Fantasy I Was Sent To Kill You |Closed|

[bambi-under-the-sky]

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Truly Yaena should be having a bigger reaction right now.

First, she was meeting her husband, something that she used to believe would never happen. All four of her siblings found excellent matches before she left, Inka her sister-in-law, and her queen now revealed to her that she was pregnant and that she sensed it was going to be a boy.

Marriage was and has always been, a tool to obtain something whether it be land rights or military aid. Yaena was the youngest, the fifth child, by the time she reached the age in which one's parents (or in her case parent) seriously considered betrothals, her siblings were already married or engaged. She told her mother that she had no desire to marry and her mother saw no reason why she should be forced to leave her side.

Perhaps the reason she was in a cloudy, distant state was that she already cried. When Tristaen, her brother, and her king announced the match the usually mute sister begged him to reconsider. Trying to play to his sense of brotherly duty, she had heard stories of how cold and heartless the elves were and the royal family of Eurus was the worst of them all. Now he was going to send his sister, his young, innocent still a maiden sister over there? Even her mother lambasted him for such a match, accusing him of having been bullied by the more experienced ambassadors of the Elven kingdom. Tristaen just dug in deeper.

Married, Yaena was going to marry a prince and it still didn't seem real. She had nothing against those who desired that kind of life, she just never did, she enjoyed working in apothecaries and hunting for artifacts. She could spend days without talking to someone and now all that was taken away from her. Yaena didn't even know how to be a good wife (though thankfully she didn't care enough about that for it to damage her self-esteem), she didn't know how to run a household or how to perform her wifely duties. For fundamentally, she didn't know how to be a supporting character in someone else's life when she had been allowed to live independently for so long.

Her mother's plan of her killing her husband should be filling her with nerves, or perhaps righteous rage but in a way...it calmed her down. Truthfully, she didn't care about her husband to be, she asked the captain of the ship what he knew about his prince but there wasn't any information that would change her mind. Her husband to be could look like a goat and speak only in cries and screeches and she would not care (although she would hope that any children they may have would take after her if that were the case).

She looked around, Jon and Nikolai were standing, guarding the door. Jon with auburn hair and a youthful face that Yaena knew would rather be fighting bravely in war than guarding a strange, unsettling princess and Nikolai whose pale face betrayed little emotion. Yaena was not used to all the attention being on her, her mother was the only person who truly took appeared to pay attention to her but yesterday she had spent the day trying on dresses, being brushed, combed, and plucked, and being introduced to all sorts of people who would help her grow accustomed to her "new life." Even the members of the crew kept staring at her like she was some kind of animal.

Although she was sitting in the bottom of the shop, she could see out the window, and despite all her attempts to not succumb to emotions, seeing the kingdom awoken an intermingling of fear and wonder in her. No longer was this theory, she was going to be staying in the Elven kingdom, married to an elf, what kind of life would she live there? She could only hope that the royal family would pay as much attention to her as her own family did.

The larger the sight got, the more her stomach hurt, she could see dozens of people, were they here to see her? She expected that the only people who would greet her would be her husband to be and his family, she naively didn't think that anyone else would want to see the first glimpse of the human who would one day be their queen.

"Excuse me? Lionel correct?" Yaena spoke for the first time in hours, addressing a sailor who couldn't be older than fourteen.

The child (in her eyes) blushed at the address and stood up, attempting to project maturity, "Yes, I mean, y-yes princess?" Yaena could feel the eyes of her guard on her.

"May I ask," Her voice was so soft that even the people near her had to lean in, "Has there been talk of my arrival?"

Lionel put his hands behind his back, "Of course, people are excited to see you," Yaena supposed that was true, but not in the sycophantic manner that Lionel was describing. She wondered if his father told him to say, "I had to fight three of my friends in order to have the honor of manning your ship."

Yaena blinked, she felt uncomfortable with false flattery, but she couldn't truly blame him for not wanting to offend her, "I wish you had told me, I have not acted in such a way that would have been worthy of your expectations." She tilted her head, a subtle smirk on her lips.

However, she wouldn't have more time to pick his mind because she could feel the ship is docked. Now was the moment of truth and she suddenly was hit with the realization that she wasn't just meeting her betrothed, he was meeting her. She wondered what he expected of her if he feared her. It would be good if he did, people were terrified of her mother and were growing to be scared of her and that meant that people left her alone. She should be scared of him, after all, she was coming to his country, and she knew of their strange ways but she decided to embarrass herself by being afraid of a man.

Lionel, with a boldness that surprised her stuck out his hand before a glare from Nikolai made him sheepishly withdraw it. "Princess, are you ready to be presented?"

Nope.

"I have no other choice no?"

The world moved around her, Nikolai moved from his position to help her off her seat and Jon barked some orders that she didn't care to listen to. Probably for people to get their bags, she didn't know how much freedom she would be allowed so she brought all the objects that would bring her comfort. I don't want to go, even in her mind, she sounded like a child, but unless someone could read her mind she didn't care. She didn't want to be a wife or a hero, she wanted to go home.

She walked like a phantom until she met the cool air of the outside, it was a beautiful day, and she could hear the murmurings, this was her first time seeing the Elven Kingdom and this was their first time seeing her.

She couldn't look at their faces, she thought she wanted to guess which one would be her husband, but she went from being a ghost to being a pig on display. Instead, she quietly snuck some gold coins to Lionel and to the captain of the ship. I must be strong, she reminded, and she made her face as impassive and quiet as possible. If she was feeling scared, or angry, she would not let their prying eyes know.

"...And finally," Jon's warm voice spoke, "May I present my Princess Yaena Narayan of Zhicra." Yaena froze, not realizing that she was supposed to walk forward before Nikolai guided her, helping her go from the ship to the dock. Well, now she couldn't run.

 

[Average.]

All Briar could do was stand by his father's and mother's sides and watch as the grand ship neared port. He could barely hear the noise emitting from the crowd, their hustle and bustle. It was all muffled, and all he could hear - all he wanted to hear - was the soft song of the waves crashing against the wharf. The ship was nearing all too quickly. Deep down he secretly hoped that the wind would listen to his plea and it would magically steer the ship away from the port and make it return back from where it came. But the wind didn't listen to him. He felt the cool salty breeze against his face like it was trying to comfort him, but it failed. He was going to become a husband to a complete stranger. And there was nothing he could do about it.
Funny. He was royalty, and soon he would inherit an entire Nation... and yet he sometimes felt like certain decisions were not in fact decisions at all. Commoners had the chance to choose who they wished to marry.. and yet even that basic decision was being torn from him.

