The Kingfisher

XXV : Ailyn

The door behind Nora closed with a soft click, and silence reigned in the humid room once more.

Ailyn whistled a breath of relief. Watching Nora and Arden fight was always so tense; their relationship dangled from a thin thread Ailyn wasn't sure she wanted to snap all of a sudden. Yet at times like these, pointless bickering was the last thing she should have to deal with. Nora was not the only one who detected the flaw in the boys' plans; they strayed far from the initial purpose of this whole nightmare.

That was why she had called up a much more efficient idea.

She didn't want to blurt it out before. Coming face to face with Salo had dulled her confidence and consumed every last drop of certainty that was left in her drained body. There was always the alternative of bringing Bela to Kage, a long, torturously slow alternative. By then, the search party would have found the Kingfisher themselves.

Ailyn was ready to made a deal with Kage himself. She had thought it out during her rest; if she simply threw herself out in the Mushan market she was bound to be noticed. Eventually, she would be brought to Kage, and then the deal would be made. Her freedom for the Kingfisher. A royal fugitive for an heirloom.

Of course, that assumes he cares as much as he says he does. She was basing everything on the prince's words, which may or may not have been fiction. Yet something in her told her that she was worth sacrificing. And part of her didn't even mind that.

Salo marched to the window, balancing his chin on the center of his open palm. His eyes sparkled under the light reflected on the little drops of humidity racing down the glass, contrasting with his olive skin like timber against emeralds. The usual crease between his brows had retired, replaced by a few placid wrinkles on his forehead, like ripples on a still lake. Ailyn knew Salo was not the guy that would have made her mother proud. He was a thug, a lowlife, not a duke like she had wanted.

Somehow, she didn't care.

I'm not betraying Kage, she reassured the low voice scolding her inside her head. This is not like what we had. For once, she agreed with the irritating thoughts. Kage had never made her feel that way. This pure bliss. This reassurance that everything would be alright, as long as they were together.

"What's on your mind?" the princess cleared her throat, trying to forget what she had just pondered. They would not be together for long. "What is there to be smiling about?"

"I'm not smiling," he objected with a scoff.

Ailyn glanced at his mouth. The corners of his lips were clearly tipped up. "You don't have to lie about happiness. It's rare as it is."

"You seemed quite happy at the palace."

The girl's lids fluttered as she fiercely shook her head. It was true, her life at the palace was delightful. Maybe more than it should have been. "Where is that coming from?"

"You don't seem happy anymore." Salo brought his fingers to his lips, brushing them against the soft cushions. "What did you have there that you don't have here?"

At first the question seemed silly. She had clothes, money, a house. She had a roof above her head, and now she was a homeless runaway wanted for treason. Everything was at her disposal then. Soon, however, she realized that was not what he meant at all.

Ailyn inhaled as much air as her lungs allowed. "I had--"

"The prince?" he cut dryly.

She puckered her lips. Maybe. But she could never reveal that. "No. You didn't let me finish."

"Go ahead, then. What is it that you miss?"

Her lips curled into a scowl. Salo knew what it was. He did not even have to wonder. Yet he wanted to hear her say it, that the man who was making their life a living hell at the moment was what she wanted the most, after running away from him a million times already. Because all of the luxury the palace life possessed wasn't nearly as tempting an idea of love.