Chapter Text
Saul moved through the sea of people, making his way across the full ballroom. The air was alive with chatter and the soft music provided by the orchestra. The headmaster detested these kinds of events hosted by Queen Luna. There were too many fake smiles and whispered gossip. It was a grand performance, everyone putting on their most shining mask. And Saul was not a good actor by any means. He couldn’t care less for intrigue and the fine workings of the upper class. No the soldier preferred his people straightforward and honest. Showing their emotions on their face just as he too often did. The smile fading from the face of a young aristocrat as he brushed by her proved him right in the assumption that the glower on his face mirrored his unhappiness with the event. Having stayed long enough to serve decorum, he was ready to leave and exchange the noise around him for the silence of the car. If he could only find Farah.
He had lost track of the mind fairy earlier after they had shared one mandatory dance. Thankfully the past hour had been spent in the company of General Perdena and a few other contacts from the military. They were by far preferable to the various royals and members of the court that were only here because of their wealth and influence. There might be a bit of prejudice involved on his side, yet none of his most recent encounters had proven his dislike unjustified.
“Mr Silva!” the voice rang out clear as a bell, somehow carrying over the chatter around him. For a second he calculated his chances of getting away if he would just pretend he didn’t hear her but of course the people around him were already turning. The queen was always the centre of attention after all. He turned, smoothing his face into a polite if cold smile. He had no interest to indulge in conversation with Luna and although he could not outright walk away he might just annoy her until she let him go.
The monarch glided towards him, the train of her golden gown dragging behind her in a shimmering mass of fabric. She was parting the crowd with her sheer presence and of course the aura of the shining crown adorning her walnut-coloured hair.
“Your Majesty?” stiffly inclining his head to acknowledge her status he let his eyes dash over the people surrounding the Queen. Her royal advisor, one count and multiple other members of the Solarian elite. They flocked to her side like moths to a flame, gathering around them to watch their exchange. Feeling their unabashed attention was uncomfortable, to say the least. He shifted on his feet, squaring his shoulders for the familiar stability of his soldier's pose.
“I haven’t seen you all evening. Have you been hiding out in the gardens?” Her tone was light, almost teasing. Saul had to suppress the urge to take a step back as she came closer, placing a hand on his arm. He only clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring as the cloud of her flowery perfume enveloped him.
He never quite saw through her behaviour towards him. It seemed to change from cold to outright flirty with each encounter. The one thing he knew was never to trust the monarch.
„I think I had the honour earlier when you greeted Farah and me.“ He schooled his features into a neutral expression, trying to keep the glower out of his eyes. Be polite. Everything he did would reflect on Alfea and Farah.
The glimmer in Lunas gold dusted eyes dimmed and her smile thinned. „Of course.“
But the dampened mood didn’t last long, her smile widening nearly immediately.
“Have a glass of champagne with me!” She beckoned the nearest waiter over and handed the headmaster one of the delicate wrought glasses. Glistening in the various light sources floating overhead the champagne bubbled in various shades of marble and rosé gold. He had no choice but to take it from her. Their fingers brushed and her smile widened. Saul hoped that his own smile didn’t look like the forced grimace it was.
“To a wonderful evening.” Their glasses met with a fine chiming sound and he took a careful sip of the cold liquid. The bubbles ruptured on his tongue and he quickly swallowed as the bittersweet taste filled his mouth. Personally, he did not care for champagne but this one had to be the worst one he had so far, possessing a lingering sweetness that coated his tongue nearly aggressively. An awkward silence stretched between them and he quickly took another sip.
Luna merely placed her still full glass back onto the tray, extending her arm to him.
“Walk with me?”
“Your Majesty I was just on my way to..”
But her eyes froze over leaving no doubt that this was not a question but an order.
Fucking monarchy.
