Angel put his lips to Willow's delicate hand. "Goodnight, Princess Aurelia." There was a warm smile on his face as he looked up at her, a smile which she was glad to reciprocate.
"Goodnight, Prince Alaric." She withdrew her hand slowly, wishing they could stay together. It had done her a world of good to find him in this new reality, and they really needed to talk over their rather interesting situation.
Especially the part with the marriage.
But it would have to wait, because there was no way two young nobles would be able to meet in secret. So Angel reluctantly left for his suite, Garwin at his side. At the doors of the Great Hall, he looked back at Willow, standing so straight and firm. Her eyes were on him still, like he was the only thing keeping her sane. It made sense, since he knew the feeling himself.
*****
Willow yawned as Marie helped her out of her gown, occasionally sending a longing glance at her bed, with its silken sheets, and its down pillows, and the quilt that was so soft and warm she could almost-
"Willow?" Marie's voice hesitantly broke into her reverie.
"Mmmm?" was Willow's incredibly eloquent reply.
"You really liked Alaric, didn't you?"
Willow smiled to herself at Marie's question. "It's as if I've known him for years," she said wryly.
"I'm glad you like him, Willow. I'm glad, very glad." Willow heard an undertone of uncertainty in Marie's voice, and she turned to look at her. "What is it, Marie? What is it you're trying so hard not to say to me?"
Marie sighed, and the sound practically brought tears to Willow's eyes, a fact which at least one corner of her brain considered absurd. Yet something in that sigh was so forlorn, so helpless, so mournful, even, that Willow looked at the blonde in sympathy.
"I want you to be careful, my dear. That's all. A girl's heart is so tender, so easily damaged. I don't want that to happen to you because you give it away too soon. Guard your heart, darling. Watch over it, and no matter how charming Alaric may seem, don't let him shred you the way-" Marie cut herself off suddenly, and Willow thought her face looked pale in the firelight.
"Don't worry, Marie, Alaric can be trusted. He is a good man, a good man. I can tell you that-"
"You can tell nothing. However you perceive him now, he comes from a horrible place. I don't want you to be dragged there, marriage or not. Marriage doesn't have to touch your heart, Willow. Beware your heart, Willow. Be very aware." With that comment, Marie stood and quickly left the room.
Willow stared at the door she had passed through in shock. She had only known Marie for a day, but she knew her well enough to realize that this was in no way her normal behavior. Willow couldn't understand it. Marie seemed determined that Alaric was a scoundrel, and even more determined that Willow should not be harmed by him.
'But it's Angel!' her mind cried out in protest. Angel was a perfect gentleman and a loyal friend, and he in no way resembled the cad that Marie imagined him to be.
Crawling into bed at last, Willow's mind was filled with conflicting thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.
*****
Angel was looking in the mirror yet again as Garwin regarded him in amusement. "Yeah, your face is still there. Shocking, I know."
"You can say that again," Angel replied without thinking first. He decided that he would simply hope that Alaric was supposed to have an obscure sense of humor. As he looked at Garwin in the reflection, he saw unanswered questions in his dark green eyes.
Garwin spoke suddenly. "You're quite taken with her, aren't you? The Princess?"
Angel smiled. "She's quite a girl."
Garwin nodded, his lips almost imperceptibly tight. "Well that's wonderful. I hope you'll both be very happy." His voice was strained, and Angel thought he could see a slight thread of bitterness in Garwin's usually cheerful face.
"Garwin? What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"What's wrong, Garwin?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Okay, that just contradicted your 'nothing', so let's try again. What's wrong? Did you not like the Princess? She really is wonderful, I'm sure you'll learn to love her."
Garwin laughed softly. "I'm sure I will." Angel walked over to him and seized his broad shoulders.
"Garwin, talk to me."
Garwin stared at the ground, his voice halting as he began to speak. "You'll marry the princess, and you'll settle down to produce heirs and learn to be a good king. You'll live here, because your father's castle is really no place for newlyweds. You'll settle here, and the people will learn to love you once they realize that you are nothing like your tyrannical father. You'll become king one day, a king in love with his beautiful queen, a king with lovely children, a king adored by his adopted country as well as his father's subjects, a king who understands the art of ruling inherently. You'll live your idyllic life, and I'll be happy for you, but it will be from a distance, and I'm selfish enough to say that I wish you didn't have to get married and that maybe then you could stay at home..."
Angel looked at him in extreme confusion. "Garwin, what are you talking about? What do you mean, 'from a distance'?"
Garwin's eyes were already lonely as he looked up at his prince. "Oh, come on, Angel. You know your father will drag me back with him. He took me in as a foundling, and as such, I'm bound to him. He's never liked us being so close, and I'm sure he's relishing ending our companionship."
"A foundling," Angel stated, trying to understand.
"I was abandoned on the castle doorstep, four months after you were born. The king, out of what he refers to as 'the goodness of his heart', a doubtful title as he has neither goodness nor heart, allowed me to be raised in the castle. Aggie raised me, and though the king didn't like it, you and I grew up side by side. While your mother was alive, she loved our friendship, and when she died, she told the king to let us be. But now, there's really no hope. You may insist that I stay here, but he is my monarch, and he may command me as the bastard foundling I am. I will never be able to marry, because no noblewoman would look twice at a man of unknown lineage, whether or not he be a friend of the prince. I have been raised on ladies, and cannot honestly see myself marrying a common wench. I have some degree of snobbery instilled in me, though a good deal of it is aimed at myself.
So I will return with your father after the wedding, and as I doubt he plans on visiting you too often, this is the end. Perhaps I sound melodramatic, but you were the only thing protecting me from him all these years." Garwin's eyes were bright, though his tears would never make it down his cheeks. "I'm glad you'll be happy with her, Angel. It's just that if you had despised each other on sight, I could have consoled myself with the idea that we would both be miserable for the rest of our lives."
He dropped his head in his hands, clutching at his wavy chestnut hair. "I told you I was selfish."
Angel looked at him helplessly, having no idea what to say. He glanced again at his reflection, but his image there was as silent as himself.