hand. His slender fingers grazed your skin tentatively, which made goosebumps shoot through you. The heavy silence swallowed any further whimsical thoughts those goosebumps would have normally given way to. The lack of conversation felt like an uncomfortable weight that kept getting heavier and heavier. You were almost willing to spill every family secret you had just to get Lohen to start talking again.

“I may not understand you, your royal highness.” He began to say, his voice kind but serious

“No, you don’t.” You agreed bitterly

There was a noticeable pause before he spoke again, still not possessing his teasing lift.

“But I do understand that someone clearly wanted you to believe you were a ‘frigid bitch’.” He stated confidently

You thought for a moment at his words. You noticed how he was keeping a smile, but it wasn’t his usual smile. This one was gentle, not teasing, not crazed, but simply soft.

“It was my fault, I instigated him.” You sighed

“Your suitor?” Lohen inaurec

You nodded, meeting his eyes again.

“What made you instigate this prince?” He asked

“Nothing horrible.” You said with a downcast look.

Lohen finished wrapping the bandage around your hand, tying it off in a secure knot.

“Don’t hold out on me your royal highness. I’ll be the judge of that.” He insisted

You thought for a moment, giving him time to get up and walk away.

“He said I would make a wonderful mother.” You told Lohen

Lohen thought for comment before shrugging.

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

You moved to get up, what a mistake it had been to confide in this apprentice.

You felt him place a gentle hand on your shoulder, easing you to stay sat in the windowsill with him.

“You didn’t let me finish.” He said, “That doesn’t sound so bad, which means the impacts of the words only made you feel worse.”

You blinked a few times, before finally opening up.

“I am just so tired of everyone thinking my life is set in stone. That I will get married to a royal and bear many children. That’s not what I want right now and to be honest I don’t see myself ever wanting it. But no one cares, because I’m a princess. I am a pawn in this political game of chess and my crushed dreams are simply just collateral damage.” You confessed, speaking honestly despite your still ever present grudge against the apprentice.

He gave a deep sigh, staring deep into your eyes as he placed your bandaged hand into your lap. He was so quiet, his face devoid of it’s usual constant charm. Even his eyes, in this moment, were still. They did not have the hungry glint for chaos that they normally possessed. Even in your emotional devastation you could notice this, great.

“Normally I would solve this problem by taking care of whoever was giving you trouble…” He joked, “but obviously I can’t drive a knife through his royal highness’s throat.”

You let out a small laugh at his attempt to cheer you up. It was unconventional how you liked his humor about murdering pretentious royalty, especially in your line of work.

“For the record, you seem to have a better handle on your life than everyone else in this castle.” He spoke kindly

“Thank you,” you stated, “and adding to the record I still find you insufferable.”

There was another pause, as if giving you a chance to bring up any last emotion or to take the comment back. It was considerate of him to give you the chance to choose whether you wanted to fall back into your usual dynamic, or stay in this conversation a moment longer, You let the silence hang.

“Do you hate everyone in your life this much, or am I just special?” He asked with a smirk.

“I hold a healthy amount of disdain for a few individuals. You are not special.” You state, holding your chin high

“I find it a thrilling way to live when everyone has just a bit of disdain for you, wouldn’t you agree?” Lohen asked with a giddy smile forming on his face.

You rolled your eyes and cross your arms.

“The concepts of peace, normality, non-combative life, do you have a clue as to what these are?” You questioned

You watched him stand from his position at the window, the small cape he wore fluttering from the movement. He swiftly pulled out his dagger, spinning it in his hands effortlessly.

“Not a single clue, princess.” He answered you

He punctuated his statement by effortlessly tossing his knife in the air and catching it on the blade's end. Turning on his heel, he walked out of the office.

You sat in the windowsill for a period of time, thinking of Lohen’s behavior just then. Your mouth turned up in a warm smile at the apprentice’s presence in your brain and you immediately reminded yourself of how insufferable he was.

Walking over to your desk, you decided to pull out a new pen and begin drawing fingerprints again. You were a bit drowsy, but you didn’t feel like walking through the winding halls to your chambers just yet.

You laid your head down on the paper, continuing to mindlessly draw as your eyes grew heavy. Eventually, your hand gently rested on the desk and your grip loosened, the pen sliding out of your hand as your eyes closed.

—

You woke to your uncle shaking your shoulders.

“We’ve got a body, just brought in.” He hurriedly told you

You shot up from your desk, wiping the sleep from your eyes. Giving yourself a moment to adjust to the morning sunlight filtering into the office. Then, you strode into the examination room, finding Lohen already near the covered corpse.

“Morning princess.” He greeted casually as he retrieved a blank file from the shelf on the far well.

“Did you check to see if the victim already had—“

“Yes sleeping beauty, I already looked through the files of living residence in the kingdom, he didn’t have one.” Lohen cut you off, assuring you he had followed the protocol you had taught him.

“Will you stop with your pet names?” You grumbled, gathering your instruments to properly examine the body.

You pulled back the covering and let out a small gasp. You knew this man, well not personally of course, but you remembered meeting him. This was the husband of that married couple, the ones that weren’t soulmates.

You rushed out of the room, quickly rummaging through papers piled on your desk. You must have shoved his file aside at the sudden presence of your uncle. Clearly you had forgotten to put it away.

Finding the folder labeled with his name, you came back into the examination room. Walking up to Lohen, you set the file in front of him.

“He just moved here and came in the other day to get a fingerprint card. Forgot to put his file away.” You told Lohen, trying to not sound too embarrassed at your mistake

He looked up at you with a smirk.

“Ahhh, so her royal highness isn’t as perfect as she likes to make herself out to be.” He baited you

“It was a mistake, one that won’t happen again.” You said flatly

You watched as his gloved hand slowly came up to touch your cheek. Your brain was split between pulling away and leaning into his hand. You couldn’t make a decision, so you just stood frozen. Feeling his finger rub against the skin, he gave a small smile.

“You had some ink on your cheek. Consequences of using your freshly drawn on papers as a pillow last night.” He told you simply

You blinked a few times, then realized he had already been in the examination room when you had stepped in. Meaning he had passed through your office while you were asleep.

He seemed to take your silence as an opportunity to taunt you.

“Did you know you snore in your sleep; princess?” He asked you in a quiet voice,

You stormed away from him back over to the examination table.

“We have a case to attend to.” You stated, your voice laced with annoyance.

Both of you stood around the table, examining the body thoroughly. The two of you made your own notes in silence, the only sound in the room being the scratch of pen against paper.

“So, we know he was a farmer.” You spoke, breaking the silence.

“It also says he was in the business of buying and seeking horses.” Lohen added

“Considering the markings on his neck, it’s obvious the cause of death was strangulation.” You stated

“It appears because of the intense redness all around his neck there was resistance too.” Lohen observed

“Considering the thickness of the markings, he had to have been strangled with something thicker, maybe rope?” You proposed

“You said he had horses?” Lohen questioned

“It’s in the file.” You stated with a smidgen of exasperation

“Maybe if her majesty would have put the file in its proper place, I would have had the time to thoroughly read over it this morning.” He countered

“Oh please, you wouldn’t have read over it regardless.” You scoffed, crossing your arms

“I don’t need to, not when I have you to tell me what’s in it.” He said sweetly, an overly endearing smile playing on his lips

“You won’t always have me.” You reminded him coldly, “your an apprentice, remember? Your goal is to replace me.”

As soon as you said it, you felt a lump well in your throat. It was one thing to think all of those things in your mind and dwell on them. But saying it aloud made it feel so painfully real.

“I couldn’t possibly replace you, your royal highness.” Lohen laughed

He looked down at his notes and then looked up at you.

“If he was in the business of horses, it’s possible he could have been strangled with a whip.” He suggested

You forced your mind back into investigation mode, moving to look at the man’s neck again.

“That very well may have been it.” You agree, trying to hide the impressed tone in your voice.

You two write up a draft report for your uncle, leaving the papers on his desk. Covering the body back up and blowing out the lanterns in the examination room, you both shut and locked the door.

“I will see you tomorrow.” You bid him farewell, noting the clock on the wall indicating it was mid afternoon.

“Wait! Where are you going?” He asked, excited curiosity scribbled on his face

He followed you out into the palace hallway. You were hoping if you just didn’t answer him, or even look at him, he would go away. Oh how wrong you were.

“Are you enjoying ignoring me?” He asked in an accusatory voice

You couldn’t stifle the small laugh that came out. It was less than favorable to admit you took pleasure in the apprentice following you around like a lost dog, vying for your attention. You only felt a little bit of guilt, considering all the teasing he had done to you.

Arriving at your desired destination, you stepped through the open glass doors into the palace gardens. Having been itching to take a stroll in them since your horrendous dinner.

“Do you really want to join me in a peaceful garden stroll? Don’t you have something more….chaotic you wish to engage in?” You question Lohen, finally addressing him

He chuckled quietly, looking out at the palace gardens before back at you.

