Page 88 of Glass Hearts
Sylas
We have really screwed up when it comes to Arabella. I have always thought the lot of us to be quite proficient in the art of wooing a woman. We spent most of our time chasing away the attentions of women, after all. Arabella, from the moment we met her, changed everything. We had been so focused on our problems; we were shit potential partners. No wonder the dang girl is so confused by us.
Archer and I give Arabella space to get ready in peace as we meet Gray and Koi downstairs in the empty restaurant. We rented the entire establishment to ourselves, hired a band and ensured the place was sparkling with candles and flowers.
“I am so good at this romance shit.” Gray puts his hands on his waist, inspecting his handiwork. Koi puts his hand on Gray’s shoulder, grinning like a fool.
“Weare good at this romance shit, brother.”
“I was a bit worried trusting the most wretched ones from our group with this task, but you seem to have proven me wrong. I hope Arabella loves it,” Archer adds.
I ask the waitress to pour us four drinks and prepare a wine for our girl. Speaking of which, I hear a small gasp of surprise as the woman of our dreams walks in. She is a vision in blue. The candlelight enhances her delicate features. Her glassy eyes look at us. She tries to say something, but she keeps sputtering as she takes in the whole room.
“We made the duchess speechless, brother!” Koi and Grayer give each other a high five. I walk over and hand her a glass of red wine, clinking her glass in a cheers while Koi comes up to take her hand.
“Sunshine, Arabella, please join us for a lovely meal.” He pulls out her chair as we join the food-filled table. I scoop a plate for her, putting a few of her favorite food items I have noticed she usually goes for.
“Thank you, my princes. This-this is so lovely.” The smile and tears shining in her eyes haven’t left her face. It makes everything worth it.
We eat as we share stories and special moments. We learn even more about our vixen. Like how she loves waking up early even with her late nights in the streets, her favorite color is blue, and she dreams of being able to make her own baking cookbook filled with her and her mother’s recipes. In turn, we regale her with our boyhood adventures, favorite memories, and dreams.
Dreams that don’t just involve being kings.
“This is definitely not my place… but, when you all become kings, may I offer a few suggestions when it comes to Velora? I am sure when you go back to your Isles, we may be forgotten,” Arabella says faintly, as if she is unsure she can even offer her opinions. That just won’t do.
“You will be my Queen, so you can do anything, Duchess,” Gray comments before I can reply. I shoot him a serious look.
“What Gray is trying to say, Vixen, is that your opinion completely matters to us. If anything, it’s the only opinion that matters most to us. What is it you are thinking?”
“Well.” She bites her lip, looking to each of us for confirmation to proceed. “Certain laws need to be changed. First, I would like to petition for the discontinuation of hunting until further notice. Max informed me about the dwindling ecosystem and the near extinction of animals near theenchanted forest. Second, the current laws allow for certain folks in a higher station to skirt the system, and as you saw, my people are the ones taking the brunt of the result of said actions.”
“My people, already speaking like a true queen!” Koi boasts as he kisses her cheek. I smile adoringly at her. She truly is magnificent.
“Of course, Arabella. Those are some fine ideas that I can’t wait to work morewithyou on.” Archer says. He gets up to kiss her. “I can’t wait for you to be my wife, my Queen.”
“You lot are terrible at staying in the friend zone.” She laughs, taking another sip of wine.
“That’s what you get for making four princes fall in love with you, Sunshine,” Koi says, resting his hand on her thigh. She sighs and shakes her head as if we are a nuisance, though unconvincingly, as a huge smile with a blush remains on her face.
“Is it foolish of me to worry that this is all a dream? That I died at the hands of that awful man?” Arabella says as she takes the last bite of her chocolate cake.
“Arabella.” I shift in my seat to face her fully. ”I know we probably haven’t given you a ton of reason to trust our words. And I understand your reservations about all of us being yours. But we are, love. I know in the forest, you had mentioned that you couldn’t choose. Well, there would be no choosing. Actually, it would be quite perfect for all of us, but especially for you. We will all need to occasionally, separately, go to our islands. What better way for you to continue to explore thanwithus.”
“You guys have thought about this?” she asks suspiciously.
“While we were traveling to find you, we had a long chat about our plans. Yes, about how we should deal with the council, but mostly about you. About all of us and what it would look like. It’s time for us to stop relying on the council and pave ourown way. At that center would be the perfect woman for us,” Koi adds.
“A woman who is not only beautiful, kind, and sweet, but cunning and clever. You know the people and you care for them. Ashamedly, more than we have in the past. But you make us better people, and I am sure will make us better kings too,” Archer states.
“I-I don’t know what to say,” Arabella says with tears in her eyes.
“You don’t have to say anything, Duchess.” Grayer gets up to crouch by her chair, tucking a loose strand of her hair. “One day, we would love for you to be ours in every legal document we can get our hands on. But for now, we just want to be clear on our intentions.”
I motion for the band to pick up the tempo, and I offer Arabella my hand. “In the meantime, I believe we all owe you a dance.”
She slips her small hand into mine, and my heartbeat quickens as I lead her across the tiled floor, our steps falling into rhythm with the music. Off to the side, my brothers linger with their drinks, laughter low between them. Though their eyes, as always, keep drifting back to Arabella.
“You know, I was really hoping for a dance that night. My heart sank when I looked around the room, and you weren’t there. I regret not asking you on the balcony for a private dance.”
