Author's note: Characters are not my invention, just my interpretation. They belong to Tamora Pierce.
The first time she meets the cousin her overwhelming thought is that this is what a king should be. The actual king is a disappointment; quiet and careworn, with permanent furrows pulling down his brows. The handsome prince all too often has those same furrows; but with him it's petulance, quick to think that his vulnerable male pride has been slighted. Already she is tired of the constant need to flatter him without him knowing it.
The cousin is every bit as handsome as his royal relatives. More so. He carries himself with the confidence of an aristocratic man of the world, one who is so easy in his position that he can afford an air of openness and approachability. His eyes are the only part of him that proclaim his blood not entirely of the royal line. Brown and amused they look into hers and seem to see her as she really is. This appalls her, as her life from waking till sleeping is a brilliant play—sometimes melodrama, sometimes comedy—but always with herself acting the starring role. That she can be seen through so easily is akin to appearing naked before the assembled court, and as humiliating, and she tries to take her hand from his and turn away but he stops her. The amusement in the brown eyes overflows as he smiles at her and she suddenly can't think why she was upset a moment ago. Because this man has seen into her soul (as no one ever has before) and far from being shocked, he approves.
She is no small adept in the art of flattery herself, born to navigate the seductions and intrigues of court, but this man's subtlety makes her efforts look crude and obvious.
Young cynic that she is, a credit to the mercenary ideas of her class regarding birth and marriage, she does the last thing she ever wanted to do.
She falls in love.
Some time later she tells him archly (so that it can be taken as a joke) that it should be him ruling in place of his cousins. He laughs long and loud with what seems like genuine merriment, and tells her her attempts are improving before kissing her, effectively ending the conversation.
Eventually, she will find out what was so funny.
What the author has to say: If you like Delia, go and read Gavingunhold's "The Talented Volney Rain" series, linked under my favourites. We are an incestuous bunch, and tend to work off of (ie. steal) each others' better ideas. Hence my Delia is a mix of Gavingunhold's and Lyred'enfers's characters. Roger, however, is his own, but condescends to appear in my fics every now and then. You might want to convince Gavingunhold to finish her Delia series while you are there, as she has been successfully ignoring my and Lyred'enfers's pleas for the last few months.