Chasing The Cure

Chapter 18: To The Nines

"I can spend an eternity in your garden," Princess Eleanor stated dreamily. "It is too cold for such pretty flowers to grow back home."

"You will be leaving in three days. Are you looking forward to going home?" Kenric asked, looking at her intently to gauge her reaction. She smiled, but Kenric could not tell whether it was a happy or sad one.

"It is always nice to go home after you have been away for a while," Eleanor answered. Kenric raised a questioning brow, noting how she did not give away too much.

The ball was in one day, and shortly after that, the neighboring royals were to leave. Kenric knew he had to talk to the princess about rejecting the marriage proposal, and there was no better time than the present. He just had to be careful in how he brought it up.

"You can visit anytime you want," Kenric said. "If you liked it here, that is."

"I did," the princess replied. "The people here are lovely. And the land is beautiful."

Fuck, Kenric was hoping that she would hate it and would never want to come back.

"Glad to hear it," Kenric lied, biting his tongue. "Lady—"

"Eleanor, please. Forget the formalities."

"Right, Eleanor," Kenric cleared his throat as he continued. "We both know that we have a conversation pending."

"I know," Eleanor whispered. "You are a good man, Kenric. And I am sure that you would make a great husband to a very lucky woman."

"El—"

"But I am afraid that woman is not me," the princess whispered, shocking the man. Kenric said nothing as he stared at her, the expression on her face was one that he was familiar with. It was a look of longing.

"Who is he?" Kenric questioned. She glanced at the prince, sighing softly before passing him a sad smile.

"A knight," Eleanor answered. "One of our kingdom's strongest. He and I...we met a few years ago and we have been together since then. In secret."

"Why? If he is a knight then he must be of noble birth," Kenric said. In most kingdoms, the knights still needed to belong to families of high status. "Surely, it would be a good match."

"Hah," Eleanor let out a dry laugh. "My father would never let me get married to someone if it does not benefit him. If not you, then it will be a prince of some other kingdom."

"What about your brother? Will he not understand that your heart already belongs to someone?"

"Whose idea do you think it was to make this proposal?" The princess scoffed. "My father hates your guts. It was Edward who convinced him how a marriage between our two nations would be advantageous for us."

"Oh?" Now that was something Kenric did not know. It made sense, though. Even though the old man was cunning, he was rigid too. He would never have given his daughter's hand to somebody he despised as much as he did Kenric.

Edward clearly saw things differently than King Alfred. This made him all the more dangerous. Did he do it intentionally? Did he know about Kenric's inclinations beforehand, and arranged for a proposal with his sister and the prince just to rile him up and cause havoc?

Was he really willing to let his sister wed a man who could never love her the way she deserved? What kind of a cruel brother would want to subject their blood to a loveless marriage? Kenric did not think he could hate the blond prince more after his behavior towards Archie, but turns out that he was wrong.

"If father...if my father or brother find out that I love another, and that I rejected this proposal then...then I do not care for what they do to me, but I will not be able to bear it if they hurt him. My father will surely have his head and I cannot let that happen," Eleanor spoke, her voice low and scared.