Chapter 80
Alvira had not been meant to attend the meeting. She was only supposed to stand behind her father, the Duke, as he spoke with the council members in a room where decisions were made by men who rarely looked twice at anyone without power.
But Alvira had never been someone who faded into the background just because she was expected to.
She listened carefully. She observed everything. And without realizing it, her attention kept drifting to one person in the room.
Zack.
He was not the loudest there, nor the most aggressive, but he had presence. When he spoke, people listened. When he stayed silent, the room still seemed to revolve around him. There was something steady about him, something calm but firm, as though he did not need to raise his voice to be understood.
Alvira did not realize she had been watching him until the meeting ended. Only then did she quickly lower her gaze, as if she had been caught doing something she should not.
But Zack had already noticed her.
After the meeting, the hall outside was quieter. Alvira stepped out first while her father remained behind speaking with another noble. She had only taken a few steps when a voice stopped her.
"You were not supposed to be in there."
She turned.
Zack stood a short distance away, his posture straight, his hands behind his back, and his expression calm but focused.
"I was not told I could not be," Alvira replied simply.
Zack studied her for a moment before responding. "That is not the same thing."
Alvira tilted her head slightly. "It still worked."
A brief pause followed, and something subtle shifted in his expression, not quite amusement but interest.
"You stayed the entire meeting," Zack said.
"I was listening," she answered.
"Most people in that room do not listen," he said.
"Then maybe they should," she replied without hesitation.
That made him pause for a second longer than expected.
"You speak without hesitation," he observed.
"I think before I speak," she corrected him.
"That is rare here," Zack replied.
A quiet silence settled between them, not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar.
"I am Zack," he said at last.
"I know," Alvira replied.
Zack raised a brow slightly. "You do."
"My father mentioned you," she said calmly.
"And what exactly did he say?" Zack asked.
Alvira looked at him directly. "Enough to know people either respect you or fear you."
"And what do you think?" he asked.
She did not rush her answer. She studied him for a moment, then said honestly, "I think they speak too loudly about things they do not fully understand."
That answer made Zack pause.
It was not what he expected.
Not admiration. Not fear. Not careful diplomacy.
Just honesty.
His expression softened slightly.
"That is an unusual opinion," he said.
Alvira shrugged lightly. "Most people are careful around you."
"And you are not," Zack replied.
"I do not see the reason to be," she said.
That statement lingered between them longer than expected.
From a distance, Ray had been watching the entire exchange. He did not approach, he did not interrupt, but his expression was unreadable as he studied them both.
Hiccup leaned closer to him and whispered, "You are staring again."
Ray replied calmly, "I am observing."
Lisa gave him a sideways glance. "That is what people say when they are pretending not to care."
Ray did not respond, but his eyes stayed fixed on Alvira and Zack.
Because something in him had already noticed what he did not want to admit.
The way Zack looked at her was different.
And worse, the way Alvira did not step away from it.
---
Later that day, Zack found himself walking beside her through one of the palace corridors without any clear reason for doing so. It was not planned. It simply happened.
"You are not what I expected," Zack said after a moment.
Alvira glanced at him. "What did you expect?"
"Someone more careful," he admitted.
She smiled faintly. "Is that a problem?"
"No," Zack said.
Another pause followed.
"You are direct," he added.
"I prefer clarity," she replied.
"That is not common here," he said.
"I have noticed," she answered.
Zack looked at her for a moment longer than necessary before speaking again. "I am used to predictable people."
Alvira tilted her head slightly. "And I am not predictable."
"That is correct," he said.
A small silence followed, but it was not tense. It felt more like recognition.
Then Alvira asked, "Is that uncomfortable for you?"
Zack considered the question carefully before answering. "No. Just unfamiliar."
She studied him for a moment, then said softly, "Unfamiliar can become familiar."
Zack did not respond immediately, but his gaze lingered on her a second longer than before.
---
That evening, Ray stood alone on a balcony overlooking the training grounds. The wind was calm, the palace quiet, but his thoughts were not.
He replayed everything he had seen. Every glance. Every pause. Every moment Zack did not look away.
Ray exhaled slowly and spoke quietly to himself, "You do not even realize it yet."
Then after a pause, even softer, "Neither do I."
Because what he felt for Alvira had no words he could safely say.
It stayed inside him, silent and controlled, buried under friendship and loyalty.
But it was there.
And now, it had competition he did not expect.
---
Alvira stood later in her room, looking out at the palace lights, unaware of everything forming around her.
Zack's words repeated in her mind.
Unfamiliar.
Not uncomfortable.
Just unfamiliar.
And somewhere else in the palace, Zack stood alone as well, thinking not of politics or duty, but of a girl who spoke without fear and looked at him like he was simply a person, not a title.
And for the first time in a long while, something inside him paused long enough to be noticed.