Chapter Text
The fresh yet not cold air of the evening seeping through the window of the carriage reminded her that spring had indeed arrived, in that day in early May.
Her white gloved hand pulling aside the curtain, Mina glanced at the vast fields passing in front of her eyes, wishing there could have been a stronger light than the moon’s one to light up the flowers in full bloom. There were still so many landscapes that she needed to see in that kingdom she arrived in two weeks before, so many hamlets that she wanted to visit and fields that she wanted to explore.
But having her join the high society of the kingdom of Hogwarts had been one of the wishes left behind by her parents in their will, and she wanted to make them happy, even if they were not with her any more.
"We’re almost arrived."
Her aunt’s voice pulled her away from the window, and she nodded at her reassuring smile.
Mina couldn’t say she was nervous about participating to the court’s debutante ball, but at the same time she couldn’t say it was something she would have done by her own will. Not to mention that she was already twenty years old, and therefore a whole year behind, having already had her birthday in February. But her uncle’s housekeeper, Mrs. Weasley, had assured her the royal palace was a sight to behold, and she was looking forward to marvel at its architecture and interior.
The carriage slowing down and then halting to a stop alerted her that they had finally reached their destination, as did the voices of people talking and of wheels turning over gravel. Mina waited patiently for her uncle and aunt to dismount, and then welcomed with a smile the hand her uncle offered her to help her climb down the carriage’s small step with her long, white dress.
The royal palace of the Kingdom of Hogwarts stood imposing and wide under the trembling lights of the flames, not even the darkness of the evening managing to cover the vast size of its front. It reminded her of some of the palaces she had seen through the years while moving across the continent, with the white marble stairs at each side of the entrance that she climbed together with all the other guests and debutantes.
The golden candelabra and stucco around the frescos on the ceilings in the hallways, the decorated mirrors on the sides, the portraits and the marble statues, everything looked rich and luxurious, perhaps even too much. It was indeed awe-inducing and imposing at the same time, much more lavish than her uncle’s residence, much more ostentatious.
Mina kept looking around herself even when her aunt instructed her to follow one of the palace’s guards, walking with other young girls through a different path than the other guests. She assumed they were being lead to an antechamber, from which they would walk down the stairs with a cadet from the military academy – her aunt had given her a crash course the previous weeks, but she was far from familiar with nobles’ and royalty’s customs.
In the same way, she was far from familiar with literally anyone around her, small groups of girls chatting and giggling among themselves giving her a stark reminder of how isolated and lonely her life had been until two weeks before.
She may have been more interested in the kingdom’s history and customs, or its architecture, but perhaps joining the high society would have given her the chance to make new and more friends...
"Mina!"
She couldn’t help but smile in recognizing the voice calling her behind her back, turning around to welcome the hug Anne pulled her into, warm and friendly.
"You look beautiful."
Her friend took a step back and looked at her, genuinely appreciating her look. Mina smiled.
"You look lovely too."
Anne Sallow was lovely with her brown hair tied up in a bun with a shining comb shaped like a rose in bloom, bright in her friendly smile, lively in getting along easily with anyone. She was one of the first friend she had made since coming to the kingdom, at the fencing Club her uncle suggested her to attend as a break from her full immersion on books. Fierce and highly skilled in her fencing, she showed no jealously or resentment the only time Mina won their friendly match – just by 1 point, fighting thrust by thrust – and genuinely praised her for her skills.
"Are you nervous?"
Mina sighed at her friend’s concerned question.
"Not confident. My aunt did her best in teaching me to waltz, but this is the first time I have to dance in front of people."
"You’ll do great! It’s easier and more boring than it seems. I started practising with my brother last month and in a few weeks he could dance both the woman and man’s parts with ease."
She chuckled at Anne’s reassuring joke. Her friend had mentioned her twin brother a few times already during their fencing trainings, and she knew that due to being born in summer, Anne was also making her official debut with several months of delay from her nineteen birthday.
A sudden and noisy buzzing from outside the biggest closed door of the antechamber drew their attention towards it. She assumed that something must have happened in the ballroom on the other side, as the small orchestra’s music stopped and the voices seemed excited, but she could have not guessed what.
"Come with me."
Anne took her hand and pulled her along, the mischievous smile on her lips suggesting they were going to do something that they were probably not supposed to do. Not that it bothered her. Mina went along with her friend full of curiosity, reaching a smaller door just outside the antechamber. Anne pushed it open, just enough for the both of them to peer through the crack.
