Chapter 319

After saying goodbye to Sage, Zaeryn followed Valerie into the corridor, where she spoke briefly with the officer responsible for his escort. The arrangements took only a few minutes, and two Royal Guards accompanied them downstairs.

Valerie waited for him beside the entrance while the guards took their positions several paces behind them.

"Would you prefer the gardens first?" she asked.

"After spending most of the day indoors, I’d prefer just about anything outside."

"Then we’ll start there," Valerie replied, leading him down the broad steps.

The path curved away from the residence between beds of blue flowers and low, carefully trimmed hedges. Beyond them, the palace grounds extended much farther than Zaeryn had been able to appreciate from his windows. The trees concealed entire courtyards, and the roofs he had assumed belonged to adjoining buildings turned out to cover separate pavilions connected by sheltered walkways.

Valerie slowed when she noticed him looking towards one of them.

"That’s one of the smaller reception pavilions," she explained. "They use it when there aren’t enough guests to justify opening an entire hall."

Zaeryn studied the broad roof and the rows of columns beneath it.

"That’s the smaller one?"

"There are a few smaller than that, but I wouldn’t put you through a tour of every building."

"I appreciate your restraint," Zaeryn replied, earning a laugh from her as they continued along the path.

Two attendants approaching from the opposite direction moved aside and greeted Valerie. Both glanced towards Zaeryn, although one returned her attention to the princess almost immediately, while the other looked at him long enough that their eyes met.

Zaeryn offered her a polite nod, and she lowered her gaze before following her companion.

He would have thought little of it if the same thing had not happened again when they passed beneath the next covered walkway.

Three women seated around a low table paused their conversation to acknowledge Valerie. Their attention then shifted towards him, moving over his face and shoulders before briefly settling on the Royal Guards following behind.

One of them smiled when Valerie greeted her, but she continued watching Zaeryn even after the princess had turned back towards the garden.

He waited until they had passed beyond the seating area before speaking.

"Do they look at every visitor like that?"

"Not every visitor," Valerie replied. "You have noticed that not only are you the only male allowed at the palace, but you also look a little different from most males?"

"I was hoping they might be less obvious about noticing."

"Some of them are trying," she said, glancing towards him with amusement.

Zaeryn looked back once and found that one of the women had already returned to her conversation. Another was still watching them through the columns.

Valerie continued at the same unhurried pace, apparently finding nothing unusual enough about their interest to interrupt the tour.

Most of the people they passed were considerably more discreet. The attendants had work to finish, and a greeting to the princess followed by a curious glance at her companion was usually the extent of their reaction. The women who had been sitting together or strolling through the grounds had more time to watch him, and several made full use of it.

Zaeryn understood their curiosity, although being examined by another set of strangers was hardly what he had hoped to get out of the afternoon.

Fortunately, the path soon carried them away from the busier walkways.

The main garden opened around a long pool bordered by pale stone. Water flowed into it through a series of shallow terraces, creating a steady sound that became clearer as the voices behind them faded. Broad trees shaded the benches along one side, while the opposite bank had been planted with flowers in bands of white, blue and gold.

Zaeryn slowed beside the water, looking across to the paths disappearing between the trees.

"This is much better than the view from my suite," he admitted.

"I thought you might like it," Valerie replied. "The path on the other side goes back towards the residence, but we’ll take the longer one."

"How much longer?"

"Long enough to make coming outside worthwhile."

He looked at her before allowing a small smile.

"All right, lead the way."

They crossed a low bridge and followed the shaded path around the far side of the pool. Valerie pointed out the smaller gardens opening between the hedges and explained which courtyards were used for receptions and which usually remained quiet.

Her explanations were easy to follow because she spoke about places she actually spent time in. She knew which benches remained shaded through the afternoon, where the wind became unpleasant during colder weather, and which covered passage would take them back inside if it started raining.

Zaeryn found himself asking questions whenever something caught his attention, and Valerie seemed pleased that he was interested.

"Do you spend much time out here?" he asked.

"When I can," she replied. "Sometimes I only manage a walk between meetings, but I like having somewhere to go where people aren’t already waiting for me."

Zaeryn glanced towards the guards behind them.

"I can understand that."

Valerie followed his glance before looking back at him.

"What do you usually do when everyone leaves you alone?"

"Play games, mostly, if I haven’t worn myself out training."