“Believe it or not, I actually enjoy surveying the outdoors. It’s the best way to discover new ingredients for toxins.” He confesses with a devilish grin.

You lightly swat his shoulder with your gloved hand.

“You cannot start mixing toxins on the palace grounds. You’d become the number one suspect in every poisoning we come across.” You lecture him in a hushed tone.

He laughs at you, his smile fully reaching his eyes.

“I’m not an idiot princess. I keep my experiments in my own home.” He assured you

You glared up at him, why even bother dabbling in that line of work? Of course, admittedly you had read many books on toxins, poisons, and venomous animals out of curiosity. Even admittedly testing a few concoctions of your own creation on yourself out of boredom. But that phase of your life ended quickly when your mother found out about it. Besides, while it was beneficial for you to have knowledge on such matters, it was not appropriate for you to dabble in them.

“You? Not an idiot? I didn’t take you for a liar, Lohen.” You jested, drawing out his name when you spoke

Of course you knew he was highly intelligent and observant. That detail about him had not left your mind once. But his self-preservation and common sense seemed to be lacking. Which you hated to admit, you also found intriguing.

“And I didn’t take you for—“

Lohen was cut off as a familiar figure approached. Prince Ellis stepping up to the two of you in his ritzy regalia.

“What a nice surprise! Running into the princess and her…..escort.” He greeted the two of you with a shining smile

“Gentleman, I do not believe we have met. What is your name? And how did you acquire the task of escorting this lovely lady?” The prince asked Lohen, holding out his hand for a handshake.

Lohen took it, a polite smile on his face as he spoke.

“I’m Lohen, apprentice of the palace detective.” He introduced himself, “The princess has been assisting in my training.”

Prince Ellis gave an overly joyful laugh at Lohen’s explanation of how he knew you.

“You expect me to believe the princess is training you on detective work?” He asked

Lohen shrugged and gave a simple nod, you felt his body gravitating towards yours.

“However did her royal highness even begin to come near such work?” He asked, but his body was turned toward Lohen and so was his question.

“Maybe you could ask her for yourself.” He politely stated, gesturing to you at his side

Prince Ellis seemed to think for a moment, his face pensive. Then, a pitting smile came across his face as he turned his attention to you.

“It’s quite admirable that you choose to spend your time with the palace servants, your royal highness.” He complimented you, but the backhanded nature was clear in his voice

“Well, it is my job to ensure this apprentice is trained properly so he can take my place in helping the palace detective, my uncle.” You state proudly

Prince Ellis’ smile froze as he realized what you helping your uncle actually entailed. Thinking back to his words at dinner, it had made it seem your parents had told him your were taking care of your uncle. He was probably imagining you caring for the elderly, not helping solve crimes.

“So…that’s what the King and Queen meant when they said you aided him daily.” He stated, his voice growing chilly

“Whatever else did you think it meant?” You inquired sweetly

“I just….I assumed you were taking on a more….nurturing and less mentally taxing task.” He replied

“Well you know what they say about assumptions!” Lohen chimed in

“I’m afraid I don’t make a habit of taking wisdom from palace servants.” Prince Ellis spar the words, giving a small glare to Lohen

You wanted this conversation to end, preferably with Prince Ellis leaving you and Lohen to continue your stroll. Fidgeting with your sleeve, you thought about how best to de-escalate the situation.

“Haha, you’ll have to excuse the apprentice, he has an unconventional way of speaking.” You politely explained, your smile tense

“It seems you know him well.” Prince Ellis stated coldly, crossing his arms over his chest

“I have only known Lohen for a short while—“ You begin to say, wanting to counter whatever assumptions the prince was beginning to make.

“But we have spent a lot of time together, what with her majesty’s extensive knowledge in investigation and forensic work. She’s been quite thorough in showing me the ropes” Lohen finished your statement, his voice containing the confident lilt as usual

Prince Ellis glared at Lohen again before turning to you.

“You shouldn’t spend so much time with this servant. He has poor manners, unbefitting a lady’s company.” He instructed you

“It is for my work, your royal highness.” You stared simply

But you knew that it wasn’t just for your work. You were beginning to enjoy spending time with Lohen and even wanted to continue your garden stroll. It was absurd, but you found yourself wanting to be in his presence.

“Yes; of course.” Prince Ellis replied with a tight smile, “When the king finalizes our marriage, I’ll have to remind him to relieve you of your duties as a….worker…”

You felt one of your hands instinctively ball into a fist at his words. He couldn’t even manage to call you a detective, or a forensic scientist. The idea of you having a career seemed to disgust him by the tone of his words. Most disturbingly though, he spoke as if your marriage was already agreed upon.

“I had no idea the princess agreed to a proposal.” Lohen pondered aloud, his tone purposefully lught and clueless.

“Not that it is any of your concern, but she will. It will just take a bit of….convincing.” Prince Ellis told Lohen, his eyes sliding over to you.

You were growing tired of this conversation, and was close to grabbing Lohen’s hand and simply running off. Manners and reputation be damned, you needed to get out of this prince’s presence.

“Prince Ellis, I have come to retrieve you for your afternoon tea appointment.” A palace guard said as he approached you three

“Oh, it is that time already!” He responded to the guard cheerily, “Good day, your royal highness!”

He walked away with the gaurd, purposefully not bidding Lohen a goodbye.

“He seems pleasant.” Lohen snorted, turning to you

“Did you have fun with trying to piss him off?” You questioned, glaring at Lohen, “why would you mention that we spend a lot of time together?”

Lohen chuckled, looking over at the bush of colorful flowers before looking back at you.

“We have spent a lot of time together these past few days. I was simply telling the truth.” He stated honestly.

“Yes, but now he may try and push harder to marry me. Now that he thinks I’m growing close with you.” You explain worriedly

Lohen considers you for a moment before leaning in close, his face becoming only inches from yours. You instantly felt your face heat up at the close proximity.

“We could certainly always become closer, your royal highness.” He proposed in a low voice, his eyes moving downward to look at your lips.

You pushed him back before putting your hands on your hips, your face still feeling hot. You hated how your heartbeat exponentially increased at his close proximity.

“I cannot stand you!” You exclaimed, throwing your hands down

“I’m sure I can retrieve you a chair.” Lohen jested, a smirk on his face

“You think the prince will still want to marry me if I were to strangle you?” You question in a threatening voice, mimicking strangling with your hands

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, princess.” Lohen responds with a twinkle in his eyes

He sees your face contorted in annoyance, then he says more seriously.

“I think he’d try and marry you even if you were to turn into a bee and sting him reputedly.” Lohen joked

“He’d insist bees only sting when they are fond of someone.” You joke, a smile breaking across your face.

Lohen gave a little laugh, beginning to walk slowly to encourage you into continuing your stroll through the gardens. You followed him without hesitation, feeling the cracks in the stone path through your satin slippers.

“For the record, bees can actually only sting one time.” You break the silence to ensure he is aware of the tidbit of knowledge

“I’d gladly use my only stinger on that prince if I were you.” Lohen told you

You two fell into easy conversation about insects. Lohen began to speak of his hobbies before coming to the palace as an apprentice. He told you of how he trapped a handful of insects in jars in the past. Waiting for them to pass before extracting their venom to make antidotes with.

You told him about how your life had been before you had been allowed to spend most of your days on detective work. How you used to be forced into boring manners courses and dance lessons.

You noticed how natural the conversation between the both of you became, and you kind of hated how comfortable you felt. Of course, he was still…..him, but you found yourself becoming used to his antics.

—

It was late at night and the moon was high in the sky. The office was lit by a few lanterns, giving you the proper light you needed to write up the murder report for you uncle.

Lohen sat in the windowsill lazily tossing his dagger. Occasionally you’d hear him give something between a wince and a pleasured gasp when he caught the knife on its sharp end. You tried not to let the sounds he made get to you but they had already implanted themselves in your brain.

“Are you going to help me with this report at all?” You questioned, glaring over at him

“I did help you, I told you what to write.” He said plainly, continuing his game of catch with his weapon.

You groaned, rolling your eyes at him.

“I cannot write ‘thank goodness someone came to their senses and murdered that asshole of a prince’ Lohen.” You lectured him with a bored expression

“Then write ‘Whatever hero killed this insufferable prince has palace apprentice Lohen’s admiration for their flawless crime’.” He suggested with a chuckle.

“You’re lucky no one else is in here right now or you’d be thrown in the dungeons for such words.” You informed him with a raised chin

You watched his eyes sparkle with mischief was he paused his game of catch to look at you.

“And what do I have to say for you to throw me in the dungeons yourself, your royal highness?” He teasingly asked, raising an eyebrow

“Keep talking and you’ll get there.” You replied sarcastically

He looked off into the distance with a delighted smile as if he were daydreaming.

