She had been feeling a bit different in the last two days but had attributed it to the deep satisfaction she felt with the way her and Kaldrek's relations.h.i.+p had been progressing. That it was caused by something else surprised her.

Her husband had promised to teach her how to control her magic once he finished with the task he was currently working on. She had sensed an almost impatience in him and realized that he wanted to start teaching her right away. It didn't really surprise her as Kaldrek was fascinated with magic and was probably extremely happy to have someone to share his obsession with. A smile came to her lips, Zylvia felt a joy springing up in her knowing that this was causing her husband delight.

She was smiling brightly when she rejoined her best friend, who was currently chatting with the Amriel princess. It had been a few hours since she had last seen her and the queen instantly beamed when she came in.

Seeing how her friend was smiling, the queen had a pleased look on her face, "Did she apologize?"

Zylvia had forgotten about her discussion with Celia. Her smile faltered, "No...she was actually highly unapologetic to an extreme."

Fayre blinked, "Oh...that, I'm sorry Zylv, I thought since you were smiling like that that something good had happened."

Zylvia laughed softly, "Watching Kaldrek work is highly therapeutic."

The surprise on Fayre's face was highly satisfactory to watch. The teasing grin that started spreading across her face was predictable, "Oh? You sought out his presence in order to calm down? Are you two growing closer then?"

"We've always been fairly close." Zylvia looked down, but she couldn't keep a small smile off her face. "And is it not natural for a girl to seek out her husband when she is feeling down?" Zylvia found herself incapable of saying that Kaldrek and her had become lovers, but she could leave little hints in her speech.

Fayre looked at her a little helplessly like she was not sure how to answer her.

Hazel had a bit of a confused look on her face, as if she was not understanding something, "I don't understand your relations.h.i.+p with your husband." She shook her head in bewilderment, "You seem so close but always deny any thing more than friends.h.i.+p...it almost looks like..."

"Like what?" Zylvia calmly asked. She wondered what they looked like to an outsider. She had sometimes wondered just how Fayre had never realized just how deep her affections for her husband were. Sure, she never said anything, but she had long treated him differently. Zylvia could not even pinpoint when her behavior towards Kaldrek had changed but she definitely treated him differently. And she was sure that she was not that good at hiding how she felt, after all Hazel seemed to already be seeing through her.

"Almost like you two are trying to court each other but are afraid that the other does not reciprocate so you tone it way down." There was some truth to Hazel's statement. Though it made her pause due to the other message it carried. Did Kaldrek behave the same way? She had wanted to hear something like this for years.

She found herself laughing. "Is that how you see us?"

"I'm not saying that is what you are doing but the way you two act, it does not seem like either one of you is particularly upset with being forced to marry."

"Kaldrek is my second best friend. We grew exceptionally close when our king and queen were courting." Zylvia found herself smiling as she remembered those days. Kaldrek and her had often spent time together, whenever Jayesh had been courting Fayre, as it was awkward always being in the same room with the two lovebirds. It had actually been on one of their walks together that Zylvia had realized that she had fallen in love with the man she had now married. Thinking about this, Zylvia realized why Fayre had never noticed. At the time, Jayesh had occupied her completely, and so she had not noticed the subtle s.h.i.+ft in the way her best friend acted around a particular man. "Its hard to be upset about marrying someone you care about."

Fayre was looking at her with a thoughtful look in her eye as if considering something. Zylvia did not mind her best friend thinking into this, her relations.h.i.+p with Kaldrek was not exactly something she intended to hide. It was just that she had no idea of how to say that Fayre did not need to worry about her relations.h.i.+p, and that Kaldrek was the sweetest man she knew.