Late Night Conversations
AURELIA
I couldn't sleep.
Even inside the Obsidian Palace, the noise of the celebration outside could still be heard.
Outside the high, thick walls, the city of the Underworld was alive with life. Distant drums pounded in the air. Faint flashes of light from floating lanterns filtered through the narrow windows. Now and then, I could hear the screams rising, then fading again, carried by the night wind.
The second night of the celebration is outside. It wouldn't stop yet, as it would take until tomorrow night. But inside the palace, all remained silent.
The Obsidian Palace was quieter. Purple fire bowls lined the hallways, flickering against the black stone pillars. Guards were passing by.
Nyx insisted that I rest early.
"Tomorrow will be heavier, Your Highness," she said as she adjusted my sleeves.
"Haist," I glanced at Nyx. "Isn't that matter over yet? What issue do the nobles have that they can't be bothered to bother with me? They must have forgotten that I'm a princess. They have no right to interfere in my life."
Nyx lowered her voice. "Your Highness… in the eyes of the Court, they don't see it that way. You're not the only one at stake here. Every move you make has meaning for them."
I looked ahead silently for a moment. "If every move I make has meaning…" I said softly, "well, I'm not the one to choose what that means."
Nyx fell silent. She didn't speak for a moment. It was as if there was a flicker of doubt in her eyes. I couldn't explain it, but there was something different about her at that moment.
She bowed slightly. "That's right, Your Highness," she replied calmly. "But… it's still better if you choose your battles."
She moved a little closer, adjusting the hem of my sleeve even though it was already neat.
"You have been tired all day," he added. "The celebration outside continues. Tomorrow… more will be coming to see you."
He stepped back slightly. "Take a rest, Your Highness."
He hesitated for a moment, then bowed gently. "Grathen… and Sel-thren."
Then, he quietly turned and left the room. He closed the door softly behind him.
My brow furrowed. "What happened to Nyx? She suddenly seemed awkward around me."
I took a deep breath and looked around. Now I was alone in my room. Black silk nightgown. Silver thread on the edges. Light and soft, but still too formal for sleeping.
The party outside met the chaos in my mind. It was like two worlds trying to coexist.
I can't remember how many days I've been in this world. Has it been a week? A month? It's impossible that it's been a year. I'm overacting when that happens. The questions come back to my mind. Why and how?
Why did I come to this world?
How did I get here?
Did I die?
I suddenly became nervous and wondered. Oh, did I die? How? Why? What caused it?
I became even more confused in my thoughts. I still don't know the reason for everything, what I'm doing in this world, how I got here and how I can get out. I haven't even explored the outside yet.
I turned to a desk there. I immediately went over and looked for paper and pen. I needed to write down the details outside while I still remembered.
'Why no paper? No pen?'
I was starting to get annoyed, so I searched all the cabinets for paper and pen, but there really wasn't any. I almost gave up hope, but I noticed that a white cloth was wrapped with makeup. I went back to the desk and picked up the cloth. I smiled when I saw the eyeliner.
Wait.... eyeliner?
I just shook my head. It wasn't eyeliner, but I didn't know what they called it either. Importantly, I already had a pen.
I quickly drew on the cloth. Things I saw outside. From possible alleys, roads that weren't too noticeable. Even the locations of shops and houses that could possibly help me get out of this place.
I hadn't finished drawing a satisfactory map when a knock came. Two knocks. I don't know, but I felt like I knew who was behind the door before I even spoke.
"Come in."
The door to my room slowly opened. Kael was standing there. The dark armor had been replaced by a simpler shadow cloak, but he still looked like he was on a battlefield.
"Security patrol," he said flatly. "You are awake."
"That sounds like an accusation," I replied.
He didn't react; instead, he stepped into my room. He immediately noticed the white cloth on the table. His steps were quick, and before I could react, he had the cloth.
"Don't you know the word respect?" I growled as I tried to snatch it from his hand.
Every time I tried to reach for the cloth, he quickly dodged it. It was like a game. It was annoying.
"Kael—" I said, annoyed, reaching for it again.
He dodged again.
"I just wanted to see the drawing," he replied calmly.
"It's not important—"
I moved forward again, and that's when I slipped, not on the floor but on my own steps.
