Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 114: Long Due

Chapter 114: Long Due

Jonah and Sirona were banished back to their original rooms whereas Atticus brought Daphne back to the room they were supposed to share. He shut the door behind them once he had placed Daphne down on the couch and chucked Sirona’s pillows and blanket back at her. Only when they were alone once more did his expression finally relax.

Daphne waited in silence, chewing on her bottom lip as her fingers fisted the fabric of her dress. Her eyes fell anywhere but at Atticus, losing all of the fight and vigor that he had ever known in her.

"That’s not the Daphne I know."

"Huh?" Daphne looked up in surprise at the sound of Atticus’s words, meeting his gaze.

He stood by the door still, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Where’s the fight? The fire?" he asked. "You were never like this before coming to Raxuvia. What happened to the Daphne that would boldly argue her point no matter how small the issue was?"

"Oh..." She let out a despondent sigh, looking back down at her lap. "I don’t know," she meekly admitted.

"Is it your siblings?" Atticus asked. "You don’t have to bend to their will. Just because you’re here doesn’t mean that you have to keep yourself locked up."

"It’s not that I want to," Daphne said. "I can’t control it. How can a bird know to fly when all their life they’ve been kept in a cage, their wings clipped? Even if the door was opened for them, they wouldn’t fly. Or more accurately, they couldn’t."

Atticus paused in silence for a moment. Then, he said, "You’re still worried that they have power over you, that their voice is louder than yours."

It wasn’t a question but a statement. And Atticus had hit the nail right on the head.

"I wasn’t a queen," Daphne admitted. "I don’t know why I had been sent to Raxuvia as the crown prince’s bride when he was to one day be king. Especially when they’ve said time and time again that I was not fit to rule, no matter which kingdom was in question."

She heaved out heavily, her lips pursed. Atticus waited patiently for her to speak, not once rushing her. Instead, he removed himself from his position at the wall, slowly walking towards her.

"I am not like you," Daphne said. "I might be born as a royalty but I was never part of the Reawethen royal family. Not fully. I was only ever remembered if it benefited them. Maybe fighting with you all the time was the only way I could get back any semblance of control in my life."

Atticus took a seat by Daphne’s side. The couch dipped a little under his weight but Daphne barely flinched.

Only when the warmth of Atticus’s hand enveloped hers did her nose start to sour. All feelings of unjust that had accumulated over the last two days — and maybe even from prior to meeting Atticus — surged to the surface.

"I’ve never had a voice among the nobility," Daphne confessed through steadily growing tears. Her voice was choked up as she spoke. "In fact, my parents hardly ever brought me out to events like this. But in the rare times they did..."

"Your brothers and sisters never made the events positively memorable for you," Atticus finished in realization, frowning.

His poor wife had been through more than he had ever thought. She was the rumored useless princess, the one that was incapable of anything more than a few snarky words and weak escape attempts. Or, at least, that was the way Atticus had viewed her previously.

Now, Daphne was painted in a completely different light.

"You’re much stronger than you think you are," Atticus said. He licked his lips, mustering his own bravery. "To your credit, no one would dare talk back to me like that upon the first meeting."

Daphne’s face flushed scarlet when she recalled the way she had spoken to Atticus when she was first brought to Vramid. Instantly, she sighed and buried her face in her hands.

Truly... What gave her that sort of courage?!

"I figured they were just rumors," Daphne said softly. "That no matter how bloodthirsty you are on the battlefield, there must be a reason why you’re not the enemy of the world just yet. I decided it was worth the risk. Besides, if I died by your blade, at least I would’ve tried to fight for myself at least once."

"As you said, they’re just rumors," Atticus affirmed. "Just like the nicknames they give you. You’ve displayed remarkable feats of magic despite never having been trained your entire life. How can you be so sure that you’re as useless as they claim you to be?"

His words brought a smile back onto Daphne’s face.

Atticus was right.

The version of Daphne that had been weak and demure had died in the flames the night her magic awakened. It had been kept hidden and suppressed all her life. Now that it was finally allowed to see the light of day, the heat that burned within her bones was ready to sear through everything and everyone that dared block her path.

Newfound resolve filled Daphne from head to toe. Like the phoenix of legends, she had died and was reborn via the embers of her flames.

"Although," Atticus said, causing Daphne’s confidence to crack a little. However, his next words brought her more surprise than anything. "I do owe you an apology. You were never given a proper wedding despite being the queen of my kingdom. Not only that, you don’t even have a wedding ring of your own that you can show off."

"Our marriage wasn’t from love," Daphne said. "I don’t need a wedding ring. I... I don’t know why I was even so affected by their words when I knew that our circumstances were different."

"I can’t blame you." Atticus shrugged. "It’s understandable if our wedding didn’t live up to your expectations. It is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime event."

Atticus then pulled away from the couch ever so slightly so that he now knelt in front of Daphne. Her eyes widened when he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small box.

"Originally, I was going to wait for a special occasion," Atticus said with a small, unsure chuckle. "But I do owe you this."

Flipping the lid open with a soft click, Atticus held out the box with a ring in it. Daphne gasped, her hands flying to her lips in surprise when her gaze landed on the familiar stunning work of art that was nestled in the velvet box.

The silver band, the beautiful moonstone that had a clear rainbow sheen, and two delicate blue aquamarines, the design completed with a ring of small diamonds that enveloped the bigger stones. It was the same ring that Daphne saw at the Gibbous Auction House with Eugene.

The Symphony of a New Dawn.

"Daphne," Atticus said, his voice breathy.

Daphne wasn’t sure why but the way her name glided off his tongue caused her heart to throb and she suddenly felt breathless.

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"