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Penelope knew to avoid peanuts and sesame seeds. Her parents had always warned her that something bad would happen if she ate it. They made her carry around a tincture in her pocket and taught her how to make it. She had to use it a few times as a child, the last time was before her mother died.
Penelope had managed to get some bread from a travelling merchant who’d been acquainted with them. He knew her and showed her one act of kindness and had given her the freshly baked bread.
She had never seen sesame seeds before, the rarity that they were. She had brought it home to share with her ailing mother. Penelope had split it up and then given the other half to her mother.
Penelope had already taken a bite when her mother had bitten into it herself. She had missed the way her mother’s eyes widened in panic, hand raising with a speed and strength that she hadn’t had in months as she slapped the bread out of Penelope’s hand before she could take another.
Immediately, Penelope’s eyes began to water as she struggled to breathe. Hand going to her throat. Her mother crawled up to her and reached for the tincture in Penelope’s pocket before emptying it into her mouth.
Penelope woke to her mother crying. She stared at her mother in confusion. And her mother made her promise to be careful with the food, no matter how hungry she was before she had walked her through the ingredients of the tincture and its method of creation.
Penelope learned to hide the tinctures, the maids throwing them away with relish whenever they found them. She also knew to make it subtly, away from prying eyes. The staff at the kitchen had perhaps become aware of her aversion to nuts and sesame seeds because there always seemed to be some of them in her meal which meant she couldn’t eat it. So many days when she starved even if the food was good.
She had learned the term for it, allergy.
And just as she’d learned the term, she had let her guard down. The servants had become creative, mixing it with the juice she’d been served. Her mouth tingled and she glared at Emily who looked at her smug. She threw the wretch out of her room and immediately drank one of the four tinctures. The weakest one.
Penelope did her best to be on her guard from that day onward. She knew even the drinks had been turned into poison for her. Now she only drank water and carefully wiped the rim of the glasses and the cutleries she used before it even touched her lips. She had no such defences though when she was eating with the full family, not that she needed it. She could always just make a scene but so far, it seemed they hadn’t tried anything yet.
So, she began to eat there more. Her ire spiked by the toy cutleries given to her, but she persisted, this was the only time she could be sure that she wouldn’t be poisoned. She joined, even though she knew she wasn’t welcome.
She did realize that this whole thing was just mad, and she’d begun to think of ways to escape. How far would she have to run before she could be free of them? What did she need to be successful?
Penelope found a small alcove hidden and dusty, covered mostly by the wardrobe. It went deeper into the side. Penelope began to make use of it, she hid the jewels and pocket money she’d saved inside a bag, purchased a spelled all-weather cloak and some sturdy clothes a size or two bigger than her need, and some practical shoes. She had a teleportation scroll or two hidden inside as well. She managed to sew coins and jewelry around the clothing, lined the pockets with vials of her tinctures, and even hid some around the room in spots she knew none of the maids would ever look, including inside a little indent within the fireplace, she’d paid a premium for the sturdy bespelled box she had hidden there with some funds if necessary.
She made sure all of her clothing would have some jewels in it to sell if she needed to run but couldn’t make it back to her room. She kept her mother’s bronze jewelry on her person at all times, hidden but still there. They were the only things she treasured, the only connection she had to her family, the only reminder that she had been loved once upon a time.
Of course, life never really went the way Penelope had hoped or planned. It started during the Crown Prince’s homecoming. Enraptured as she was by his striking colours and handsome face, she still kept her goal of running away in mind. They had passed by each other with nary a second glance after their introduction until much later that night. He’d rescued her from a rather uncomfortable situation with a noble who had begun to get quite pushy.
He’d scared the man off with a simple line, menacing air practically emanating from him as they made their way to somewhere more visible.
“Thank you.” She said. “I honestly was a few moments away from causing a scene.”
“Think nothing of it, Princess.” He said with a small and quite artificial smile.
She raised a brow. “Your Highness, you and I both know that I’m not a princess.”
“Oh, and aren’t you the daughter of the Empire’s only duke, My lady?”
“On paper.”
He let out a wry smile. “I believe there’s a tale to that. But I suppose our acquaintance is too shallow for me to enquire, but I suppose I do understand the feeling.”
Penelope smiled blithely and redirected their conversation to the places he’d travelled through during his years at war. It had been years and the landscape had been changed, shaped by the brutality of the war machine. But Penelope was able to give the Crown Prince her take on the peaceful idyl she’d witnessed as a child of travelling merchants. It was a completely different take to what Callisto had. Her memories were of people and places, of vibrant markets and festivals in the square. His were bloodshed and ruined lives, of torn down cities and barren fields.
He seemed entranced by her tales. She reminded him that it had been through the eyes of a child who had been rather sheltered by her nomadic family but he hadn’t minded. Admittedly, Penelope’s people had quite a different education from the nobles and scholars within the empire, commoners never did get an education unless they were employed for a specific thing. Their education wasn’t about learning the proper etiquette or the art of entertaining as was the want for the ladies.
Penelope’s education had been to read the ancient language, to converse and understand the different languages they encountered, to learn how to interact with people, and to weave their words into gripping tales or touching poems and songs. She learned to sing and play music, to create tinctures and medications, to study the land and the history of the people and its culture. She grew up exploring caves and digging through sites that sometimes turned up artifacts. She learned to sew and hunt, to cook and mend. She was taught to keep busy.
And as she wove in tales of her family, the touch of melancholy must have reached her voice because his eyes shifted, the smile fading from his face. “You seem to miss them a lot, Princess.”
“How can I not? They’re my family. And who wouldn’t miss that unconditional love they gave? They tried their best to shelter me from the world and to keep the optimism and light in my heart.”
“And yet they left you behind anyway.” He noted.
“Not by choice.”