“Someday I’ll get you to follow through on your word.” He stared, a longing in his voice.

You ignored him and tried to dismiss his words. You were almost done writing the embarrassingly short forensic investigation report on Prince Ellis’ murder. His throat was slit in his sleep last night and there was no evidence left on the scene. It was as if a phantom had done it.

You noticed Lohen walking over to the teapot in the corner of the room. He poured himself another cup of the peppermint tea you had brewed when beginning to work.

“I see you like my tea.” You pointed out with a small smile, finishing the last details on the report.

“I do. It reminds me of my mother’s blend.” He replied honestly

You were slightly taken aback, this was the first time Lohen had brought up his family.

“What are they like? Your parents, I mean.” You inquire gently, turning to face him as he took his seat back on the windowsill.

“Annoyingly pious, they lead quite mundane lives.” He told you, the answer leaving much to be desired

“What do they do for a living?” You asked

You got up, walking over to the windowsill seat. Lohen folded his before stretched legs to his chest, allowing you to sit across from him.

“They make bows for hunting.” He answered promptly

You hummed in response, settling yourself against the wall and folding your legs as you were taught in your many manners lessons. This close to Lohen, you could admire the silver earring you wore in his ear and the way it glistened.

“Why did you decide to become a detective?” You questioned, not noticing the way you were slowly leaning forward in anticipation.

“I’ve already told you, your royal highness.” He spoke simply, seeming more reserved than usual

You stopped for a moment, noticing his change in behavior. Did he not like talking about his past?

“Why did you decide to become a detective?” He turned the question back on you.

“To help others.” You gave the intensely shortened version of the real answer.

He gave you a small smile, staring into your eyes. Then, his smile turned into a smirk and your heart skipped a beat.

“I see I’m not the only one holding back information.” He stated simply

His smirk grew wider as his eyes lit up, as if he had been struck with an ingenious thought.

“Princess, would you like to play a game?” He asked you, his voice giddy

You thought for a moment on the proposal. This was Lohen and you knew him to be insane—for lack of a better word. What could this game possibly entail?

“What is the game?” You replied simply

You watched him extract a single vial from his coat. It contained a uniquely colored liquid unlike anything you had seen before.

“Made this toxin awhile back ago, it’s a fairly mild brew. It is only supposed to cause fatigue and muscle weakness.” He began to explain, holding the vial up for you to better observe it.

“And how does this relate to your proposed game?” You encourage him to continue.

“We take turns asking each other questions. If one does not wish to answer, they must take a drink from the vial.” He explains simply

Your first instinct was to down right refuse him. To laugh in his face at such a purposeless risk of a game. But a small part of your brain wondered what it would be like to indulge in his antics. You tried to push away that quiet little voice, however it seemed the harder you pushed, the louder it got.

“Would you like to go first?” You politely propose

“I think I’ll let you start us off, princess.” he says with a mischievous smile, dragging out the pet name as if to savor it.

Your mind seemed to immediately file away the sound of the affectionate nickname leaving his mouth. Nestling it next to all the other memories of him that made your insides tingle.

“Why did you really become a detective?” You inquire, deciding to push on the matter

He paused for a moment, rolling the vial around in his fingers.

“I witnessed a series of murders happen in my village growing up. It made me feel so…powerless. As a kid I couldn’t do anything to help. So, I started studying every possible way the human body could be killed. Over the years I gathered a lot of knowledge then decided the best way to use it would be to become a detective.” He confesses to you

Handing you the vial, your fingers brush against his for a brief moment. It sends sparks through your hand that came and went as quickly as the contact did.

“What do you think of me?” He asked you with a smirk

It felt as though a million thoughts were fighting to come to the forefront of your mind. You opened your mouth to say something, then you chose to close it. Taking a moment to sort through all of your many thoughts about Lohen, you formed an answer.

“I think you will make a great detective.” You told him sincerely

His eyes studied your face intently before leaning back against the wall.

“You’re holding something back. Tell the whole truth or drink.” He stated without hesitance

You hated that he was right. You knew you couldn’t elaborate on your thoughts of the apprentice. So, you uncorked the vial and took a swig of the substance. It had a berry like taste, the liquid thick but smooth, You placed the cork back into the vial before passing it back to Lohen.

“Why do you keep calling me ‘princess’? Why not simply call me only by my name or title?” You ask him

You watched him take the cork off of the bottle and take a swig of the liquid. Placing the cork back into the vial, he passed it to you.

“Why don’t the king and queen spend more effort trying to find your soulmate? Isn’t their whole thing supporting their kingdom’s citizens in finding each of theirs?” He questioned, his expression unreadable

You pondered the question for a moment while casting your eyes upwards. Absentmindedly you swished the liquid in the vial as you considered how to best and most truthfully answer.

“They care about the kingdom’s overall safety and prosperity. Ensuring I marry someone with power, wealth, or both will aid in that goal.” You answer simply

He nodded in response as you passed the vial back to him.

“What’s your favorite time of day?” He queried with a smile

“Anytime I’m not having to deal with your antics.” You answered with a snort

He laughed, his face in a state of joy was a sight you enjoyed. He passed the vial back to you.

“Do you want to marry someday?” He questioned

You took the cork off of the bottle, downing a healthy sum of the liquid. Passing it back to him, you began to feel the impacts of the toxin set in, letting out a tired yawn.

“What is your favorite food?” You inquired

“Chilli peppers or really anything with a kick.” He responded

Passing the vial back to you, you noticed it had nearly one sip left in it.

“If you were to marry, who would your dream partner be?” He thoughtfully queried

You were really feeling the impacts of the toxin now, your brain growing foggy. With slowed thoughts and a lack of forming a clever response, you decided to simply finish off the liquid in the vial. Corking it, you it back to Lohen.

Truth be told, you didn’t have an ideal partner tucked away in your mind. You knew if you were to ever be with someone you’d want them to be supportive of your work. Preferably a person that either worked in your field themselves or didn’t mind listening to your rambles about all of it. You found the qualities of intelligence, observation, and quick wit highly attractive so someone with those qualities would more than suffice. Then of course, someone who saw past your title and respected you as a person. Hm, come to think of it…the apprentice fit overwhelmingly well into your standards.

Upon that realization, you decided to halt all thoughts on that topic. Aggressively erasing it from the forefront of your mind.

“I’d say I won this one.” You joked with a proud smile

“I’m not sure about that one, you downed three fourths of the vial.” He teased you

“And I also got more information on you. Which, isn’t that the goal of the game?” You proposed to him with raised brows.

“Clever as always.” He complimented you

You let out another yawn and felt your eyes struggle to open after blinking. Taking this as a sign you needed to retire to your chambers, you began to rise from your spot on the windowsill seat. Immediately your knees grew weak under you and you lost your balance.

You felt two hands steady you, fingers splayed across your back.

“Easy there princess. Looks like the muscle weakening aspect of the toxin is working.” Lohen steadied you with a small chuckle

“I’m so happy your toxin worked as intended. Now, how am I supposed to get back to my chambers?” You grumbled to yourself with a downcast look

“If you’ll allow me, I think I can be of some assistance.” Lohen offered, his hands still holding you, keeping you balanced.

You look at him through drowsy eyes, your brain barely functioning. You had heard stories from other ladies and maids of the consequences that came from allowing a man to lead you to your chambers. Not to mention without anyone else passing through the palace halls that could interfere if something happened.

“If you try anything…” You began to threaten “

“Unlike the princes that attempt to court you, I have manners, your royal highness.” Lohen joked

You felt him move to stand beside you with one arm moving to wrap around your waist.

“You may want to wrap an arm around me to steady yourself.” He offered

Obliging, you slowly placed an arm around Lohen’s neck. Both of you hobbling through the palace halls at an unforgivable hour of the night. The path to your chambers felt like a never ending one. The moonlight filtered in through the tall windows. A few lanterns hung on the walls to provide extra light and illuminate the grand portraits that decorated the space. Finally, you both stopped at the door to your chambers. Upon arrival Lohen was hesitant to step into the room with you.

“I have to get to my bed, you can’t just leave me to fall here.” You drowsily accuse him as you both stood in the doorway

“I just didn’t want to intrude on her highness’s private space.” He told you

“You aren’t intruding, you’re helping me.” Your voice drawled from exhaustion, speech becoming much less formal.

Lohen walked with you over towards your large four poster bed. He laid you down gently, his arm snaking out from under your waist. For a brief moment in your delirious state, you enjoyed the sight of the apprentice hovering over you.

“Thank you.” You told him with a drowsy smile as your eyes closed

“Anything for my favorite detective.” He replied

—

You hated having to waste away so much valuable time preparing for another meal. One would think after Prince Ellis’ death his parents would want nothing to do with this kingdom. However, they remained negotiating with your mother and father, proposing an engagement to Prince Ellis’ brother. Fate must have really been bitter the day she decided this portion of your fate.

