Elysium's Multiverse-Chapter 319

She put a hand to his forehead, and came away with sweat. “Oh my god, you’re actually sweating and burning up! Here, let me go get you some cold water!”

Getting up to stand, the previous princess bent over and kissed him on the forehead - before trailing a hand across his shoulder seductively. “I’ll be right back!”

***

Allie’s heart slammed in her chest, watching a young pretty woman kiss Lahn on the forehead and run off with a giggle. She’d seen the way they were holding hands, she’d spotted them immediately upon entering this blasted place and had started making her way over to the pair - but she was allowing all these overreaching buffoons slow her down so she had the opportunity to collect herself.

Mara was gone, having told Allie this was her battle to fight, but she was on the sidelines and talking to some merchant acquaintances that ran one of the larger guilds of their empire; and was ready to be there for emotional support if Allie needed it.

“You could just violently kill the girl…” Wrath whispered, laughing into her head. “Stuff her body in a box and sink it in the ocean. Killing the competition has always worked for me…”

She firmly pushed the sin back into a box in the back of her mind, but not before a pulse of rage crashed into her mind like a battering ram. It was all she could do to keep herself upright, and she felt her bones literally creaking with pent up energy as she tried not to lash out or cry.

That dirty bitch had kissed Lahn, right in front of her, and despite all of Allie’s power - she felt helpless to do anything about it.

The rumors were right. He really had moved on.

Perhaps coming here had been a mistake.

“You are truly a rose with no equal!” One of the more handsome young men said from her right, loud enough to snap her out of her own wallowing misery. Gelled back black hair and a large build with a tight fitting vest was the name of the game for this guy. ℞𝙖Νộ฿Ɛ𝓢

She let her eyes lift, meeting his chiseled jawline and letting her gaze wander over his large biceps. He was cute. Perhaps…

She shifted her gaze to Lahn, who was intentionally avoiding looking at her now. At least, it was probably intentional. He’d heard the announcement about her arrival, right?

Perhaps she’d try to make Lahn jealous. Lahn had always been very insecure about her past lovers after all. Especially the thralls she’d since disposed of, but even when it came to her ex-boyfriends back on Earth. It was a petty thing, but would certainly make her feel better after seeing that whore kiss Lahn in the very same room Allie occupied.

He was flaunting that whore in front of Allie on purpose, wasn’t he?

Or maybe not. Maybe that was just Wrath making her unnaturally angry again for no reason. But this felt justified, she was fucking pissed that the bitch had dared to do such at hing in her presence.

But she couldn’t be violent here, she’d promised Mara. This was a different kind of battle than the ones she was used to. Why did other women have to find Lahn attractive now? Why now?

Allie would make a move and would look to see if he cared, she’d try to parcel out whether or not she should approach. If Lahn did seem to care, she’d go. If not, she honestly didn’t know what she’d do. She hadn't thought that far ahead.

“A rose with no equal? Is that so?” Allie said, taking a real interest in the conversation for the first time since arriving. She put on a fake but wide smile and turned her full attention on the handsome young man. “I am flattered. What’s your name?”

She lifted her hand, and the nobleman seemed immediately shocked to be singled out amongst the crowd - but also incredibly eager as he bent to kiss the top of her extended hand.

“Adam Zrinski, your majesty! My family owns one of the largest mines in the necropolis, we supply the army with power stones and mithril. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Zrinski’s?” He said, standing erect and absolutely delighted amidst the irritated scowls and side-eyes his peers were giving him nearby. “Are you here for the dance? Or something more political?”

She smiled seductively, doing an obvious once-over of the man’s tall figure with her eyes before replying: “A little bit of both.”

He grinned wickedly, catching the hint. “Well would I be too forward in asking you for your first dance when the floor opens again? It would make my day if you’d grace me with such an opportunity!”

Shooting a quick glance left to see if Lahn had noticed, she realized that he wasn’t even there anymore. Where he’d gone she had no idea, but her heart fell when she saw the woman in the green ballgown trialing after a shadow onto a balcony.

He’d left.

Lahn had just gotten up… and left. Without saying a word to her, even despite the announcement of her arrival.

This Adam Zrinski brat was immediately forgotten. Biting her lip and fingers curling, she didn’t realize that she was staring the way Lahn had exited before a familiar voice called out to her and the nearby crowd parted.

“Allie! So glad you made it!” Duke Arthur Brix came in with a boisterous laugh, hands on his hips while wearing a three piece outfit made from various shades of blue. “I never thought I’d get to see you here with how busy you’d become! Did my letters finally convince you to see the light? What do you think of the new palace!?”

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He gestured around while spinning, arms raised up.