All for a silly peace treaty that was going to fall apart in the end. The relation between Eurus and Zhicra was like a shattered mirror, and this marriage was like poor glue, desperately trying to stick the glass shards back together. Into nothing but a pathetic excuse for a mirror.
It's your responsibility, Briar.
He remembered his father telling him these words, shortly after their little argument in the throne room. These arguments have been growing more and more common by the day ever since he first heard the news of the arrangement.
To Hell with responsibility. To Hell with it all. To Hell with-

"May I present my Princess Yaena Narayan of Zhicra."

The crowd exploded into a loud cheer, yet Briar could barely hear it. The words however echoed inside his mind, over and over playing on repeat. Princess Yaena Narayan of Zhicra. He recited the name mentally a couple times to himself.
He felt like there was some heavy knot in his chest.

His shoulders tensed, and he didn't know where to look. He took notice of things that he only would have found interest in as a child; the seagulls flying through the air, the ever changing shapes of puffy clouds who moved through the vibrant blue sky like herds of sheep. He would soon have to make eye contact with her. He would soon have to acknowledge her presence and accept that this Human woman was going to become a part of his life now. Why was it so damn hard?

"Princess Yaena Narayan of Zhicra, may I present to you Prince Briar Aegeiros of Eurus. The heir to our glorious nation." an escort smiled, chest puffing out slightly with a clear sense of pride.

Briar felt his father's stare. It bore into him, feeling like ice against his skin. Taking in a deep breath, he shifted his gaze towards Yaena, his brown eyes illuminated into the colour of molten gold by the warm light of the sun. He quickly tried to recall in his mind the dozens of etiquette lessons and lectures he had to suffer through. Right. He was supposed to bow before her now and kiss her hand. Not so difficult, right?

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Yaena." the young heir forced a smile, bowing before her with grace before gently taking her hand into his and kissing it. Let's hope that his lessons of making a fake smile appear genuine were helping him here. He was definitely going to be pulling off a lot of those from now on. "The carriage awaits. Shall we?" he rose a brow slightly, the warm smile still plastered over his face.

The crowd once again broke off into another wave of cheering, and the two headed inside the carriage. The carriage was entirely white, with golden vines and spirals decorating it's exterior. Two hippogriffs, all pampered and groomed were drawn to the carriage, awaiting patiently. A wave of relief flushed over Briar to at least be out of the public eye. And the sun.

He sat down next to the Princess after she was inside. That brief feeling of relief was soon replaced by a feeling of dread when he heard the escort shut the carriage door behind him. That knot in his chest was growing worse, and so was the tension he felt. He twiddled his thumbs awkwardly, throwing a couple of quick glances at her before instantly looking away whenever they accidentally made eye contact. During these glances he was able to take in more of her features. Her sun-kissed complexion, her raven black hair and her eyes. They were violet, like a fine pair of amethysts. He avoided staring though, as that would be rude. And weird.

The Prince cleared his throat. The silence was killing him. It felt suffocating. He needed to say something or he didn't know if he'd be able to survive this damn carriage ride back to the palace.

"So..." a great start. "... What do you think about Eurus so far? You.. like it?"

That was the best he could do for now. He was never really fond of small talk, however he wouldn't dare ask her about her opinion of this whole marriage.
For now.. small talk it is.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Well, the couple had a lot in common. Now that she was on land, Yaena could tell who the man she would one day vow to love and honor was, but she couldn't look at him. She instead looked at the space behind him, she could focus on the faces of the people around her and even the king and queen, but if she looked at the prince she was afraid she may crumble.

"Princess Yaena Narayan of Zhicra, may I present to you Prince Briar Aegeiros of Eurus. The heir to our glorious nation."

Now was the moment of truth, she forced herself to meet his eyes, to take him in.

The first thing that she noticed was that he was extraordinarily pale, reminding her of one of the porcelain dolls that she gifted to her niece. She wondered how they must have looked to the public because they were quite literally opposites of each other, he had hair that shone like molten gold whereas her hair was so dark it was almost unnatural. His features were fine, aristocratic, he would be able to get any maid he would like in Zhicra. While Yaena certainly didn't think she was ugly, she was all freckles and heavy hair, she didn't think she looked like a princess.

He was looking at her too and she would very much rather that he didn't. She didn't want to think about the opinions he may be forming of her, while she had no expectation of love she would not suffer disrespect.

Yaena was not someone who got embarrassed or flustered easily, however, when he bowed and reached for her hand, her face went hot. Not because she was a delicate maid smitten with her handsome husband to be, but because she realized this was her first time ever being in a situation like this. Maybe sometimes a lord would ask her to dance with him at a wedding but she very rarely gave people the chance to approach her.

He sounded as tense as she did, which in a way made it better and worse. On the one hand, she would feel overwhelmed if he appeared excited about this marriage, but on the other hand, it would be easier to complete her duty if he was a sadistic, lustful, monster. At the moment, all she could do was give him a small smile, "And an honor to meet you as well." In her head, all of these polite interactions were like a scholarly test where she had to give the right answer.

The sound of the crowd cheering pressed against her bones, the noise burrowing her way in her skin making her want to leap into the sea or force the source to be silent by any means necessary. She wanted to demand why they were so excited, a human coming here didn't erase the years of war between them. These are ordinary people, she reminded herself, you would treat the people of your own country with respect, you owe to them as well. However, that did not erase the fact that she simply did not like big crowds or loud noises and she was now forced to endure both.

Looking behind herself, to see her boat one last time, she followed the prince (it was easier for her to refer to him as the prince, or her betrothed, rather than his name). She made a promise to her mother and brother that she would be strong and while both of them had very different expectations of her, they would both be disappointed if she cried or made an attempt to leave. However, her hands trembled slightly as he guided her to the...

