Fated Eclipse: The Illegitimate Princess And Her Alpha Suitors

Chapter 300: The Company He Keeps

Lyria’s POV

I tilted my head at his question, but before I could answer, Lucian’s hand pressed lightly against my shoulder, guiding me back into position.

”Your posture, Your Highness,” he said, his voice gentle but firm. ”You are dancing. And though we are having a conversation, you must maintain proper posture during a waltz.”

I adjusted immediately, straightening my spine and relaxing my shoulders.

”Why would you a-ask me s-something so o-obvious?” I asked him.

Lucian blinked.

”Pardon?” he said.

”It is q-quite obvious, i-is it n-not?” I asked him.

”Nothing is obvious to me yet,” he replied.

”Your G-Grace, you should r-really not be a-asking me s-something so o-obvious. The a-answer is clear,” I told him.

He stared at me, still confused, his brow furrowing slightly. I had no idea why he was confused, though I continued, my voice soft but certain.

”I like you, o-obviously,” I said. ”You b-bought me colour p-pencils. You are a-also t-teaching me to d-dance. You brought m-me cherry pie—not j-just once, but t-twice. That is e-enough to make m-me like you.”

Lucian was quiet for a moment, his expression unreadable. His blue eyes searched mine, as though he were trying to determine if I was being sincere.

Then he spoke.

”So you like me because of what I have given you?” he asked.

I shrugged, a small gesture.

”That is e-enough reason,” I said. ”A-and though y-you think them j-just gifts, they h-helped me. I l-like you a-as you are now and n-not who you were b-before.”

”I’ll take that,” he said after a moment, his voice soft.

We continued dancing, the steps flowing naturally. I could hear the gentle lapping of the water against the shore, the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze.

Then I spoke again.

”I must a-admit,” I said, ”I am quite s-surprised that you m-made friends with the l-likes of Duke V-Valenridge, Duke T-Thorncrest, and Earl H-Hawthorne.”

Lucian raised a brow, his interest piqued.

”Why?” he asked.

”Because of w-who you are,” I said. ”I understand you b-being friends with B-baron Redwick. You are q-quite similar—both so u-upright, so proper, so b-bound by rules and d-decorum. But Duke T-Thorncrest, for e-example... he is n-nothing even remotely c-close to upright. He w-would rather have fun t-than follow the r-rules of s-society. At l-least, that is h-how I see him. And though he s-smiles a lot, he also c-challenges a-authority. He does not seem to c-care what o-others may think of him.”

And that was one reason, amongst others, why I admired him. He also was not as proud as one would expect from a duke of his standing.

”Earl Hawthorne is a b-bit honest to a f-fault,” I continued. ”Most people m-may find him a-annoying because h-he speaks his mind w-without filtering. He d-does not know how to be anything o-other than h-himself. And Duke V-Valenridge... well, he is d-daring and is not a-afraid to challenge p-power either. But his a-attitude is what I s-suspect c-could attract t-trouble. He s-speaks his mind freely, e-even to the royal family. And you d-do not strike me as s-someone who would a-actually like t-trouble. Y-you are c-careful. You are m-measured. You t-think before you a-act.”

Lucian chuckled, shaking his head slowly.

”You read them well,” he said. ”All of them are brilliant, though. In their own way, each of them is exceptionally talented.”

”I know,” I said. ”But s-still. They are so different f-from you.”

He was quiet for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the lake.

”To be honest,” he said, ”I do not understand how I found myself being friends with them either. It just happened. One moment I was alone, and the next, I was surrounded by chaos. Normally, I would have made friends with only Julian. He is the only one who makes sense to me. But I must admit, I am glad I have made friends with all of them. Insufferable as the other three might be, they are dependable. And though I have not even spent much time with them, they strike me as good people. Genuine people.”

He paused, a rueful smile on his face.

”Being with them is more fun—hectic, yes, but more fun than I realised it would be. They annoy me most times. Give me a headache. Drive me to the wall. But I would not trade them for anything.”

I laughed, the sound bright and genuine.

”For instance,” he continued, his voice taking on a more animated tone, which I had never heard from him, ”all three of them had been asked before the competition if they knew how to play their instruments and had their compositions ready. They said they did. They were confident. They assured me they had everything under control. Amongst the five of us, only Julian admitted that he was not good and that he was going to play something he knew quite well because it would be quite difficult to learn to compose in a few hours. Only Julian was honest.”

I could feel my lips twitching, the laughter building inside me.

”But then the day of the competition...” Lucian shook his head, a look of exasperated fondness on his face. ”Alistair did a bad rendition of ’Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ With one finger, mind you, and he missed the keys, claiming that was his composition and that he had intended for it to be played that way. Evander...” He shook his head.

”—I do not even know what he thought he did. He played something unrecognisable on the cello and sang off-key, then gave some ridiculous story about the sea. And Benedict... oh, Goddess! He was the worst. Who hits a string instrument? Who takes a bow and strikes the strings like a drum?”

I laughed freely then. There was no need holding it in.

”You s-seem quite a-agitated,” I said, my voice trembling with amusement.

Lucian sighed, a long, theatrical sound.

”You should have seen me a few minutes after the competition,” he said. ”I was beside myself. I could not believe what I had witnessed, so I called a meeting of sorts. But, Your Highness, the worst did not happen during the competition but after. All three of them were proud of themselves, saying no one else did it like they did. As though it were an achievement.”