Chapter 96
The palace corridors carried a quiet that did not feel natural. It was not silence, not completely, but something restrained, as if every sound was being held back before it could fully form. Footsteps echoed softer than they should have. Voices, when they passed, were lower. Even the guards standing at their posts seemed more alert than usual, their stillness sharper, more deliberate.
Zack stood where Ray had left him, unmoving for longer than necessary. His posture was steady, controlled as always, but his thoughts were anything but. The conversation replayed in fragments, not because of what was said, but because of what it implied. Ray had seen something. Not imagined. Not assumed. Seen.
And Zack knew he was not wrong.
That was the part he could not ignore.
He exhaled slowly, pushing the thoughts back, forcing them into place. Discipline returned first, as it always did. Emotion followed after, quieter, contained, locked where it could not interfere.
Control first.
Always.
Only then did he turn and walk back toward the planning room.
Inside, the atmosphere had not fully recovered from the shift left behind. The room was still filled with fabrics, papers, and scattered details of a celebration that was supposed to feel light. But the weight of earlier words lingered beneath everything.
Hiccup leaned against the table, clearly trying to bring the mood back to something easier.
Hiccup said, "Well… that was not intense at all."
Lisa, still sorting through the papers with careful precision, didn't look up.
Lisa said, "It was necessary."
Hiccup said, "It is a wedding."
Lisa said, "And that is exactly why it matters."
Alvira stood near the window, her fingers resting lightly against the frame. She had not moved much since Zack and Ray left. Her gaze was directed outside, but her attention was somewhere else entirely. The light touched her face softly, but there was something thoughtful in her expression now, something more aware than before.
Lisa noticed it first.
Lisa said, "You are quiet."
Alvira turned slightly.
Alvira said, "Just thinking."
Lisa studied her for a moment.
Lisa said, "About the wedding."
There was a brief hesitation.
Alvira said, "Partly."
Hiccup tilted his head.
Hiccup said, "That sounds like there is more to it."
Alvira gave a small, controlled smile.
Alvira said, "You always assume there is more."
Hiccup said, "Because there usually is."
Before anything else could be said, the door opened again.
Ray stepped back inside.
Alone.
The room registered it immediately, even if no one said it out loud.
Alvira's eyes shifted toward him without effort, without intention. It was instinctive. Ray noticed. He always noticed.
Lisa spoke first.
Lisa said, "That was quick."
Ray stepped further in, his movements calm, measured.
Ray said, "There was not much to say."
Hiccup let out a small breath.
Hiccup said, "I do not believe that."
Ray did not respond.
Alvira's voice was steady when she spoke.
Alvira said, "Where is Zack."
Ray's gaze met hers directly.
Ray said, "He will be back."
A brief pause followed before he added,
Ray said, "He needed a moment."
There was something in the way he said it. Not sharp. Not accusing. But not empty either. It carried weight without raising its voice.
Alvira held his gaze for a second longer.
Alvira said, "We all do sometimes."
Ray did not disagree.
But he did not agree either.
Lisa stepped in, shifting the focus.
Lisa said, "We should continue. There is still a lot to finish."
Hiccup groaned.
Hiccup said, "I thought we were taking a break."
Lisa said, "After one more thing."
Hiccup said, "That is always how it starts."
Lisa ignored him and turned to Ray.
Lisa said, "We need to finalize entrance positioning."
Ray nodded once.
Ray said, "Main gates will be restricted. Secondary entries monitored. No unverified access."
Alvira stepped away from the window and moved closer to the table.
Alvira said, "And inside."
Ray answered immediately.
Ray said, "Zack will handle that."
There was a brief pause after that.
Alvira said, "You trust him with that."
Ray looked at her again, steady as ever.
Ray said, "Yes."
A small beat passed before he added,
Ray said, "That is not the concern."
The words settled into the space between them.
Hiccup frowned slightly.
Hiccup said, "What does that mean."
Ray did not answer directly.
Ray said, "It means we prepare for everything."
Alvira did not push further, but something in her expression shifted slightly. Not doubt. Not yet. But awareness.