Were those hippogriffs? Her violet eyes widened in terror, she had never seen a hippogriff in person, but she had heard stories of how the elven army rode in on them, and while the two creatures in front of her looked as intimidating as a macaron...she was scared to be so close to them. Yaena, someone who spent her time researching blood magic, the medical arts, and poison was scared of creatures who looked like the children of horses and clouds.

But being inside was a relief, no longer was she dealing with hundreds of prying eyes, she was dealing with one pair of eyes that appeared to not enjoy looking at her very much.

Yaena was not someone who felt pressured to talk when she did not want to, so while this situation was nervewracking for a variety of reasons, she was content to just sit like a statue. She also was not ashamed of staring so while Briar was worried about coming across as weird, Yaena looked like a violet-eyed owl as she stared at him. Trying to see if there was anything she could learn about him just from looking. He seemed like every other young prince or lord she's met.

When he was the one to break the silence, her eyes widened in surprise. She didn't think she would be able to carry a conversation with him alone, she almost wished his parents were here, surely the king and queen would have done their part to help or force the couple to get acquainted.

Do you like Eurus? That was a stupid question, and she wanted to tell him that. However, even she knew when her thoughts were inappropriate.

"I haven't had much time yet to explore your country," She finally spoke, her voice quiet as her eyes remained on his. When she was younger, she was a shy little thing afraid to look people in the eye, but her instructors should be proud of the fact that they disciplined that out of her (though she wasn't aware her current strong amount of eye contact could be seen as creepy.)

Should she say anything else? The longer she was around him, the more her natural curiosity grew, "Will I be allowed to explore it?" She asked, fiddling with her amethyst amulet that looked like a heart (as in the organ) It was perhaps an odd question, but her movements had always been heavily regulated by her mother, and she was told that elves were a highly authoritarian society.

 

[Average.]

Upon her answer, he realised the stupidity of his previous question. Of course. Why would he ask her whether she liked his country or not where she hasn't even had the chance to explore it yet. Briar didn't know much about Zhicra, so why would she know much about Eurus? This conversation was going... well.

The real discomfort started to settle in. It festered inside him. She was.. staring at him. Staring at him so intensely that he felt like she was staring right through him into his very being. It made him want to shrink into a little particle of dust and get carried away by the wind into nothingness.
Surely the heir of Eurus wouldn't allow himself to crumble under the stare of some Human princess, right?

Briar let out a sigh, breaking eye contact with her to look out the window instead. The crowd of Elves has separated to make way for their carriage. They were like statues lining the way up to the palace. Buildings were decorated with beautiful garlands of white and yellow flowers. Their petals would occasionally fall off, getting carried by the wind a bit before hitting the ground, doomed to be trampled by hundreds of steps once the crowd would return to carry on with their usual business. White and yellow flowers could hold multiple meanings depending on the country or continent. In Eurus, the colours of white and yellow seemed suitable for such occasions. For weddings too.

"I imagine so." he gave her a slight nod, reaching his hand out through the carriage window, catching one of the petals that fell from the garlands. It was white, like snow. "However, you won't be permitted to go by yourself. If you plan on going out to explore, I'll have to come with you. Along with an escort or two." he said, gently feeling the smooth flower petal in between his fingers. "Since you know... my parents want me and you to get acquainted better before you'll become my wife."
The word wife left a bad taste in his mouth. Not because he didn't like Yaena. He had no real opinion of her for now. It just felt so strange to him. He would be getting married to a stranger and nobody cared. They would congradulate them at their wedding and wish them the best of luck. And then everyone would go about their merry way.

"We could go anywhere you want as long as it's not too sketchy." he carried on, soon releasing the flower petal from his hold and turning to face her again and look her in the eye. He has heard the rumours about the Princess. About her mother too. Yet despite hearing them, he wanted to avoid judging Yaena based on them. Rumours came and went, especially about royal families. He was used to them. Sometimes certain commoners would do anything to brew up a juicy scandal for others to gossip about. He wanted to judge her based on how she would be like towards him. And by her appearance.

In all honesty, the longer he looked at her ears the more he felt like laughing. He always found Human ears to be so amusing. They were so small and rounded. They were a pleasant distraction to her intense stare.

Thankfully, they were nearing the palace now. Yet their interaction would not end upon arriving. Briar remembered his father's words; the way he lectured him after their argument.
Take her to the gardens and talk to her.
Psh.. talk to her. As if that was something that should come easily to him. He was no charmer that could just strike up a meaningful and entertaining conversation with anyone that he just met.
Present her with a gift.
Should be easy enough. He already had one prepared for her, as his parents requested. A bracelet, made of fine citrine and diamond. The ring would come later.
Don't screw up.
Ah. Now there it is. He already failed that one, he believed.

"We should be arriving soon." Briar remarked. "If I'm not mistaken, dinner will be ready soon. In the meantime I can show you the gardens."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

When he broke eye contact with her, she looked at the window taking in the place that would be her home for god only knows how long it looked.l..idyllic, like a land you tell to young girls. She felt like a stain of ink, the world around her was white and yellow and here she was in purple, hell even her hair looked like someone spilled ink. She realized now she knew nothing of what weddings were like here, she assumed it would be like weddings in Zhicra but she doubted they worshipped the same gods

She probably would have gone from silently staring at him to silently staring out the window until she heard that word.

Permitted.

Yaena whipped her head to look at him, her hair a dark gust of wind, her dark eyebrows raised, and her expression saying I beg your pardon? It was a bit ironic, she was upset that they didn't trust her enough to wander by herself considering her intentions. Even so, she didn't like hearing that she wouldn't be able to explore by herself if she so chose. She wasn't naive, she knew that she and the prince would be spending significant amounts of time together but she didn't do well with being smothered. "Are you going to protect me?" She asked, possibly the first instance in which one of them got to show the other a hint of their personality. Her voice was still soft but her dry humor came out.

..You'll become my wife.

In what was unbecoming of her she choked, but she instinctively covered her mouth with her hand. Hearing someone refer to her as their wife was like being slapped in the face. It was one thing to think of someone being her husband, it was entirely another thing to be someone's wife. Just hearing that word used about her seemed fake. Part of it was because husbands' lives don't usually change much after marriage, but wives...well...that was why she wanted to leave.