I took a step a little more foolishly than I had expected. My body was almost stuck to his. I grabbed his arm to keep from completely losing my balance.
He suddenly stopped. We were both stunned. We were too close to each other, literally, physically close. I could feel the heat of his body even through the thin fabric of what I was wearing. One of my hands was on his arm, and the other… I didn't realize it was resting on his chest.
He didn't move. I didn't immediately back away either. But it was enough for the air between us to change.
That's when I noticed he was looking down at me. Not angry and not cold either. Just different, like I was watching dramas on my phone. My chest fluttered slightly.
And at that moment, his grip on the fabric dropped. He didn't notice, but I noticed him, so I acted quickly. I grabbed the white cloth from his hand and immediately backed away.
"Finally," I whispered. I tried to calm myself down.
He remained standing there. Just quiet, as if he was thinking about something. He didn't take the cloth back, but his eyes never left mine.
And that was even more surprising. He couldn't have thought I was going to be so stupid that he would just stare at me like that.
I sighed. "You're not going to leave, are you?"
"No."
What was he thinking again? I froze. Didn't he notice that my drawing on the cloth was a map?
I stood. "Then walk with me."
I didn't know why I was asking this man to walk around. It was to take his mind off what he saw on the cloth. He might even think I was going to run away, so I drew a map.
We didn't go far. Instead, he took me to a part of the palace that I hadn't seen since I came to this world. Kael said that was the palace garden, the Shadow Garden.
The Shadow Garden was closer than the throne room, hidden behind a corridor of black stone arches. Few people came here at night. Even the torches dimmed as if they respected the silence.
As we entered, the breeze changed.
Bioluminescent plants lined the paths, faint blue and purple light like slow flames taking their place on the leaves. The ground was soft with dark moss. It was as if the world had stopped here.
I walked first. Kael followed from a distance.
'It's beautiful!'
I looked around. It was as if I were in a dark fantasy again.
"You always patrol like this?" I asked.
"Yes."
"That sounds lonely."
"No."
I glanced back at him. "That was fast."
I frowned. I didn't even think about the speed of my answer.
His eyes remained ahead. "It is efficient."
I stopped near a semicircular stone bench. "Do you ever just… stop being efficient?"
Silence between us. I glanced at him for a moment. He was still silent. What was he thinking?
"No."
I still sat down. After a while, he stood a few steps away. He didn't seem to want to sit down.
The silence between us lasted. I didn't feel any alienation, but the thought that he might have been planning something at that moment wouldn't go away from me. But I didn't want to open a conversation about it.
I broke the silence between us first. "You and Darius don't like each other."
"That is not relevant to your safety."
"It felt relevant earlier," I said.
His jaw stiffened slightly.
So I wasn't the only one who noticed.
I leaned in. "He talks like he already owns the room."
"He is taught to."
"And you?" I asked. "What are you taught?"
For the first time, he looked at me directly. That surprised me.
"Control."
Those words lingered between us longer than they should have. I looked away for a moment.
"I didn't like that gathering today," I admitted.
"Because of the Court."
"Because of all of it," I corrected.
A breeze blew through the garden. Along with it came the movement of the sparkling plants.
I took a deep breath.
"I feel like I'm always one wrong word away from becoming something they can throw away. No matter where in the world I'm in, this is my fate."
Kael didn't respond immediately. He was staring at me again, and I felt nervous again. I covered my mouth with one hand as I remembered what I had said.
'Shit, I slipped.'
He still didn't speak. My chest was pounding. I felt like he was going to kill me if the silence lasted any longer.
'You're so stupid, Lexi. You're always talking.'
"You weren't thrown."
I froze and stared at Kael. He was still silent, looking at me. I gave a small laugh just to hide the relief I felt. "Not yet."
I fell silent again. I guess I didn't have the right timing. I raised my knees slightly, resting my arms on them. My voice dropped without me thinking.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You already are."
"Right." I nodded. "Then answer."
Another moment of silence.
"Yes."
Instead of him, I stared at the sparkling plants. "If I'm not acting like the real Aurelia… would you notice?"
The air had changed. Not noticeably. Not loud. Just enough. Kael didn't move, but I felt the slight shift in his attention.
"I already noticed," he said.
My chest tightened. I didn't look at him. "That fast?"