They ended their conversation there as Penelope returned to the ballroom and hid in the corner, eyes watching the door as the Prince came in with his aide a few minutes later.
It became a routine for them, they would sneak off for a few moments together to converse and find some calm equilibrium with one another. Sometimes, she would seek him out when he was upset, braving the threats he’d levied to all and sundry to see if she could give him some comfort. Penelope knew it was stupid to get attached but she thought she could still carry through with her plans to disappear. She just wished to remember the feeling of having a friend for a while, at least until it was time to say goodbye and walk away from him.
Penelope knew their paths would one day diverge. When that day came, she was ready to let go, fully content in the knowledge that she’d given as much as she could to help him as a friend. Nothing would deter her from her path. Or so she thought.
“May I court you?” Callisto asked her. And with those four words, Penelope’s plans fell apart.
The courtship was met with amused derision, after all, who was better for the Barbarian Prince than the Mad Dog? The Duke and his sons resisted at first but she persisted. The two of them refused to back down or let go of this relationship. She spent so much time in his palace she may as well have moved in as he had once wryly commented to the fervent yet otherwise subtle nodding of his servants behind him, she took at least one meal with him all the time. It was sometimes the only meal she took for the whole day.
Callisto was quite attentive to her wants and her preferences. “Would you like some hazelnut tarts?” He offered her a slice but she politely declined.
“No, thank you. I don’t like nuts.” She said. Long ingrained habits had her omitting the threat they posed to her, not wanting another to have such leverage over her that they may harm her.
He merely smiled and waved them away, even sending his own untouched one away. Despite this, Penelope still dodged the kiss he tried to place on her cheek and let him settle for her gloved hand instead. He took this all in stride and from then on, there hadn’t been any nuts in anything served to them.
There was an assassination attempt in the forest, a night spent in a cold cave, barely clothed, curled in his arms as they shared their first real kiss. Of course, the idiot had to ruin it a day later by not telling her about the poison beforehand, letting her waste away time as she tried her hand at archaeology. It certainly hadn’t helped her temper later when he’d collapsed and she had been arrested and tried for an attempted assassination against him and the would-be assassins who were nobles.
As she sat at his bedside, mostly worried, half frustrated, and half guilty, she held his hand and waited for him to awaken.
She hadn’t said anything to him. Merely raised a brow, her lips set in a firm line. She warred with relief and anger.
“I’m sorry.” He said immediately.
Just those two words made her anger dissipate. “Why didn’t you tell me about the poison? Do you not trust me?”
“I trust you.” He insisted. “I just didn’t believe that there was any point in worrying you. And what could you have done anyway?”
“As opposed to worrying me over the last few days?” She asked. “And I could have just had you cut the bones to get the scrolls.”
“But it was wonderful to see you so alive.” He told her as he pulled her close to him so that she was lying on him.
When she left his room a little while later, Penelope hadn’t mentioned the trial or the identities of the assassins to him, not wanting to overburden him while he was still recovering.
Penelope sat upright and proper as she sat beside Callisto, today, he was in the Duchy having lunch with them. There was a tense sort of atmosphere as the Ducal family stared at her beau as though he were the great demon himself. Her golden prince took it all in stride, acted as though he saw none of their dark stares and spoke easily with them. Penelope followed his lead.
One day, Penelope had been surprised by Callisto’s appearance within the duchy. He had stopped off right after breakfast to talk to the Duke about something or the other and had decided to take his lunch with them. It was so bewildering to see him there when they’d only ever truly met at the palace. Still, as they waited, Penelope led him through the parts of the Duchy she was allowed to enter and felt comfortable in.
Most people bowed towards them as they passed before quickly turning around and fleeing, Penelope tried not to show how odd she found the whole thing, far too used to looks of disdain that met her within these halls. She led him towards the gardens farthest away from the knights and the population at large to a place she knew they’d be able to get some privacy. She never even paused as they walked by the greenhouse that she’d never been allowed in. They walked under the line of sight of the attic’s large windows, a place she’d been barred from for nearly as long as she’d lived there.
When they finally reached the isolated bench, she pulled him down to sit beside her.
“Hello.” She said breathlessly.
“Hello.” He whispered back before he claimed her lips for a kiss.
They made their way back eventually, as soon as they were able to part themselves from one another and straighten themselves out. His hair was far easier to fix than Penelope’s own, much to her frustration and his smug amusement. Still, they were able to make it back in time and such a state that no one was the wiser. And Penelope now also controlled a diamond mine courtesy of her lover, and an emerald mine gifted to her by the Duke in apology about the farce of the trial that she had been put through.
It was as the meals had begun that Penelope realized that she had overestimated the staff when she believed that they wouldn’t try anything with Callisto present. She was wrong as she realized they had tried to bait her or call her out for refusing food that was made with quite a great deal of effort by sneaking either sesame seeds or peanuts into her food, the telltale tingle to her lips began.
She dropped her fork as she stood, her hand immediately began to go for her throat as she felt it constrict and her breathing became laboured. Callisto was at her side immediately, shaking her, his voice was lost as her mind raced. Had they put more than one thing in her food? Her reaction was coming along faster as she hurriedly searched her pocket for the vial, fear clouding her mind as she saw the pained and desperate face of her lover above her. Other voices were drowned out by his muffled ones. She lost consciousness within moments.
Callisto had come to the duchy on the pretense of discussing an upcoming diplomatic envoy from an empire across the sea, but truly, he was there to tell him of his intentions to propose to Penelope. He hadn’t come there to ask for permission, no, he knew he wouldn’t get it nor would it help with swaying Penelope to agreeing to it anyway, given the cold and distant nature between the Duke and Penelope.