Her siblings were as surprised as she was, like Yaena, none of them thought she would ever become someone's wife much less the heir to an elven kingdom. Viria, her sister, often told her that if she continued with her ways she was going to end up alone and she would only have herself to blame. Well, she suppose the petty part of her would take some pleasure in the fact she landed a better match than her beautiful older sister.

When he further elaborated the rules of her freedom, she couldn't help but ask another question, "What do you mean by sketchy?" She asked, her voice as innocent and sweet as honey laced with venom. Call it the contrarian in her, but Yaena frequented the "sketchy" places in Star's Landing from the brothels (so she could learn love magic) to the black markets that one could only find if they were smart enough..and talented enough.


However, she went back to her silence, with her intense stare and her cute ears. She was also amused by his, and she wanted to reach out and graze them, were so delicate, they reminded her well..of the flowers that she saw.

As they neared the palace, she felt intimidated again, she was going to be surrounded by people who once saw her and her people as an enemy. She had no idea what kind of person Briar was, but he didn't seem to malicious (at least right now), but would everyone treat her respectfully? There were some people in Zhicra who thought she was just one step above a bastard and those were her people, why would any elf view her as anything than a foreigner?

"Please do, I want to see everything."

 

[Average.]

Briar couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle. She had a sense of humour at least. He understood that just like him, she too had a personality under all that armour. That facade. She must have one. All he could do was hope that she understood that about him too, and that she didn't see him as a complete bore.
"I don't think that'll be necessary." he gave her a slight smile. The last time he smiled at her could have been argued that the smile was a fake one. This one was most certaintly genuine.
It reached his eyes.

He took notice of her covering her mouth when he said the word wife. He repeated to himself in his mind that he needed to try and understand her and the circumstances she was finding herself in. She was hauled to a completely new country, with new people, forced to marry a complete stranger against her will. Not to mention; she was shipped into a country filled with people that hated her. An image of the crowd cheering flashed inside his mind. The crowd.. they were cheering. But they weren't cheering for her. It would be naive of him to believe in anything else. They were cheering for what she symbolised. The princess he was forced to marry was nothing more than a statue that was meant to symbolise peace between Zhicra and Eurus. She wasn't a person.
At least this statue that was sitting next to him had a sense of humour.

The Princess of Peace.

Upon her second question, his brows furrowed. She wasn't being serious, right? "You know... sketchy." he hesitated. It was difficult to explain, and he could feel the guilt settling in. Guilt, because he knew that he was being a hypocrite for calling those places sketchy. The black market, taverns, underground fight clubs.. he has been in these places before, and enjoyed them. When books and archery weren't enough, Briar turned to those places for help. He enjoyed the way he felt while being in those places. The rush. It was so much more entertaining than just sitting there, surrounded by secure palace walls. Even he enjoyed going on daring little escapades like that once in a while, despite being forced to dress more like a commoner - which was an idea that he wasn't a fan of. You know.. unless he felt like being robbed that day.

A muscle feathered in Briar's jaw and he poked his head out the window. They were nearing the courtyard now. He could recognise his parents, standing near the grand doors which led inside the palace. The Palace of the Sun, it was called, and for good reason. Like the carriage, the palace was entirely white, which gold spirals and vines decorating it's exterior. The golden roofs - elegant and teardrop shaped - shimmered in the light of the sun.

The interaction between them and his parents was brief. It ended almost as quickly as it has started. His parents nodded their greetings almost nonchalantly towards him and the princess as if they were impatient for them to just run along already. How did they arrive so quickly to the palace when they were in the carriage behind theirs? Briar failed to have noticed this before - their escort must've changed routes and drove their carriage down a longer route, while his parent's carriage remained on the same route. It was no doubt that they've done that on purpose to force the couple to have more private time in the carriage. And now, they would have even more private time in the gardens, whether they liked it or not.

Briar felt so tired at that point, yet he tried masking the fact. His eyelids felt heavy, and if no one was watching he probably would have just curled up onto the floor and slept right then and there.

Offering his hand towards the princess, he began escorting her towards the gardens as planned. As he passed his parents, he felt his mother pinch the back of his arm. He flinched slightly in surprise and felt tempted to shoot a glance at her over his shoulder, yet he restrained himself from doing so. He could already picture what his evening was going to look like - his mother and father bombarding him with questions and lectures.

Hoo-fucking-rah.

The two remained completely silent as they ambled their way towards the gardens. He didn't have a chance until now to remark at how... short the princess was. Was that a Human thing? And here he thought that he was short! It peaked his curiousity, yet he was aware that it was improper of him to ask. She didn't make any remarks about his appearance, so why should he? It still wouldn't change the fact that it was improper.. however if she done it, suppose it then would become slightly more okay to do so as well. Maybe.

The gardens were like an enchanted forest. Upon entering, they appeared endless. Flowers of all shapes and sizes, all rich with colour and life. The whole area pulsated with magical energy, and Briar felt it. He couldn't help but inhale deeply, smelling the beautiful floral scent, before exhaling slowly.

He released her hand, assuming that it was alright to do so now that they were out of his parent's eagle eyes. They headed deeper into the gardens, now being sheltered from the sun's rays by a canopy of weeping willows. The magic felt stronger the deeper they ventured. "I hope the garden is to your liking." he said, simply speaking for the sake of saying anything at all to her. Out of need to break the once again awkward silence that loomed over them.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

She wanted to further pry into how he defined sketchy, it wasn’t even because she wanted to give him a hard time (well, it wasn’t the complete reason). Yaena always enjoyed forcing people to define what they meant, specificity came in handy with language. What a shame it would be if Yaena had a completely different definition of sketchy than he did and it led her to do things that he would find improper.

Yaena was perpetually curious, but she was not someone who was easily amazed. She grew up watching the most notorious sorcereress in the kingdom. However, seeing the palace did amaze her. She had never seen so much white before. The Dark Keep, her family’s seat looked like it’s name would suggest it was made of dark stone with intricate iron work. If she was an elf, she would probably view it as the epitome of an ‘evil castle’ but she was a human, so the vast whiteness of the elven nation unnerved her.

While Yaena didn’t say anything more to his parents than what was expected of her, she jumped at the opportunity to watch Briar interact with them, however long. She tried to visualize what it must have been like when they revealed their engagement to him. Did he shout and cry the way she did? Maybe he had a sloe-eyed elven noble who had his attention only to realize he was going to marry a short, freckled gremlin of a girl.

