They made it to the village, and Aria felt nervous. Too nervous.
"Calm down," Lex said, looking over at her.
"What," she asked.
"I can see that you're nervous. But my people know you and yours are part of this place now. No one will attack you if that's what you're worried about. Then again...maybe you should have accepted my offer last week, about training," he said, fighting a smile.
Aria rolled her eyes, trying not to smile at his teasing.
They walked through the village, and Aria couldn't stop herself from looking around. It all seemed so....normal. Exactly like she'd pictured it.
A few people said hello to her and her friends. A few came forward to greet the king and bow. But everyone they encountered was pleasant. They all looked at him with affection. It surprised Aria.
On the way back, Lex slowed down long enough to walk beside her.
Mara walked a little faster, joining Grace at the front of the group.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why-why do the people on the outside say all those awful things about this place? About you? They pretty much had us convinced we were headed to a truly awful place."
"Uh, well....that's kind of a long story. It wasn't always like this here. And no one really knows that. Nobody comes here without an invitation. And nobody's been invited for a while."
She waited for him to continue, but he didn't.
"Like I said, it's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you sometime."
"And you don't mind? The things that people say, the things that they think?"
"No, not at all. In fact, I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad they think this place is still....bad, for lack of a better word. It keeps people away."
"And that's what you want? To keep people away from this place?"
"Most people, yeah," he said, looking at her.
She felt herself blush.
That night, for the first time in a long time, Aria was a little drunk. In fact, most of her friends were as well. The first week, almost all of them had avoided the wine at the tables, not feeling relaxed enough to want to drink it. But tonight, they were. And for the first time since she'd accepted Lex's proposal, she thought about the kind of future she could have here. Here, where her friends were safe. Here, where she didn't have to always look over her shoulder. Here, where she could live in peace.
She wasn't entirely sure what her obligations as queen would be. And she'd heard from a few others that there were other villages located here, villages Lex would visit. But how hard could it be? They were in their own little part of the world.
Here, there weren't any outside threats. Here, there weren't any boundaries Aria had to worry about; no territory was off-limits. So she let herself feel hopeful. So what if she had to marry a man she didn't love? So what if she barely knew him? At least her life was finally in her own hands. At least she could live the way she wanted to. Well, kind of.
Okay, so the whole I-barely-know-the-man-I-have-to-marry thing was a little weird, a little disappointing. But they could get to know one another. He seemed like someone she could be friends with...or at least she thought he did. She found herself studying him from afar, watching him interact with the people around him. Something about him just seemed so genuine. Like he meant what he said. Like he really did care about his people, and by that extension, hers.
Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Her people were interacting with Lex's people more and more.
And then Ben, clearly drunk, asked her to dance. A few people were dancing in the center of the room. Aria didn't want to, but Ben was persistent. So she gave in, and she danced with him. And it wasn't that bad. Until she noticed Mara staring at them with a sad look in her eyes before turning away. Until she noticed Lex staring at them with an angry look in his eyes before turning away.
She decided to join Isla at the table, a few of Lex's people around them. She noticed Mara heading to their room earlier than usual.
After a few hours, the crowd started to dwindle, so Aria decided it was probably time for her to head to bed as well. A drunk Ben walked her to her room.
"You shouldn't have to marry that guy," Ben said, just before they reached her room.
"Ben, stop it. You know I have to."
"No, you don't, Aria. We don't have to stay here. There are plenty of other places we can go."
"You and I both know that isn't true."
"But it is...you don't even love him, Aria."
"So?"
"So you deserve to marry someone who loves you, someone you love in return."
"Yeah, well..."
"Aria I-" he began. They were at her door now.
But he stopped as they heard two people approaching. They look up to find Grace and Lex looking right back at them. Aria's cheeks burned.
"Goodnight, Ben," she said. He rolled his eyes at Lex before leaving. Aria felt embarrassed at his behavior.
Grace nodded at Aria and picked up her pace while Lex slowed down and stopped to talk to her.
"Hey," she said, not knowing what else to say.
"Hey," he said back. He looked down the hall where Ben had disappeared for a few moments before speaking up. "When I came to you with my proposition, I thought I'd made it pretty clear that I didn't want to do this if you're already involved with someone else."
"I-I'm not."
"Are you sure about that?"
That pissed her off a little. And she was drunk enough to talk to him the way she wanted to, not the way she thought she needed to. "Yes, I'm sure. What kind of question, or should I say accusation, is that?"
"I'm questioning based on the things I've noticed."
"Well, maybe you need to pay closer attention. Ben was