Still, there was an argument that had erupted as the Duke tried valiantly to protest and he’d managed to overpower the man in the verbal spar. He had thrown his knowledge of her love of archaeology over him, something that had surprised the older man, and despite his outwardly smug mien, he was seething at how completely overlooked his lover was. For at least Callisto had his aides, servants, and men who saw him for who he was, and well, Penelope of course. She knew him the greatest, it seemed.
It mattered not, in a little while, he would be able to whisk her away from here. His ring was prepared, the date was variable, and the method and place were still up for debate. He had so many plans he had drawn up in the wake of the cave, his mind never straying far from her.
Penelope had been waiting for him in a sitting room, when he entered, she immediately rose and dragged him out through the side door.
“We’re going somewhere we can be guaranteed some privacy!” She declared.
“Oh, and what shall we do with that privacy?” He asked, teasing.
“I leave that to your imagination.” She said primly to his delighted laugh, his mind conjuring up various scenarios, some chaste, others not as much.
They passed through a few places he thought would be private enough, the greenhouse being the main one but she hadn’t even spared it a glance. Instead, she distracted him with inquiries about his health, this being the first they had seen of one another since the hunting tournament had ended.
“I truly am quite alright, Princess.” He assured her, taking delight in her fretting.
The happy haze from their little interlude alone was broken by the clatter of Penelope’s fork dropping from beside him. She stood immediately. He turned to her in worry only to rush out of his seat as well. One hand had gone to her throat, and the other was rummaging in her pocket for something, her lips were blue and it seemed as though she was having a hard time breathing.
“Penelope!” He called out as he caught her, he shook her a bit, wondering if she was choking on something. He called her name again but she wasn’t replying, her face became paler, her lips blue, and then she fell unconscious. “Guards!” He called out immediately.
The Duke was calling for a doctor, the young duke was interrogating the staff about everything, while the young lord Reynold hovered over, wringing his hands and making a nuisance of himself.
His guards arrived faster than the Doctor did and he ordered them to begin the investigation into the attempt on Penelope’s life, he didn’t care if he seemed like a madman as he desperately tried to rouse her. The Doctor arrived within moments. Penelope had broken into cold sweats and Callisto worried about what poison had been fed to her. The doctor examined her for a moment.
“It’s an allergic reaction, your highness.” The doctor said gravely. Callisto’s heart had stopped. How had this happened? Penelope was very careful about what she ate. She must have known about how her body was intolerant to those foods. And Callisto knew how deadly an allergy was, there was no cure, no treatment. He had lost a handful of men to something as little as a bee sting or a bite of perfectly edible food that their body had thought was toxic.
He grasped Penelope tighter, his head buried in her neck from the fear he felt at the thought of losing her. Her hand fell out of her pocket and he saw a familiar slim metal case in her hand and he was brought back to that night in the cave.
“What is that contraption?” He asked. “It looks quite like something I’ve seen doctors use.”
“Well yes, the ones you saw were injections or syringes created by my grandmother decades ago, this one, however, is a design I improved upon over the years. It’ll fit in with specific vials I’ve designed for specific doses without needing to measure it out and you would be able to administer it immediately with the needle retracting once it’s done for safety reasons.”
“And why do you carry it around even here?” He asked as he inspected the case again, there were two vials in there, both identical.
“Because it might save my life one day.” She answered, one hand twitching and tapping her bare inner thigh which had healing needle marks on it.
To the side, the chef and the kitchen staff were trying to protest their innocence. “It was nothing but sesame oil and nuts added to it to make the flavour stand out.”
Callisto stopped short. “Sesame and nuts? Penelope never eats those! She refused to touch them and wouldn’t even let me hold her hand if I had held a spoon that had touched it! Why would you serve her something you would well know she detests?” He demanded in anger even as his hands quickly worked to figure out how to work the syringe. Within moments he had it prepared the way he thought it ought to be and then immediately lifted her skirt to the scandalized screams of everyone there and then he plunged the needle into her inner thigh. It took a few moments before he could see any signs of her condition improving.
The staff were still trying to justify themselves. “We didn’t know she was allergic nor that it would be harmful to her! We thought she was merely being dramatic.”
“Dramatic? Regardless of how you feel, never forget that Penelope is an Eckhart, origins aside.” He said quietly. “And you have no right to serve your lady food she doesn’t want, especially when you have served everyone else within the family food that they favoured and went out of your way to be actively malicious all for the fact that you saw her as being dramatic and picky with her food. I will classify this as an attempt against the Imperial Family by virtue of an attack on my betrothed.” He declared as he stood with her still in his arms and whisked her off to her room. The doctor followed along as the guards began to round up the kitchen staff.
The doctor checked on Penelope once she was in bed and he stepped back astonished. “She’s improved greatly.” He breathed out breathless. “I didn’t know something had been created to counteract and treat an anaphylactic shock.”
“Maybe because Penelope and her birth family created this. Her grandmother was responsible for creating the first syringe and she had improved upon it during her time in the duchy.” He replied curtly. “Did you know about her allergy?” He asked.
“No.” The Doctor said after a pause.
Callisto said nothing else and the doctor left soon afterwards. He stayed by Penelope’s side as tears began to fall from his eyes. “I know that this place is hell for you, you’ve told me so before. And I want nothing more than to take you away from here. Please wake up, Penelope. Please open your eyes and say you’ll be fine.”
He kissed her lips briefly before he gripped one of her hands and placed it on his face. “For so long, my life was colourless and on that first night we met, it was the first time since I was sent to war that I could see anything other than grey and the red of blood. For the first time since I had taken a man’s life, I had seen something so beautiful. Your eyes were the first true colour in my life. And if you leave me it’ll be so much worse than what it had been before. Please don’t leave me in this hell.”
And then he kissed her lips again and when he pulled back, he had made up his mind. “I love you.” He whispered in her ear. For what was the worth of protecting his heart and denying his love for her when it would hurt him anyway to lose her to death and he knew now that he couldn’t live without her, fully ready to follow her wherever she went.