Once again, two two different people from two different nations appeared to have something in common because when he reached for hand, that was her first time noticing their height difference. She had to look up at him if she wanted to look him in the eye, now, she was short even for humans (Viria was five foot six) but now that she and Briar were standing next to each-other, she realized that she looked like a child. Yaena had been told before she left that even elven women would be significantly taller than her and now she realized they were right.

She looked down at their hands, this was a marriage of politics, and her mother wanted her to do an act that would dishonor her in front of all the gods but…Yaena wasn’t used to physical contact. Occasionally, one of her siblings would embrace her or her mother would run her hands through her hair, but holding someone’s hand, even for a formality was a new experience for her. Yaena felt less like a young maiden and more like an iconoclast woods witch forced to be in human (or eleven) society for the first time.

Now, her family had gardens, of course they did, one was even named for her grandmother but she had to admit they were nothing compared to this. The only time Yaena has ever been to the woods was when she and her mother were on the quest for various herbs and flowers, but this was what it felt like.

Feeling him release her hand, for a second, she was overcome by her childish desire to see, touch and smell everything around her. She took two quick steps to a bush of pale blue flowers that looked and moved like the wings of a butterfly.

It was difficult to explain how it felt to be here, she was possibly the most magical human in the current moment, but human society was not magical. She worked in shadows and secret offices, her magic wasn’t on display for the world to see. Elvish magic was distinctly different from hers; she was more likely to kill a garden than create one but in a way, all magic was the same. It should comfort her, but all she was reminded of now was that she was surrounded by people who would be able to use what she saw as her greatest asset.

Once again, he was the one to break her silence and she turned to him, he looked like he was born here. She could hardly imagine him being born, he looked like he grew out of this garden like a pale, golden flower.

She absolutely hated small-talk, she understood it’s importance and she didn’t fault Briar for utilizing it, but she hated it. Mainly because she was bad at it; even the people who loved her best would never call Yaena a dazzling conversationalist but in small talk she couldn’t use the few social strengths that she did have.

Of course the garden was to her liking, and if it wasn’t, it was not as though she could ask him to change it for her.

Yaena stared up at him, trying to figure out what to say, he seemed insistent on talking, but she would rather have silence than a stilted conversation. “You have very lovely eyes,” She wondered if the compliment would knock him off of his rhythm so to speak, as it was the “man’s job” to do little compliments like that. However, the way she said it sounded less like a compliment and more like her simply stating an observation.

However, she continued talking as they walked deeper, “I have to ask, is there anything you have been told of me?” And because of dear sweet Lionel, she had to add a caveat, “And not of my beauty, grace, or wit.” It was clear she had a streak of sarcasm in her, or at least seemed comfortable with being blunt.

A cold feeling came over her and Yaena wondered if they were being watched, it occurred to her before that may happen. Were his parents watching, and now disapproved of her?

 

[Average.]

Upon hearing the princess' compliment towards him - or more likely a remark - Briar slowly turned to look at her as they walked. Oddly enough, he hardly seemed surprised. An amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he rose a brow at her. "I know." his smile broadened into a grin. Finally, a crack. A crack in that mask he wore over his true personality. I know.
Well... suppose Elves were known to be prideful creatures. And to that; Briar was no exception.
But soon, his grin faded. "But so are yours." he quickly added, as if he was trying to quickly cover up that part of his personality. To repair those cracks, to fix his mask.

He wasn't lying. He also thought that her eyes were lovely. They were lovely, yet out of place. Like a polar bear in a savannah, like a splatter of ink on snow white paper. He would have felt the exact same if he was forced to go to Zhicra instead of her leaving.

Hearing her speak so much more frequently now peaked his curiousity. Of course, he should see that as a good thing. Perhaps she was starting to warm up to him now? Or perhaps maybe she thought that he was doing a pretty half-assed job at communicating with her so she decided to take over the reigns for now. Whatever the reason behind the sudden shift was, he felt a weight being removed from his shoulders. A sense of relief.

"Not of your beauty, grace or wit, hm?" Briar hummed, folding his arms behind his back as they walked. They neared a lake, it's colour a beautiful clear blue. The water was almost cyan in fact.. and it was glowing softly. The glow was not so visible in daylight, yet one could imagine how beautiful the cyan glow would look like when it would be night.

He let out a sigh. "My people don't trust you." he admitted. There was no need to sugarcoat anything or attempt to pull wool over her eyes. From what he has observed of her so far, he doubted that she was naive enough to believe that his people adored her beyond anything. "I've been told to be careful of you." he let that sink in for a moment with a brief pause before continuing on. "But my parents have always been protective of me. Especially since the loss of my younger brother." he frowned. He broke eye contact then, choosing to stare down at the ground, at the soft moss that now cushioned their steps.

They stopped at the lake and Briar found himself staring into it as if he was hypnotised by it's glow. There was nothing in the lake besides the water itself. No fallen leaves floating on it's surface, no birds or fish enjoying it's richness. Even the plants that were close to the lake's edge seemed to have died for some reason. Bodies of water such as this usually meant there was life. However this lake... there was something sinister about it. A dangerous beauty.

Briar held out his arm slightly as if to silently let Yaena know not to step any closer towards the lake. The wind blown gently, hissing through the drooping branches of the weeping willows surrounding them. Or was that not the wind, but whispering? Whispering, emitting from the soft ripples in the water.
The pulse of magic was especially powerful here, as if this very lake was the heart of the entire garden itself. Why would the lake be the heart of this garden if the plant life around it was dead?

He seemed like he was feeling uneasy just from being near the lake. This body of water was a part of his home, and yet despite that, he still couldn't help but feel discomfort. He said nothing of the lake though, and could expect her to want to ask more questions about it.
He knew what this lake was, and he didn't wish to speak about it with her. Not ever.

Before the princess could have the chance to ask about his brother or about the lake, Briar cut in. "Alright, my turn." he said, a brief smile returning. "And what have you heard about me?"