Placing his own glass back onto the golden tray as well he wordlessly took her arm and let her lead him through the open glass doors and out into the darkness of the night. After the bright lights of the ballroom, the tastefully placed orbs of light barely illuminated the path in front of them. Their entourage stayed behind and for the first time ever he found himself missing their company. He stayed alert with Luna as his sole company. Saul wouldn’t be able to name another occasion in which he had been alone with the Queen. It was not something he had been missing.
Her heels clicked on the stone tiles of the path, the sounds of the gala slowly fading into the night. She kept silent so his thoughts started drifting back to the ballroom and the mind fairy waiting there for him. He wished it was the heat of her hand that clutched his arm, her soft breathing and calming presence beside him. He definitely should bring her out here next time. She would certainly appreciate the solemn quiet. They continued to walk in silence, nearly making it to the gurgling fountain before she started to speak.
“So tell me, Saul, have you been enjoying the ball.” Her use of his first name sounded just wrong and he was glad for the darkness shadowing his face and hiding his displeasure.
“It’s a beautiful event, your majesty.” He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice as best as he could. Politeness was the key. Whatever she wanted he had to wait until she deemed it fit to talk.
But he kept growing more uncomfortable with the way she gripped his arm.
When they finally reached the rim of the beautiful marble fountain she pulled him to a halt. The illuminated statues of fairies that served as the centrepiece looked at them with their sombre eyes frozen in stone. Shooting Luna a questioning glance he stopped as she turned to him. The water gurgled behind him and he shifted on his feet. Why did she bring him out here?
He couldn’t read the gleam in her eyes as she leaned closer, her hand reaching out to smooth his lapels. Again he had to fight the urge to step away, her heavy perfume numbing his sense of smell. She is the queen. She is the queen. Whatever game she was playing he had to go along.
But Luna made no move to step back, instead, she leant in further until they were only inches apart, her dark eyes gleaming in the twilight. For a second he was dumbfounded but as soon as he felt her breath on his face and realized her intentions he took a hasty step back. Fuckign hell??
“Pardon?” was the most polite version of what the fuck he got over his lips. What the heck was she thinking?? He didn’t even try to hide the horror on his face.
Luna just stared at him, her brows furrowed in annoyance. “Don’t you want to kiss your queen?” her voice was hard and the smile had given way to a sneer.
“Excuse me,” his voice was strained with the effort to keep the anger out. “but I have no interest in kissing you.”
“..your Majesty.” He added in an effort to make his rejection more polite. What the fuck was she even thinking? Had he ever given her a reason, a hint that he would welcome any advances from her? They were closer to enemies than acquaintances. Never exchanged more than a few words during their time at Alfea together. She had always scorned him and his low birth and then detested his friendship with Farah. The only reason they interacted at all was her friendship with Andreas, the other royal at the school.
“Why not?” her brazen question surprised him. Why not?? Because she was a vile creature that he had no interest in at all. Because the only one he did want to kiss was Farah. He wished he could just stalk away, but this fucking royalty thing hung like a sword above his head. Of course, she couldn’t force him to kiss her but her status demanded respectful behaviour and he sure as hell would not let her use this to get him to lose his footing.
“Uhm…pardon but you are not really my type your majesty.” He hoped his voice was cold enough to make it clear what he thought in regards to her unwelcome advance but not icy enough to pitch her against him even more.
But Lunas face contorted to a grimace.
“So what is your type then?” Her voice was dripping with acid now. “Tall and blonde maybe? Mind fairy?”
He shouldn’t be surprised by the hate in her voice. It dawned on him that this wasn’t about him after all. It was about Farah as always. He never understood the petty rivalry between them and he sure as hell never accepted the Queen's continuous disrespect and jabs against the headmistress. But whatever this was about, he wanted no part of it. But Luna continued on a belittling snicker in her words.
“Still not tired of waiting for our dear Farah to finally open her legs for you? It’s sad really, the way you sulk around her, following behind like a little puppy.”