Penelope woke up briefly after some hours, slightly groggy. Green eyes opened to the sight of her lover. “Your Highness?” She asked, tired, body aching, and with a dry mouth.
“Penelope!” He said as he sprang up.
“Water, please.” She said and he gave it to her easily, holding her up with one arm while his other hand pressed the glass to her lips. “Thank you.”
“How do you feel?” He asked.
“Tired. This is the worst reaction I’ve had since just before my mother’s death.” She explained.
“Does this happen often?” Callisto asked her quietly.
Something in his tone seemed to nag at her, some dangerous territory that she needed to be careful about. “Every few days? But the maids always destroy my medicine so I can’t eat unless I come to see you.” She said in a bit of a whine, her mind too sluggish to truly comprehend anything she was saying. “Are you staying with me? I don’t want to be alone here, it’s scary and tiring.” She said, feeling sorry for herself as she buried her face into his chest, clothed this time. She pouted at that, she wanted the sight of his bare chest like when they were in the cave but she was too tired to unbutton his shirt.
“Penelope, may I take you to the palace?” He asked.
She nodded eagerly as she began to drift off again. “Alright, let’s go home.”
“Is home the palace to you?”
“Home is wherever we can be together.” She replied before she fell asleep again.
Callisto turned to the Duke who had entered and had been standing quietly throughout the entire exchange. He looked defeated as he stared at Callisto. “I’ll send for her things once I’ve gotten her settled.” He said as he wrapped Penelope in the blanket and picked her up. The Duke said nothing as he passed by.
As he went to enter the carriage, he could feel the tense atmosphere within the duchy as his men began to investigate the abuse dealt to Penelope. He had already had some inkling to it, but more would no doubt be discovered. He cared little about that at the moment, all he wanted was to get her to the safety of his palace, to the room he’d had prepared for her. The only one who had truly tried to protest and stop him from taking Penelope was the younger Eckhart son. The pink-haired man had tried to stop him by grabbing onto his arm but he had given him just one warning about the offence of touching a member of the imperial family. After that, he was quiet.
“Your Highness?” He felt someone prodding him, he opened his eyes to Penelope peering down at him.
He sat up immediately startling her as she fell back onto the bed. “Oh, are you alright Princess?”
“I’m fine.” She assured him as she took his offered hand. “But what are we doing at the palace? Or rather what am I doing here?”
“You said it was alright for me to take you home.” He reminded her.
She frowned in bewilderment. “I did?” She pointed to herself.
“You said ‘Home is wherever we can be together.’”
Penelope immediately blushed. “Oh…ahh…”
He kissed her forehead before he rang a bell that was resting on the table beside him. The door opened and Callisto immediately ordered the guard to get his personal doctor.
“I’m alright now.” She protested. “I’m just a bit sore.”
“Penelope, you survived what is an attempt at your life through anaphylaxis. That’s something very rare.” Callisto told her seriously. “I didn’t even know there was a treatment for it.”
“My grandmother made it when I was very little. My mother had let me have some of her food and I had gotten a minor reaction at the time but it was enough for them to stop consuming those foods altogether, my entire family began searching for something that could treat me because they knew the second reaction may become worse. And they found it. Mother made sure I could make it on my own but they never really discussed what it was, I only found out when I came to the duchy.”
“I see. Well, worry not.” He said. “I’ll make sure to keep one on me from now on too and I’ll keep an eye on your food.”
“That brings me a lot of comfort.” She said with a smile.
The doctor’s arrival broke their mood.
True to his word, Callisto had banned those ingredients from even coming into his palace citing Penelope’s distaste for them. In private, he made sure he had one of his own kits with him at all times, and all the servants who served Penelope and worked closely with her were to have their own. Of course, those were only a handful and only those that Callisto trusted the most.
Penelope made no inquiries about the duchy, not about her return nor about her things. Callisto still had them brought to the palace though. When the first of her things began arriving, Penelope had casually drawn up a map of her room and all the spots she had hidden her things and given it to Callisto who relayed the message to Baroness Markham, his former nanny, and the person overseeing the transfer of her belongings.
“It seems the Eckharts had been taken aback by your little hidey-hole.” He said in amusement as he pulled her in close.
She shrugged. “Well, they can’t keep being deluded into believing I was happy there.” She said as she looked back down on the papers for his birthday.
“They brought a dress that had just been delivered from a modiste. It was the one you commissioned for your coming of age.” He said quietly.
“Oh, I had forgotten about that.” She said in surprise.
“Why don’t you wear it to my birthday banquet?” He offered. “I have something in mind for your coming of age.”
“I suppose I could…” She said a bit hesitant.
“Perfect!”
Penelope wore an elegant purple dress, the last dress she had commissioned with the Eckhart’s money. It came with some jewels, but the center point for Penelope’s entire attire was the tiara Callisto had given her for tonight. It matched the coronet on his head. He had also managed to get ahold of a uniform that could match her dress, at least in places.
When they entered, Penelope saw the Eckharts watching from the back. Quiet and face serious. It was well known that she had moved into the palace weeks ago and it hadn’t seemed as much of a surprise to people as she thought it would be.
Callisto led her on and after listening to greetings, he had taken her to the dance floor for the first dance. The two of them had spent many nights dancing under the moonlight over the last month or so and as a result, they were well accustomed to one another’s movements. They flowed through the dance floor as easily as though they were one person, one mind, and dare she say it, one soul.
Eventually, they had managed to sneak off to the balcony, Cedric trailing along after them as he closed the curtain and stood to guard the door.
The balcony was beautifully lit and she was a bit confused about it, the decorations not matching the ones she had chosen for the banquet.