He could only imagine that they weren't good things since most people that originated from the lands Yaena came from viewed him and his people as enemies, despite the peace treaty. Yet unlike her, Briar actually wanted to know about the beauty, the grace and the wit part. He wanted to know if Humans could view an Elf as handsome, graceful or full of wit.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

His reaction amused her, and it showed on her face, her eyebrows raised and her eyes lighting up. Elves were known for being prideful, though she suppose it wasn’t solely an elf trait. She knew her fair share of humans who would react in a manner similar to him. No matter how he reacted, it was good to get a glimpse of the personality of the man who she would be spending an obscene amount of time with.

One would think that with a rare eye color, she would be used to getting complimented on her eyes, but they were distinctly from her mother’s lineage. The rest of her siblings had the warm hazel eyes of their shared father, when you looked at them you could forget who their mother was…you didn’t have that opportunity with Yaena. It appeared that by the time it got to her, her father did not have anything to give of himself. “Thank you,” She accepted the compliment simply, knowing no other way to do so.

Her new surroundings were the only thing that kept her from piercing him with her stare, she was not sure what she expected of this kingdom, in fact she tried not to have too many expectations in order to make her adjustment as painless as possible. But the kingdom was like the lake, pristine…however she could sense something in it. Not just because she was not an idiot, using so much blood magic meant she could sense any creature with a heartbeat.

My people don’t trust you.

That was a relief, despite her attempts at not caring about people’s expectations of her, Yaena hated disappointing people. If she had been told that everyone had been praying for her arrival, she would have felt the burden of not letting them down. But they didn’t trust her, and she didn’t trust them, those were expectations that she could understand.

If he was worried about offending her, he should relax, she still seemed to be in a state of curious bemusement however, since she didn’t interrupt him, her face softened when he talked about the loss of his brother. She wondered if he died in the war, she knew objectively that elves died in the battles too and she was enough of a pacifist to not relish in that fact, however it was never personal for her. “I lost my older brother,” She admitted solemnly, wrapping her arms around herself.

The lake provided a distraction and she was amazed by it, unfortunately while she was knowledgeable about many things nature was not one of them. Half consciously and half because she was almost mesmerized she took steps to get closer to the water, in order to investigate for herself. However, she walked right into Briar’s arm, having not noticed it.

Not liking being denied access anywhere, she opened her mouth to ask him what was in the lake and if she had permission to investigate.

But he had a right to know what was told of him. However, she didn’t verbally acknowledge his question, instead taking the moment to be thoughtful with her words. Yaena was not a liar (never had the need to be), but she also needed to be smart, not wanting to offend him in so short amount of time.

Truthfully, the talks she had were less about Briar specifically and more about the Elven kingdom as a whole, about their culture, about what they’ve done to her people. Maybe it was because they assumed that Yaena didn’t care about the specifics of the man himself as she was never someone given to infatuations.

She looked away as she began to speak“I have been told not to trust you and not get…what’s the word,” She said in a tone that suggested that she knew exactly what the word was before looking up meeting his eyes were “Easily beguiled.” She was not a particularly expressive person, but it was clear she was curious about him. Less as a princess looking to get to know her husband and more like someone investigating reports of a new species.

“They warned me that there would be restrictions to freedoms that I was used to.” And it seemed accurate, it wasn’t that human society was particularly liberated, it was that she had a unique upbringing. Before she was told of the betrothal, she debated on renouncing her titles all together and working to be a sister of the night

 

[Average.]

When she mentioned that she too lost a brother, his brows furrowed. Naturally he would feel empathy, however he also felt relieved in a way. He knew he shouldn't feel relief that someone's brother died, however it felt good knowing that he wasn't the only one who suffered such a terrible loss. His brother's death has changed him. He remembered the way he felt, how he wanted to suffocate and claw his own throat out. How his tears burned his cheeks, blurred his vision. How he flinched at every tender touch, at every voice that attempted to comfort him. He just wanted to lock himself away from the world and grieve alone. It took him weeks before he was even able to bring himself to function and leave his room. He remembered how he felt after he left his room for the very first time - like an alien on another planet. Sunlight blinded him, and he would shy away from it. He hardly ever spoke.

Now, he still grieved, but not like he used to. The scar on his cheek reminded him of the good old days. Of the days where he and his little brother would run around the palace, up and down the spiral staircases, making the lives of the palace servants miserable. He remembered how they've practiced archery together in the gardens and distracted each other from the stresses of life.
He would use Yaena's loss as his own selfish way of easing the pain of his own loss, at least a little bit.
Briar knew of the war that was not too long ago still raging between his nation and Zhicra. Ever since his brother's death, he knew of it all too well. Yet simply understanding the fact that people were dying meant less to him than hearing it from someone else face to face that they too have suffered a loss just like him.

Easily beguiled.

Briar was not surprised by the warnings she was given. After all, if he was in her shoes, his parents would have most likely told him the very same thing. They both couldn't trust each other. They had every right not to trust each other, they had good reason not to. "And there will be restrictions. But just like you, I will also be given restrictions." he rose a brow. "Being King is less liberating than I thought it was going to be. Of course I'm not King yet.. but ever since I've actually been more interested in observing my father closer on how he does things... I've come to the realisation that he's got less freedom to work with than I have." he frowned. And the sheer thought of it... he dreaded it. Not only would he have to marry a Human princess against his will, he would also become King. And to him... all those things combined just felt like the perfect recipe for misery.

He was able to notice her growing curiousity and wonder about the lake. The way she was staring at it alarmed him in a way. Briar knew that they would be stuck to each other like glue for the next couple of weeks, however they definitely wouldn't be next to each other the entire time, and if Yaena was ever to venture back inside the gardens alone... he could already picture her reaching her hand in to touch the water. He couldn't let that happen.

Briar shook his head slightly, as if just now managing to snap out of his thoughts, before turning to her. "Yaena," he said, his stare growing serious. Her name came easily off his tongue. He didn't even realise that this was the first time he ever called her by her name. "Don't ever touch the lake, you hear? Don't even go near it." Pause. "Try to suppress your curiosity. Don't even speak or ask about it. Don't even think about it." his tone was so different compared to how he used to speak to her before. His tone was always so calm and steady until this point. He sounded stern and final, like a father scolding his son or daughter about something.

"Just.. promise me that you won't go near it, alright?" he asked, his stare softening again. He feared that he only ended up peaking her curiosity from telling her that instead of actually detering her like he aimed to. He could always order guards to stand at the entrance to the gardens however he first wanted to test her before doing so.