You sat in a gown that most certainly did not fit an outside lunch in the middle of summer. It’s long sleeves and high neck made you feel as though you were suffocating, not to mention every inch of the fabric was solid. Not a hint of mesh or a fashionable slit allowing for movement. It was what the maid assisting you had insisted you wear. This maid made you wish you had appreciated Jesaphine more.

“I think Prince Quinston will be a wonderful match for you! Have you seen any portraits of him? He is quite dashing.” She blabbers on while applying cosmetic crème to your face

“I’m happy you think so.” You stare plainly,

You let her yammer on about the first time she met her own husband. Halfway listening to her tips and tricks for a happy marriage. You tried to remember if you had heard anything about Jesaphine and why she wasn’t present today. Coming up blank, you decided to ask the maid in front of you.

“Why is Miss Jesaphine not tending to me today?” You inquired

The maid pulls back, a bit of crème still on her finger. She looks down for a moment before clearing her throat.

“She….she was relieved of her position.” She said

You paused for a moment…that was impossible. Jesaphine had been with your mother since you were a little girl, she was basically family. She may have been the weird aunt you didn’t enjoy chatting with kind of family, but to you she was still close with the royals.

“Oh…however did that….come to be?” You questioned

The maid took a moment to gather her thoughts. You watched her place one container down and pick up another, this one holding powder. She grabbed a soft brush to apply it with.

“Miss Jesaphine went to the King and Queen with concerns regarding Prince Ellis. Reporting he had….forced himself upon her. The King and Queen saw it best she left the palace if she felt the need to speak ill of the prince.” The maid explained

Your stomach dropped in despair at her explanation. You didn’t doubt for a moment that the prince had done as Jesaphine said. Of course, a royal’s word, especially a man’s, was everything against hers. Honestly, a man’s word in general held tenfold the value of a woman’s, even a royal one.

Still, you felt put-off by the recent knowledge. Your mother had known Jesaphine for years and trusted her. How could she so easily believe the word of another royal she had met roughly a week ago over a woman she had known her whole life? It scared you senseless to think of who else she would turn on if their word was up against that of a prince’s.

You hoped Jesaphine was safe and you promised yourself that if you and your mother ever could have a civil conversation you would confront her about this. The maid deserved justice but you were scared that fighting for it would get you into hot water as well.

You absentmindedly watched the maid finish your makeup, still stunned at what had transpired without your knowledge. Even as the guard came to fetch you, your mind was still occupied by thoughts of anger at the injustice.

Walking along the palace halls, you spotted regalia similar to that of Lohen’s. Your brain’s first thought was to approach the person you thought to be the apprentice. To strike up a conversation and fall into enjoyable banter. You shook your head, letting out a sigh. It was an irrational thought and you knew it. Lohen was supposed to be off today, meaning he would not be wandering around the place.

Entering the palace gardens with the gaurd, you instantly felt overheated. The maid had put many layers of makeup on your face, insisting it needed to look as natural as possible. You were already in a bit of a sour mood so you hoped this lunch would be brief and that the prince would have little interest in you.

Approaching the same table you sat at with Prince Ellis some nights ago, you spotted his brother. He stood tall with his shoulders back in perfect posture. You found his clothing to be rather annoyingly regal and also appropriate for the hot weather. Unlike your gown which you felt yourself sweating in.

The guard that escorted you bowed and turned to exit, leaving you facing the prince.

“Prince Quinston, what an honor it is to meet you.” You stated politely, holding out your hand

He took your hand in his and brought it to his lips. Your mind began to replace his face with Lohen’s to avoid the feeling of disgust at his lips on your gloved hand. You didn’t like how imagining the apprentice performing the gesture made your heart flutter. Choosing to push whatever was happening in your brain aside, you took your seat across from the prince.

“We have been graced with lovely weather.” He beams at you

You picked up your spoon to dip it into the food in front of you.

“I believe it would be even lovelier if the temperature weren’t so scorching.” You replied

He gave a tight smile in response, taking a large bite of his food.

“I’m glad you chose to dress as a royal lady should despite the temperature.” He said proudly

You had to stop your face from contorting in disgust at the statement. Maybe he had phrased his words awkwardly because of nerves, you hoped.

“Admittedly I would have not worn this if it were not for my maid’s insistence. I prefer to wear what I will be most comfortable in.” You told him, taking a bite of your food

He gave a hum of what sounded like disapproval.

“Sometimes in marriage we must make sacrifices.” He simply stated

You let the statement linger for a period of time before deciding to speak.

“And what sacrifices do you see yourself making, Prince Quinton?” You inquire with a raised brow

He thought for a moment, but not as if he was trying to come up with something. He was attempting to appear pensive, as if he couldn’t choose what sacrifice to start speaking on first.

“I would spend a substantial amount of time around you and the matters of a kingdom, meaning my time tending to horses would dwindle.” He confessed with a sigh

You considered his answer, it honestly wasn’t an unreasonable one.

“Do you enjoy participating in horse races as your brother did?” You asked tentatively, realizing the topic of his brother may be sensitive.

You saw his eyes flash with something akin to grief, a faraway look of longing. Then he gave you a small smile.

“They say not to speak ill of the dead, but I find it amusing my brother told you he participated in horse races.” He chuckled to himself

You paused, technically Jesaphine had told you such information…however you had made a remark to Prince Ellis about his horses and he hadn’t corrected you.

“Well…I just assumed since many said he won quite a few horse races that meant he was…..participating in them….” You explained, for once your voice not fully assured

Prince Quinston let out a boisterous laugh at your words, it made you feel so ignorant.

“My brother bought horses and paid the best riders and trainers in the kingdom to participate in his name. So I wouldn’t say he was the one winning the races.” Prince Quinston explained

You let the explanation sink into your brain, not surprising you in the least to be honest.

“Well….do you ride in horse races your royal highness?" You attempt to steer the conversation away from his late brother

He took a sip of his tea, his eyes never leaving yours. Placing the cup back down on its saucer, he smiled at you with a hint of condescension present.

“I unlike most do not seek glory in a race well won. My joy comes from acting as a medic to the injured horses.” He proudly stated

Hm….that was…partially admirable if you were being honest. Taking care of animals took some level of basic empathy, meaning this prince couldn’t be all terrible, right?

“Well that’s quite a lovely way to spend your time!” You praise him politely, a small smile on your face.

He sinks in your praise like a feline sinking in sunlight. Leaning back in his chair, he folds his arms across his chest.

“And how does her majesty spend her free time?” He questions, his eyes boring into your’s

You de ode to tell a half truth, seeing as you did spend scraps of your free time doing this.

“I quite enjoy reading about anatomy and the human body.” You confess honestly, a genuine smile on your face at the topic

The prince’s eyebrows raise in surprise at your topic. Then, he dawns a roguish grin.

“What an odd thing for a lady to study.” He commented

Of course he would say this, you had almost forgotten his intense need to place all women into one arbitrary category.

“Hm, I don’t believe so. It is quite interesting to learn about how the body reacts to unexpected stimuli.” You explain in a clinical fashion, fascinated by the impacts of poisons and blades.

You watch his smile grow even wider and it very much unsettled you. Attempting to calm yourself, you run your thumb on the ornate engravings on your spoon.

“How intriguing…” He began to ponder

“If I chose to marry you, I expect you to put such knowledge to use.” He informed you flirtatiously

If he chose to marry you? Oh, so this is the kind of man you were dealing with. Arguably even worse than his brother considering his shamelessness in holding such beliefs.

“I do not believe we would make a good match then, considering I admire my autonomy. Also, I fail to see how my knowledge in anatomy would assist you.” You replied, holding your chin high

He scoffed at your words and rolled his eyes.

“I promise, autonomy will become a low priority to you once you realize how desirable someone like me is.” He claimed boldly

You wanted to take the cup of tea that rested above your plate and splash it on his face. Instead, you settled for a small chuckle at his bold assumption.

“If one must speak on their own desirability, then I do not believe them to be at all desirable.” You stated

“Hm, do you always have a seemingly clever response for everything?” He asked looking slightly annoyed

You watched him slowly rise from his seat and you slowly rose as well.

“Do you not find my way of speaking favorable to your fragile ears?” You question with a seemingly innocent look on your face.

He slowly steps aside from his seat, standing beside the table.

“I find your way of speaking to be challenging, your royal highness.” He admitted

You watched him take another step, this time towards you. You stepped back twice, wanting to distance yourself from him. You felt a chill run down your spine as your back hit the hot stone wall partially surrounding the enclosure.

“But…” Prince Quinston began to speak, stepping up to you pinning you against the wall with his body

“I like a challenge.” He finished speaking, his face inches from yours.

You attempted to squirm aside, but his body caged you against the wall. You looked up into his dull, emotionless eyes.

