Back to the year when the Darkest Winter ended.
Thethia: Royal Palace, Dining Hall

• Finneas •

"Finneas, how's everything?"

Elizabeth requested for him to dine with her and she rarely did that unless she had something important or ominous to tell him. Considering that the most forbidding tragedy finally passed and Thethia had been peaceful since the years she took the crown, the news she was about to break to him may not be so bad. He stared at the huge mahogany table ahead of him as he picked up his fork and knife, answering as he cut the piece of meat on his plate, "All is well, the injured soldiers were well taken care of and Tavion had everything in place. There wasn't much I had to do."

"Okay," Elizabeth nodded, seemingly listless but she went silent without another word.

He noticed that her russet-brown eyes remained fixed on the two tall, silver candelabras placed in the centre of the table — the elaborate silverware that was holding smooth white candles whose wax never dripped. Her food remained untouched and she seemed to be too bothered by her own thoughts to notice that he was staring at her all along. Worried, he asked, "Liz, are you alright?"

At the sound of her name, she snapped into attention again and refocused her gaze on him. She fumbled a little with her words as she replied, "Y-Yes, I am."

"Not convincing enough, sugar," Finneas shook his head. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"Fin..." she called him his nickname. It had been long enough since she called him that and the worry he felt in his heart was skipping up a notch. Her voice kept falling softer with each word but he caught everything that was spoken through the quiet air. Out of pure shock, he dropped his fork and it clanked noisily against his plate. Elizabeth had proposed, "If I were to ask, will you marry me?"

"Liz, what—"

"You can reject, definitely. It's not an order, Fin. I was just asking, you know?" Elizabeth waved her hands frantically in the air, her russet-brown eyes already held so much insecurities and hurt that it pained him to see her forcing a smile.

Finneas placed the utensil on his other hand down and shifted in his seat to face the lady seated adjacent to him. Elizabeth hesitated but faced him eventually, she had a slight frown pinched between her brows and her lips were trembling a little from her own nervousness. Finneas began, "Elizabeth, I would take your hand in marriage without a single doubt."

There was uncertainty in her eyes and he wanted to correct that, Finneas continued, "I just want you to know and realise this yourself: you are worthy of love, Elizabeth. Don't let yourself or others tell you otherwise."

"But—"

"Hush," Finneas cut in before she could even start. "Nothing you say would change the way I feel for you, so save it."

"People always leave me." Elizabeth was teary when she asked, "Why did you insist on staying, Fin?"

"I see everything that they don't see in you, Liz," Finneas smiled at her lovingly.

━━━━━━━━━━

When Elizabeth was ten and Finneas was fourteen.
Thethia: Royal Palace, Hallway

• Finneas •

"Get out of my way," a child said haughtily, pushing her maidservant aside as she continued her path down the wide, ostentatious hallway. Her hair was warm brown and she was adorned with a blush dress that was in a beautiful shade that felt so far from her ridiculous attitude. He only wondered which noble lady that was, obviously lacking etiquette and grace.

Beside him, his mother, the Duchess of Thethia, held onto his hand as she explained, "That's the Royal Princess of Thethia, Elizabeth Evarix."

"Someone like her?" Finneas questioned. It was the first time he left the Duchy to visit the Royal Grounds and he was shocked by the lack of courtesy apparent in the royals. He frowned, "She lacks compassion, Mother."

"What can you expect from a child raised by a monster?" Mother shook her head and whispered in a voice that was only audible to them. 

Finneas haven't expected his mother to dare say these words within the Royal Grounds, but the tragic death of Duke Veilstein and his bloodline had every noble fearing for their lives. If it wasn't for his father's loyalty towards the King, their family would've also ended up in devastation. Mother kept her appearances but the anger in her green eyes was too obvious, she was still resentful towards the King for her dearest friend's death — Queen Nadia's death became the aching grief that tormented her.

Finneas held onto his mother's hand and said, "Kindness and compassion is a choice. It takes grace, perhaps an overwhelming amount of grace to remain kind in cruel situations. Only thing, I don't know if I could see that in the princess of this Kingdom."

※

A week had passed since Finneas entered the Royal Grounds with his parents and this afternoon, he settled himself at a quiet corner of the vast garden to enjoy the book in his hand when he suddenly heard a quiet cooing voice saying, "Come here, it's okay. I won't hurt you."

Curious, Finneas pushed himself to stand and saw a figure of a girl crouching low at a bush as she reached her hand in. He recognised the brown of her hair to belong to the princess of the Kingdom and wondered what she was trying to do. She attempted several times but whatever she was trying to do never worked. Yet, she never gave up and Finneas decided to lend a hand. He walked close and said, "Let me try."

Elizabeth shot up to look at him, her eyes widened in shock and fear. He didn't understand the latter emotion but he reached his hand underneath the bush and commanded water into his palm. The droplets merged into a clear, transparent orb and soon enough, a pure white kitten crawled into view. It was limping due to a sharp branch that had pierced into its tiny leg but it continued to follow the swirling orb on Finneas hand, seemingly fascinated by it. Finneas carried it up and held it to her, he offered, "Are you going to help it?"

"N-No!" Elizabeth became frantic as she quickly picked herself up and stormed off. Finneas was once again disappointed by her attitude and when he decided to nurse the kitten himself, the girl returned with tears in her eyes.

She sounded frustrated and heartbroken now, "Please don't take it away."

"Is this kitten yours?" he asked, curiously.

"She's not," Elizabeth explained. "But she roams the garden."

"Let's tend to her first before returning her to here, shall we?" Finneas offered.