The huge golden chandelier right in the middle of the ballroom, shining at the lights all around the walls was the first thing she noticed when looking over. She spent a few moments appreciating the frescos on the ceiling, then Anne’s voice moved her glance below, towards the balcony running all around the ballroom at the second floor level.
"Seems like the royal family just showed up."
Anne’s tone was mocking and harsh, with literally no enthusiasm, a stark contrast with the mood below in the ballroom.
Mina didn’t know much about the Gaunt royal family, beside the few information gathered from newspaper titles glanced during her travels around the continent. She had heard they descended from one of the kingdom’s first Kings, Salazar Slytherin, and that Anne pretty much hated them – she was the lady in waiting of the only princess of the family, and had heard plenty of stories from the palace’s servants about men and women alike being slapped, hit, or kicked just for making a mistake.
"The older man is the King, isn’t it?"
A man with long, blond hair, a heavy golden chain with emerald snakes around his shoulders and a golden crown was looking down at the guests below with a cold, insincere smile. Her question may have sounded a bit silly considering his appearance, but for how much she knew about the royal family, he may have been just the crown prince.
"Yes, that’s him."
Anne nodded, briefly introducing her each member of the royal family with their name – the Queen, then the three Princes looking down while leaning on the handrail of the balcony. They looked older than them, and her friend confirmed most of them were already long married with children or engaged to be married soon.
"...the one leaning on the column is their youngest son, Ominis."
Anne’s voice suddenly softened, her lips curling into a soft smile. Mina followed her glance to spot a blond, young man about their age leaning with his back on one of the column of the balcony, a thin gold chain hanging on his white shirt and black tailcoat. His eyes closed, his body was turned more towards the interior of the hall rather than towards the ballroom.
"He’s not like the rest of the family. He’s caring, kind-hearted, amusingly sarcastic and witty. My father was his tutor and my mother assisted him, as she was a teacher for pupils with disabilities."
She turned around toward Anne, confused.
"Disabilities?"
Her friend gave a sad smile.
"His eyes can’t see."
That explained why he was standing with his eyes closed, or why he didn’t seem to be interested in the guests below like his brothers were. Without being able to see, there was not much he could enjoy that evening beside the music, and he definitely didn’t need to turn towards the ballroom below to listen to it.
"We’ve known each others since we were eleven thanks to my parents, and my brother is his personal attendant. Although the prince says he’s terrible at his job."
She chuckled at Anne’s comment.
"As you already know, they also have a younger daughter, but she is not yet of age so she can’t be here tonight. I am one of her ladies in waiting."
"Is she like the rest of the family?"
Anne shrugged, looking resigned.
"She’s spoiled rotten, treats me like a maid, but the worst I have to endure are her temper tantrums when she doesn’t get the dress she wants, or her telling me I’m too low-born and stupid to understand when I politely disagree with her about something. It could be worse."
Someone else having it worse was still not a valid excuse for the harsh treatment Anne was getting from the princess, but she could imagine there was little anyone could do against the family ruling the kingdom. And Anne didn’t seem particularly bothered by it, showing a reassuring smile to her sorry expression.
The noise of heavy doors squeaking and being pulled open draw their attention to the one at the top of a long staircase, a long velvet carpet running along the steps in the middle. A young woman wearing white, her hand held by a young man in a uniform made them realize the ball was about to start...and that they needed to rush back.
They both dashed back toward the antechamber, sharing a glance and holding back a laugh when they both found their place in the queue slowly making its descent downstairs. She gave a smile to the cadet holding her hand as a courtesy greeting, then focused on the steps in front of her and reached the ballroom alongside all the other couples.
The waltz was formal and lacked any levity that dancing might have had, most of the couples being focused on not missing a step right in front of the royal family and their own parents and siblings. Mina spent most of the dance trying to remember and follow the lessons her aunt gave her in the previous weeks, the only light moment when she met Anne’s eyes during a transition and her friend made her a funny face.
She felt relieved when the music ended and she bowed her final greeting to the young cadet dancing with her, taking her leave with him as the protocol required and then rushing back to her uncle and aunt.
They seemed happy with how she held herself during the waltz, reassuring her that her parents would have been proud as well – they had left in their will their wish for her to debut into the high society of the kingdom, so at least they now had their wish fulfilled.
Her aunt kept her company until she was called by some acquaintance, leaving her alone to look around at the guests, not recognizing anyone. Yet they seemed to recognize her, throwing some glances in her direction and whispering something between each others she couldn’t hear.
