(...) Her eyes narrowed as he spoke, offering him a slight bow of the head, wondering if he was aware of the farce of engagement thrust upon them--or if he was playing the dimwitted fool--which was an irrational thought, she was aware. But emotions were high strung and she was never good at tempering her flame. "My Lord, May I ask for a moment of your time, perhaps somewhere with a bit more privacy than in front of the refreshment table?"
So even this calm corner was not good enough.
Chatri dipped his head in accord and led them both down a path to the royal gardens that he knew well. He greeted the few nobles that they encountered along the way and continued until they were truly alone behind the bushes of crimson roses. Privacy as promised, but likely not for long - their titles meant they should never be left unattended, after all.
"The princess spoke with urgency," he commented, reaching out to caress the flower blooming the closest to him, running his thumb gently over the delicate petals. Nature calmed him, but clearly it did not her. Whatever it was that troubled Princess Soomin, it must be something important. Odd, because Chatri would have never associated such a word with him. He was, after all, the youngest of his household. The brilliance of his older brother meant he could survive comfortably as Lord Nobody and he was, truthfully, most grateful.
"How may I be of service?" It must be something unrelated to his family, otherwise she would have ample others to seek out. His mother, for example, always had a ear to lend to those in distress. She was also notoriously tight-lipped and did not divulge information shared with her in private.
There was something about his demeanor that was off. Soomin half expected the man to radiate a sense of superiority and smugness at the thought of owning the life and body of one of the Kings daughters. For a brief moment, she entertained the thought perhaps the rumours about Chatri’s preferences weren’t rumours afterall, before discarding the thought as soon as it arrived. No–if that were the case he certainly wouldn’t be acting confused.
Some of her rage cooled down then, as she watched him admire the flowers of the royal garden—still eyeing him suspiciously for a moment before tearing her eyes away to instead cast her gaze around, years of habit having her seek out each corner of the courtyard in search of possible listening eyes and ears. Taking the time to choose her words carefully at his prompt.
“Were you aware of the news? Of the contract?” Soomin was proud that her voice came out steady despite her stress. Truthfully—the thought of the other man being like the other nobles in court hurt her deeply. Though they were never friends as children, he had always been nice to her during the times when the children were forced to attend the court's social events. Rationally she knew that there wasn’t anything he could have done or said in protest to the engagement. She wasn’t naive. Still—the emotional human side of her brain needed to know.
