The Hidden Luna Queen 2

The nervous twitch of my mouth was difficult to hide. The rich and influential sure loved their fancy banquets and parties. And this was to be my life now.

As a-soon-to-be-Luna Princess, I would be expected to join Xaden and the rest of the royal family for certain social events, and likely to even host my own, as the queen and Isabelle did on occasion. The thought made my throat run dry. I had only attended a handful of parties in my entire lifetime, and now... this?

I forced myself to swallow my fears. I couldn't afford to let them hold me back. This was my second-real-chance at life, and I wanted to do the best I could. And, as my gaze searched Eric's, there was a sort of sadness lingering there that sobered me. After all, I was not in a position to complain. Some of us still were forbidden from enjoying such pleasantries.

"It would be nice if you could come," I admitted once he was done. "Goddess knows I could stand to see another familiar face." Eric smiled, seeming to warm up as the minutes ticked by. "Maybe one day."

My heart twisted at the sight, but I had no words of comfort to share. We both knew that so long as his father was in control, any chance of the second prince being able to properly enjoy his life was nothing but wishful thinking. And that was no way to live. No, Eric wouldn't be able to attend the banquet.

But maybe that didn't mean he was completely helpless.

I swallowed. "I want to go down to the courtyard. Will you join me?"

His face twisted with conflicting emotions. "Why do you want to go down there?"

I offered him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "We were never allowed to attend one of these banquets," I said, feeling unusually daring. "Surely there's no rule that says we can't help with the preparations."

This wasn't just for him.

It was something I wanted to do-to heal my wounded, lonely inner child, doomed to live barred behind walls and separated from the rest of the pack.

A faint light lit up his deep brown eyes before quickly being smothered by apprehension. "I... don't know. If-If my father shows up...

"Then we'll leave," I quickly amended with a small wave of my hands. "It'll be as if we were never there... at least, as far as he's concerned."

His mouth tightened into a firm line. He wanted to do this, I could see it. "Please?"

Eric's gaze flickered to the courtyard below with a thoughtful pause before he eventually heaved out a short sigh, his lips relaxing into a small smile. "Alright." He offered me his arm-a gesture of courteous chivalry. "Until the mad king comes calling." Grinning, I took his arm, and we ventured down to the courtyard. Carefully-in case King Arlan was, by chance, nearby.

The omega in charge was puzzled to see two random helpers who were very clearly not fellow servants, but once he realized we meant to help, he gladly put us to work where needed. "The more hands on deck, the better," he'd said eagerly, before warning us not to break anything.

And with that, we set off to work.

Nothing too menial or laborious, although we did work together to move a couple of those banners-which were just a tad heavier than I'd anticipated, but a feat we managed to complete much to our pleasure-and we helped arrange the different planters and pots scattered around the courtyard. Five minutes turned into ten, and ten minutes quickly turned into thirty. But time almost didn't seem to matter during the half-hour we worked.

It didn't matter that I was becoming sticky with sweat. It didn't matter that I might have gotten a small sunburn. I was doing something that mattered to me... that I'd wanted to do, and, judging by the joyful, relaxed expression on Eric's face, it seemed he agreed witl

me.

We were in a far corner of the courtyard, preparing to move another planter, when-

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

The loud, bellowing voice that boomed across the bustling courtyard made my blood run cold, and a mere glance at Eric's back, all stiff and unmoving, told me he felt the same.

No... I was hoping we'd have more time-!

Warily, I glanced behind us to see none other than King Arlan, standing in the entryway of the grand doors leading back into the palace. He looked as stern and as no-nonsense as ever with his arms crossed... but his attention was not focused on us. As a matter of fact, I wasn't sure he even knew we were there.

His eyes were fixed solely on a pair of omegas a short distance away from him, who had apparently done something not to his standards.

That was close...

All of a sudden, I caught a small motion out of the corner of my eye.

A thin, familiar figure who had started to back away. Slow, easy... step by step, as if not to provoke or alert some dangerous beast in our midst. He intended to leave, to escape while the king's attention was not directed at him. "Wait" I called out quietly, hoping to stop him.

And, to my relief, he did.

Slowly, cautiously, he turned around to face me, but only managed to lock eyes with me for mere seconds before jumping to a spot above my shoulder... straight to the tall, daunting figure across the courtyard, which was hopefully still unaware of our presence. "I... I fulfilled my end of the bargain," Eric stammered. "I helped as long as I was able to, and... and now I-" he paused to swallow, still not quite looking at me. "I've overstayed my welcome."

Overstayed his welcome...?

Gosh, those words tore at me like a knife.

I was swarmed with a jumbled mess of conflicting emotions-guilty for being the one who enticed him to come out in the first place, eager for him to stay despite his father standing across the courtyard, fright that he might again face some sort of unwarranted punishment at the hands of King Arlan.

How could I just let him leave when I'd seen how happy it made him to just be... involved?

"Eric..." I repeated, almost helplessly, "this is s your home, too."

But how true were those words, really?

A home was not a home because one merely lived and slept underneath its roof. None of that mattered if one did not feel comfortable and safe within it. For many, the palace might have been home, but for Eric... this was probably no better than a prison. The nervous glance that flitted between King Arlan and me was painfully apparent. And without even saying a word within those fast, fleeting seconds, I knew he had made up his mind.

"I... I can't," he insisted as he continued to slowly back away. "Please, just trust me. It's better for everyone if I stay away from here."

I wanted to protest. I didn't want his fear to take control of him.

But I knew better than that. The memory of witnessing the repercussions he faced whenever he dared to defy his father stood out in my mind and, as much as I hoped he'd continue to stand up for himself, I did not wish to see him in pain like that again. So... I said nothing.

Eric's gaze then tilted toward the floor before he muttered, pained and almost bitter: "I'm sorry."

And just like that, he left without another word, and I was all alone with a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.