The coincidence that led to Rowan attending the festival of choosing
After Madame Rosalie and Freya left Oriana’s room, she sat alone watching her newborn sleep peacefully. When the door opened, Adric walked in with a bright smile on his face. He looked really happy, and with a small run, he went to sit beside his wife.
"How is my queen?" he asked, gently stroking Oriana’s hair. His eyes shifted from Oriana to their child. "You should sleep while I watch her."
Oriana nodded. Having her family beside her made her feel less tired and happier, and their support was helping her pull through. She leaned back on the pillow, and before she closed her eyes, she remembered something and decided to tell Adric. "Freya and Rowan, what do you think of them?"
Adric hummed. "I’m not sure, but Freya is a good girl, too good for Rowan, even though I’ve seen Rowan looking at her." He smiled, thinking of going back to tease his friend. "Wait- did something happen?"
Oriana nodded with a tired sigh. "Eridor happened," she muttered. "And Freya came back crying. I think she’s trying to forget Rowan. Madame Rosalie asked her to follow her to the Festival of Choosing tomorrow night."
"That idiot," Adric muttered under his breath. "If I don’t help him, he can’t help himself." He raked his hand through his hair. He had known Rowan for a long time, and the young man really had feelings for Freya. Either he was afraid to accept it, or he was just running from it.
Oriana noticed Adric muttering. "What is it?" she asked, slowly closing her eyes.
Adric shook his head. "Nothing at all. Sleep, my love," he said, gently touching her back as he watched her drift off to sleep. Kissing her softly, he quietly left the room. As he made his way out, searching for his childhood best friend, he knew that although Rowan could be crazy and annoying, he was still a good person. He would be lying if he said that Rowan didn’t deserve someone as good as Freya.
When Adric found the men, they were still drinking outside the palace, enjoying the night view. Adric cleared his throat and joined them, sitting beside Malcolm. He watched Rowan from the corner of his eye. He should have known something was weighing on his friend, given how quiet Rowan had been.
"There’s a Festival of Choosing tomorrow. Rowan, remember when we used to go and play around there?" Adric asked, trying to spark a conversation.
Rowan gave an uninterested shrug, raising his cup to his lips. "That was in the past."
Adric scowled. "What do you say about taking Malcolm there tomorrow?" he asked with a smile.
Malcolm narrowed his eyes. "I don’t think I want to go anywhere. I hate festivals," he began to disagree, but Adric nudged him, signaling him to stop.
Rowan sighed, staring blankly at the night sky. "Why force the man to go? You two can go alone. I’m no longer interested in things like that."
"Do you want me dead?" Adric asked seriously. "Oriana would definitely kill me," he remarked. Seeing that Rowan was still uninterested, he continued.
"Unless you’re in love, why wouldn’t you want to go?" Adric started laughing, tapping Malcolm on the shoulder to join him. The general blinked, not understanding why he was supposed to laugh, but he still did.
"But why? Rowan can fall in love if he wants to," Malcolm said, still confused.
Adric almost shouted for Malcolm to help him out, but instead, he chuckled. "Rowan doesn’t believe in love. He thinks it’s for the weak-minded, right, friend?"
Rowan cleared his throat. "That was..."
"Just go have fun like old times. You always enjoy the festival, so why not take Malcolm with you? I know I haven’t been able to host you both properly after winning the war. Consider this my way of making it up to you." Adric stood up, dusting off his trousers. He dipped his hand into his pocket. "You both have to go tomorrow night, okay? It’s like an order," he said, pointing at Rowan. He gave Malcolm a knowing look, signaling him to continue the effort.
Malcolm nodded. "Maybe he’s right. We should go out and have fun as men. What do you think?"
Rowan sighed. He didn’t know if he could have fun without Freya beside him, but if it would ease the weight on his chest, he was willing to give it a try.
The next evening, Malcolm came to remind Rowan of their plan. Rowan had already decided not to go, but Malcolm insisted, and eventually, Rowan followed him to the festival. When they arrived, Rowan was immediately annoyed by women throwing themselves at him. Disgusted, he wanted to return to the palace, but before he could, Malcolm had already added his name to the list.
"What kind of woman do you want, and what do you do for a living?" the organizer asked.
Rowan stared at the man blankly. The kind of woman he wanted? The answer was so simple that even in his sleep, he’d say the same name, Freya. But she didn’t even want to see his face, and the tears in her eyes that night had broken his heart.
"Gentleman, you need to—" the organizer began, but Rowan walked past him, entered one of the rooms, unbuttoned his shirt, and sat down. No matter what he did or how hard he tried to stop thinking of Freya, her face still haunted him. It was as if he was being tormented. He reclined in the chair with a deep sigh.
When the organizer came in and handed him the blindfold, Rowan didn’t say anything. He was there trying to get his mind off Freya, but it wasn’t working. He wasn’t sure how he would treat the unsuspecting woman who had no idea about his inner turmoil. Rowan decided to stand up and leave. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that he was like this. He was a fool for hurting an innocent girl, and he should pay the price instead of running away. He was about to stand when the door creaked open. Rowan exhaled, thinking maybe he could entertain one person before leaving. But he wasn’t going to let another woman, who wasn’t Freya, choose him.
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