Mina couldn’t say she felt intimidated, but it was definitely not pleasant.
"There you are!"
Anne rushed toward her with her bright smile, and she thought to herself she really needed to bring a gift to her friend during their next training, to thank her for babysitting her that night.
"See? You did great during the waltz, nobody would have assumed you just had two weeks to catch up!"
"I almost stepped on my partner’s feet when you started making faces!"
Anne stuck her tongue out at her playful complain, showing no remorse at all.
"You looked so tense, I was just trying to light up the stiff mood!"
She laughed and her friend laughed with her, the joke cheering her up from the uncomfortable feeling of being looked at like an animal in a zoo. Too bad the light mood was short lived, and she ended up spotting more people whispering while looking at her, not even trying to be that subtle about it.
Anne seemed to notice it too, throwing a glare at two women and forcing them to leave while still whispering between each others.
"I don’t know anyone here tonight, but I can feel everyone is interested in gossiping about me..."
Her friend gave her a sympathetic look.
"A pretty lady with a considerable wealth is a desirable target for plenty of bachelors attending the party. You can say it’s the main aim for anyone attending such debutante balls."
Mina sighed.
"I arrived in this kingdom just two weeks ago, I really would like to get used to my new life before being sent away as a bride..."
Anne seemed to think over her words, putting her index finger on her lips. Then her face light up, like she had just been stuck by a good idea.
"I have an idea, come with me!"
Her friend linked arms with her and pulled her along once again, fending the several people chatting and drinking at the edges of the ballroom. A bit confused but interested, Mina just followed her like she had done before the ball, reaching one of the smaller room connected to the ballroom.
She spotted a few ladies sitting down on a rich sofa talking and drinking, but Anne kept walking toward the high windows in the room, where two young man were chatting.
"Sebastian!"
The young man with the same hair colour as Anne turned around, in hearing what must have been his name. Mina was surprised in seeing how much he looked like her friend and at the same time looked different, the same freckles and brown eyes as her, as good looking as Anne was pretty. He smiled at his twin sister when they got closer and looked at her with curiosity.
Anne lifted a hand to greet the young man with red hair next to Sebastian, then moved it to point at her.
"This is Mina, my new friend from the fencing Club!"
Mina gave a polite curtsy and both men bowed to her with their head. None of them had the time to properly introduce themselves, as Anne didn’t waste time in explaining her idea.
"You recall I said she arrived here just two weeks ago? It’s really way too early for her to be sent out in the wild, do you think you can help her fend off the hunters for tonight? It would also help you avoid being stormed by women like a roasted turkey during Christmas."
Mina didn’t know if she wanted to laugh at Anne’s amusing hunting metaphors or feel throw-off by her idea for the evening. Did she really intend to get her brother to act as her body-guard for the whole ball? Why would a young man at a ball want to hang out with woman he just met, that he knew nothing about, when he could have enjoyed himself dancing with…
"That’s quite the brilliant idea, Anne!"
She blinked a few times, surprised. Anne flashed a proud smirk, the young man with red hair with them laughed.
"I know, someone must take on themselves the burden to keep up the beacon of cleverness in this family."
"I was just about to say that I’m glad my intelligence passed over to you while we were sharing a womb."
Anne gave an offended but amused shove to her brother, and he laughed. She couldn’t help but chuckle, musing that the twins really seemed to get along well with each others, their friendly banter heart-warming to someone like her that did not have any siblings nor cousins.
"She just found you a pretty date for the night while you were here chatting with me. I say she’s more clever."
Anne gave her brother a gleeful, smug glance at the red-haired man’s comment.
"Don’t put yourself down, Garreth. You’re pretty too."
The young man named Garreth laughed amused at Sebastian’s joke, patting his shoulder and then taking his leave from them with another bow of his head.
"What would you say?"
Sebastian’s showed her his hand with the palm upturned, his friendly and carefree smile so similar to his sister’s. If her brother had the same personality as Anne, she was most likely going to spend a funny, pleasant evening.
"Would you like to help each other surviving this ball without ending it as the main dish?"
Mina chuckled and nodded, placing her gloved hand on his and smiling grateful for his help and his friendliness.
"Thank you."
Anne clapped her hands, proud and satisfied of her idea.
"Great! Then I’ll leave you two to survive hunting season while I go say hello to some friends I spotted while coming here! Have fun!"
She was gone before Mina could even thank her for her idea or say her goodbyes for the evening.
"...and that’s my sister for you."
She chuckled at Sebastian’s half-amused, half-exhausted comment.