Allie had to clear her throat twice and had a hard time keeping herself together, but managed a laugh and a nod. “Y-Yes Arthur. If anything, the letters certainly made it easier to decide on attending.”

She chuckled with a shake of her head. “Though honestly I came for someone very important and dear to me. Do you mind if we talk in private? Perhaps on one of the balconies?”

Allie could see the hesitation in the duke’s face creep in, but he hid the expression under a mask of a smile and waved her to follow. “Of course! This way, I’ll grab us a drink.”

The Adam Zrinski fellow looked rather crestfallen as Allie left, and she gave him a small wave as her high heeled boots clicked along the ground behind the duke without another thought about the matter.

The duke acquired two champagne glasses from a server at an outer-edge refreshments table, and he handed the sparkling beverage to Allie as they made their way out to the opposite end of balconies that she’d seen the blonde woman in green exit. If Allie was right, the balconies were dead ends and Lahn would be out there.

But before they even got halfway to the balcony through the crowds of admiring people, Arthur Brix turned a curious eye on Allie and expressed a small frown. “Are you here for Lahn, perhaps?”

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Allie waved to Mara as they passed. “Is it that obvious?”

“No, it wasn’t obvious. At least not at first.” Arthur faced front again, stroking his short well trimmed beard. He took a sip of the champaign and savored it before swallowing. “Everyone was under the impression that you and Lahn weren’t courting anymore. Those few that’d known in the first place, that is.”

Allie’s eyes fell, and her shoulders slumped. “So I am told.”

“Is that not the case then? Lahn has been dating other people, you know.”

“People as in multiple?”

Arthur shrugged. “That’s what his parents keep telling me. Though the one he seems most intertwined with lately happens to be my daughter Aurora… so I do have an inside informant on his life as of late. They haven’t been dating long though, just a few times going out, and it isn’t anything exclusive yet.”

Allie nearly tripped, silver eyes going wide and a painful aching began to grip her heart. “Oh… Oh I see. Lahn and I never truly broke up, but I… I did get rather busy.”

“Busy enough to disappear for half a year without warning - is what I heard.” He stated. Turning slowly to face her right before the last balcony’s archway, his face scrunched up into something akin to worry. “Is this going to be a problem for her? For Aurora? She’s a good daughter with an even better heart. I don’t want anything happening to her, so if I need to pull her back-”

Allie held up a hand to cut him off, and she grudgingly shook her head. “I know I have quite a sinister reputation, Arthur. But be assured that no harm will come to your daughter, at least not from me. I will be the first to admit that I have made mistakes… but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to win Lahn back.”

Arthur visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh and smiling - but he did cast a quick glance over Allie’s shoulder as the crowds mulled about. He squinted in recognition at someone, but returned his focus to Allie not even a moment later. “Very good then. Well why come to me? If you want to win Lahn back then talk to him directly and see where his feelings are.”

Adjusting her platinum crown and huffing, Allie avoided his gaze and kicked at the ground absentmindedly. “I’m just nervous. I was wanting a man’s advice on how to proceed, and my brother is still stuck in a pocket realm and won’t be back for a long time. I was also quite rude to him the last we talked, so I don’t know if he’s still angry at me either.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow and took another sip of his beverage. “I’d been wondering about that. Is that where you were this entire time? A pocket realm?”

“Yes. I didn’t realize it’d take so long to get out, and before that I’d been exploring the underdark in regards to one of the world quests.” She lifted her head and sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye. “I was stupid, taking Lahn for granted. I didn’t tell him anything of what I was doing because I didn’t want to worry him, but Mara said I’d only done the opposite by not explaining things. And then when weeks became months I got caught up in everything and now I just feel like a stupid little girl still stuck in high school because I’m too scared to go over and say hi to a boy.”

“You didn’t seem to have a hard time talking to those other young men who swarmed you at the end of the stairs down.” Arthur said with a small smile.

Allie huffed and glared at the old bastard. “That was only to make Lahn jealous. It didn’t work.”

The duke snorted a laugh and nearly choked on his drink. Spluttering slightly, he wiped the liquid from his face and shook his head. “Allie dear, that is not the way to go about these things. If anything, you’d only make it worse by doing that. Mind games and manipulation are not a way into a man’s heart.”

“There’s a saying on my world that goes: All is fair in love and war.”

“That… isn’t necessarily wrong, but you’re already in the dog house, so to speak. That is a saying from your world too, yes? Your communication skills are very important in any relationship, and actions speak louder than words. You flirting with other young men in front of him is in no way going to win his hand back, even if it does make him jealous.”

Allie gritted her teeth and avoided eye contact, grinding the heel of her right boot into the floor. “I saw another girl kiss him, and she was even holding his hand.”

