Riftan's pov:
SOME OF YOU MIGHT SAY, THAT I COMPLETELY LOST IT at this point..and I can't agree more. I know, that in your eyes I might be the worst man alive and you probably think I don't deserve to have her again. And again..I can't agree more.
But I wanna speak to her one more time. I want to hear her sweet voice and look at her beautiful aqua blue eyes again. Just this once, I want to tell her how sorry I am. Even, if I don't look like myself. I payed 500 coins to a magician to turn me into someone else just for a couple of hours. And he did a great job.
I look in the mirror and all I see is a beautiful blond woman with long hair and beautiful green eyes. If I was born a woman I would totally be a catcher, just saying. Dressed in a nice pink dress with long sleeves, high heels, that hurt my bare feet..in walking towards the pharmacy hoping Eleanor won't recognise me.
I walk in and the strong smell of herbs hits my nose. Lavender, daisies, dandelions, all of them around me placed carefully in alphabetic order on the shelves. Typical Eleanor, I thought and I chuckled to myself. Slowly getting to the desk my hands were shaking. I ring the bell and I wait for her to show up.
The door of the back room opens and I see her walking out. She was dressed in white mantle with the logo on the pharmacy on her left side on her chest. Her long brown hair put in a nice ponytail, it's even longer than I remember. Her aqua blue eyes travel to me and I immediately felt more nervous than before.
A soft smile appeared on her face and I was greeted with her soft, gentle voice. "Welcome, madam, how can I help you?", she asked me.
"D-Do you h-have something for..headaches, I've been having one for three days", I tried to keep my composure, but Eleanor was just so beautiful. I forgot the feeling of seeing her face so up close.
"Let me make one for you", Eleanor smiled at me and moved to the back shelves to take what she needed.
I was standing there watching her move with such elegance. She looks like she's dancing, even when she does a simple move. The magic box behind me was working and the local news were on. I turn around for a moment and the thing I saw was me and Maximilian kissing on the day after we came back from our honeymoon.
I almost chocked, when I saw how happy they made us look and the feeling of guilty rush through my feminine body. Eleanor turns and her attention fell on the magic box for second, but then she turned her back to the medicine.
"This boy..", I started saying trying to play it cool, but when I saw the sadness, that suddenly appeared on Eleanor's face my heart broke, "he is such a bad Lord. Marrying a girl he doesn't love. It must be so tragic for his people".
"I'm not involved in what's happening with Anatol", Eleanor said and that response made me even more sad, "I'm sure Lord Riftan and lady Maximilian Calypse are great people".
"Yeah, right. Everyone from the seven kingdoms know what kind of bastard he is. I even heard he broke an innocent girl's heart, because he couldn't decide", I said and I was hoping she would react. But she didn't.
"He had no choice, ma'am", she simply said.
"Of course he had. I don't know where this poor girl is today, but I hope she has a man, who is treating her better".
"She doesn't, because...she doesn't".
For a moment I wanted to ask her, if she is the girl im talking about..just to see what she would say. But then...I decided I didn't want to make her feel more uncomfortable.
"I heard Duke Croix wants a child. But Riftan said no, because he said he won't have a child with a woman he doesn't love", I looked at her and Eleanor was smashing those herbs like they were an enemy.
"You sure know a lot about the Lord's life. Are you a relative, or perhaps a friend of the Duke", Eleanor looked at me with the scariest eyes I've ever seen and it was obvious she was mad.
"No, but people talk. I just wanna know, if the poor girl he played with is okay. I honestly don't like gossip", I said.
"She's okay! She's not as happy as she was back in Anatol, but she's trying. And yes, he broke her heart, but she still loves him! And she would never speak bad on his name! So I ask you to do the same", Eleanor scolded me and pushed the medicine in my arms.
I looked at her face and I didn't try to cover my surprise. Eleanor wasn't that straightforward before and I've never seen her talk to someone like that since I know her. My heart almost skipped a beat and I was ready to tell her who I am, but then the fear of her pushing me away got the best of me. So I just walked out.
After passing some time the magic finally came down and I was a man again, but Eleanor's reaction of the things, that I said about myself were still in my head. I was riding back to Anatol smiling like a school girl.
I was greeted on the gates by my wife and sir Hebaron, who didn't look me twice after taking my horse to the stables. Maximilian steps to me and she insisted on talking to me privately. Honestly I had nothing to tell her and I didn't wanna listen to her either. In my eyes she was the reason I didn't get my Eleanor.
You might think I'm rude or a bad man for the way in speaking about 'an innocent girl', but the innocence in her is just an act she puts up to fool the others. She's actually as cruel as her father. And she knew how to take what she wanted no matter what it costs.
Unfortunately I was the only one, who knew this. Maximilian knew exactly how to turn me into the bad guy, just so she can look like the precious girl she wants the others to see.
UNEDITED
A/n-okay, I know 'under the oak tree' fans are going to come after me for turning the pure Maxi into a bad girl, but I don't want you to think Riftan is a bad guy either..and this book is about him after all.
Please forgive me for it🥲