"She’s lovely. Made me feel welcomed and cared as soon as we got to know each others better."
"That’s what she does."
Sebastian’s warm smile suggested he really, really cared and loved his sister.
"Are you sure you’re fine in keeping me company this evening? It seems I’m quite the hot topic and people may starts spreading rumours about us..."
"That’s exactly the point, isn’t it?"
Sebastian winked, and her heart skipped a beat. He really was quite charming, beside being friendly.
"Let’s have a walk."
He showed her his arm and Mina gladly took it, following him outside the room, towards the hallways outside the ballroom.
No longer having to worry about rushing with other girls to prepare for the ball, she took her time to properly appreciate the frescos on the ceilings, thankful for Sebastian’s explanations on what they were supposed to represent when she asked.
They kept walking through the hallways without any actual destination, moving as farthest away as possible from the crowd of guests – Mina wouldn’t have been able to say if Sebastian was doing it on purpose to avoid her having to endure being stared at, but she was nonetheless grateful for it. They stopped every once in a while to check a painting or a decorated vase, or to let her attempt to glimpse through the windows the vast garden that extended behind the royal palace.
"Anne said you arrived in the kingdom two weeks ago, where have you been living before?"
"It would be easier to list all the places I’ve not been in. My parents kept on moving around from country to country, kingdom to kingdom. I have visited almost all of the continent through the years."
Sebastian seemed amazed and enthusiastic at her reply.
"That’s amazing! I’d love to visit other countries and learn about their cultures. And are you here to stay or is this just another stop in your trip?"
"I’m here to stay. My parents passed away suddenly last month, and my father’s younger brother took me in."
Mina recalled how desperate and terrified she had felt when her parents had died to an illness one after another in the span of a few months. She had spent weeks wondering how she was going to survive, given that she had already turned nineteen and she couldn’t even be hosted in an orphanage, when her uncle had showed up at her door to take her in.
The change from her nomadic and poor life to a stable and luxurious one had been a true whip-lash, but she was relieved she was no longer alone and that she could now have the time to properly study and make friends.
Sebastian’s smile dropped, a dark shadow filled with pain twisting his face.
"...I’m sorry for your loss. Losing your parents hurt no matter how old you may be. Me and Anne lost our parents when we were thirteen, and their absence still hurt even if years have passed..."
Mina knew the Sallow twins were orphans as she was, although she didn’t know how their parents died. She never asked and Anne never told, the pain in remembering about their absence so visible on her face, in the same way as it was now darkening Sebastian’s face.
She decided to change the topic, not wanting to reopen a wound that was clearly still bleeding and hurting.
"Travelling from place to place has its charm, but it’s hard to have meaningful connections with people, when you are forced to part in a few months. I’m looking forward to live in a fixed place, I have already made more new friends than I ever did before."
"I hope you’ll now include me among your new friends!"
Mina felt Sebastian already knew her reply by the confident smile he flashed her, and not just because refusing his friendship would have been seen rude. He was easy to talk with, friendly, and she really didn’t mind if they could meet again as good friends.
"Absolutely!"
He seemed pleased and happy with her reply, giving her a nod as a wordless thanks.
"The nobles swarming around the court are not that fun to deal with, but I think you’ll find plenty of amenable people at the Crossed Wands! I go there too."
"Oh, really?"
She had never seen Sebastian at the Crossed Wands – that was the name of the fencing club she went to, although she had no idea why it had “wands” rather than “swords” in its name - in the weeks she had spent training there with Anne. But then again, he was the personal attendant of a prince. He may not have much free time to spend at the Club, despite being part of it.
"I’m the ruling champion among men fencers!"
Sebastian gave her a smug smirk that reminded her so much of Anne, every time she bested an opponent coming from a high-class family that had dared to belittle her for coming from a middle-class one.
"Isn’t Anne the ruling champion among women? So you twins are the rulers of the Crossed Wands!"
"Yes, it’s the Kingdom of Sallow!"
Sebastian looked proud of his and his sister’s titles, but she couldn’t help but laugh at his bombastic proclamation. He laughed along with her immediately, once more confirming her impression of his friendly character.
"You’ll probably get some invitation to ladies tea parties as well, now that you have made your official debut. But Anne says the only good things about those parties are the tea and the pastries."
Mina may have been a poor commoner up to two weeks before, but she didn’t need to be part of the high-society to guess what noble ladies might chat about during tea parties. It may have been a new and interesting experience from a mere social point of view, but she wasn’t sure she would have been really interested in their discussions.
