Rhiane had provoked him and braced herself for the impact of his rejection, but it still stung despite her attempts to mitigate the emotional damage. No one wanted to hear they were unworthy, that their feelings were ridiculous, that they were unwanted by another individual. It had little to do with romance and everything to do with human nature and the very basic need for reciprocation of caring. That he could so smugly dismiss her and then request she perform an intimate gesture, with the laughable excuse they needed to practice, cemented her resolve to distance herself from him at the first opportunity. Certainly she had agreed in public to feign affection but she had made no such promise in private and there was nothing to gain if she indulged him now or in the future. Even his proposal had been for a kiss during a broadcast, not in the cockpit, in exchange for speaking to the farmers. She could imagine now he'd ridicule her if she had obeyed- he'd mock her ability, or her submission, or her weakness, or any variety of perceived lesser qualities simply because being a bully amused him.

"No," she stated quietly but defiantly.

Truthfully Rhiane wasn't certain what exactly had just transpired. Before Luke had faced off against Tobias he had said something about Lia and Octavia, but had not offered any explanation as to what the bodyguards in question had been talking about. It had to something concerning her, but she could not imagine what they might discuss with the future king and not her. The princess elect had been careful not to expose any aspect of herself that could be construed as a salacious secret to her new entourage. If anyone suspected her more true nature, her candid practicality, her baggage of the soul, it would have been Tobias. The cousin to the throne's heir was more observant than nearly anyone else she had met, the court included.

More mystifying than his throwaway comment about the two female guards had been the stares between the two men as they argued about safety protocol. There was no love lost between the pair. They were cordial and polite most of the time but there were walls erected between them from long before she entered the picture. Tobias was generally stoic, and Luke generally apathetic, so it was hard to imagine what could generate such animosity as she had just seen evidence existed. What made it more perplexing is that it had very suddenly appeared. When Tobias had been to escort her to the engagement ball there had been no posturing, no glares, no bristling as her arm was transferred to one to another.

"No," she repeated more firmly. "Why would I? You wanted me to in front of the cameras, but there's no camera here. Or are you now raising the requirements, only to perpetually increase them later, so that I am following your every whim in the hopes that I might get a prize just outside of my reach?"

Rhiane turned her head to the side. Her cheeks were still flushed with embarrassment and an emotion that eluded his grasp. Had he been kinder, more gentle, more understanding she might have foolishly acquiesced with his demands. She was not certain if she was more disappointed that he continued to be his mother's son, or that she almost took the plunge and risked everything to see what might be hidden behind his lips. Now she was certain only loathing, disgust, and scorn still dwelt there. Any fantasy that he was an equal measure of his peasant father had been dispelled.

"I didn't believe your mother's propaganda," she said softly with her eyes on the adjacent wall rather than hers. "I explained to you my difficulty in my acting. Whether you realize it or not, the populace will discover today, tomorrow, years from now that the romance is not genuine. Love is not something you that can be easily emulated when you've never felt it for someone," she said with more injury in her voice than she intended.

"I'm sure you can find someone more worthy to kiss you," Rhiane said as her eyes remained locked on the wall. And therein laid one of their many problems. Because it had been reinforced many times over that she was leagues beneath him, it was increasingly difficult to simulate a believable chemistry; with each interaction the future queen became more adamant the distance between them was too large to be crossed, and that there was nothing to be gained by trusting, but liking, by believing. Undoubtedly this had once been an issue with the queens and kings of past- but perhaps they had fallen to physical passions without as much thought as to their birth.