Sinthia and The Demon Duke of DeSidea: 14

Now that Kairn had sent Elias off with the letter to the princess of Ophelia, he could finally relax and forget about her for a while longer. He wasn’t particularly interested in getting to know his wife before their wedding. There was no real benefit, since they’d be strangers in the same house anyway. He reclined in his office chair, savoring the silence that Elias being absent brought. But every time he thought he could clear his mind of everything, that blasted letter bubbled up to the surface again and again. He folded his arms, then crossed his legs, then turned left and then right. Fidgeting again and again, he finally realized that he was in fact, perturbed by the letter that woman had sent.

Elias had informed him that human women would send their lovers letters spritzed with a bit of their perfume. It was allegedly a very popular thing to do.Did she really think deeply enough about her actions, or was she just playing around with him? He had heard that she was a sheltered little princess, so maybe she wasn’t aware of what perfuming her letter meant. Maybe she had heard it from a servant or a friend that read far too many romance novels. Either way, she must have been insane to send him—Kairn Edrick DeSidea, the Demon Duke of the forsaken land of DeSidea—such a letter. Well, he had heard that she had attempted to take her life a mere two and a half months ago, so perhaps she wasn’t completely sound. “Although it is embarrassing for me to admit, I am simply very excited for the day when I see you in the flesh” To this, he scoffed. Although his portrait was accurate in it’s depiction of him, it was still a somewhat idealized version of him. He was yet to meet a human being that didn’t want to run away in terror at the mere sight of his towering frame. She would be no different.

Yes, she would be no different. Not from the humans he had to meet at ceremonies, or the peasants, or the mailmen. Or the previous Duchesses. With this, he felt himself relax, the matter of his weird fiancée finally settling. “Your Grace!” An all too familiar voice rang out. Kairn opened his eyes, his pupils shrinking to a slit. And so his peace had ended. His door burst open, and in stumbled Elias. He looked disheveled and in shock, but somehow still ecstatic. That meant bad news. “Your Grace, I have returned with superb news!”

”if you think that it’s superb then it’s probably going to be terrible news.”

Elias only grinned in return, walking quickly to the duke. “Here!” He thrust an envelope beneath his nose. It was purple. “I said that I would not keep up correspondence, didn’t I?”

Elias nodded, his tail wagging slowly.

”So why is there a letter from her in front of me?!”

”She refused to comply!” Elias replied with joy.

”And why didn’t you deny her more firmly?”

”I did, Your Grace! But at the end of the day, she technically outranks you, and will be the Duchess of DeSidea very soon anyway. I’ll have to listen to her orders sooner or later, so why not sooner?”

Kairn glared at the delighted fox before snatching the letter from him and tearing the envelope open. “Be careful! You may tear the actual letter.”

”All the better for me.” He shot back, turning his swiveling chair round so that he no longer had to face the rosy-cheeked, euphoric Elias. He flipped open the letter roughly so that the paper made a dangerous sound. That was to knock Elias down a peg.

Dear Kairn,

How cruel of you to send the wonderful and jubilant Elias all the way here to deliver such a short letter! If you were going to send him here, at least two pages would have sufficed. You’re far more petty than I’d imagined!

Kairn was aghast! Had she called him petty?? He felt the blood in his veins become hotter, and his teeth gnash together. She was an incredibly insolent woman to have brazenly called him that. He had every right to burn that letter to a crisp right that moment.

Although I can’t say that I find that to be wholly true. I couldn’t help but think that maybe you were the kind of person that expressed himself in a unique way. One that not everyone would be readily able to understand. After all, if you had truly wished to have no correspondence, you would not have sent me anything at all.

He felt his anger halt for a moment. Kairn blinked, taken aback by her words. Indeed, he could have very easily ignored her letter and never written back. In fact, why didn’t he simply do that? An uncomfortable feeling began to manifest, and he pursed his lips. He would much rather be called a petty man than whatever she thought he was right now.

Either way, Kairn, I am pleased to let you know that such abrasive behavior will not be anywhere near enough to sway my resolve. I may seem like nothing more than a frivolous, ignorant princess with strange inner workings, but I’m far more than that. Oh, much more. If anything, your actions so far made me giggle just a bit. Ah, not in a manner of mocking. Far from it. It simply put a smile on my face. After it made me very flustered. Lucky you, I was able to gather myself quickly. Do you know why I gathered myself so quickly? Well, because I was thrilled to write you another letter!

Kairn let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This woman must really be insane to have written such words without an ounce of shame. He did admit, though, that he no longer felt angry per se. He was most definitely not pleased by this situation, but he was not angry either.

Today, I had a bit of a falling out with my father, so I was feeling down. But when I received your letter from Elias, I felt my spirits rise. And now that I’m writing to you, I am a little anxious but eager to hear from you again. Thank you for sending me a letter, even if it was literally a single letter. You may think I’m joking, but I really do look forward to hearing back from you. It’s great fun writing to you.

Elias had managed to sneak beside his master, and took a peek at his face. What he saw made him smile in silent delight. Kairn had a complicated look on his face. His brow was slightly knotted, but his eyes were pensive. He had a very slight pout on his lips as he stared at a spot on the paper. This was the look he had on when he was experiencing an emotion other than anger or disgust. The visage of a man trying to decipher a feeling he had no experience with. Perhaps he was simply confused as to what emotion he should have been feeling, because the one he felt right now was unexpected. Elias would most definitely tell Sinthia of this the next time he saw her. Kairn let out a sigh, shook off his uncertainty, and resolved to finish the letter.

P.S. if you don’t write me back within the week, I will assume that you are so filled with words and stories you’d like me to hear that it would simply take you more than a week to express it all on paper. If that is the case, then I will hop on the fastest horse in Ophelia and ride to meet you in person at your residence so that I may hear you speak. I will do it without hesitation.

With kind regards,

Your wonderful fiancée, Sinthia

Ah, now this, Kairn knew how to react to. He crumpled up the pastel pink paper and tossed it into the trash. Elias wailed in devastation, as Kairn turned back to his desk, ready to work.