The door opened again.
Zack returned.
His presence filled the room in a different way now. More controlled than before, more precise. Whatever thoughts had followed him outside, he had pushed them down again. Locked them away.
His eyes moved across the room, taking everything in quickly. When they reached Alvira, they lingered for half a second longer than necessary, then moved on.
Zack said, "What did I miss."
Hiccup said, "Only the part where we do all the work."
Zack said, "That sounds accurate."
Lisa crossed her arms slightly.
Lisa said, "We are assigning final responsibilities."
Zack nodded.
Zack said, "Good."
Ray watched him carefully. Not openly. But closely.
Lisa continued.
Lisa said, "You will coordinate interior movement. Every position, every transition."
Zack said, "Understood."
Lisa said, "No gaps."
Zack said, "There won't be."
Alvira stepped a little closer.
Alvira said, "You sound very certain."
Zack glanced at her.
Zack said, "I am."
Alvira said, "Even with everything going on."
Zack said, "Especially because of it."
Their eyes met briefly again. The moment was small, but it carried something unspoken beneath it.
Ray stepped in.
Ray said, "Confidence is useful. Overconfidence is not."
Zack didn't look at him immediately.
Zack said, "I am aware of the difference."
Ray said, "Good."
The tension between them was quiet, controlled, but present enough to be felt.
Hiccup clapped his hands together once.
Hiccup said, "Alright, this is getting too serious. There should be cake involved in this level of discussion."
Lisa sighed.
Lisa said, "We will get to the cake."
Hiccup said, "That is all I needed."
Lisa let out a small breath, then relaxed slightly.
Lisa said, "We take a break. Then we finish the rest."
Hiccup said, "Finally."
The group began to move, gathering their things and stepping away from the table. The tension didn't disappear. It simply spread out, becoming less concentrated but no less present.
They stepped into the corridor together, their movements naturally separating them into smaller groups. Hiccup and Lisa moved ahead, still talking quietly between themselves.
Ray slowed slightly, observing without making it obvious.
Zack walked a few steps behind.
Alvira followed, then slowed without fully deciding to. The distance between her and Zack closed gradually, naturally, as if neither of them had planned it.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Alvira broke the silence.
Alvira said, "You left suddenly."
Zack said, "Ray wanted to talk."
Alvira said, "I noticed."
There was a pause.
Alvira said, "About me."
Zack looked at her. There was no point avoiding it.
Zack said, "Partly."
She nodded slightly.
Alvira said, "And."
Zack exhaled slowly.
Zack said, "He thinks I am distracted."
Alvira said, "Are you."
The question settled between them, direct and unavoidable.
Zack answered carefully.
Zack said, "No."
Alvira said, "Not at all."
Zack said, "Not in a way that matters."
She studied him.
Alvira said, "That sounds incomplete."
Zack said, "It is controlled."
There was a faint shift in her expression.
Alvira said, "You rely on that a lot."
Zack said, "It works."
Alvira said, "Does it."
Another pause followed.
Zack said, "It has so far."
Alvira said, "And now."
He did not answer immediately.
Alvira stepped slightly closer.
Alvira said, "You do not always have to keep everything contained."
Zack said, "Yes, I do."
Alvira said, "No. You choose to."
That landed deeper than she intended.
Zack looked at her fully now.
Zack said, "And you choose not to."
Alvira said, "Sometimes."
Zack said, "That is risky."
Alvira said, "So is never allowing anything to be real."
Silence followed. Not empty, but full of something neither of them named.
From ahead, Hiccup's voice broke through.
Hiccup said, "Are you two coming or starting another serious conversation."
Alvira stepped back slightly.
Alvira said, "We are coming."
She looked at Zack one last time.
Alvira said, "Think about it."
Then she turned and walked ahead.
Zack remained where he was for a moment, unmoving again, caught between thought and instinct.
Further ahead, Ray continued walking, but his awareness never left them.
He did not need to turn around to know.
The distance between duty and feeling was shrinking.
And for the first time, none of them could pretend it was not happening.