“You did marvellous arranging my celebration.” Callisto praised her. “And I hope you’d be just as pleased with what I have planned for your birthday.”
“I’m sure it’ll be nothing short of extravagant.” She quipped before she giggled and kissed him. “Whatever you plan will be wonderful, and you being by my side will be what makes it perfect and memorable.”
Callisto grinned as he held her hand. “Well, I’m glad you said that.” And then he knelt in front of her, his other hand revealed an ornate ring box. “I love you, Penelope. Will you marry me and allow me to stay by your side forever?”
Her breath was stolen. “Yes, yes, yes! Of course! I love you too!” She said happily. As they kissed, fireworks began to explode behind them. Of course, the man had to go and plan something like this too.
They spent a few more moments in bliss, their arms wrapped around one another as they both appreciated how the ring looked on her finger. The golden band filled with a ruby and an emerald surrounded by diamonds was delicately crafted and fit her perfectly.
“Shall we aim for a fall wedding or a winter wedding?” He asked casually.
“Neither! Fall is too close to plan something spectacular. And winter is too cold to travel for our honeymoon!” She said. “And the flowers I would like wouldn’t be in season!”
“Spring or summer it is.” He said with a shrug.
“Yes, thank you. Make it late spring, it’ll be the perfect temperature for us.”
“As you wish it, I will make it so.”
Penelope hadn’t been allowed to see or learn anything about her coming-of-age ceremony, she hadn’t even seen a glimpse of her dress, always blindfolded when they would dress her for her fittings but the maids all gushed and giggled about how beautiful it was. Even now, she had been blindfolded initially until they went to do her makeup and had her close her eyes.
After that, she had been led somewhere and left to her own devices.
“You have no idea how beautiful you look.” She heard Callisto’s voice say in her ear. The warmth of his breath sent shivers running through her body. He had her remain with her eyes closed as she felt him place jewelry on her body. “Now, you may open your eyes.” He said.
Green eyes opened and she gasped. She and Callisto matched. They painted such a lovely picture of contrasts and harmony. Penelope glittered from head to toe, draped in the finest the empire had to offer.
“Do you like it, my love?” He asked.
“It’s wonderful.” She said breathless. “I look so beautiful.”
Callisto smiled at her fondly. “You are always so beautiful.” He told her sincerely. “So beautiful that I feel the need to constantly show my good fortune that you had chosen me, and the need to remove the eyes of all those that even dare to look at you.”
“That’s quite a macabre thing to say.”
“I mean it in all earnest.” He had her turn slowly. “You seem to have no idea of how utterly enchanting you are. You have me completely at your mercy, I am completely intoxicated by your mere presence. Your smile brightens my day, your touch burns into my skin long after we’ve parted for our duties, your mere presence colours my world, you are more important to me than anything, even the throne. You have no idea the lengths I am willing to go through to keep you happy and healthy by my side.”
Penelope flushed, his words igniting the same heat she’d become accustomed to over the last few weeks, no, since the night at the cave. Penelope gave in to the temptation and pulled him into a deep kiss, her hands fisted on the lapels of his jacket. “I love you.” She panted after they pulled away, her lungs burning for air but her body wanting more. “I love you so much that you overturned my plans. I decided long ago that I wouldn’t hand you over to any woman. Never. I would rather die than allow that.”
“Then you’ll live forever.” He said, a deep warmth in his eyes. “You’ll live forever because I have no intention of ever having another woman.”
Penelope went in for another kiss but they were interrupted by a knock. She pulled away with a disappointed sigh though she was also grateful for it.
She entered with Callisto in the first coming of age ceremony to be celebrated within the Imperial Palace since the Emperor himself had his own ceremony. Callisto had come of age while he was away at war, celebrated by his men who had sent women into his tent only to be promptly chased out by the steel of his sword; and the second prince was younger than Penelope. In a way, it was quite the celebration because she was still the only daughter of the only Duke within the Empire and the Crown Prince’s lover who many believed would become his wife in the future.
Penelope’s eyes widened. It was the kind of fairytale like scene she had often heard tales of as a child and read books about whenever the silence and loneliness threatened to engulf her within the Duchy. She glanced at Callisto who grinned at her smugly, his eyes light with anticipation that reminded her of a puppy. “You did well, darling.” She praised him quietly. “I’ll reward you later and give you more praises.”
He became positively radiant. “I look forward to it.”
As a part of the formalities, the Duke and his sons had joined them on the dais. It seemed they were at the very least trying to save face. Penelope gave them a cordial smile no different than what she’d given the guests when they had been in the receiving line. She listened to them give speeches that she knew were nothing but hollow words, all pretty lies to placate the crowd but she kept the same smile on her face, waited until Callisto himself stood to deliver his own toast and to reveal their engagement, complete with the official betrothal document affixed with the Emperor’s seal.
The Duke stared on, smile tense but said nothing to counter Callisto’s claim, even willingly signing the document to show to everyone that there was no tension between throne and duchy. The Duke had asked her for an audience in return for the signing, all said under his breath. Penelope gave her ascent and the rest of the night went perfectly with an appearance from the Emperor himself who watched as she and Callisto danced until it was quite late.
Callisto carried her into their room, for that was what it was. They had spent every night in each other’s arms, never going beyond a kiss. At night, they would talk about their day and they’d cuddle each other close. Her lover often woke earlier than her and had earlier days but she’d stir long enough to give him a kiss good bye before she drifted back to sleep.
Tonight was different though. There was a heat within Penelope that wouldn’t be put out, she had no desire, no will, no hope to. Why would she? Her lover was here and willing, conscientious too. The worry in his eyes whenever he’d pull away from the kiss was clear but she wanted this. She wanted him so very badly.
She drew him back in for a kiss and when they broke away she whispered in his ear. “I’m ready, I want this, please, my love.”