"I can heal her now," Elizabeth said, lowering herself in front of him and placed her hand just above the injured leg of the kitten. A soft light appeared from her palm and she whispered in Thethiac. A halo of light surrounded the kitten, putting it to sleep and she picked the sharp branch out. The light in her palm continued to seal the wound. It was not long before the kitten looked as though she was never injured. Eventually, the light faded and Finneas glanced towards the princess, she still had fear dancing in her eyes when she warned, "You mustn't tell anyone about this." 

"To be able to heal is an impressive gift, why are you keeping it a secret?" Finneas asked. 

"Just do as I say!" she exclaimed, frantic. 

Finneas was still unsure about the panic she was feeling but he nodded, "Yes, Your Highness."

"You know me?" Elizabeth gasped. "Who are you?"

"You're the princess, I'm sure everyone within the Royal Grounds knows you," Finneas smiled. "My name is Finneas Lavante, the second son of Duke Lavante of the Eastern Duchy."

"You're a noble?" Elizabeth scrambled away from him, as though he was repulsive. He saw so much fear in her eyes that she was almost shuddering, but she threatened, "Tell anyone about what you saw today and I'll show no mercy." 

Without another word, she ran away as fast as she could and left him utterly confused out of his mind.

※

Finneas never appeared before her again even when he frequented the garden and found her there, playing with the kitten. With the adorable feline, Elizabeth was always herself and always carefree. He didn't want to intrude since was sure that his appearance would erase that beaming aura surrounding her. It was unexpected, but he was beginning to like this princess more and more. 

That afternoon, Finneas saw her as he walked towards the garden. The small feline crawled on top of her and licked her jaw, tickling her and sending her to a peal of beautiful chuckles. Finneas hid behind the bushes and read his book, just enjoying the temperate breeze and the melodious sound of her voice that filled the garden with warmth and light. However, it wasn't long when everything took a tragic turn.

It was the same afternoon when Temple Keepers marched into the garden together with the King of Thethia, Wynston Evarix. He pulled the kitten off her and Elizabeth started begging, "P-Please! F-Father, don't hurt it! E-Elizabeth is wrong, p-please!"

The next thing that tore through the tranquil air was the piercing, painful squall of the kitten before everything died into tense silence. Finneas pushed himself to stand, witnessing the King pulling his daughter by her hair and he forced her to face him, "Elizabeth, don't shame me like that! Don't embarrass me with all these useless weaknesses of yours."

The girl was already a crying mess but the more desperate her cries became, the crueller they treated her. Under the despicable King's command, the Temple Keepers pinned her down and one of them held onto her head and started chanting. Her blood-curdling screams filled the air and he found himself taking a step forward as anger surged dangerously. In the midst of her struggle, Elizabeth turned and faced him as though she had sensed him from where she was. The fear in her eyes was apparent again and she panicked, her lips were mouthing words to tell him to hide. Finneas was torn, but following her plea, he remained. She kept her eyes on him, those russet-brown eyes never left him as she made sure that he didn't do anything reckless even when she was suffering so deeply from the pain that was inflicted as a punishment on her.

When all her tormentors left and the whole garden was left with them, he walked towards her unmoving body and he whispered remorsefully, "Elizabeth."

The girl used whatever strength she had left in her to crawl towards the kitten that was mercilessly murdered. She was already weak but she commanded her light to seal the wound that tore through its abdomen. Finneas worried, "What are you doing? You cannot exhaust yourself any further!" 

"S-She wouldn't h-have died, i-if not f-for me," Elizabeth struggled through her words, her sobs were silent but he heard them loud and clear. "N-No one had t-to die if n-not for m-me."

In that encounter of them, Finneas knew that Elizabeth wasn't cruel, undignified and heartless as what everyone assumed her to be. Instead, she felt much more than everyone else — so much that this realm didn't deserve her.

※

The moment he turned sixteen, Finneas passed the Royal Examination and achieved an administrative apprenticeship within the Royal Palace. That was his attempt to stay by her. He saw how torn she was between herself when fate was always against her. She never got what she wanted, and all that she had was always robbed from her. Every attempt on her side to resist against the King's rule always left irreversible damage to her as he forced her to submit to his tyranny. For every failure she showed to a task by the tyrant, someone would die and that was how he held everyone over her. 

Difficult. Unforgiving. Pitiless. That was what everyone saw her as but no one knew the princess who often hid in the library of her palace just to cry her heart out. Years and years, the library was where she always ran to in the middle of the night as she cried, grieved and muffled her screams. 

Finneas always stayed with her at a silent corner, until weariness knocked her out and he would get close to her. In her sleep, she always cuddled close to him with all the insecurities and fear that loomed larger than her entire self. He would stay with her until daylight arrives and leave the library before she opened her eyes. 

The night she was freed from the clutches of the manipulative monster was also the night she stirred in her sleep when guilt overwhelmed her. Even when she couldn't hear him, Finneas had held onto her hand and comforted, "Elizabeth, you'll be a wonderful ruler to Thethia and I'll be by your side, always." 

━━━━━━━━━━

Elizabeth kept her eyes on him but still confused. He looked into those deep, russet-brown eyes that were of the rich colour of the earth after torrential rain. Those eyes also belonged to a person who had been through the cruellest situations but refused to break the kindness within her. Finneas reached to rest his palm on her cheek, tracing the curve with his thumb. 

Tell me, Goddess Iris, this child that you've tortured with an ill-fate, haven't she proven herself enough?

Elizabeth dropped her head to the side, unsure when she asked, "What did you see, Finneas?"

"I see you, Elizabeth," he responded earnestly. "The real you that's worthy of love and kindness."

※

two more bonus chapters to go before we conclude this series.
(if you have questions for me, ask away! i'll answer them in the final author's note.)

please vote and comment if you're enjoying the read!