“Prince Quinston, I am not interested in participating in—“ You began to tell him your lack of want to participate in his intimate affairs.

He cut you off with a rough kiss, causing your eyes to go wide. You hated the feeling of his lips against your’s, it made everything feel wrong. Each layer of your makeup felt too heavy. The gown’s neck was now not just restrictive, it was suffocating.

Your eyes darted around the garden, searching for a stray gaurd or idle servant. You needed someone, anyone, to notice your distress. It wasn’t that you weren’t capable of stomping into the prince’s foot or elbowing his ribs. Normally you would have done so without hesitation or a second thought. But you felt so overwhelmingly helpless right now. He had stolen away your autonomy in this moment, and it made your skin crawl.

He moved away slightly, moving to slowly pull the high collar of your gown down. You felt his lips hover over your neck for a brief moment. You flinched away at the contact but he found his way back to the same position. This caused your eyes to wander around the garden again desperately, before stopping.

You noticed the familiar pair of wine red irises, you could pick them out in a crowd of thousands. You wanted to cry of out joy when his eyes caught onto yours. A small gasp of relief leaving your mouth at the sight of the apprentice. You heard the prince chuckle into your neck, assuming your reaction was directed at him.

That’s when Lohen turned to walk briskly towards the both of you.

He made it a point to run into the clearing, ramming into the table on flawlessly faking the accident.

Prince Quinston jumped off of you and whipped himself around to face Lohen.

“What is the meaning of this? Who are you to interrupt a private lunch between—“ Prince Quinston began to furiously lecture before Lohen cut him off.

“Her royal highness is needed immediately, her uncle has fallen ill.” Lohen pretends to pant as if he ran here, his eyes filled with panic.

Prince Quinston physically deflates, glaring daggers at Lohen. You meanwhile, felt your heart drop into your stomach. Was he lying to gets you out of this? Had your uncle really fallen ill? If anything happened to the old man….no, you couldn’t think about it.

“Prince Quinton….you must excuse me…I….I must ensure my uncle is taken care of.” You told him, your eyes filled with pleading and concern

The Prince gives a small chuckle before looking at you with an innocent smile.

“Of course, go tend to your family.” He insisted

You felt his gaze hang on you and before you could turn away from him he added to his previous statement.

“We’ll be spending a great deal of time together in the future anyways. Won’t we, princess?” He asked lightly, trying the pet name on his tongue

His usage of the term of endearment made your blood run ice cold. It felt nothing like the warm and playful way Lohen used it. Instead feeling terribly possessive, just like everything else about him.

His question felt overly insincere too. He clearly wasn’t asking your opinion but rather reminding you he had already decided your fate for you. This only propelled your want to exit the encounter even stronger.

Turning on your heel, you began to walk briskly out of the gardens. You heard footsteps of a person running to catch up to you, the apprentice slowing as he approached your side.

“My uncle? Is he truly ill? What has happened?” You question as you led him into the palace

“Your uncle is fine, he is out surveying nature with a few old friends.” Lohen assured you with a small smile

“So you lied to someone far above your status?” You asked the rhetorical question, not in an accusatory tone but simply so he would confirm

“Yes, I did.” He stated without hesitation

“You know if he finds out you lied he could have you kicked out of your position?” You question, wanting to ensure he knew the consequences his actions could cause

“I am fully aware of the risks, your royal highness.” He told you, a serious expression on his face

You didn’t know how to respond to him. He was risking his position in the palace, his chance at his dreams. All to save you from the situation you had landed yourself into. Lohen was willing to lose a lot just to ensure you were saved from harm. Such a realization made any lingering reservations about him disperse into nothingness. Sure, you would still be annoyed by his insufferable teasing but no longer did you envision yourself truly disposing him.

Your feet took you to the location of your office. Lohen did not cease in following you and joined you in the familiar space. You watched him shut the door gently as you sat down in the chair behind your desk. For once, you didn’t immediately reach for a pen to write with or a file to examine. You simply sat in complete stillness, the emotions from today seeping into your brain.

You examined the wood that made up your old desk. The small bright lines and darker contours they possessed made you appreciate the beauty of it. Your eye caught on a minute scratch near the right hand corner of the surface. You had never noticed it before but considering how many years this piece of furniture had existed, it was a miracle that the scratch was one of a kind on the desk.

A bead of sweat dripped down your forehead and made its way to the bridge of your nose. This pulled you out of the trance you had let yourself lull into. Wiping at your nose, your hand moved to the neck of your dress. Even in the usually chilly office you felt overheated in the thick garment.

“I hate this dress.” You spoke, breaking the thick silence that had overcome you both.

Lohen turned his head from staring out of the window. His body still standing, facing the glass.

“Then take it off.” He replied

“Excuse me?” You blurted out, your eyes widening

Lohen continued to stare out the window, his gaze distracted as he spoke.

“Take off the dress if it is making you uncomfortable.” He stared plainly

You blinked a few times, your face contorted in confused surprise at his blunt suggestion.

“You want me to take my dress off? In my office?” You asked him, trying to get him to realize the absurdity in his statement

“Yes.” He replied, his gaze still lost in the partially clouded sky outside.

You continued your line of clarifying questions.

“While you are present?” You asked

“Yes.” He replied again, continuing to remain distracted

You opened your mouth to speak, then closed it. How distracted must one be to fail at seeing the implications of such a statement. You were determined to break him from his trance and decided to outright question the implications of his phrasing.

“You want me to undress myself with you in the room?” You question

You watched his eyes widen slightly as he turned his body away from the window towards you. A small blush creeped onto his cheeks and his hand came up to rest on the back of his neck in embaressment.

“Your royal highness, I did not mean—“ He began to clarify, his voice filled with shame

This was the first time you had seen Lohen thrown off of his balance. It almost made you laugh. In fact, it did make you laugh.

Lohen gave an annoyed sigh at your laughter, crossing his arms.

“You’re enjoying this?” He questioned this

“Absolutely.” You confirmed with a lighthearted smile

Lohen looked downward as his face changed from embarrassed to pensive. He turned back to stare out at the sky through the window’s glass. You refocused your gaze on the scratch against the desk’s surface. Silence hung taut between the two of you.

“…are you alright?” He awkwardly inquired

“Of course!” You insisted while forcibly holding your smile

Both Lohen and you avoided each other’s gazes, the humor from moments before now completely gone. You had responded insensitively with your pre-programmed people pleasing answer. But the silence in the room allowed for you to consider the truthfulness of it—or lack thereof.

An overwhelming need to explain your situation washed over you. To ensure Lohen knew that you had not initiated the contact of your own will. You needed him to know he hadn't lied to save you from something you got yourself into. You wanted him to feel as if his saving you was not pointless.

“At lunch…” You began, intending to launch into a clever and detailed explanation.

However, every detailed description and thought-out observation died in your throat. The only thing your brain managed to conjure was the intense feelings of lost agency and violation the prince had caused you. As much as you tried to shove these aside, to write them off as nothing, you simply could not.

“I saw enough to understand the situation.” Lohen informed you, his voice even.

He relieved you of an explanation for some reason you felt you owed him. Although, you didn’t feel as if he understood the situation fully. You needed him to be entirely aware of your predicament.

“He thinks…” You began to say, “he thinks I belong to him.”

Lohen walked over to sit in one of the chairs on the opposing side of your desk. Meeting your eyes with an even stare.

“…I see.” He hesitantly replied

You let his reply hang in the air, not a single clever quip desiring to leave your lips.

“Did he hurt you?” Lohen asked, his voice strained

“No.” You answered quickly

Of course the prince had not hurt you. He did not draw blood with a knife or attempt to poison your tea. Not a single physical wound was inflicted upon you by his hand. Your body was in a perfectly healthy state—unlike your mind.

“Not physically.” You added honestly, feeling foolish seconds after the words left your mouth.

You watched his hand resting upon the desk tense. He compacted it into a fist before releasing his fingers back out. His gaze was intently focused on the surface of the piece of furniture.

“I should have intervened sooner.” He stated

Lohen spoke as if this was a fact that had been scientifically proven. Not a way to extract pity from you in your already emotionally distressed state but rather as a critique of himself. As if to say he should read files more closely or have neater handwriting on case reports.

“You couldn’t have known.” You told him, a sympathetic gaze falling on your features

“I could have observed faster.” He insisted, the words leaving his mouth at near the speed of light

When your eyes met his, you couldn’t tell what his expression conveyed. It was not sadness, neither was it anger.

“You intervened Lohen, you got me out.” You assured him, leaning forward in your chair

“But you’re still hurt.” He spoke, his words were heavy

“I’m fine.” You insisted weakly

Lohen paused for a moment, looking down at his hand resting on the edge of the desk.

“No.” He remarks, “you are not.”

You opened your mouth to correct him, to insist you were truly okay. But that would have been a lie, and he didn’t seem to be in the mood for taking a lie.