It was all the permission he needed as he set himself back upon her. She felt the trailing of his lips, the gentle caresses of his calloused hands, felt the gentle nibbles of his teeth, the pleasure that his fingers and tongue wrought on her. Even when her voice broke, her hands pulling on those magnificently soft golden strands, his eyes remained on her, seeking her permission and seemingly enraptured. She always vocalized what she wanted, and what Penelope wanted was more. Callisto delivered, ardour shown with every touch, every action, every word.
When Penelope was far too exhausted, too lost to the world to know only his touch, breath, voice, the red of his eyes, the taste of him, the beat of his heart, when all her thoughts had long since disappeared so that he had become her whole world, Callisto had let her go. Let her rest as he pulled her tightly into his arms, brushing back her sweat damped hair to press a kiss to her forehead.
“Goodnight love.” He whispered as she fell asleep. The feel of the blanket being shuffled around to wipe her was one of the last sensations she felt as she fell asleep.
In the morning light, Penelope woke to warm red eyes and a mess of golden hair, his lips on hers immediately, light and quick to greet her for a new morning. His hand on her cheek. She smiled at her lover in happiness. “Good morning, darling.” She said.
“Good morning, my heart.”
Penelope smiled, feeling so completely overwhelmed by happiness until her eyes caught sight of the scars on his skin and she traced each one. She felt him shiver at her touch and she pulled back with worry. Had she done something wrong to him? “Do they hurt?”
“No, no they don’t.” He said. “I just never expected your touch to feel so gentle and good.”
“Oh.” She said after a moment before she leaned in to kiss one and then another. Before long, they were a tangle of limbs once more and neither rose from their bed for the whole day, save of course, for food and the baths.
Two days after her coming of age, the Duke arrived with his sons. She had sent Callisto on her way with the promise that she would be alright. “I’ll send for you if I need you.” She promised as she kissed him before she ushered him out the outer door, closed it quickly, and entered another side room.
“Your Grace, my lords.” She said politely, distant, and without any fillial terms or warmth in it.
“Penelope!” The Duke said in relief as his eyes scanned her. “Are you alright? Have they been treating you well?”
Penelope stared at him with a raised brow. “They have. I haven’t been so well treated in years, nor have I been so cared for or well fed.”
She saw the way they flinched at her words. She felt nothing at all by it. Penelope had long ago stopped feeling any fondness or attachment for them, especially not now when she remembered what it was like to be so loved and truly cherished, to be someone’s world and know that she would never again be left out in the cold to struggle alone and hurt. Callisto’s warmth and very being had invaded her soul, reinforced her so that she could stand on her own. Like a blazing inferno that turned her soul from the mined ore to true steel. She could do anything, be anyone, fly to heights she’d never had before, so long as she had him and his love.
“If you’ve come to demand that I return to the Duchy, you may as well save your breath. It would be a cold day in hell before I return to that house of horrors and to my torturers.” She said blandly.
Derrick huffed. “Now that’s dramatic, don’t you think, you ungrateful disgrace.”
“Derrick!” The Duke rebuked.
Penelope waved it off, too used to it to be bothered. “It’s not something he hasn’t said before.” She mentioned offhandedly. “But I spoke nothing but the truth, for what else could it be when I’m routinely starved not just by the poisonous food they give me, the fact that it was sometimes spoiled foods, once even laced with some broken glass, or not at all when the young lord orders it as punishment. That and either being banned from water or being given dirty water altogether. What is it called when they often taunt me in my face or let themselves be overheard, when they speak under their breath and whisper threats in my ears. What else is it to be called but torment when I wake up to torn clothing and the pain of needles that had pricked through my arms?” She narrated offhandedly. “It was nothing but a different level of hell that you delivered me to.”
“You would be dead without father’s intervention.” Derrick said through gritted teeth, face red, even as the Duke and Reynold flinched at every word she had uttered.
“I would be dead if Callisto hadn’t acted. Do you think they hadn’t tried to kill me in different ways before that? Subtle as it was through their cruelty.” She pointed out. “At least on the streets, I would’ve died with my friends surrounding me rather than utterly alone as I drowned in anger, resentment, and spite.”
Reynold bowed his head. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“You don’t think I did?” She asked. “When you accused me of theft all those years ago, you made me a liar and made it easy for everyone to silence my protests and make it so that they could use that as justification to hurt me further. But I suppose my outbursts did save me, after all, the punishments kept me alive by making sure I wouldn’t be able to eat the tainted food.”
“Penelope…” Reynold said quietly, his eyes moving down to the floor when she turned to him, unable to even meet her eyes.
The Duke looked sick. “I would’ve believed you.”
“Believe me?” She parroted back as she stared at him blankly. “You never did. You always bribed the other party after I was bullied and I tried to defend myself. When they bribed the guards, your guards, and other witnesses to speak against me, when I defended myself from some of the noble lords who tried to importune me, you took their side without ever asking for my side.”
She saw the way the Duke’s stature seemingly shrink with every word she’d released. “You were a great party to the suppression of my voice because you refused to look at me. You refused to look at me when we ate our meals, refused to look at how they gave me toy cutleries and gave me bland and poorly seasoned foods, refused to look when I was not but practically skin and bones. You threw money at me, jewelry, to silence me in the way you silenced the others who you bribed. And then gave me to Derrick to be punished because you couldn’t be bothered to look at me or talk to me. You who took me in and promised me a world of warmth left me out in the cold quite quickly. And yet you have the gall to say that you care about me when you don’t even know me?”
