𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘 │ reign .

And there's a dazzling haze,
A mysterious way about you, dear.
Have I known you twenty seconds
Or twenty years? Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close forever and ever?

❝ °   .   ┊ *  DEDICATIONS: lover-of-mine ( thank you for holding me at gun point to continue this story, you're the real mvp )

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Time has a tendency to fly quicker when you feel peaceful. So for the two heirs who fell asleep in each other's arms once again, the night went by too quickly and now the morning light threatened to pass through the windows, invade the guest bedroom and disturb the sleeping royals.

Lucrezia couldn't remember the last time she slept so well. Last night, she felt like she lifted a weight off her chest and she could finally rest. She was far from having a harmonious lifestyle, a world war was right outside the windows, but every small fight mattered. Even the ones that didn't involve blood of any sort. She knew she made the right decision when she turned down Sébastian's marriage proposal and he would need some time to come up with another strategy, so she allowed herself to take the night off. Many sleepless nights were to come, she needed all the rest she could get.

Her eyelids fluttered; she was about to wake up. The princess slowly opened her eyes and blinked twice to clear her blurry vision. The first thing her eyes laid upon was the image of her fiancé peacefully sleeping. Is he dreaming of something? She asked herself, wondering how could someone be asleep and look so calm and beautiful. Lucrezia sighed softly, hoping that he has a dreamless sleep. Dreams, as wondrous and soothing as they could be, didn't let your mind and body rest through the night and stormy times awaited.

She thought about the life he used to have before fate and politics brought them together and wondered how it felt to have no care in the world and live every moment to its fullest. It must be nice. Dangerously nice, if anything. Once you make a habit out of this, it was difficult to remind yourself the real world exists and you have responsibilities that need to be taken care of. For a moment, Lucrezia felt a sting in her chest. She knew he could never go back to his previous habits because of this engagement. And she knew she was the reason why his life was going to take a sudden turn. That's what getting involved in politics and international affairs got you. Instability. She could never blame him if one day, he decides he doesn't want to be part of this anymore. As long as he will be standing with her, he will know no peace.

"I wouldn't mind if you made a habit out of staring at me while I'm asleep." Luke's growly morning voice burst her bubble and brought her back to reality. She was so caught in up her thoughts that she didn't notice he woke up until he spoke.

A soft flush crept across her cheeks. "Good morning, Luke." This was the second time he caught her observing him, how embarrassing.

"Good morning, Principessa." He greeted her with a low chuckle and reached forward, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was an odd feeling—to wake up with his arms wrapped tightly around her tiny frame. But he was sure he wouldn't trade this feeling he couldn't quite understand with how he felt when his untamed fingers roamed around the skin of a supermodel. Many beautiful women have been in his bed before, women most bachelors would kill to even talk to, but right now, none of them even compared to this tragically beautiful princess he held in his arms.

He noticed she was slowly shifting in his embrace, trying to get a look at the clock on the wall. Instead of helping her, Luke tightened her great around her body and pulled her into his chest.

"Don't look. Let's just stay like this a little longer." He bit his lower lip to prevent another chuckle from rolling out. He knew she was pretty strict about her schedule, but it was far too amusing to tease her like this. He couldn't help it. When he looked down at her and saw that her most prominent feature was her frown, the prince was quick to add: "Please."

It was the slight purr in his voice that made her give in to his plea. But she was not going to go down without at least showing him that she is willing to put on a fight, so she clicked her tongue before she spoke. "I hope you're ready to explain to my parents why we skipped breakfast." In reality, she knew no one would even dare to ask.

"Of course I am," Luke proudly replied. "I'll tell them I wanted to spend some more time with my fiancée because we had a difficult time yesterday when a certain Spanish prince decided to threaten our marriage. I am grateful for my wonderful fiancée who chose me, a man she barely knows, over one of her oldest friends who tried to manipulate her by using her sincere feelings against her in an attempt to control her and her country. Plausible enough, isn't it?"