He wanted to see if he could trust her.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

She listened to him talking about being king, he didn’t seem excited for it and she couldn’t entirely blame him. Surely there were worse predicaments, and she wasn’t going to deny that it was an immense privilege for them to be in this situation. However, she also had no stomach for politics, she cared about it for the same reason she cared about having food or shelter, it was a tool for survival and nothing more. Yaena didn’t have anything to say that to that, so she didn’t say anything. Instead, remaining focused on her surroundings.

Yaena.

Hearing him say her name startled her, she had seen married couples who seemed to solely refer to each other as “my lord” or “my lady.” She had thought about him solely as “the prince” or “her husband to be” because that was easier than the alternative. If she was forced to view him as an individual, as a person with their own thoughts, desires and fears that didn’t align with her image of him, it would make what she had to do so much harder.

However, he made the mistake of continuing to talk.

She was trying to keep her emotions under the surface, thinking that it wouldn’t be in her interest to be known as the daughter of demons. But he was talking to her like she was a child and a stupid child at that, and she wanted to show him why he should be so careful around her. As far as people went, Yaena was not particularly intimidating to look at, but by the gods she was an intimidating person to know. While he spoke, she glared at him, before her stare was impassive, curious, but now she was looking at him as though she could crush his skull through sheer force of mind.

Now, all she wanted to do was walk right up to the lake and put her hand in it, just to spite him. She wasn’t sure if that made her the ungrateful child that he was apparently talking to or if it made her a bold, powerful person who didn’t let people talk to her in whatever way they pleased. She was terribly, horribly curious about the lake now and she was wondering why it would be so important to him that she stay away from it.

She turned to face him and took three small steps so she was closer to him than she had been since they met. The offense was coming out in waves with her, they had just talked about restrictions, and now here was, telling her to not even be curious about something. Even before she met him, she fully intended on exploring every inch of this palace that she found appropriate to learn about, and now she was planning on starting with the lake.

After staring him down, she finally spoke, each word crisp and clear. Her natural speaking tone was quiet, but there was nothing soft, her voice was low because she was containing her emotions, not because she was daunted by him in any way. He was showing her different side of himself, and she supposed now was the time to teach him about her.

“I am not your child, I am not your pet, and at the moment I am not your wife,” She told him and her voice could chill the desert, her hands were clasped behind her back, in order to restrain herself from doing something that she would regret, “If you do not want me to do something then you will have to tell me why.”

If it was a place of great religious significance, or the home of a sea-dragon, then she would at least understand. She wouldn’t desecrate a religious site (although she would try to get a glimpse of a sea dragon). She also saw no reason why she should listen to someone without being given a reason why, she wasn’t cruel and she wasn’t unreasonable. If it was so important to him that she not go, then he better at least come up with a good reason to justify it.

 

[Average.]

A muscle feathered in his jaw, and he couldn't help but glare right back at her. He felt annoyance build up inside him, to the point where even he couldn't hold back and remain respectful. He tried to remind himself that he was a prince, and that he should not allow this situation to escalate into a full blown argument. It was their first day together, for fuck's sake!
At that moment he felt like snapping at her. Yet he would compose himself and-

"I don't have to tell you shit." Briar growled. Nevermind, then.
It was a pity that they had to discover those negative sides of each other's personalities so early on, yet this lake meant a lot to him. He didn't need to feel obliged to tell her anything this personal about himself just because she demanded him to. She didn't understand the importance of this lake, true. However, the secrets of this lake only remained known to him and his family. Not her. She would never become a true part of his family, even once they get married. She will continue playing her part of being the Princess of Peace or whatever bullshit she symbolised, and he won't even have to acknowledge her presence.

"Yes, precisely. You are not my child, my pet or my wife." he frowned, raising his voice a little, his tone lined with potent venom. "And therefore I shouldn't be obliged to share anything with you. Ask me about anything else, just not this lake. Hell, I can even recite to you the entire fucking history of Eurus if you want me to. Just not the damn lake."
He definitely had the mouth of a sailor once he was truly angry about something. Even in front of a princess, this time he simply could not hold it back. She could leave, call off the wedding and then their two nations could return back to murdering each other. He didn't care. This was like a slap to the face - to his pride. Something he would not tolerate.

"But if you're so curious," he carried on, his tone sounding almost like he was mocking her by now. "Then I'll throw you a bone, and that's all you'll get." Pause. "Once you touch the lake, it'll burn you. It'll scald you, like acid. So if you feel like walking around with a hand that's missing flesh all the way up to the bone.. then feel free to touch it." he hissed.

He could only pray that his parents were not eavesdropping on them from somewhere somehow. The gardens were lush, it was so easy to remain hidden here if someone wanted to. For if they were hearing them... he would recieve an earful this evening. And it wouldn't be pretty.

He would have been able to hold back his anger better with anything else. Even if she literally slapped his face right then and there, he would have taken it better. He told her - or he threw her a bone, as he put it - about the fact that the lake's water burns to the touch, much like acid would. However, judging by his expression, there was still more that he wasn't telling her. He wouldn't have gotten so angry if the water was only a giant lake of.. well.. death. The lake... it pulsated with magical energy. It was dangerous, yet it meant so much more.

He regretted bringing her here. He felt anger, regret, dread, everything at once. If he knew a spell that could erase her memories, he would have gladly cast it at that very moment.

He could only hope that her knowing of the water's danger would be enough to deter her from going near it.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

She recoiled when he responded to her with as much venom as she gave to him. Oh, he had a vulgar mouth on him, great. Yaena had always believed that swearing was a sign of lack intelligence and it appeared she was right. All she wanted was a reason, she wasn’t going to follow him blindly, perhaps he hoped that because she was a human she would be too entranced by him to be anything more than a moldable body. If that was the case, then it was good that he learned the truth now.

And it was good she learned about him, he was a vain, egotistical pig who appeared to lack the slightest bit of critical thinking. She wanted none of him, if they never saw each other until the farce of the wedding that would be fine, if he decided to send her back to Zhicra in punishment, that would be fine. The blame for the peace agreement falling apart would entirely rest on his shoulders, she did the best that she could be expected to and now she saw no reason why she should even try.

