Queen Camilla had two younger siblings – the Chief of Defense and the Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs. Both used to live in the castle with the queen. They could still be living with her, except that the younger royals chose to plant their roots outside the walls that had imprisoned them all their lives. It was therefore a rare occurrence that the Chief of Defense paid the Queen a visit at night without appointment, and without any event requiring his attendance.

He stood in front of the glass walls of the tower, overlooking the tiny lights of the city sprawled before him. New Rome was a superpower in a world nearly destroyed by humanity’s greed. Its influence stretched far beyond the boundaries of one of the world’s oldest civilizations to modern day France and Germany. All these were the work of his forefathers. Lords and Ladies of Europe’s wastelands, who organized the survivors in order to build a civilization far greater than its predecessor. He was in it now, a member of the dynasty, to protect what had been built, what had been handed down to their generation.

“I got back from the reception of Ambassador Kim, I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Dante.” The attendants at the door bowed as it slid open to let the queen in. She dismissed both, walking into the center of the room and assuming a seat behind her brother. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company tonight?” It was not everyday that the prince visited his sister. Truth was the siblings more frequently saw each other in formal events than personal visits.

The Duke exchanged the beautiful skyline for his sister’s attention. He resembled the queen so much that they used to be mistaken as twins. However, where the queen learned a semblance of calm, even friendly, demeanor, her brother was all frowns and business. “I have to talk to you about your son.”

“Which son? I have three of those, you know.” 

“Camilla,” he sighed, exasperated at how the queen sometimes toyed with him. “you, of all people, are the most well-informed in terms of the current events in this kingdom. I am assuming that as his mother, you are closely looking into the ‘activities’ of your eldest. Where is he right now, and whatever is he doing there?”

The queen craned her neck so she could see her brother’s face, one that looks a lot like her, except for the hardness in his eyes that not even the security of their privacy hid. Of course, she knew where her son was, but her eldest was not one to spill his plans or what was in his mind. One side of her trusted that Luke understood the consequences of royal mistakes and that his actions were as well-calculated as the proposals he authored that morning, the other side worried that he was allowing his emotions get the best of him. Unlike the noble men and women, her Luke and Callie, no matter what they said, listened to the tiny voice of conscience from the deepest recesses of their minds.

[hr]

Luke was successful in taking a step back and stopping himself from raising a point when she told him what she believed about cooking. The men of her household were already against him, he could not possibly survive the next few hours with Rhiane mad at her too. Because if he told her what was on his mind, it was certainly going to be another war of words. Her beliefs against his.

He lay on his side, his head leaning against the ceramic tub with her cradled in his arms. They had kissed and touched and flirted time away. His eyes were closed as he let the warmth soothe his tired muscles, when Sebastian’s voice came through the closed door. It was something about that object he supposedly left in his pocket that caught his attention. He normally did not place anything in his pants’ pockets, but even though that was the case, he did not say a word. “Thank you, Sebastian.” 

If Rhiane watched his face closely, she would have noticed the uncertainty before his body stirred to pull his fiancee closer to his body, as if the tub made for just one person was still too wide for him. “Should we step out and dress ourselves?” If the tightening of his embrace was any indication, he did not want to step out into the real world just yet. The calmness of having nothing to worry about if only for a few minutes was addicting. Luke tilted her chin to meet his kiss. “Just a few more minutes,” he seemed to answer his question, then kissed her again. 

The couple spent the few more minutes taking advantage of the privacy to get to know each other in an intimate manner. He basked in her beauty and toiled to make her comfortable and content at the same time. It was just like the night at the spa, where they pretended to be different people. People who were not told who to marry.

After the minutes ran out, Luke stepped out of the tub first to fetch soft towels from beneath the sink. He draped his over his head then passed Rhiane’s before helping her out the water. “Your brother will be more intent on murdering me now. Your father too. Especially if there is no one else in this house who can cook the way you do.”