Blades of fire and hearts of ice

Temporary goodbyes

The prince nodded at me, but with no feeling. A dull, repeated practice. He gave me a dry cold smile.

"Welcome home, princess. I am Prince Elio. Son of Queen Sakima the second... Although, to you, well, you can refer to me as your step-brother." He said. A smirk playing on his lips. 

I pretended not to realise and looked past him at the windows, revealing a large garden, though I wouldnt not have guesed it to be one unless there were multiple people tending to it, dressed in soft yellows and whites. 

Meanwhile, Ash introduced us to the prince and they exchanged formalities.=, until finaly, the prince rose. He bowed to me, but again, it was practiced, dull and meaningless. 

"I officialy welcome the lost princess back home to the castle of Arcadia" He said in a monotone voice. 

I didn't know how to react, so i mereley nodded, and continued looking around. 

"Eve here will now show you to your quaters where you may freshen up and eat pasteries chosen personally by the head chef. Then you may meet my mo-" The cleared his throat. "The queens."

It took every ounce of calm in me to not glare at the boy. Instead, I asked 

"What about Ash"

"I have a room in the servent's quaters. You need not worry about me." Ash replied quickly. "I'll see you off to your room, and after that... well, we might not see eachother much."

Oh. Of course. He worked at the stables.

I nodded, come on then. I took another glance at the young prince before turning my back and exiting the hall. 

Eve hurried through the bustling palace and led us through a maze of corridors, stairways and halls, unil finally, we stopped in front of a large set of doors. She glanced between me and Ash.

"I'll be off then, princess. Just one thing, There is a platter of food waiting inside for you and an entire wardrobe of clothes. I will be back in an hour to collect you." She bowed ran off, her violet hair trailing after her. 

I turned to Ash. "So... well, this is it then, I guess..." I said softly

"Yeah.. I- I enjoyed your company, princess."

"No, just- just call me Nora"

"Okay then, Nora" He said quietly, a grin spreadign across his face.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Thanks... For everything, thats not nearly enough for everythign you've done for me, but..." I said casually. Inside, however, I was screaming, "WHY IS THIS SO HARD, ITS JUST ASH"  

"I'll drop by the stables later, okay? I'll make sure we see each other regularly" I said, a small smile creeping across my face.

"Yeah, sure, if its not too much trouble, I'll be here too, the stables is just outside, and sometimes I stay with my parents, so maybe, if your fine with it, I could show you the house, I think you'll like it" He said, akwardly

I grinned, and he smiled back. "Bye then, Ash"

"Bye, Nora"

As he turned to leave, I felt somethign was missing... "Ash!" I called out. 

He turned, expectantly. 

I ran to him and hugged him, as tight as I could. He hesitated a bit, but then he hugged me back. 

"I'm not going anywhere princess" He said softly.

"I know, I know, I just hope dear old prince Elio doesn't kill me in the meanwhile" I said with a laugh.