“Yes, that’d be my daughter Aurora.”

“Well I couldn’t just stand by and feel so shitty about myself after watching that! I… I don’t know. I know this is all my fault but I got insanely jealous and… and my heart hurt seeing it. I just…” Allie’s lips began to tremble and her cheeks began to flush. She wiped away a trailing tear that’d begun running down her face, and wiped away another, and another. “I just want Lahn back and am afraid I messed things up to where he’ll never hold me again. I miss him so fucking much. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find someone as pure of heart as that bastard kid ever again if he decides… If he decides to give me a second chance. I messed up big time.”

The duke’s eyes softened, and he took Allie’s drink from her as she hadn’t touched it. Setting both glasses down, he put his hands on her shoulders. “As much as I am sad that this may impact my daughter in some minor way, she will recover and doubtless find someone else if things go your way. However, I am still of the mindset that you should tell these things directly to Lahn instead of trying to make him jealous or confiding in me.”

Allie let out a stifled sob, now actively crying while wiping away long streaks of black eyeliner that came with the watering tears. “I don’t know how to tell him that I’m sorry. He’s already moved on. I know we weren’t dating all that long of a time, but he’s special. He’s incredibly kind. Not many people are, you know? I’m certainly not, but I crave it from him and he makes me a better person. I just feel like such a moron. I took him for granted.”

The sound of music changed tunes to a more upbeat and happier note as the orchestra began another song. A call for the dance floor to open back up again was announced, and the sound of people filing around to make way for the dancers was heard.

Arthur let out another sigh and shook his head. “I believe that you may be surprised. And as for not knowing how to tell him, well I think he’s already heard enough.”

Turning her around by the shoulders, Arthur brought Allie face to face with a trio of familiar faces.

The duke’s daughter, Aurora, stood in her green ball gown next to Lady Shovi Lucio. Lahn’s mother looked quite different with the silver hair coloring, but she looked genuinely happy to see Allie when their eyes met. Aurora not so much. Aurora looked sad and resigned, possibly even disappointed - but still managed to give Allie a polite smile and a nod before turning around and walking away towards the tables with copious amounts of alcohol.

But the third person was the one that drew Allie’s attention the most, and her breath caught in her chest when she saw it was Lahn. He looked better up close in person, especially after the change into a deathtouched enlightened. Lahn was a bit paler, but was more muscular now and had even become slightly taller - with neon teal eyes and the same brown hair she used to run her fingers through on dates. The three piece vest suit he wore also looked rather nice.

He was silently crying just like she was, but made no move to wipe the tears away. He was close enough to have heard the entire conversation Allie had just had with Arthur, though she’d been so caught up in her own emotional turmoil that she’d not paid attention to her surroundings and didn’t know how long Lahn had been standing there.

Allie had been the centerpiece of attention since arriving, and with the duke that had increased even more so. Now that she was openly crying and staring at someone else who was doing the same, the crowd of people on this corner of the room weren’t even trying to hide their stares as they whispered to one another in curious undertones.

“Would…” Lahn had to stop so his shuddering voice was brought back under control, but his eyes never left hers. “Would you want to join my mother and I for dinner tonight? At… Uhm… At our table, in the back? I…”

He paused, trying to figure out how to say it. “I… I’ve missed you too. And I think… I think you have some explaining to do. But you were there for me when no one else but my mother was, so I forgive you, Allie. I’m just glad you’re back.”

Allie’s eyes scrunched up, and her hands came over her chest to wring her fingers with a nervous tick as the waterworks flowed out. Standing like a deer caught in the headlights, she couldn’t think of doing anything except for staring at him. She felt very, very small in that moment, and was saved from further embarrassment when Lahn took three long steps forward to wrap her in the warmest hug she’d ever had.

He was saying something, words of some kind, but her mind lingered on the press of his body against hers. Pushing her hands up to wrap around his neck, she pulled his head down and kissed him in front of the entire crowd of onlookers - holding her lips to his for a long, long time as the crowd erupted in gasps and surprised applause.

She finally felt like she was home, and she wouldn’t be taking him for granted ever again.

Pulling away, she pulled her crown off her head and buried her face in his chest. “I’d love to come have dinner with you. I’m sorry, Lahn. I’m so, so sorry… for making you feel like I’d abandoned you. Thank you for giving me the chance to explain.”

Kissing her again on the forehead, he used his sleeves to wipe the mascara off her face and put a hand on her cheek. “Come on. You can tell me all about it over some drinks and good food. These events are… if anything, a good source of nutrition.”

He gave her a playful wink, took her hand in his, and began walking to collect his mother as the three headed off for the opposite side of the large room where dinner tables had been set up for attendees and their families.