Page 46 of Beacon

My breath caught, and for a moment I could only bask in the way he looked at me, his look intense such as one he’d never given me before. I had no words to describe it, neither could I understand the feelings it caused to swell within me. Despite my efforts to suppress the emotion, hope budded in my heart.

Unable to bear the intensity of such a stare, I hastily looked away…only to glimpse the princess’s triumphant smirk, as if her scheme was already going according to her carefully calculated plan. My brow furrowed. How could she look so smug when the prince was merely staring at me?

I stole another tentative peek at Owen, expecting him to have looked away…but he hadn’t. He continued to gape as if he’d never seen me before.

The strange spell was only broken when Prince Jaron nudged him with a wicked smirk. Owen startled, then blushed, an embarrassment that deepened when Prince Jaron whispered something to him that I wished more than anything to overhear. Whatever he said, Owen remained still and didn’t seem inclined to move until his brother stood as if to approach me himself.

That got a reaction. Owen glared at him as he hastened to his feet and walked swiftly up to me. He reached my side and bowed.

“Good evening, Marisa.” He behaved with all the formality of a gentleman at a ball, making no acknowledgement of Princess Lavena on my other side.

I curtsied in response. I expected him to say more, but he seemed to have lost his voice. He stood stiffly beside me, continuing to stare with an almost puzzled air…before quite suddenly averting his gaze. He didn’t warrant me another glance, as if he’d suddenly become too embarrassed to look at me.

This continued even after he escorted me to the dining room for dinner; he began ignoring me immediately after helping me with my chair, not even attempting to converse with me. It wasn’t as if he purposefully excluded me from conversation. He just didn’t seem inclined to converse at all, not even to do his polite duty with the noblewoman sitting on his other side who alternated her attention between him and the increasingly uncomfortable Prince Nolan. His behavior was such a contrast to his usual attention and effectively destroyed whatever fragile hope his earlier affections might have planted.

Owen did not seem inclined to speak and he seemed equally determined not to eat. Instead he picked at his food, looking both lost and undeniably confused, an emotion which deepened the longer the meal extended. It wasn’t until the dessert course that Owen’s gaze darted almost nervously towards me…only for him to immediately look away the moment he noticed I caught him watching me.

His fluster seemed to help him reclaim his voice. “You look…different tonight. I’ve been trying to puzzle out the reason for it and have finally concluded it might be your hair.”

My cheeks warmed as I tentatively caressed one of the locks the princess’s handmaiden had expertly woven in my elegant updo. Owen stole another shy peek, just enough to notice my growing blush.

“Not a bad different,” he hastened to explain. “Just…I can’t explain it…” The remainder of his words faltered. His cheeks darkened and he lowered his gaze, prematurely concluding our conversation before it could go anywhere more substantial.

Though the prince had never given me any reason to believe he disliked my company, his strange behavior now caused those fears and insecurities to stir to life. Deep down I’d known that eventually the difficulty that came from trying to communicate with a mute girl would test even the prince’s abundant patience and he’d eventually tire of continuously bearing the entire brunt of our conversations, such as they were. Yet I still held out hope that he was different from others and saw me for beingme, despite the way I communicated.

But now that his usual patience seemed to have reached its limit, he didn’t even seem inclined to pretend even for the sake of our charade. Surely his aversion for Princess Lavena was stronger than the tedium he might find in my company…and yet he remained silent. I tried to convince myself his lack of conversation was for any other reason than my fears suggested, but the hopeful looks the Queen of Lyceria gave me throughout dinner at our lack of interaction made it difficult.

When the meal finally concluded, I expected Owen to continue to ignore me as he’d done through all of dinner…only for him to surprise me by tucking my arm securely through his. The silence between us continued the entire walk to the parlor to join the other guests, and it wasn’t until we’d settled near the crackling hearth that he finally found his voice.

“Did you enjoy dinner?”

Despite his inquiry, he didn’t seem inclined to look at me, so he missed my disappointed frown. Small talk had never really been part of our relationship, which only made me realize just how far we’d regressed in a single night. Had the princess foreseen such an event and her claims to assist me had instead been a scheme to sabotage us?

At my silence and gentle brush against his arm, Owen seemed to remember that my inability to speak meant he’d actually have to cease avoiding looking at me in order to see my quiet gestures…and when he finally met my eyes, he didn’t seem inclined to look away, causing a heated, almost tingly energy to pass between us.

His brows suddenly furrowed. “You’re frowning.” His fingertip lightly caressed my mouth with a featherlight touch. “Have I upset you? I’m sorry, I know I’m not talking as much as I usually do. It’s just…I feel…”

He struggled to find the correct words, not seeming to quite understand his own emotions, studying me closely as if the key to discovering the reason for such a mystery could be uncovered from my expression. The longer he stared, the deeper his confusion seemed to become.

Whatever the reason for his sudden silence, I just wanted to converse with him again. In hopes the gesture would be less forward than a more pointed request, I first used his name sign to get his attention before tugging on my earlobe to let him know I was thinking of him. He slowly grinned and tugged on his in return. It seemed to be enough.

“You’ve never seemed to mind my conversation, no matter how much I’ve fumbled my words. I suppose no harm will come even if I end up saying anything embarrassing if it means I’m at least entertaining you. I like making you happy.”

His previous shyness vanished as he took up the challenge with his usual enthusiasm, as if trying to make up for his previous silence.

“A crew came back from the northern side of the island and reported that they didn’t find any trace of a boat wreck. While their information offers no new leads, fortunately, Captain Farrell is scheduled to return sometime this week.”

My lips twitched. It was the second time he’d given me that information. But though his words and choice of topics were admittedly more inconsequential than normal, I didn’t mind; his kind attention and the soothing sound of his voice were enough.

For as much enjoyment as I received in the simple conversation, I found myself becoming distracted with what was occurring on the other side of the room in a secluded alcove.

“Marisa?”

My inattention hadn’t gone unnoticed. Owen’s gaze followed mine to settle on Prince Nolan, who currently found himself trapped in the persistent attention of one of the visiting noblewomen. I expected Owen to be sympathetic towards the prince’s predicament, considering he was living Prince Nolan’s very situation with Princess Lavena…but Owen only scowled.

“Prince Nolan.” His grumpiness only deepened as he glanced between me and the prince. “The consensus amongst the women of the court is that he’s quite handsome, not to mention he’s intelligent, charming, and is to become king. I suppose…that makes him quite popular.”

Popularity was clearly the last thing Prince Nolan desired. His panic had grown so pronounced, it’d slipped past the polite mask expected of him, especially when the woman who’d cornered became more daring in her already unsubtle flirting; she leaned close enough to brush his elbow, forcing him to stumble back until he was nearly trapped in the corner where they stood.

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