This week’s WIP Wednesday is from Trader Prince of Aleshtain. Enjoy!
~~~
Eras left the sitting room and ambled down the halls. He had almost reached his door when Albhia’s voice arrested him. “Eras. Eras, wait.”
He stopped, but he didn’t turn to face her.
“Are you really going to leave without any assurance to me?”
“Assurance?” He knew what she wanted, of course. But it wasn’t something he would give.
“Yes, assurance. A token of affection? Proof that you’ll accept me?” Her voice rose in pitch, a sharp shrill of pain and anger. “What of that?”
“What of it?” He still kept his back to her.
“You will give it. So why are you making me wait.”
He laughed. “I will not give it.”
She sucked in a breath. “You led me to believe—”
He turned then. “It was your own delusion that led you on, not me. It’s only my rspect for your father that has kept me from more harshly declining the proposed match. I believe I had already made it clear in Aleshtain that I would not wed you.”
“But your father…” Her pretty blue eyes filled with tears.
“Is not in charge of my destiny or who I wed. Did you think his favor meant anything to me, Princess? Did you think he liked you?”
She stared up at him with wet eyes.
“Because I respect your father, I will do my best to teach you a lesson he tried to teach but couldn’t. The world is a cruel place, and my father is crueler still. He has no fondness for anything except the land he’ll gain.”
“How can you think that?”
He sighed. Teaching her and opening her eyes to life’s unfairness wasn’t his job. “Because it’s true.”
“It can’t be.”
“Believe what you like, Princess. I hope your naivety doesn’t land you in too much trouble.” Turning his back on her, he strode the rest of the way to his room and left her to find her own way back to her bedroom.
~~~
So, what are you all working on? Now that NaNoWriMo is over, are you starting new projects or still editing the one from November? Feel free to share in the comments below, regardless of what your current WIP is. Just remember to keep content and feedback clean and courteous toward others.