His words would make everyone believe they had a rough twenty-four hours. And they did deserve a lazy morning.

"Speaking of which," the prince went on and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, then grabbed a strand of her hair in between his fingertips and tucked it behind her ear. "I meant it when I said we barely know each other, so let's start to change that. I want to get to know you better and I want you to know me, so I'll go first: when I was little, my parents brought a private tutor to the palace to teach me how to play the piano. I was very good at it and I loved to play the piano, but it was dreadful to be forced to perform songs I didn't like. So I made everyone think I hate it. It was difficult at first, but now nobody ever asks me to play for them, which is exactly what I wanted. The not-so-nice part is that I have to play it in secret."

While he spoke, Lucrezia parted her lips and listened carefully to each and every word that rolled off his tongue and out of his mouth with the excitement of a child that listens to their favorite story. She was entranced by the childhood memory he shared with her. "You were a pretty smart kid," she admitted, finally cracking a smile.

Luke nodded. "To me, playing the piano felt sacred for some reason and I didn't want to do it to impress my parents' guests like my brothers did. It would have ruined its meaning. So I chose to do this, even if it meant I wouldn't be able to play it often." Now that he thought about it, it's been a year or two since the last time his fingertips touched any piano keys. He used this as his coping mechanism, but lately, he didn't have anything to cope with. His life had been pretty shallow until recently. "What about you? Didn't your parents try to force you to do something similar?"

"Oh, they did." The princess nodded. "But I was never too good with the instruments. I was pretty mediocre when it came to playing the piano and I don't even want to talk about the violin or the guitar. It was disastrous." A short and joyful laugh escaped Lucrezia's lips as she remembered the neutral expression on her teacher's face whenever he congratulated her for a musical performance. The poor man was probably afraid he was going to lose his job if he told her the truth. "I've never been a natural."

"Perhaps we can play a song together one day," Luke suggested. Now that he thought about it, he would really enjoy to play the piano with her.

But Lucrezia was quick to shake her head. "God, I don't think you want to do that. I mean it when I say I'm mediocre. Besides, I haven't played the piano in years, I will only get on your nerves every time I press the wrong key." As much as she fancied the idea of him teaching her how to fix the mistakes she makes when she plays the piano, she didn't want to ruin this for him.

"I don't think you can ever get on my nerves, so don't dismiss this idea so quickly." Right after he spoke, Luke yawned. Then, he rubbed his eyes. "I think I could use a cup of coffee, maybe even two. I still have some flavors I didn't get to try yesterday and I intend to fix this today." He chuckled. "What do you think?"

The Italian agreed with a nod. "I'd like some coffee too, but I hope it won't come with paperwork too."

"Does your coffee usually come with papers that need to be signed at this early hour of the day?" He could guess the answer, but he was still surprised to discover she started working right after she woke up. It made him feel even lazier than before, given the fact that he rarely worked at all. Instead of waiting for her to reply, Luke pushed himself up and got out of bed, then offered her a hand.

When she placed her hand in his, the prince helped her rise as well and after her feet touched the ground, he spun her around and pulled her into his chest once again, then flashed her a wolfish grin. Then, he laced their fingers together and walked her to the door.

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Faded giggle sounds were heard from afar, belonging to the sleepy engaged couple. The princess and her foreign husband-to-be missed the breakfast, which meant they didn't get to hear the news either.

The King and the Queen were still at the dining table and they were pretending to enjoy their cups of coffee, exchanging suspicious glances with the Spanish prince from time to time. This was strange for everybody. Sébastian's presence was always welcome in the Italian palace in spite of the existing tension between their countries. But now, after the show he put on yesterday, it felt slightly different.

Lucrezia was the first one to go through the door, a joyful smile already present on her face. She bowed her head respectfully in front of her parents, then greeted them. "Good morning." Her hand was still held by her fiancé's, who walked in right behind her.