The Duke looked near tears with her words so she drew a breath to steady herself. “But Callisto isn’t like that. I never have to fear the cold with him. He knows me, I know him. He knows what its like to curl up to the dead bodies of the people you care for, he knows what its like to smell death, to starve, to see the cruelty of men; and yes, it did change him, it hid the softness in him that he’s shown me everyday because he needed to defend himself. He took the time to listen, he investigated, he never accused me because he was a man who believed in the proof and in deep inquiries. I love him, I love him because he’s warm, sweet, conscientious, and always willing to go through the lengths of the earth for my happiness and safety. And I know I will always be in safe hands with him.”
“Your Grace, I’ve said much to criticize you and your house, but there is one thing that I will always be grateful for. It was that your choice to adopt me led me to meet the man of my dreams, the love of my life.” She gave him a small smile, a real one at that. “When I leave this room, I will treat you with cordiality afforded to the nobles, I won’t ever let out what was said here, no accusations shall fall from my lips. But remove any thoughts of filial piety on my part or of my ever stepping foot within that hell, for there is nothing that could ever tempt me there ever again.”
With that she stood, curtsied, and gave her parting words to them.
Derrick dared to speak up once more as she reached the door. “And what shall you say about all the servants of the Duchy that your betrothed executed?”
She paused. “Whatever it was, you may say that there was an attempt on my life or his. After all, either way it would’ve been a crime that he could’ve found them all complicit in anyway.”
And then she flung the door open and walked out.
Penelope found Callisto waiting for her not too far from the door, he paced back and forth until the doors opened and he immediately came towards her, relief clearly writ on his face as his eyes scanned her. He wrapped his arms around her. She chuckled. “Did you think they’d try something here?”
“You can never be too careful.”
“I love you.” She said.
Callisto took her away from the hallway and out to the gardens, she never looked back.
She kept her word, she never mentioned anything about the estrangement, she treated them with all cordiality but never with too much warmth, let the others believe that the distance was to protect Callisto from political manipulations as any good spouse ought to. She dissuaded rumours and deflected any inquiries with an art that she had learned long ago with her family.
As the months passed, their wedding day approached with all speed as the last few days came into a sprint through the sheer volume of tasks she still needed to complete. Where she once cursed herself for the long engagement she had set upon them, now she wished it was longer. Callisto was both of tremendous help and little help as well, at different times of course. Now that she had allowed him into her skirts, Callisto came to her at all opportunities and she worried she’d end up with child before their vows could be said, or at least, obviously with child. If she fell pregnant close to their wedding, well, they could pretend that their babe came early or at the very least, that it wouldn’t be obvious when she walked down the aisle.
In that, at least, Callisto was the more conscientious of the two of them when it came to contraceptives, if she often forgot, he never did. All but their first night had been done with contraceptives. Though he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t be nearly as thoughtful after their marriage since no one would dare speak out about a pregnancy after marriage. And yes, it was clear that he was merely doing it to protect her from those that would try to taint her and her reputation. But he very much wanted children with her and only her.
Still, she couldn’t complain. She couldn’t deny him something she wanted so badly as well. She loved the feeling of their bodies entwined, connected, joined as one. And she wouldn’t ever say no to the possibility of carrying his child. She longed for it, longed for a babe that was half him and half her, someone who was the physical proof of their love. Someone to dote on, to bring more light and laughter and love within Callisto.
She longed to see him as a father, to see him so wrapped up in that precious little life that would show him a different kind of love and a different way to live.
“Your Highness,” Trina said softly, the maid’s face was placed in a happy smile. “I’ve finished the makeup, please let me help you into your dress.”
“Thank you.” Penelope said sincerely as she raised her arms patiently, the other servants all flocked to her as did the seamstresses who put the finishing touches to her dress.
Their were pleased gasps and murmurs that rang through the room. “You look like a goddess, Your Highness. His Highness may very well prostrate himself and worship you instead.” Lady Maynard said, one of her two chief Ladies in waiting, the other was Lady Therocy who giggled.
“You say that as if he doesn’t do that already.” Lady Therocy said.
“That is a fair point.” Lady Maynard conceded. “Though perhaps having a doctor close by would be helpful as well, His Highness’ heart may fail when he sees how beautiful his bride is as she walks down the aisle to meet him.”
“You flatter me too much.” She said, demuring slightly, her face was tinged red at their compliments.
“No flattery, merely pure honesty.” Lady Therocy said.
As Penelope walked down the aisle, her eyes caught sight of Callisto. She walked alone, without the Duke, her ‘father’ who watched from the front in pride of place, a formality for the sake of keeping up appearances. The Eckharts had kept their distance just as Penelope had kept hers. Her eyes easily slid past them to meet the warm red eyes of her prince, his face alight with that brilliant smile.
“I love you.” He whispered in her ear the moment her hand slid into his and they turned to the priest.
“I love you too.” She whispered back.
Their vows were said, the standard vows that each person pledged on their wedding day. Penelope shared a secretive smile with her husband as they remembered the night before when they snuck of to the forest and pledged themselves to one another, vows said under the moonlight, vows that were personal as they swore their forever to each other. To love no one but each other.
What followed was a grand celebration that she barely remembered except the exhilarating feeling of being able to call him her husband, of dancing the night away, of being carried into their chambers only to be reduced into a mess within moments of their entrance into their private sanctuary. She couldn’t even see him from under the many layers of her skirt but she could definitely feel him. She could feel everything he did to her that had her voice cracking and her eyes fluttering shut from the pleasure of it all.
She barely had to do anything but regain her breath as her husband emerged from between her legs, face flushed red, eyes dark with desire as his tongue peeked out to lick his lips and his fingers. She watched him through half opened eyes as he disrobed first, the show he put on had her whimpering as he looked at her with a smirk. That man, really, he knew she was weak to him and to his body. The sight of that well muscled body had her practically drooling, her hand reaching out to touch.
He chuckled, caught her hand and pulled her up slightly. “You certainly are quite ready, my love.” As he released her hand, his other went around her back to hold her. She sighed in happiness as she was free to touch him while he did all the work of skillfully undoing the ties of her dress and her corset before fully disrobing her as well. By then, her face was buried in his chest as she pressed little kisses on the scars.