Anger lashed through him, surprising the Specialist with its force. Instead of taking a threatening step forward he opted for another step back, his hands forming fists at his sides. How dare she!
“You know everyone can see it. Even Farah. What do you think it means that she keeps blatantly ignoring all your efforts to get into her bed.” She took a step towards him, that cruel smile he had seen so often directed at Farah plastered onto her lips.
He gritted his teeth. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Oh, I don’t? I for one know that she thinks you are pathetic. Years and years and you still haven’t got the message that she will never let you fuck her.” She put emphasis on the second last word.
“Shut up!” he growled. Decorum could burn in hell. His muscles coiled as he stood stiff as a board, heart pounding. She was trying to rile him up and he shouldn’t let her get under his skin but hell if that wasn’t hard.
Then her demeanour changed and she took a step forward.
“But you are in luck…” Saul fought against his soldier's instinct to fight instead of cowering and took another step back at the dangerous glitter in her eyes. No matter which way he turned it, she had control over this situation.
She waved through the air in a lazy motion, her voice dangerously low. “I can be all you want.”
He gasped as in a flash of light, Farah stood in front of him, Luna's smirk still gracing the lips he had stared at so often. She wore the same dark blue gown that he had admired earlier, even the loose strand of hair he sometimes tucked behind her ear when he felt daring enough was perfectly replicated.
“What the fuck?”
What sick twisted game was she playing? His disgust and terror outweighed even his anger.
She continued to advance on him looking so eerily familiar. Saul shook his head, his eyes still wide. It wasn’t Farah. She didn’t even look like her, not really. Luna was a master in creating illusions of course she was. But she didn’t know Farah. She could only replicate what eyes could see, not what he saw in the mind fairy. She could never copy the spark in her eyes or the soft sound of her voice or the laugh that brightened his days. She could never be the one woman he would kill for.
Luna's voice rang around him, Farah's lips moving with the words but his brain couldn’t,. wouldn’t connect what his eyes were seeing and what his ears were hearing.
“You want her so much don’t you? You crave her….hunger for her….” A ripple of light travelled over Farah…no Luna's body and turned her dress into smooth skin. His eyes widened and heat crawled over him before he quickly averted his eyes from the naked body. How fucking dare she? His mouth ran dry and he felt the desire smouldering in his veins. It was not real. None of it was real.
That wasn’t Farah. It was an illusion and although Luna wielded her craft masterfully not even her replica of his fairy was on point. The skin was too smooth, her body too symmetrical. There was only creamy skin where he knew scars from their many battles should be. It was perfect but still so far from the perfection that was Farah. It was wrong. He swallowed the maelstrom of emotions inside him. It was not real. Had Luna no shame? Parading around in the illusion of a naked woman to gain what exactly? His company for the rest of the night? Her offer was repulsive. Did she really think he would readily fuck her just because she could look like Farah?
“You’re not Farah and you never will be. So stop whatever this pathetic game is Luna.” His voice was a barely concealed snarl.
But the smirk only widened on Farah's face, the mask Luna still did not take off. “Oh, you pretend to be so high and mighty Silva. Just wait.”
He kept his eyes firmly fixed on her eyes, eyes that he knew so well. It was torture to force himself to look at the empty replica Luna had produced but out of the respect he had for Farah he did not dare to lower his gaze even a fraction. Illusion or no illusion.
“You have a simple choice.” Her voice was all matter-of-fact as she crossed Farah's arms in front of her chest.
“Stay here….with me…or run back to your Farah and continue your pathetic pining. But if-”
Saul didn’t let her finish.
“It’s not even a question,” he growled before spinning on his heels and marching away. To hell with Luna. He had to get out of here. Far away from this court of vipers and their venomous queen. Fast.
He did not hear Luna's malicious grin as the illusion of the headmistress faded, nor did he hear what Luna whispered into the night.
“As you wish. You will see Saul Silva you won’t be able to resist the potion and then we will see what you do to your precious Farah.”