"...do you think I can bring along a book to those parties?"
Sebastian laughed amused at her question.
"You can try, I’m all in for breaking the rules."
His mischievous smile made her heart skip another beat and her lips curl into a smile. She wouldn’t have been able to say how her life in a brand new kingdom was going to be, but compared to the loneliness and anguish she had felt after her parents death, her “second” life was already starting in the best way. With new experience, and new friends.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The orchestra’s music coming from the main hall was reaching them muffled by the closed door, the distance between the ballroom and the room they were in making it even fainter. At the back of her mind, Anne noticed that the piece being played was a quick step waltz that she usually enjoyed dancing with her brother at their home. But in that moment, she couldn’t have cared less about dancing.
The only thing that she wanted to focus on was how gentle were Ominis’ lips on hers, how comforting and warm was to be enveloped in his arms and be pressed against his tall body, how sweet was the way he always kissed her when they were alone.
She had approached him at the balcony with the excuse to greet his mother and send her regards to his sister, and Ominis had promptly taken the chance to get her to accompany him to take some drinks from the buffet downstairs – they had known each others since they were eleven, and she had taken her brother’s place as his aide already a few times. The request was not going to raise any suspicions.
Yet instead of walking him to the stairs, Anne had lead him into a nearby empty room and then had gently but literally pinned him to the wall, holding his hands in making him walk backward until his back was at the wall.
A quiet whisper of his name and her hands cupping his face, and then Ominis had leaned down to meet her lips leaning up and pressing on his, his arms circling her waist and his back easing against the wall. They had spent several long minutes just kissing, their lips moving against each others slowly, sweetly, their eyes closed in breathing into their mingled scents – she had a fruity perfume that evening, and his cologne seemed to have a citrus scent that blended with hers so nicely – until they had to pause to catch their breath.
"Good evening, my love."
Ominis’ right hand went up to caress her cheek, his slender and gentle fingers brushing some strands of her hair curling around her ears. His smile was so sweet, just like his voice.
"Good evening, my King."
Anne smiled as well, pressing both hands on his chest and leaning up again to press another light kiss on his lips.
As the last in the line of succession and given his eyes, there was no chance Ominis would ever sit on the throne of the kingdom – his family would have never allowed someone they didn’t consider perfect enough to sit on it – but Anne had always wanted him to know that he was more worthy of the crown than anyone in his horrible family. Even if Ominis himself had never cared about the throne.
Ominis kissed her forehead, his hand moving towards her hair bun to cradle the back of her head. He seemed surprised when his fingers brushed against her comb, his head tilting while his hand traced the cold gems adorning her hair ornament.
"...is this...?"
Her smile grew wider as he seemed to realize what she was wearing. She let him get a good sense of her comb, so that he could confirm it was exactly the one he was thinking about, before confirming it with her voice.
"Yes, it’s the one you gifted me. I would wear it every day if I could, but I don’t want to risk damaging it."
A hair comb shaped like a rose, the petals decorated by tens of small, shining gems. Ominis had gifted it to her for her nineteen birthday the previous summer, and she had loved it even before being told by their housekeeper the gems were most likely not zirconia but diamonds. Anne would have gladly worn it everyday as a sign of her gratitude and love for him, even if he could not see it, if she didn’t suspect it was worth much more than her whole residence.
"We are to wear white tonight, so it matches perfectly with my dress."
She took a step back and grabbed his hands, placing them both on her naked shoulders. Ominis showed no hesitation or confusion in gently tracing her exposed collarbones with his fingers, in sliding down his hands along her arms and then upwards from her sides to her torso – Anne smiled in remembering how he used to blush embarrassed every time she had guided him to touch her to understand how she was dressed.
He lingered just a few moments on her breasts to understand the neckline of her dress, then followed once again the same path down to her waist to grab her skirt, pulling it on the sides to understand how loose it was.
"You look lovely tonight."
Anne cupped his face again in her hands to kiss again his gentle smile.
"You’re quite handsome yourself."
Ominis seemed slightly embarrassed by her praise, the tip of his ears going a bit red, but promptly wrapped his arms around her when she embraced him. With her head on his chest, her hands gripping the back of his jacket and her eyes closed, Anne spent a few moments just enjoying the warmth and tenderness of being in his arms.
"I wish I could have you all for myself tonight. Keep you here, with me, just the two of us."
Ominis leaned his head on hers.
"Sebastian will start to wonder where you are..."
