Sinthia and The Demon Duke of DeSidea: 13

Sinthia walked down the hallway from her father’s office, maintaining the vague smile she had left with. There was no one around, and the warm quiet of it all was frankly beautiful. However, Sinthia felt terrible. She hadn’t told him off nearly enough. She had had to hold herself back from ripping the king  to shreds. She had wanted to speak in detail about his negligence and passivity, but she also knew that she had to maintain a level of decorum, no matter how small it was. He was, after all, still a king. A terrible father, but a monarch nontheless.

When she finally arrived at her suite, she kicked off her shoes and begun to pace with frustration. In her past life, she wouldn’t have hesitated to tear that man apart. To grind him into nothing with sharp and critical words. It was so frustrating to not be at the top. To have to refrain and hold back because of a lack of power. When someone did wrong, then they needed to hear their wrongdoings without any dressing or cushion to soften the blow! Especially when it came to something as important as negligence of a child. In a way, Sinthia felt like she hadn’t been scathing enough. But she also knew that as a king, the way people worded their thoughts for him was very particular and mindful because of the power he wielded over them. They would work hard to not offend him, and as a result even their complaints came out graciously and polite. Every word spoken to him was softened and pruned and curated for him so only pleasing sentences were ever offered, so even her small, virtually soft reprimand was as vicious as a knife attack to him.

She knew this, but the frustration was not soothed. Now, she had to get retribution through action when she would have much rather told him off. There were very few ways to get revenge against a king, because most actions would most definitely get you arrested and sentenced. The only revenge that was plausible was to go all out and overthrow him, but Sinthia had also done her research. The King had an incredibly solid court. The rival faction was unable to say anything because the fact of the matter was that he was an effective ruler who led the kingdom to stability and peace. Overthrowing him would create strife and even throw the kingdom into a civil war. Her hands were tied.

That’s why she planned on returning his behavior to him as much as possible before it came time for her to leave to her future husband’s land. To do everything in her power to be as cold and abrasive as he had been to Sinthia of Ophelia. But that could only work if he felt. If he had emotions and feelings. She was not confident that he was equipped with any of those, so this plan was already shaky. After pacing long enough to feel the soles of her feet hurt, Sinthia sighed and plopped down on the couch. She sat in the most unladylike manner, but since she was alone, she did not care. For now, she released the frustration into the silence all around her, taking deep breaths and shutting her eyes to refocus herself and her priorities. She must not get too caught up in revenge. She had a new chance at life and wasting it on people that didn’t understand their wrongs was not in her plans.

“Ah! I wonder, did the Duke of DeSidea receive my parcel?” Sinthia sat up suddenly. She had taken a lot of effort to sound friendly and nice in her letter so that their relationship was not bad. Yes, there would be no love, but she wanted to have a relationship that was at least amiable. She stood up, ready to ring a bell and have someone check if there was anything for her, when she realized that the room felt a little cold. Perplexed, she looked up to see one of her windows was ajar.

Immediately, Sinthia switched gears, forcing herself to become aware of her surroundings. The window had been closed when she came into the room, and no one had come in. So that meant that someone had snuck in. But how?? She had heard nothing. Not even a rustle. Suddenly, she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise in warning. Behind her. She spun around, and came face-to-face with a tall, very strange-looking man.

He gave a wide smile, and was just about to bow, when Sinthia grabbed the collar and elbow of his shirt, pulled her right leg behind his left leg and executed a flawless judo throw, slamming him into the ground. She heard a surprised scream from him, but she was not about to be merciful. “P-Princess Sinthia! What—“ but she would not give him time to speak just yet. In a fluid motion, she caught him in a shoulder lock. “WAIT A MINUTE PRINCESS!!” He pleaded. “Who are you, why are you here and why shouldn’t I dislocate your shoulder.” She coldly demanded, not letting up. His silvery-white hair poured all over like spilled milk on the carpet. Although he did not struggle pointlessly, she could tell that he was obviously very nervous. “I-I am Elias, the aide of His Grace, the Duke of DeSidea. I came to deliver a message, and it would be very unpleasant for me if you DID dislocate my shoulder.” His voice was crystal clear, like water so still it reflected the sky. Immediately, Sinthia let him go, shot up and folder her hands before her in a ladylike manner.

“My sincere apologies, Sir Elias. I was very shocked, you see.” She said in a light, soft voice. The man known as Elias had picked himself up and was now warily checking that his shoulder was alright. His long hair looked frazzled, almost standing on-end. His bright amber eyes stared at her with caution, but he soon gathered himself well enough. “Would you like some tea, Sir Elias?”

“While that would be wonderful, I have but a simple message to deliver from the Duke.”

Sinthia perked up, completely forgetting that she had put the man into a shoulder lock mere minutes ago. “The Duke? Kairn? Oh, please have a seat, Sir Elias!” She quickly skipped to the bell by her fireplace and rang it twice. Very soon, a knock was heard at her door, and she moved to answer it.

“Oh, Sir Elias! What kind of tea would you like?”

“I didn’t want tea—“

“It’s perfect weather for a peach-flavored ice tea!” She quickly chirped, and ordered for the tea to be brought up.