"Good morning, Your Majesty—" Prince Lucas was about to finish his polite greeting, but he quickly corrected himself after he remembered his conversation with Lucrezia's parents yesterday. "Mother, Father." It was needless to say that he wasn't used to such an informal approach, the people he addressed as such were the rulers of a country, but it felt.. right. Then, his eyes met Sébastian's and his first instinct was to tighten the grip on his fiancée's hand. He hoped a greeting by nodding his head would do, because he wasn't willing to say anything to the Spanish prince.

In return, Sébastian nodded to the Australian prince too.

They sat down at the table and before Lucrezia could reach for a cup to pour coffee into, Luke already prepared her beverage and gave it to her. In exchange, her smile only widened. She took a sip of coffee, then put her cup down. "So, when are you leaving exactly?" She didn't even look at him, she was keeping herself busy by stirring the coffee, but her words were sharp enough for somebody who just woke up.

What she didn't expect, however, was to hear Sébastian's next words. "Actually, I'm not," he said, his reply causing the princess' gaze to rise straight to his eyes. When she heard what he said, she stopped her previous activity and straightened her back. "It seems like I'll be staying in Rome a little longer. Delightful, isn't it?" There was a hint of irony hidden in his remark.

"Would you care to explain?" Her jaw was clenched and she could feel something twisting in her stomach. A bad omen. The feeling didn't go away, not even when Luke carefully placed a hand over her one of her thighs.

The Spanish prince sighed, then placed a strawberry in his mouth. This started to feel like a game to him and to his old friend and right now, he had the upper hand. "I spoke to my parents this morning and they thought it was a good idea to hang out with you for a while. Italy is beautiful this time of the year." He was deflecting, she could feel it. "Oh, and they also decided to release the ambassador of Spain in Italy from his position and let me take care of the relationship with Italy instead. So I guess you're not the only one who has a new title to celebrate. I was starting to feel bad that you had to postpone your ceremony for the Supreme Commander title, but I guess now we don't have to throw two separate celebrations, right?"

Did he just suggest to share her ceremony with him? A Spanish prince? In front of her people? He really crossed the line with this.

She bit her tongue and took a deep breath before she said anything. "I hope you don't expect to stay in this palace, now do you?" She could tell from the look on his face that he was surprised. "My apologies, but I hope you understand you're in a very delicate position right now and your presence in the Royal Palace is not welcome anymore. But don't worry, I'm not going to lock you up." Not yet, at least.

"Oh? Then why do I feel like a political prisoner, then?" He assumed he would be moved sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to happen this fast. "Am I at least allowed to choose the palace I'll be living in?"

"Do you have any preference other than Palazzo Borghese?" That building housed the Embassy of his home country and it was a place in which they used to play together when they were younger.

Sébastian shrugged tauntingly. "I was actually hoping I could stay in Palazzo Colonna." He knew she would never let him stay there again. Or, at least not while they were on bad terms. It was one of her family's jewels.

"No," she replied in a flat, but strict voice. "You will be escorted out of the palace and to your new residence in less than an hour. You're dismissed."

The Spanish prince scoffed, then rose from his seat and started to walk to the door. When he reached Lucrezia's seat, however, he placed a hand over one of her shoulder's and rubbed her exposed skin with his thumb. "Enjoy your breakfast, I will see you later."

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Is this me coming back 3242394823 years later with an update and asking you to please love this story again? Yes. But this time, I promise I will do my best to update as frequently as I can. I would like to use this chapter to thank you for all the love and support you showed to me and to my stories. It's unbelievable for me. I ghosted so so many times because of school but you guys have always been there and waited for me to return and never pressured me to do anything. I don't know what I did to deserve each and every one of you but I want you to know that I am eternally grateful. I'm almost at 500 followers, I still can't believe it. So thank you. Thank you for everything.

Yours truly, Victoria.