"He’s busy entertaining a very pretty friend of mine, I’m sure he won’t think too much about me."
Perhaps as a consequence of growing up with a sister, or being surrounded only by women since their parents had passed away, Sebastian had always been quite gallant with other women. Anne was sure he was going to be an amenable and nice companion to her friend that evening, making sure no man would have bothered her unless she wanted it – Mina being very pretty was also going to help. After all, Sebastian was in the end still a man.
She wasn’t expecting her brother to come looking for her until it was time to leave, but she could unfortunately see the guests starting to wonder why one of the princes had suddenly gone missing from the party.
"It’s more likely someone might come looking for you."
She looked up to see Ominis’ lips twisted in a dejected, bitter smile.
"Nobody ever comes looking for me, besides Sebastian when he’s on duty."
"I do."
He smiled warmly and sweetly at her words, his hand moving up again to caress her cheek.
"You do."
Oh, how much Anne loved his gentle, handsome smile, standing once more on tip-toes to press her lips on his. Ominis kissed her back, their lips brushing and moving against each others, and she missed not being able to deepen their kiss and run her hands through his hair – going out from the room in a dishevelled state, hair in disarray and lips swollen, would have raised way too many eyebrows.
If only they didn’t have to steal those short moments to stay together, if only they didn’t have to always stay on alert and be careful nobody could see them…
Ominis’ suddenly breaking their kiss and pulling her towards himself, at the same time as he tensed against the wall, preceded by a few seconds the noise of people talking outside the door. The sound moved closer and closer towards the room they were hiding in, at least three people walking in the hallway, and she held her breath while pressing herself closer to him – Ominis’ hearing was way more keen than anyone else due to his lack of sight, he seemed to have sensed the danger when it was still too far away for her to hear.
They remained frozen against the wall until the sounds of chatting and feet walking on marble moved past the room, progressively fading away into the music and the buzzing coming from the ballroom. Ominis heaved a relieved sigh and eased against the wall while Anne also released a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.
"We should probably head back now."
Ominis had always been the voice of reason ever since they had been little, enjoying pranking the maids and butlers at the royal palace together. He would not shy away in going along with her and Sebastian, even suggesting some pranks himself, but he knew when it was better to take a step back and try again another time.
Anne knew he was right, but she wished there would have been a way for them to stay together more, that evening and all the ones that would come…
"Just one last kiss!"
She pressed her hands on his chest and her whole body on his. Ominis chuckled amused at her plead, nodding.
Her lips pressed on him gently, lingering there for a few moments. Then her hand caressed his cheek, she tilted her head to change the angle of their kiss and he was lured into following the small movements of her lips. That kiss that was supposed to be their final one for the evening turned into several more, extending the sweetness and warmth of their lips tasting each others.
"You said one."
Ominis smirked when she moved back, more amused than upset about her not being exactly truthful to her words.
"It was a long one."
He chuckled and Anne kissed him again, pressing her lips on his for a long while, her hands cupping his face to keep him closer. Ominis was still smiling amused when she moved back again.
"That’s two."
"I decided one was not enough and we should have made it two..."
She pressed a quick peck on his amused smile.
"...or three."
He started chuckling and Anne kissed him again.
"...or four!"
She kissed him once more and Ominis laughed.
Anne loved the way he would laugh so happily and serene at her light teases, how his smile would reach his pearly eyes at her playful kisses, how he would gently rub his thumb on the back of her hands when she grabbed them in her own.
He deserved to be happy, to see his gentleness get repaid, not scorned and abused by his horrible family…
Anne wished she could have took him away to live with her and her brother, to finally give him a family that would have taken care of him as he deserved. But the only thing she could do was to visit him whenever she could, to remind him how much she loved and wanted him.
"Can I pay you a visit the next time I’m free from that whiny brat of your sister?"
He brought her hands to his lips, softly kissing her knuckles.
"I will wait for you."
She gave him a quick peck on his lips as a wordless thanks and then guided him toward the door by his hand.
Opening it just a crack to peer outside, Anne checked both sides of the hallway to make sure nobody would have seen them go out together, and then gently pulled him along with her outside.
Ominis’ smile disappearing from his face as soon as she let his hand go, as soon as she held on his arm to guide him to the lower floor and among the guests of the ball, made her even more determinate to see him again as soon as possible.
Just to give him back happiness, just to see him smile and laugh again. Even if she had to hide her own feelings or her visits like she was committing a crime, Anne had long decided she would have gladly accepted any risks to herself or her reputation, if that would make him feel loved, and make him happy.