“You don’t have to dismiss it in an attempt to make it smaller.” He instructed you

You stopped dead in your train of thought. He had hit the nail on the head and you didn’t know what to say.

“It’s over now.” You replied simply

It was over now, that was a simple truth and the only words you could manage.

“But it’s effects are not.” Lohen ruminates softly

You let his words hang in the air. The office was silent as you both set across from each other. Your bodies were frozen in an action-less state.

You ruminated on the previous conversation. Lohen had became a detective because he felt powerless in the face of danger. This situation had seemed to leave him pretty shaken up but you failed to comprehend exactly why. He wasn’t the one who was left powerless, no that had been you. If anything, shouldn’t he feel amazing that he saved you? All smiles and cheers that you had been freed from such a situation.

Sure, there was no garbage that such a thing would not happen again. Especially if Prince Quinston told your parents he wanted to marry you. But that wasn’t Lohen’s problem, if anything it would give him job security.

It was not lost on your that the two of you had grown closer from working together. However, you had never pondered your relationship to Lohen past writing him off as annoying. You had always assumed that he saw you as nothing more than a person to cure his boredom. But when you looked back on the small moments of tenderness he had shown you, maybe you were something more to him.

Of course, you had helped him adjust to working in the palace’s case processing system. It made sense that he would be kind to you. However, kindness to someone for training them in a job did not typically manifest in the way of feeling helpless at someone else’s expense.

“I feel a cup of tea would enhance my mood.” You suggest simply, hoping he’d agree to share a cup with you

He looks at you, his eyes now shimmering with their easy-going sparkle.

“Does her royal highness wish for someone to share the tea with her?” He asked, an eyebrow raised

“If I say yes, are you going to act insufferable?” You question

He laughed lightly, standing out of his chair.

“I do not believe myself to be insufferable.” He insisted playfully

“That is exactly what someone who is insufferable would say.” You replied with a small smile.

You rose from your chair to begin the task of preparing tea. Walking over to a small cabinet, you crouched down and opened it’s doors. Feeling inside, your hand met the familiar feeling of the box that held your teabags. Much to your dismay, the box was empty.

“I am out of tea.” You stated

“That’s an easily solvable problem.” Lohen told you

You withdrew your hand from the cabinet and closed it’s wooden doors, standing, you turned to face Lohen.

“Your uncle keeps many things in the storage closet just down the hall. I’m sure there is more tea in there.” He suggested

“You’ve been in my uncle’s storage closet? I don’t recall taking you there.” You said with a slight bit of surprise

“I have been in many rooms in this palace.” He said with a smile.

He stepped closer to you, his smile forming into a smirk. His face grew close to yours as he spoke.

“Even yours, princess.” He teased

He pulled back as you went to shove him out of annoyance. Your face heating up slightly at the close proximity which with he had spoken to you, but also his words. Obviously you knew the only reason he had been in your room was to help you reach your bed after you drank that horrid concoction of his. But the way he said it, with that smirk of his, made it sound like he had been there for a far more scandalous reason.

“Don’t use such phrasing, it leaves much up to interpretation.” You lectured him, walking out of the office

He followed behind you, closing the door to your uncle’s study as you both entered the hallway.

“Why do you sound so annoyed? I was simply stating a fact.” He defended himself with an innocent tone

“Because you, with your stupid voice, made such a fact sound highly suggestive.” You insisted

You both began to walk when he gave a short laugh.

“Did I?” He taunted, “or did you just interpret it that way?”

You felt your footsteps slow as you scoffed.

“I interpreted it in the exact way you made it sound.” You informed him

“And how did I make it sound?” He asked innocently

“You know how you made it sound.” You scold with an even voice

“Hm.” He pondered, “I find it funny her royal highness’s first thought upon hearing my words was about me in her chambers for an improper reason.”

You stopped walking, and he halted alongside you. Turning your body to face him, you crossed your arms.

“This conversation is over.” You told him, leaning closer to him in a threatening way.

His lips formed a wicked smile, his teeth white as ever.

“Before we dismiss the topic, I would just like to clarify.” He began

You were close to storming away, but you wanted to let him finish. Maybe he was going to clarify that he had realized he was being overly annoying and drove you into a state of insanity. Which is what caused you to make such a bold interpretation of his words, and he was sorry for being the cause of that.

“You’re always permitted to request my presence in your chambers for purposes other than conversation.” He finished his statement, his smile wide

You turned on your heel and stormed off towards the closet. Your face was scorching hot and you chalked it up to anger. How could he be so brazen with his comments? What a fool to make such an offer! As if you would ever call upon him at all, much less to participate in such unsavory activities.

The closet door was small, much like the space itself. As you opened it and pulled the string to activate the hanging lantern inside of the cramped storage room, you felt Lohen’s presence behind you. Ignoring him, you moved to the middle of the space to properly pinpoint the location of the teabags Your head rose as you spotted them on a high shelf, a really high shelf.

Moving to press yourself against the shelf, you stood on your toes to reach the box of teabags. However your fingers couldn’t manage to even graze the box.

“Need some help, princess?” Lohen offered

You knew if you didn’t accept his help you would probably make a fool of yourself trying to reach your object of desire. However, your pride in this moment won over you.

“I need no such assistance.” You replied, giving a small jump to try and reach the tea box.

That did not help either, in fact it only made matters worse. Your fingers managed to graze the box of tea, yet it pushed it an inch too far back out of your grasp.

“Allow me.” Lohen confidently stated, stepping behind you to reach for the box. His sleeve drawn taut against his fully outstretched arm. He was also struggling to reach the box considering his less than impressive height.

You felt his body press into your back as he strained to reach the tea. You could feel his chest against you and it caused your face to heat up again, this time definitely not from anger.

His hand secured itself around the box and he pulled it down. You turned to face him as he offered you the box to carry. Your faces were the closest they had ever been.

You noticed a birthmark on his right cheek just below his eye.

“You’re staring.” Lohen commented, his voice conversational

You blinked few times, straightening your posture but making no move to back away.

“I am not.” You said

“You are.” He countered

“I was simply inspecting a labeled parcel behind you.” You proudly corrected

“Princess, my back is facing the door.” He stated, a smirk playing on his lips

He was right and you hadn’t bothered to take that detail into account in the fraction of a second you formed your rebuttal. His eyes stayed trained on yours and you both stayed frozen. Your bodies still so close, you could smell the familiar scent of spearmint on him.

You watched his eyes move down slowly, their gaze stopping on your lips for a beat before coming back up to meet yours.

“Would you like to move, Lohen?” You inquired, your voice quiet

“I was waiting for you to.” He replied

You went to step aside, but a box kidding out of a ground level shelf caught your foot causing you to trip slightly. Your hands flew out to steady yourself on something, anything. Unfortunately that something ended up being the apprentice’s chest. Your faces now only inches apart.

You felt your eyes widen at the proximity, you could feel his breathing quicken. This close, you could see a faint bit of teal in his primarily wine red eyes. A detail you had failed to notice all this time. His breath fanned against your own lips, and this made goosebumps shoot up your arms.

You quickly removed your hands from his chest and stepped back, giving an awkward cough.

“We should take the tea back.” Lohen simply suggested, turning to move towards the door

You followed him, the both of you making the walk back to your office in silence.

—

That night, you laid in your bed watching your clock tick mercilessly. It was already an ungodly hour of night, or more like morning. But you couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

All you could think about was Lohen. His face so close to your’s in the storage closet, his breath against your lips. Occasionally your brain would remind you of how the kiss between Prince Quinston felt, twisting away from your thoughts of Lohen. Even then though, you found comfort in remembering how he had saved you. His clever plan of lying to the prince about your uncle working like a charm.

You turned your head, remembering the sight of the apprentice standing beside your bed as he helped you lay down some nights ago. You found your mind imagining him standing there right now, a stupid smirk on his face.

“You’re staring again, princess.” He’d taunt you in that voice of his

Then you’d get up and march to him in fury, your face inches from his.

“I am not!” You’d insist

Your brain did a dangerous thing next. It did not finish the imagined scenario with a simple chuckle from Lohen or an aggravated sigh from you. He didn’t back away from you while taunting you further. It didn’t even process into your uncle storming in demanding you were both needed for a case this instant.

No, this little fantasy of yours ended in Lohen closing the minute distance between the two of you. His lips pressing fervently into yours. One of his annoying chuckles vibrating against your lips as he kissed you.

You physically shook your head, forcing your brain to cleanse itself of such ideas. But just as an avalanche cannot simply pause mid collapse, your brain could not stop its thoughts.

—

You feel your shoulders being violently shook. You feel your brain shoving aside the contact as that of a dream. However, it continues despite your unconscious mind attempting to will it into a stop.

Realizing this is not a part of some arbitrary dream, you peel your eyes open. They land on the familiar face of your uncle, and he is panicked. You had never seen his face so contorted in fear. But also, a hint of something else lingered. It appeared to be immense dread.

