L E O N. S O N G
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The confused prince watched in silence as Matti congratulated his sister on the engagement. It didn't sound at all sincere and Rosalie could clearly tell. Suddenly the suffocating tension in the air was beginning to build up again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Leon opted out of saying anything. Whatever was going to happen would be between Mateo and Rosalie and he had no business sticking his nose in it, so he just nodded in understanding when his sister decided to head out. She had covered for him before and got him out of messes on several occasions, the least he could do now was do the same for her.
He watched as she and Mateo went their separate ways, probably planning on meeting up somewhere else, and he couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt. Inviting Mateo to the announcement was probably not the best idea he'd ever had. He frowned subconsciously, now feeling like he had made Rosalie's night worse instead of better.
"they dating or something? Rough." Leon didn't mean to flinch, he had just been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't even realized Stellan was right beside him. The smaller boy responded with a nervous grin, not entirely sure how to respond to the question. "Not exactly..." he said, not really thinking about his next few words. "At least not that I know of...I think she would tell me if they were. I hope..." the last couple of words came out almost as a mutter, his mind now turning over the idea of his sister keeping something like that a secret from him. He didn't see why she would, but he also didn't see why she would keep the news of the engagement to herself either. "He's a childhood friend, almost like family" he finally added, not sure why he was trying to explain the situation so detailed, it's not like Stellan had a reason to care nor did he sound like he did. "Uh- did you want a drink?" he said suddenly, deciding that changing the subject was the best course of action right now. "There's wine, vodka...whiskey probably" he said, biting his lower lip in thought. "Or maybe step out for a bit? We've got a really nice library" for all Leon knew, Stellan didn't even like books, but the library had always been the first place Leon went to when he needed a breather, so naturally it was the first thing that came to mind.
"Or maybe..." realizing he had probably already talked too much, he quietly cleared his throat, giving an apologetic smile. It's not like Rosalie had listed taking care of Stellan as part of covering for her, but something about meeting strangers made Leon babble. Most didn't mind it, but people like Stellan usually found it annoying. "I'll just..." he said, pretending to zip his mouth.
M A T E O. V A R G A S
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Part of him felt betrayed, but the other part just felt heartbroken. As to why, he didn't know. It's not like he didn't know this would happen eventually. He knew, Rosalie knew as well. Royals married other royals. It was a social rule that no one could deny. So why did he feel so miserable? He had half a mind to turn down Rosalie's request to meet up somewhere to talk, because just looking at her in the eyes brought him pain, but in the end he couldn't get himself to do it. So he agreed, like he agreed to everything else Rosalie ever asked him to do.
Getting out of the palace was even easier than getting in. No one so much as even looked in his direction. Most were probably preoccupied by the news. Some looked happy, others indifferent, but most just looked confused. He couldn't deny he didn't feel the same, although confused didn't come close to summing up how he felt. Walking around the extremely large estate, he finally made it to Rosalie's window. He had been here several times to help her sneak out, but somehow this time it felt different. He couldn't keep himself from fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for her. The wheels slowly turned in his head as he tried to come up with something to say, anything, but the only thing that came to mind was one question. A question he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to.
Finally, after what felt like a century, Rosalie's face popped up from above. He helped her down as quickly as possible, all but had to sew his mouth shut to keep from asking her right then and there. This wasn't the time nor the place. Getting away from the palace was first priority right now. The last thing they needed was to get caught. Rosalie would most definitely be in trouble and there's no doubt in Mateo's mind that the king would send him to jail. So he took hold of her hand, just as he always did, and they ran for a bit to get as far away from the palace as possible. Mateo wasn't sure where they wee going yet, but at this point it didn't matter.