Callisto laid her down gently on the bed as he raised her hips and pulled off the undone clothing in one powerful tug and he flung it out to the side of the bed before he took advantage of their position. Within moments, he was within her. The pace moved from frantic to soft and back to frantic after he’d brought her to the edge more times than she could count through her pleasure addled mind. Sometimes ceding control to her but most of the time the control, the responsibility, fell to him to rearrange them.
Following the wedding was a month and a half long honeymoon followed by the imperial tour which had left them away from the capital for nearly half a year. By the time they’d returned, she was clearly very far along into her pregnancy, one that seemed to have happened sometime within a few days of their wedding day, either a week before, during, or within a week of the wedding night itself. Though their best bet was the wedding night itself given Callisto’s obsessive need to protect her reputation by not getting her pregnant before the wedding.
Still, with each day that passed, they felt more confident in narrowing their conception date to the wedding night or shortly thereafter. She smiled as she patted the large belly that also brought her no end of discomfort and joy. The last few weeks since their return to the capital, Callisto had been locked up in meetings constantly as he finished ‘cleaning house’ so to speak and finally dethroned the harpy that was his stepmother and brought the Ellen Marquisate down low.
“How is my baby and my beautiful wife?” Callisto’s voice rang out. He was without the papers that usually haunted him even on their honeymoon.
Penelope grinned up at him as he walked towards her before he dropped to his knees to rub his cheek and nose to her womb. “We’re doing fine for now.” She assured him. “Do you have time to take a walk with me in the gardens?” She asked. “And perhaps lunch as well?”
“I have all the time in the world for the two of you, you only need ask and I’ll grant it.”
“I don’t want to be a nuisance.” She argued.
Callisto looked at her with a frown, eyes serious. “Penelope, you are my other half, my wife, my equal, my heart, soul, morality, my whole world. And the baby is my little star. You both are the most important people and existences in my life. No title or power is worth more than the two of you and you will never be a nuisance. Never.” He assured her.
She blamed it on the hormones when she began to cry to her husband’s frantic worry but she brushed him off and pulled him in to a kiss and rearranged them until she was comfortably seated on his lap, the large belly hindering her slightly but she didn’t let that distract her as she sought his skin, his clothing may or may not be slightly torn (again). He made no protests.
When she came down from her high, Callisto stroked her back, her clothing ruffled but not ruined though her underwear was a different matter and so were his clothing. “Did you know darling, I wanted to tell you that my father has announced that he would be stepping down as the emperor within the end of the season. We’ll have about two months after our baby is born before we rise to the throne itself.”
“Truly?” She asked in delight. “Congratulations! You’ve worked so hard for this and for so long too!” She cheered her husband on as she felt the satisfaction that her husband had finally achieved his lifelong goals and also received the recognition he deserved. She pressed her lips to hers and within moments, they had returned to the same intense passion they’d just come down from.
Suffice to say, their lunch had been pushed off for later in the afternoon and their walk hadn’t happened until a little while after that. Of course, their wonderful day couldn’t end without the greatest moment of all, the cries of their newborn daughter, their little golden princess who had the same dragon wings as her ancestor.
“She’s so perfect.” Callisto said in breathless wonder. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Penelope.” He said as he began to cry at the sight of their baby, the little bundle in her arms was her father’s image or so it seemed to her. Callisto was still crying happily as he hugged her from behind, kissing her hair.
“Our little princess Judith Regulus.” She said contentedly, the ringing of the bells filled the capital and palace grounds as they marked the birth of an imperial heir.
There were more children, more memories, more wonderful days that they had experienced and that the world had been party to. Her children were showered with so much love and care that they never knew what it was like to see the darker side of human nature, not the brutal aspects even if they knew how to protect themselves. Callisto made sure they wouldn’t step onto a battlefield at all, especially not as children.
Their children were all sweet natured people who loved one another greatly and never let factions tear them apart. Of their eight children, Penelope had only given birth to one boy who absolutely refused to even entertain the idea of inheriting the throne.
And though Penelope was still known as a daughter of the house of Eckhart, their were never any true close ties that were ever established between them. The Eckharts backed her children to the bitter end, showered them with presents, and gave advice but they never crossed the line and kept their distance despite how much she saw the Former Duke and Lord Reynold struggle through the knowledge of watching the children from afar. As for the new duke… Lord Derrick seemed to be fine without such close ties despite following the former duke’s path and fighting for her eldest daughter’s right to the throne and keeping the others in check when it came to trying to split her children apart by way of politics and factions.
Penelope was content with that. She had never banned her children from getting to know them and though they did know that they were family of a sort, they also knew that something had happened between their mother and the ducal family that their father still held a grudge over it. So it was polite distance then, though the children were far warmer than their parents to the Duchy, they were still distant.
And Callisto’s precautions had also paid off time and again as it was discovered that their youngest children suffered from the same allergies that Penelope did and required the same vigilance when it came to their food. It was a fear that none of them would ever be able to shake off.
“If this were a book, this would be where they would usually end this with the line ‘and they lived happily ever after’.” Penelope pointed out as she brushed her silver streaked magenta hair.
Callisto laughed, hair now more white gold than the yellow gold he’d sported when they first met. “Well we certainly did.” He hugged her tightly. “Though perhaps we should just say that we lived happily and let that be the end of it all because we lived and we still continue to do so, in happiness and love.”
“That we do.” She said before she turned in his arms and purred, dragging him to the bed, her robe falling as she did so. “Now, let’s turn in for the night.” She said suggestively.
“Very well, goodnight.” He called out to their three children that remained out in the courtyard who immediately ran to their own palace, he blew out the candles along the way.