orion sat in the study, sighing as he reviewed another letter. honestly... this was boring him already, and the ball would be starting soon. he was trying to ignore the clock. it only made him think more about his impending doom.

he was infamous for always leaving parties early. when his father was still duke, orion would usually skip them completely so that he go and adventure in the forest. he missed that. being duke was a lot of work. he'd turned twenty-one and immediately taken over, since his father died. mysteriously. no one ever even tried to figure it out, but orion suspected assassination. that was usually how it went, and his father had been perfectly healthy- that made it unlikely that it'd been medical.

the duke tossed the letter onto the desk with a sigh. just another proposal from the king. it was a common occurrence as of late- but he didn't want to marry. he really didn't want to meet any of the many, many ladies from the noble families. he didn't care if it was expected. he could do what he wanted.