She felt blessed, like the Stars themselves had granted her this. There was no limit, no rules or constraints. She was boundless; she was home, safe and secure in his unbreakable embrace.
~
Shackled in an abrupt and demanding upbringing, Althera is...
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Peaceful and heavenly. Two words that described exactly what Althera was at that moment. Her hair splayed out around her in a halo of auburn and dark brown shaded tresses shimmering like stars under the radiance of the morning sun. Dawn was closing in, and Rhaye was growing more and more frustrated as each minute flew by with Althera's eyes still fluttered shut.
She had been in that limp, seemingly lifeless position for hours now, and though Rhaye knew it would take more than just that time for her to awaken, it still spiked him that she wasn't responding to his pleas for her to just open her eyes. He did try that, much of a surprise even to himself. He hadn't realized he wanted Althera awake so badly. But the pleading had only turned out to be a complete waste of his time. What had he been thinking, wounding his pride and begging for something that wouldn't come true immediately? He wasn't someone who could easily tolerate not getting what he wanted instantly. A bad habit of his, perhaps, but it always came down to it when being a prince.
Sitting on the edge of his bed and watching Althera's chest rise and fall unevenly was torturous. He wanted to know what she was thinking, what was taking her so long. He swept his thumb over the gradual swerve of her cheekbone, tracing and retracing the arc. Her breath was hot against his skin, shallow gasps through drained, parted lips. Her eye danced beneath the eyelids with every lift of her breast, curled lashes flickering as her nostrils flared with life.
Rhaye's heart thudded, matching the rhythm of every whisper of Althera's breath that fanned across his fingertips. He used his free hand to caress the locks of her brown hair, mesmerized by the velvety touch to it. A muscle in her collarbone twitched as she murmured something he couldn't quite hear. A mere flurry of words that strung from her lips.
Peaceful. Heavenly.
~
Come and catch me!" She heard the little girl before her yell, her arms thrown up above her head as she screamed in joy. The plains beyond her stretched on in untamable beauty, long stalks of golden grass swaying in the gentle breeze that called out softly to her. She picked her way carefully through the meadow, eyes bright under the midday sun hanging proudly in the ethereal, sapphire sky.
"Come on!" The girl giggled again, dragging her fingers through the air, hair billowing like twisted serpents of brown crowned with a circle of flowers ranging from light pink roses and delicate daisies to flashing bluebells that glowed indigo and then violet in the undying light.
She grinned, picking up her pace. "Wait for me!" She cried, stumbling past the grass that grazed her young skin, her skirts a waterfall of color around her. The servants behind her shouted warnings for her to be cautious as she ran, afraid she would trip and fall. But she wouldn't. There was no chance she would let an opportunity of freedom like this just slip away.
