Chapter 71 The Elf That Was and Would Always Be A Lover First
“Heard your bride wishes to take another,” Thranduil’s voice was not exactly pleasing for Amir to hear, especially since he would rather have not seen her at all.
“She is my Master. I do her bidding.” The words came out like clockwork from his lips as he stared at her. “And your princess, if you would like me to remind you that she is now my wife.”
“A wife that has barely spent time with you but instead with that guard she is always with,” Thranduil looked good. They all did. Guinevere was kind enough not to treat them any differently as she instead brought in clothes of various sizes for them.
Most elves had moved to the church, finding the place rather peaceful as it made them feel closer to Vashka. Some decided to stay on the estate, feeling more at peace with helping as they all believed they owed Maeve something.
Thranduil, on the other hand, had decided to come in and out of the estate as she pleased, “The humans tend to stare at us a lot.”
“On the estate.”
“No—”
“Then ignore them.” Amir said, his voice still cool. He rose from the ground, his eyes staring away from her. “If you wish not to bother yourself with the humans or anything for that matter, then do your languishing away from my sight.”
He began to walk away, his eyes set on what else he could do here before he heard her say, “Is this truly how you wish to live? Like a guard dog only to be fetched whenever your master desires? Perhaps, it is a wish of yours but we are too proud a people for you to put us through similar ordeals.”
“Then leave.”
“What?”
The surprise in her voice would have thrown him off before but he did not care. Amir did not even bother to turn around and give her the satisfaction that was his face as he said, “Do you have any idea the number of elves that died while we stayed on our land because our so-called… pride refused to let us think of another alternative? Do you know the reason Isabella Montague decided to risk her life was to show the severity of our stay and to make us leave without force? Are you tormented by a side of you that tends to show itself on strange days without warning?”
“It is manipulation—!”
He turned his head to the side, his eyes glowing gold for a moment. “Tread carefully, Thranduil. Whatever you say would be seen as treason and I will not request for a panel before I take your head off your body.”
This time, he did not wait for another weak rebuttal from her lips. Instead, he continued his walk till he was out of the garden and finally back on the estate.
It was different, their return. Even if he had grown used to being with the maids and understood that they did not find them strange, he had… grown too comfortable with her presence.
In the beginning when she had pulled Lucien away, he chalked it up to her being herself, but then time passed, and he realized that he had spent far too long with her. And whenever they were here, in the real world, she did not see any reason to want him.
Plus, she had fixed the problem he had. There was nothing left for her to do for him. Or him… her.
But he had no plans on sitting back and staying on the sidelines.
He walked till he reached the stables, his hands behind his back as he walked in, and unsurprisingly found a shirtless Lucien scrubbing off the dirt on a horse. He stared at it, then at him before saying, “She does not wish to have a bath. She thinks you do it too regularly.”
Lucien didn’t bother to look at him, his voice gruff. “You speak neigh now?”
“I can sense these things.” Amir said, keeping his distance. “Same way I can sense your distance. If this is because Isabella and I are married—”
“It is not my place—”
“You are best friends so we will have this conversation. I have no desire to hold a quarrel with my wife’s friend.” Amir knew that the statement would upset Lucien. And it worked. The male in question stopped his brushing of the horse, his eyes going dark. He did not act like he noticed it. “I am glad to finally have your attention.”
Amir of Aegon was no fool. He had always known as everyone else did that Lucien was in love with Isabella— which was understandable, any reasonable self respecting would be. She was smart, kind and funny mixed in one. But at the time, him and Lucien had a sort of… arrangement that maintained a friendliness between them.
Amir was not hers. Lucien was not hers either. They were equals.
The new title had shifted things. Presented a hierarchy that made Lucien loathe him. He understood why. The man was private, and kept to himself half the time. They had formed a bond of sorts. And now… “The marriage is political. As you know all things are with her.”
Lucien let out a low growl. “Is that a complaint?”
“No. On the contrary, I am pleased with myself. This was a position I never saw myself in the year before but now, it is the only thing I wish to stabilize. And I am not stupid enough to think my claim is not shaky. In fact, you have a better claim than I do to her.”
“I do not—”
“Plan to lay a claim? I am aware. You are lucky that her feelings for you do not dangle around pity like the rest of us. The Prince, with his sad eyes and behavior. The Duke was his obsessive need to feel good about whatever he thinks she is. And me, with my illness. Even though she is fully aware of your feelings for her.”
Lucien’s eyes widened there. “W-What—?”
“But it is not pity. Not like us. You are here because she likes you here. Because… somehow… you have a purpose in her life.” Amir wanted to be responsible about the meeting, but he could not help the bitter taste in his mouth, or the way his head slightly hurt when he said it.
Or how his brain tormented him for not being here early enough, for not knowing her sooner.
“And I would rather you than the other men,” Amir said, his voice growing cold. He had spoken with the same diplomatic tone he had used for Isabella when she requested that ball night, but now, it was mundane. “So stop sulking. Leave the horses. They have not missed you. Shower. Go back up there and look at ledgers because it is the one way you can keep yourself in her line of sight— and stay there.”
He hissed the last words like they burned him to say it— which they did— and without wasting any extra time, walked out of the stables and returned back to his room.