Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 114

Chapter 114: What exactly constitutes an attempt?
Trace watched Anaisa as she stared up at him with her sparkling eyes. His gut wrenched.

“No, we can’t go home yet.” He told her sadly. The fact that she called it home elated him. She meant to stay with him! And yet, all that still stood between them might prove too great an obstacle. “You really want to?”

The question was vulnerable. He hadn’t shown her his insecurities on this before, and she breathed in.

“It looks like Denholm is going to wriggle his way into marrying Sapphira. I don’t want to be around for that. For him to recognize me, and harass me. I want to be far away from here.” She frowned, and so did Trace.

The hope that her motivation was solely to be with him had been a foolish one.

“I’ll take you home as soon as I can,” He promised.

“That means the scheme isn’t over yet, doesn’t it?” Anaisa lifted her hand to her hair and tore off her mask to look up at him.

She was stunningly beautiful, and he was struck for a moment by it as she glared at him. He would do anything to make her smile.

“It’s not over,” He replied absently, surprising himself. Did that not violate the instructions? Not to reveal it?

“When will it be over?” She leaned toward him with consternation in her eyes. “When Denholm takes the throne?”

“No, not even then,” Trace told her, “It–”

His mouth snapped shut as his mind clicked together what had been happening. Distracted by her beauty, he’d only been answering her questions to make her happy. He hadn’t been attempting to reveal Oakdown’s plot.

The moment he realized the loophole, his eagerness to stop the plot interfered with his ability to exploit the loophole.

He almost bit his tongue in frustration as she stared at him in confusion.

“If not then, then when?” She asked quietly.

“I–” His words cut off again, and he turned away, bringing his fist to his forehead. Why couldn’t he concentrate on pleasing Anaisa? Making her happy? The desire to reveal Oakdown for the good of the kingdom was so strong it crept in every time he tried to tell her something about the plot. Knowing the loophole was there was equal parts blessing and curse.

“Why does it feel like you are less open than you were before?” Anaisa sighed, and he turned back to look at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I want to tell you everything. I promise I do.”

“Then tell me.” Anaisa urged desperately, but a knock at the door cut off their conversation.

The doctor bustled in with his bag, a servant on his heels. Trace stepped back into the shadows, and Anaisa sighed. He cursed the command keeping his free will at bay, but now he had moments to contemplate his revelation.

Anaisa’s curiosity was a wondrous thing. He was sure she would interrogate him, given the chance. A smile played about his lips with that imagery, but he hesitated. His desire to save the kingdom was what motivated his attempts to stop Oakdown.

Given all the information about the circumstances, he was sure that Anaisa would take down her father’s cousin, who had so cruelly stolen everything from her. And so, the solution to him suddenly appeared rather simple, if difficult to execute.

He had to stop wanting to interfere with Oakdown’s plot. Stop desiring to attempt interference. If he gave himself completely over to loving Anaisa, attempted to do nothing beyond make her happy, then she might eventually ask the questions necessary to put the puzzle pieces together… but he couldn’t rely on that. He just had to trust that it might happen.

It was an enormous risk, and difficult to let go of his own desire. Even the mental gymnastics to get to this moment might have constituted an attempt, except that Oakdown’s commands seemed to have no power over the thoughts of a person, only their actions.

He loved Anaisa already–that was easy to admit to himself–but to put his desire for her above the safety and well being of the entire kingdom wasn’t a natural impulse of his…. Except when she was looking into his eyes with her cornflower-blue gaze. Perversely, it was what the kingdom needed.

Essentially, he would have to get Anaisa to learn how to flirt the secrets out of him by making him desire nothing more than her happiness. Bitterly, he remembered the dozens of suitors falling all over themselves for her tonight. Perhaps she would come by the skill naturally.

The doctor finished his examination just as Sapphira entered the chambers wearing her maids’ uniform. Her expression was one of discontent and longsuffering, but she waited in silence until the doctor gave Anaisa some medicine for the pain and left with his assistant in tow.

“Annie, how are you?” The real princess ripped off the scarf on her head and rushed over to her double.

“I’ll be all right.” Anaisa assured her, “just tired.”

“You did beautifully, right up until the end,” Sapphira pouted, “and now Father says I have to attend tea with that man.”

Anaisa sighed, relieved on the one hand that it would be the real princess, and not herself, who would have to endure the social occasion, but also sorry for the young woman she was beginning to see as a younger sister.

“I’m sorry. Hopefully tea will be the end of it and you can be rid of him.” Anaisa tried to smile.

“Is he really so awful?” Sapphira threw herself down into one of the chairs.

“He is truly irredeemable. You would be miserable married to him, and I suggest you tell your father the same.” Anaisa frowned, and Trace held back, watching her work. Maybe she would be able to mitigate the damage he had done. After all, the command said nothing about stopping other people from attempting to thwart Oakdown’s schemes or goals.

A shadow of a plan appeared in Trace’s mind, but he shoved it away. Planning was attempting. He had to live in the moment with no particular attempt in sight, other than helping and loving Anaisa.

She glanced at him with her sparkling blue eyes, and he felt a spring of hope well up that just maybe, it wouldn’t be impossible.