The conversation continued while they walked, moving from the academy to his life in Sector Seven and then to Valerie’s own complaints about how little of her time remained hers once the day began. She occasionally interrupted herself to show him something they were passing, then returned to whatever they had been discussing without making the change feel awkward.

After a while, Zaeryn realized that he had stopped considering every answer before giving it.

Valerie listened when he spoke, offered opinions of her own, and seemed just as willing to laugh at herself as she was to tease him. He could ask an ordinary question and expect an ordinary answer, which had become something of a luxury over the past two days.

He had known she was approachable from their first encounter at Stellan Innovations, but he had not expected to feel this comfortable with her after sitting through the Council hearing that morning.

By the time they reached a raised terrace overlooking the lower grounds, he was enjoying himself enough that he had almost stopped noticing the occasional curious glance.

Valerie rested her hands on the stone railing while he took in the view.

From there, he could see the garden paths joining the larger walkways between the palace buildings. Beyond the outer grounds, the towers of the Capital rose in closely arranged tiers, with transport routes passing between them.

For several moments, Zaeryn simply looked.

"I’m glad you came to rescue me. The suite is nice but it was starting to feel like a prison," he said eventually.

Valerie turned towards him, her expression softening slightly."I understand. But it’s far from a prison," she replied. "Next time just ask the warladies outside your room and they’ll accompany you for a walk.."

He nodded, looking out over the grounds again before they moved away from the railing.

Over the next several minutes, Valerie showed him a sheltered courtyard filled with climbing plants and a long pavilion overlooking another section of the gardens. By then, he had begun to understand how people could spend an entire afternoon outside without ever leaving the palace grounds.

When they reached a broad flight of steps leading towards the central building, Valerie looked back at him.

"Would you like to see inside?" she asked.

Zaeryn glanced towards the palace entrance, feeling less enthusiastic about the suggestion than he had expected. Walking through the gardens with Valerie had been pleasant, but going farther inside meant a greater chance of encountering members of the royal family, including Athea. His mother had made no attempt to speak to him privately, and he had no idea how she would react to finding him wandering through the palace with Valerie, who still knew nothing about their relationship.

"I thought I’d already seen inside," he replied, hoping she would accept that without asking why he was reluctant.

"You’ve seen the Council wing," she replied. Taking his arm she dragged him before he could refuse. "Come on, I’ll show you the main palace."

At the entrance, they weren’t even questioned by the warladies standing guard and Zaeryn followed her through the open doors.

He slowed almost immediately.

The hall beyond them rose through several levels, with galleries overlooking the floor from behind pale stone balustrades. Tall windows filled the space with afternoon light, and silver detailing ran along the columns before branching across the high ceiling. Large paintings occupied the spaces between the archways, while the polished floor reflected the people moving across it.

The guest residence had been impressive, but standing here gave Zaeryn a much clearer understanding of the scale of the royal household.

Valerie allowed him a moment to look before continuing.

"The reception halls are through there," she explained, indicating a wide archway. "The upper galleries connect to the other wings."

There was considerably more movement inside than he had expected. Attendants crossed the hall carrying arrangements of flowers, officials walked together with slates in their hands, and several women waited near one of the adjoining rooms.

Their arrival attracted attention almost immediately.

The greetings went to Valerie, but Zaeryn noticed how often the eyes accompanying them moved towards him. One woman paused while speaking to her companion, and another followed him with her gaze until an attendant approached her and drew her attention away.

He acknowledged the people who greeted him and continued beside Valerie.

Having her speak to him so naturally made it easier to do the same. She showed no hesitation about bringing him through the hall, and he saw little reason to behave as though he needed to apologize for being there.

They passed beneath an archway and entered a broad gallery lined with tall windows. Valerie was explaining how it connected to the gardens when a door opened farther ahead.

Athea stepped into the gallery with two women beside her, listening as one of them spoke while referring to a slate.

Zaeryn recognized his mother before she looked in their direction.

The ease he had felt throughout the walk became difficult to hold on to as her gaze passed over Valerie and settled on him.

Athea stopped walking, and the woman speaking beside her fell silent.

For a moment, the surprise was plainly visible in his mother’s eyes, although her face didn’t match that surprise. Her eyes moved between Zaeryn and Valerie before returning to him, as though she needed to confirm that he was actually standing there.

Then she looked directly at her cousin.

"Valerie, what is the meaning of this?"