"You changed," he said.
"That doesn't answer my question."
A longer silence. I could feel his gaze on me now.
"I have stood beside Princess Aurelia longer than anyone in this palace," he said, his voice low. "I know how she speaks, how she walks. How she looks at people she does not trust."
I clutched the hem of my dress slightly. "How did you know so soon? Just because of my simple mistakes?"
"That's your fault, you're not careful," he continued, slower now, more careful, "I also know what does not change."
I looked at him there. His gaze didn't waver.
"Presence," he said. "Intent."
Silence.
"I do not know the original Aurelia as others claim to," he added. "But I know what stands in front of me."
I let out a sigh. "You're so good," I said, trying to lighten my tone. "You noticed… and still chose not to make it a problem."
I looked at him slightly. "I don't know if I'm scared of that… or grateful."
His expression didn't change. But it wasn't cold either. My voice was weaker.
"I don't know how to be him anymore," I said. "They all have expectations… but I don't know who I should be imitating."
He didn't look away. "Then stop following what you don't understand," he said.
I let out a breath. "That's easy to say."
"I didn't say it was easy."
I almost smiled at that. I bowed slightly, watching the light of the plants.
"I'm not from here," I said. "It's like… I just woke up to this life. There are laws. There are enemies. There are things I have to stand up for even though I didn't choose them."
He was silent. He just looked at me.
"I just keep moving," I added, my voice lower. "Because I feel like… if I stop, that's where they'll catch me."
My laughter faded. "I'm not sure if my acting is even good anymore."
He moved there. He took a step closer, then stopped.
"You are not acting," he said.
My brow furrowed. "That doesn't make sense."
"It does."
My grip on my sleeve tightened. "Then what am I?" I asked.
He paused for a moment. I didn't know him very well, but he rarely hesitated.
"You are not her," he said, bluntly.
I froze. I couldn't breathe right away.
"But you are nothing either," he continued, his voice lower now. "What stands before me makes choices. Speaks without fear. Breaks patterns she was bound to."
I couldn't answer.
"You are different," he added. "And that difference… is real."
My throat tightened. I didn't know what I would feel there. I didn't know if I would be afraid.
"For now," he said, steady, "that is enough."
I couldn't speak. Because in that moment, it was as if he saw me more. He knew who I was.
The garden grew quieter after that. Kael stepped back again. He regained the distance that seemed natural to him.
Control returned to his voice. "The Court will pressure you more after tonight," he said.
"I noticed."
"Darius will not stop."
"I noticed that too."
He paused for a moment. Then he added, "And I will not let him decide your position."
I looked at him again because of that. I took a deep breath. "You always talk like everything is a battlefield."
"It often is."
I shook my head slightly. "Even this?"
His gaze shifted to mine. "Yes."
I should have been scared. I wasn't. Instead, I found myself asking something I shouldn't have asked.
"Do you ever get tired?"
He was silent for a moment before answering.
"Yes."
The answer came quietly. That was what surprised me most tonight. I blinked. "You do?"
"I do not show it."
Of course. That explained everything. A soft sound escaped me, half laugh, half sigh. "That sounds miserable."
"It is manageable."
"Is that your way of saying you're fine?"
He didn't answer. But he didn't deny it either.
A cool breeze blew through the garden. The flaming plants bowed slightly.
I stood up slowly. "I should go back," I said.
Kael nodded once.
We walked back in silence until we were back in my room. When we reached my door, I stopped.
Kael turned slightly to leave. I hesitated. Then he spoke. "Kael."
He stopped and looked at me. "Yes."
I stared at him for a second longer than I expected. "Grathen," I said quietly.
His eyes moved slightly. Recognition. Nothing more. But that stayed. He was silent for a moment.
Then, "The lines are precise," he said.
I stopped. He glanced slightly into the room, at the table, where the paper lay.
"You observe well," he added. "Not many would map the palace that way."
It wasn't a compliment, but it wasn't just a comment either. I couldn't answer anymore.
He turned to leave.
And before he completely disappeared down the hallway, I heard this.
"Vaer-lok."
Then he was gone.
I stood there alone for a moment. I looked at the table. At the cloth with my drawing on it.
And finally, I smiled slightly.
"...Grathen," I whispered, this time to myself.