“You are needed in the presence of the King and Queen, immediately.” He informed you in a panicked voice

You groggily sat up, looking over at your clock. It wasn’t even lunch time yet. You had intended to sleep in today after the chaotic month you had experienced. You simply wanted a day to savor rest and a day in bed.

“I had no appointments today uncle, I was hoping to sleep in and—“ He cut you off

“I found your fingerprints on the dagger that was used to kill Prince Quinston last night.” He confessed, his face pained

Your heart dropped into your stomach. A wave of horrified nausea washed over you. That was impossible, you had been asleep all night. You would have remembered murdering someone. You shot up, moving out of bed quickly. This news acted as a cold bucket of water being dumped on your face.

Your uncle left the room as your hurriedly changed into a daytime gown. Hurriedly making yourself appear presentable. The room felt impossibly large in your panic. Everything felt off, like nothing was where it was supposed to be. Every action you usually took to prepare your appearance felt like it took far too long. Even the brief motion of tying your hair back felt like it took an eternity. This only caused your anxiety to rise exponentially.

You soon stepped outside your door, a guard awaiting to escort you.

The walk meeting your parents was one that you will never forget. Your stomach was churning with nerves and terrible thoughts of what could happen to you. They could very well shun you from the royal family, exile you even.

As you approached the large doors to the meeting room, and the set of guards pulled them open, your stomach dropped.

Your parents sat atop their thrones with faces so neutral they made your stomach twist. Sat beside them were an unfamiliar couple but you recognized them to be royalty. Both the foreign king and queen were dressed in mourning blacks. These must be Prince Ellis and Prince Quinston’s parents.

The king had his hands wrapped tightly around the arms of his throne. The queen sat beside him looking like she hadn’t slept a wink. You noticed tear stains on her cheeks. Upon further observation, you noticed the same ones on the king’s rugged cheeks as well.

The doors shut behind you and the sound echoes in the large room. It felt like an auditory indication of your fate being sealed.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Your father asked in an icu cold voice

You honestly would have preferred him shout it at you. The frigid yet calm tone made your skin crawl.

“I…I didn’t do it.” You stated

“Then who did? Your soulmate?” Your father questioned mockingly

“If I recall correctly, you have yet to find your soulmate.” Your mother interjects

She knew what she was doing with the bitter taunt. You attempted to muster a reasonable explanation.

“I…..” You start weakly

There was no logical way to finish the statement. Your soulmate had yet to be located. Meaning this murder, it was all on you.

“My sons are dead! I will not sit idly by and listen to this chatter!” The other king angrily yelled

“I assure you, she will be punished.” Your father told the king

You felt your knees start to wobble. You wanted to sink into the floor and cry. No, you wanted to scream that you weren’t a murderer. That wasn’t it either, you wanted…you…you didn’t know what you wanted. Other than this feeling of despair to end.

“You will take on the role of a kitchen servant.” Your mother explained, her voice shaking with anger

A faint sob came from the other queen, her sons’ deaths clearly taking a toll on her.

Your mothers voice shook, but not with uncertainty, with anger.

“I will personally inform all of the guards you are not allowed to leave the palace under any circumstances. We will tell the public you fell ill, and eventually say you passed.” She finished her statement

You felt so helpless, just as helpless as you had with Prince Quinston. Your future of doom flashed before your eyes in gloomy and depressing sights. It made tears prick at your eyes.

There was no one to turn to for help. Not a single reasonable explanation that could save you in this moment. The lack of even a sliver of hope made your throat tighten in fear.

It was at that moment you heard the large doors open and two pairs of footsteps enter behind you.

“Brother, what is the meaning of this interruption?” Your father interrogates, his face contorted in impatience

“Your majesty, my apprentice has gathered a great deal of evidence over the past month that would prove quite useful to this case. I humbly beg you to give him a chance to speak.” Your uncle gently requested

Your ears perk up at your uncle’s voice. Then you hear him mention the person with him is his apprentice, Lohen. Your heartbeat begins to quicken. You don’t trust yourself to look back at them both. You knew if you saw Lohen right now, your emotions would go haywire.

“I am not a patient man, if your detectives have something valuable I expect them to spit it out.” The other king insists

“How…how does this have anything to do with our sons..?” The other queen asked, clearly trying to hold back a sob

You felt Lohen walk past you, the small half-cape he wore creating a small swish of wind. He stepped in front of you, his shoulders held back.

“Your highness, it’s an honor to be in your presence, truly.” He greeted, his voice charming as ever

“Skip the formalities young man. What have you got to add to my daughter’s crime case?” The queen commanded

Lohen waited a beat, his head surveying to examine the pairs of royals.

“As I’m sure none of you are aware, two murders were investigated at the beginning of this month. Both men, and both working fairly menial jobs.” Lohen began his explanation

“Alrondé Jesp moved with his wife here to continue his farming business. He also heard that horse racing was quite popular here. Anyone who knew the man knew he took pride in taking care of the horses he raised. Often selling them to nobles and royals.” Lohen sat the exposition

“I’m growing tired already, apprentice.” The Queen warned

“Of course, your majesty, you must exude my lengthy explanation. For I want to ensure you all have every bit of information you need to fully understand this situation.” Lohen politely replied, his words sounded like they were coated in honey

“Proceed.” The foreign king commanded

“Well, the other case we investigated was a man by the name of Julian Sows. He was a medic, specializing in caring for animals, especially horses. Much like your late son. You have my grievances, of course.” He addressed the second set of royals

“Well, it may come as a surprise to you all that Prince Ellis and Prince Quinston knew both of these men. In fact, they knew them fairly well. Prince Elllis bought horses from Alrondé quite often. With the moving of Mr. Jesp to this kingdom, Prince Ellis had to begin traveling here frequently.”

At the mention of her sons travels, the mourning queen piped up.

“He always said he loved traveling here.” She reminisced on her don’t memory

“As a fellow newcomer to this kingdom, I must say I see the appeal.” Lohen responded to her, “but we’re not here to talk about this kingdom’s appeal to travelers.”

You watched as Lohen adjusted the few papers he held in his hand.

“As I was saying, Prince Ellis knew Alrondé well from buying his horses. Prince Quinston, worked with Mr. Julian Sows in caring for horses. Of course, they bonded over their shared love for the animals even through their immense separation in status.” Lohen continued his explanation

“So they all knew each other. How does this relate to our princess being a murderer?” The king questioned

Lohen waited for a moment, as if to determine the best way to continue.

“I should probably tell you all that Alrondé was killed by strangulation from a whip. At least, this was the conclusion I and her royal highness came to without any order weapon left on the scene.”

“Well, you can imagine my surprise when I hear a maid’s panicked expression from finding a whip tucked away in Prince Ellis’s clothing trunks.”

“YOU DARE accuse MY SON of MURDER?” The king clad in mourning robes roars

“Your majesty, I assure you when I learned this information, I merely assumed your son had the whip due to his hobby related to horses.” Lohen quickly replied

“Although, your son wrote a long letter to his brother indicating a strong aggravation with Mr. Jesp. Apparently the farmer had quite the pretty horse that he wouldn’t sell to Prince Ellis.”

“So you think he killed him?” You mourning queen asked

Her voice notably was unsure and unstable. As if she was starting to think this could be a real possibility.

“I would have written this all off as an odd coincidence. If Prince Ellis’s letter had not gone on to say....” Lohen began, pulling a piece to read of paper from the collection in his hand

“Brother, if I could get away with it, I’d ensure the man was disposed of. Then persuade his wife to give me the horse for half the price he’d usually sell it for. Unfortunately, you know I cannot carry out such matters. Even if I do desire most nights to wring his neck with my own whip.” Lohen read the words aloud

You heard your mother gasp and Prince Ellis’s father’s face go white.

“So my son committed a crime. That does not change the fact my other dearest and most innocent young man was brutally killed by the hands of this kingdom’s wretched princess.” The foreign king angrily insisted

“Ah, yes, Prince Quinston. He was certainly a case.” Lohen chuckled to himself

“You see, as I mentioned before, Prince Quinston worked closely with Julian Sows in tending to horses. You should all know Mr. Sows died of poisoning, clearly his murderer had great knowledge on medicine and toxins.”

“But do not believe that I thought your dear son a murderer. No, he was the last person that came to mind.” Lohen assured them

“Even after I heard a maid crying to another servant about how he had drugged her. That she had woken in a various state of undress with no memory of making her way to Prince Quinston’s chambers.”

Both of the queens gasped at this.

“I know, truly a terrible usage of sedatives if you ask me. And it seems Julian felt the same. Prince Quinston spoke in length to his brother in his letter about the medic badgering him for constantly stealing from the horses medical supplies.”