She waited until the tea was brought before she asked anything else. The maid who brought the beverage was very perplexed and was trying her best to keep her face neutral, but she simply had no idea where this tall man with startling silver hair came from. She would have immediately notified the palace guards if the princess hadn’t been so exited to see him. “You don’t have to pour it, Nancie, thank you for bringing the tea.”

“Certainly, Your Royal Highness.”

And with that, the maid left the two to their own devices.

“Allow me to pour you a glass, Sir Elias!” She begun, swiftly taking the pitcher in her hand. Elias immediately sat up, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. “N-no Your Royal Highness! You mustn’t pour a mere aide tea—“ but she hummed happily as she ignored him and filled his glass with the bright orange liquid.

“Please do tell me, Sir Elias. How did you get into my room? It’s not at all easy to sneak into the Royal Palace.” Sinthia sipped her own tea. It was refreshing and sweet. She watched Elias eye his glass a bit suspiciously before following suit and sipping it. She could almost see cute dog ears perk up on his head as he was quickly won over by the fruity drink. He took another sip, and was now pleased enough to drop his guard.

“Well, I’m a demon after all. Breaking into a Palace or two isn’t too difficult a task.”

Sinthia gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. Elias suddenly realized what and how he said what he said, and cursed himself for being careless because of a sweet drink.

“Oh my. That’s very impressive! So you must have used magic! I’ve never seen magic before. You must be very good at it.” Sinthia giggled before taking another sip of the tea.

Elias was frozen for a bit, before he smiled sheepishly from the compliment. It took very real effort to not allow his tail—masked with magic—to wag. “Ah, you’re too generous, Your Royal Highness.” He replied with poorly hidden pride.

“Oh, you may call me Sinthia. “Your Royal Highness” is a mouthful.”

“B-but that would be rude of me.”

“I insist!”

Elias felt his cheeks warm with joy. Sure, the princess has initially thrown him into the ground and threatened him, but she must not be all that bad. It was his fault for appearing behind her with no warning after all. She was far nicer than he initially thought. He had very few people with whom he could be casual with and call by their first name, so this was also exciting for him.

“V-very well. If you insist I will call you ‘Sinthia’.”

When he looked up, she was beaming, smiling from ear to ear. Oh, how joyous this was. Elias couldn’t help but smile too as he sipped his drink.

“So then, Elias, won’t you tell me more about you and Kairn? I’m very curious.” Elias thought for a bit, before his brow furrowed. He remembered what Kairn had told him before sending him off with his message, and now he was wondering if he should honor what the Duke had ordered. “Well....”

“Did Kairn tell you to keep our interaction very short and concise?”

Elias gasped, his beautiful eyes wide with surprise. “How did you know, Sinthia?”

“It feels like something he would say, for some reason.”

“Yes. He told me to deliver my message and promptly leave.”

Sinthia put down her tea, then thoughtfully crosses her arms. After a moment, she turned to face Elias with a bright smile before saying, “Well, you can think of it like this! In just a few months, I’ll be the Duchess of DeSidea! Just like Kairn is the Duke. I’ll have to talk lots and lots with you so it should be okay to talk now, yes? And in addition, I’m currently the princess of Ophelia, so I technically outrank him as of now.”

Hearing this, Elias became excited yet again. His future duchess was so much fun! “Will we really talk lots when you become the Duchess, Sinthia?”

He watched her face scrunch in confusion. “Of course we will! I won’t know much about DeSidea so I will humbly ask for your guidance, Sir Elias.” Oh, how warm Elias felt! Was this another blossoming friendship? It felt like it! “Yes! I’ll do my very best to make the transition smooth for you, Your Royal Highness!”

Sinthia stared at him with a bright smile. “Sinthia.”

“Oh, yes. Sinthia. My apologies.”

“Don’t mind it at all. Now...”

They had talked for nearly two hours, exchanging information about each other and each other’s kingdoms. It was such a pleasant break from Sinthia’s normally very boring and repetitive days, and she found herself genuinely enjoying the company of Elias. From this short time they had conversed, she had learned a lot about his personality and the personality of her future spouse. Elias was more like an excitable puppy. His cheeks flushed when he was excited, and even though he was very tall and beautiful, he was adorable in the way his eyes widened and the way his face lit up. Right now, he was so comfortable in her company that he had drank three glasses of tea, and was halfway through her fourth. “Ah, Sinthia. I mustn’t forget. The Duke entrusted me with a letter to you.” He suddenly sat up, a bit more proper than he had been a second ago.

He handed her a matte black envelope. It was thick and of very high quality, so Sinthia felt a very small bit of hope light up in her chest. “Yes, thank you Elias. Oh, I can’t tell you how excited I am.” Elias did not reply, the smile on his face remaining neutral. Sinthia opened the letter very carefully, then took out the letter. She unfolded it elegantly, barely holding back her excitement. Her eyes scanned over the paper, and her smile turned icy. She looked at Elias, who still had that neutral smile on his face. “Is he serious?”

“Unfortunately so.”

“For real serious?”

Elias nodded, his bangs bobbing slightly.

Sinthia looked at the letter yet again. On the pristine paper in her hands, she stared at a single word written in italics. The strokes were strong yet sharp, truly showing the personality of the writer easily.

In dark black ink, Kairn had simply written a large, firm, “No.”

God I love Elias bro. I wanna pet him.