“So this was…..a repeated affair?” The Queen gasped, sending a disapproving look over towards the pair of royals dressed in black

“Now, now, I have no evidence to prove that. However, I do have Prince Quinston’s letter in my hands that still holds another piece to this complicated puzzle.” Lohen interjects, stopping before the royals get a chance to respond to the Queen

“Ellis, I don’t understand why he must be such a stick in the mud. He knows I’m a prince! Yet he has the audacity to deter me away from using the sedatives for…well you know what they are used for. He threatened to report me but I simply laughed in his face. What is he going to do to me? He’s a mere commoner!” Lohen read

“Now here’s the part that seals the deal. Prince Quinston writes ‘I know I should not be worked over this simple man. I must confess I have envisioned spiking one of his drinks many times to dispose of him so I would not have to hear his nagging. I’ve perfected the ideal poison too. I often think of the plan in detail when I need to calm myself’.”

He moves to hand the letters to the king with what you can only assume are written reports.detailing the murder cases and their connections to the princes.

“Even if my sons committed unsavory acts in their lifetimes! It does not take away from the fact your princess is a killer!” The king dressed in black yelled

“Do not dare dismiss you son’s crimes as simple unsavory acts. You’d do yourselves good to leave my palace immediately and never return. Lest you want word of Ellis’s murder and the myriad of Quinston’s crimes to spread across multiple kingdoms.” The king told him, his voice dangerous

You watched as the set of royals rose angrily from their thrones. They shot glares at everyone in the room as the made quick strides to the door. You swore they must have commanded the servants to slam the door with how loud it shut.

“Father…I…” You spoke up, your voice returning

“You are not punished. You also are not forgiven by your mother and I.” He began

“I do not see it fit to coop you up and treat you as a servant. We will report the prince’s deaths as sudden illness. For if any word of murder ok this palace got out, we would be ruined.”

You gave a shaky courtesy to your father before turning and beginning to walk out of the courtroom.

Your mind was numb from the overload of information. The two princes that you had nearly married were murderers. Not to mention Prince Quinston probably committed other more unsavory crimes. To think, your parents almost married you off to either of those men mace you sick.

You were still in shock at how Lohen had managed to so seamlessly convey all of the evidence. Evidence he had gathered from investigation. His actions made you, for once, openly admire him.

Your feet took you to a small gazebo in the palace garden. You let yourself sink onto the bench and a long sigh leave your mouth. Leaning against the backrest, you felt the tension in your body dissipate. Your bones felt like jello after being tense for so long and now relaxed.

There was still one thing nagging at your brain though…who had truly killed Prince Quinston?

You wanted to know, because you wanted to know your soulmate. Even if they were a murderer, you wanted to speak with them. You needed to understand why they killed the prince.

It was so quiet in the gazebo, there wasn’t even the sound of wind rusting the nearby plants. Your hands stayed folded in your lap, still shaking slightly from the events that had just occurred.

“You chose the most inconvenient place to hide.” A familiar voice commented, stepping into the gazebo

You continued staring at your hands despite the way they slowed their shaking at the sound of his voice.

“I wasn’t aware I required permission to seek refuge in a gazebo.” You quipped weakly

“You don’t.” He replied simply, “but you are usually not this hard to find.”

You felt a small smile slip onto your face. It quickly died in the heavy silence that filled with post-murder reveal air.

“You seemed rather pleased with yourself back there.” You commented, your voice shaking slightly

You were trying to set the usual quick witted banter you two share back on track. It wasn’t working, and the silence after your comment made it obvious. You didn’t attempt to mend the conversation, just letting your statement hang awkwardly.

You couldn’t escape the nagging question in your brain of who had truly killed with prince? Who really was your soulmate?

“Do you have any idea who killed him?” You asked, slowly raising your head to face him

He paused, not answering quickly as usual. His face made it appear as if he was searching for something. A way to phrase his findings, possibly.

“I do.” He told you

“And?” You promoted him to continue

“And the person who murdered him did it out of self defense. After hearing about another case with a woman being drugged by the prince, the murderer couldn’t take it anymore.” Lohen said

You considered his words…the way he phrased them.

“And so they killed him out of rage?” You asked

“They went to confront the prince, to insist he must stop. Quinston turned violent and the person nearly lost their life. They had no choice but to use their dagger.” He spoke, his voice quiet and heavier than the most dense blocks of gold

You froze, your body completely still. The way he spoke about the murderer. How well he knew their inner motivations and situation.

“You killed him.” You said

Lohen held your gaze, his eyes boring into yours.

“I understand if you think I am a monster.” He began to say

“I think you are someone that did what they had to in order to survive.” You spoke simply, believing every word

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected your response. What had he expected? You to blow up at him for defending his life?

Then, the realization hit you. If your fingerprints had been found on the dagger…and Lohen had killed him with said dagger…that meant…

“You’re my soulmate.” You spoke in shocked realization

“Guilty as charged.” Lohen joked, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes,

It was all too much. Lohen, the annoying, arrogant, insufferable apprentice who had to kill a prince to keep his life. He…was your soulmate.

You weren’t immediately overwhelmed with joy like you imagined you would have been when you eventually found your match. Your first instinct was confusion. How could he be your soulmate? Then it shifted into resistance or at least it tried to. Why were you so resistant to the idea of the apprentice being your soulmate?

It wasn’t because he had killed Quinston, you did not blame him for that. It wasn't because of status or your parents opinions, you could care less about that. So what was it about? When you couldn’t find an answer, that’s when you remembered all the feelings that you had pent up for Lohen. It was as if your brain was trying to shove those away from you. To not allow you to pull them out and examine them. But you shooed that part of your brain, and drudged up all your feelings for the apprentice.

You remembered the way your face warmed when he got close and whispered in your ear. The electric shock you felt when your hand brushed against his. The swelling of your heart at his usage of his skills as a detective. Looking back, you were surprised you didn’t swoon at his mention of studying toxins. Your stubbornness and emotional avoidance really did completely throw you off you at times.

“How do you feel…..about….you know. Being soulmates with me?” You asked, your voice thick with emotion

He paused for a long moment and each second the silence extended, the more your heart lowered out of fear into your stomach.

“I think fate has annoyingly great taste.” He says sincerely, not a hint of sarcasm or taunting in his voice

You laugh lightly at his words and the sheer joy that they caused to wash over you.

“You know, my parents would kill me if I even entertained the idea of attempting to be with you.” You told him

“I’m fully aware.” He chuckled, “but I trust you have an idea on how to fix this?”

You feel your insides warm at his acknowledgement of your own ideas. How he assumed you would have an ingenious way out of this solution.

“I think my parents would be hard pressed to deny their daughter an opportunity to try being with you. If the whole kingdom found out their dear princess had found her soulmate.” You explain with a small smile

“That would make me a suspect of murder in their eyes.” He stated

He didn’t sound worried about it. You didn’t blame him, you can’t imagine he cared much for your parents opinions after all he had witnessed.

“Mentioning the murder of Prince Quinston to anyone would do them much more social harm than their daughter being with a detectives apprentice.” You said matter-of-factly

You felt Lohen sit down next to you on the bench. He took in your words, his head tilting thoughtfully.

You felt yourself gravitate towards him on the small bench, your knees briefly touching. The contact caused him to turn his face to stare at you.

“Do I have something on my face?” You laugh lightly

“Not quite.” He stated, his tone returning to it’s playful lilt.

You watched him lean in close. You were reminded of being in the storage closet. He was that close to you again.

“What schemes are you plotting?” You question, giving him a glare that lacked any real bitterness

“Schemes that involve…” He trailed off, his face inching closer

His lips were now a hairs breath away from yours.

“Tell me to pull away, and I will.” He spoke softly

You didn’t want him to pull away. That was the last thing on earth you wanted.

“I…I am more than content.” You confessed softly

You watch his eyes sparkle, similar to how they did when he was being mischievous, yet this time a bit more sincere.

“You must tell me if you want me to kiss you, princess.” He teased, his lips forming into a smirk

You rolled your eyes, but you didn’t pull away. You were exactly where you wanted to be.

“Honestly, I think I’d like to strangle you instead.” You confessed with a small laugh

You watched his mouth form into a full blown smile. His whole face became giddy.

“We can do both.” He quickly told you

You laughed softly, before leaning in to close the distance between you two. Finally kissing the apprentice.

It was very different from how you had imagined in your room that night. Definitely better though, so much better.

When you pulled away, you noticed a smirk on Lohen’s lips.

“Your royal highness, you’ve failed to uphold your end of the bargain.” He complained sweetly

“And that is?” You question, eyebrows raised

He breathes a laugh, his gaze staying steady.

“To wrap those pretty hands of yours around my neck.” He replied softly

You pulled away, swatting him on the shoulder.

“Will you ever stop with your antics?” You question him, sighing in disbelief

“Never, you’d be disappointed if I did.” He assured you with a sweet smile

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