Oh, she wanted to do more than slap him, hell, even using her powers wouldn’t entirely be satisfying. She wanted to rip his throat out with her teeth like a wild animal, it was one thing to be angry at her, but he was mocking her as though just her wanting a reason would be ridiculous. Who did this man think he was? She supposed when you were an heir, you were allowed to think you spoke the word of gods, she was right, all princes were the same.

She didn’t believe him, what he said sounded fake, if only because why wouldn’t he tell her in the first place? Was he so worried about her safety that he didn’t want to risk it? What he was describing sounded like something you told children to keep them in line. Don’t jump into the lake because if you do…you’ll be burnt alive! “Oh really now?” She asked derisively and she took three angry steps closer to the lake, as though she was going to fully cross a line.

But she paused, she wanted nothing more than to get under his skin but her instincts were telling her not to. The cool, logical part of her mind could tell that even if he was lying, there was something dark in there something lurking. While she might not test the waters now, she vowed here and now that she will find out everything that she could about this lake.

Making the decision that potentially saved both of their skins for now, she turned around, collected her anger and released it towards him. It should feel as though needles were being pressed against his head, but only for a few seconds, not wanting to fully reveal whether or not she had abilities and not wanting to be thrown in a jail cell for “attacking a prince.” Her brother would be so disappointed in her, he wanted this for his legacy, to be the king who brought prince, he did all this work only for his brat of a sister to throw it all away.

Not be able to satisfy her most violet impulses, she glared back up at him, getting in his space, “If you ever talk to me that way again," She paused before looking him right in the eye, I'll kill you.” It was perhaps the stupidest thing that she could have said now, but she couldn’t hold it back. Usually, she was so good at hiding her emotions, being the viper in the grass, but she was in a new environment now, she felt weaker, more vulnerable and now she wanted to take out her frustrations on something or someone.

Despite her not knowing exactly where her room would be and needing him to help navigate, she turned on her heels and walked away from him. Intending to go to her room, or at the very least get away from him, seeing nothing to be gained from being around him a moment longer.

 

[Average.]

She sounded like she did not believe him. She did not believe him. Hearing that just fueled his anger further, yet despite his emotions, he knew better than to blame her for it. She originated from a land deprived of magic. Her people didn't deserve such gifts, nor should they ever possess them. They would use magic for evil purposes, use them to satisfy their own greed.
And she... she was like a magpie; attracted to whatever is shiny and then getting angry whenever she is not allowed to have it.

He flinched all of a sudden, rubbing his head slightly with his hand, fingernails digging into his scalp. It hurt for some reason, like little needles jabbing repeatedly into his skin, but only for a few seconds thankfully. Whatever it was, he assumed that it was caused by the lake. To him, the lake was alive. It had emotions, yet Briar didn't have any proof for this being true. He enjoyed thinking that it did. Maybe it was that... yet the lake didn't communicate with him in such a manner ever before. Ever since he could remember, the lake was like a sleeping giant. He always felt this connection with it, yet never to a point where he could actually talk to it. He didn't even know if he could in all honesty. The lake never expressed itself in such a way towards anyone, however to be fair... he never had an argument with anyone of such a manner within it's presence before either.

I'll kill you.

He would have said something, he would have continued to argue with her, yell at her, threaten her even. If she dared threaten him like this, then he would gladly do so too. She was in his country, and here she was acting like she had all the power in the world. She had no power over him. None.

His emotions were raging inside him like a stormy sea, yet despite this he tried his best to calm himself down. He took in a breath or two, paying one final glance towards the lake's mesmerizing cyan eye, before forcing himself to follow her.

He didn't want to follow her... in fact he dreaded the very thought of following her and listening to her complaining the entire way up to her room. But he was at least able to suppress enough of his anger to realise that if he didn't follow her and if his parents noticed her heading up to her room alone without him there to escort her... he would end up looking absolutely terrible. And once again it would serve as another reason for his parents to scold him for not being a gentleman and escorting the princess up to her room.

So, the prince was forced to swallow his pride for now. He rushed to follow her before he lost sight of her, and before she ends up losing her way within some section of the palace that he didn't even know existed.

He managed to catch up with her once she was halfway up the grand marble staircase. He tried to conceal the annoyance within his voice when he spoke. "You're going the wrong way." he remarked when he noticed her about to make a wrong turn. "Your room is that way." he pointed in the exact opposite direction she was going. He would be patient with her for now, despite his voice sounding like it was a great effort for him not to sound irritated with her.

"Follow me and then we can finally be out of each other's way." he frowned, folding his arms behind his back before turning around to begin leading her up the next staircase towards where her room was actually located.

Her room was located far enough from his, thankfully. It's location was strategically chosen by his parents. While yes, they did want the two to get acquainted... they didn't want them to get too acquainted too fast. At least not before the wedding. After that, they could do whatever they wanted with each other.
Not like Briar had any thoughts like that about her. But his petty side thought that seeing her less frequently at least on the way up to his own room was definitely a slight relief for him.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena hated her appearance, she wished looked like a monster, she wished she had scales and claws and a jaw that could swallow all those who opposed her whole. Perhaps if she was a beast, then he would take her seriously.

Her mother was right. Yaena didn’t know why she thought there was even a chance that she would find any joy in this place. Sometimes, she didn’t feel like a human, but she sure as hell was not an elf, this place, this life was never meant for her. In a reasonable, fair world, Briar would be betrothed to a high-born elven lady and she would be working with Haydian probably examining a dead body right now and everyone would be happier.

She was going to be miserable, he was going to make her miserable. In his defense, Yaena would not be happy as anyone’s wife, but everything she usually hated was here. She was in a foreign land, where she knew nobody, a foreign land where everyone hated her, and she was now under a microscope. Even if Briar washed his hands of her, she knew the King and Queen. There were rumors in her own country that Tristan had his arm twisted by the much more experienced rulers. They might night be able to scold her as a parent would, but she knew they were aware of how important this match was.

The princess marched up the marble staircases, hearing an empowering click with each step.

She had no idea where she was going, but she kept on walking, hoping that when she was far enough away that Briar couldn’t hear her that she would be able to sheepishly ask a servant where her room was.

When she heard rushed foot steps, she felt a sense of victory because he was the one who had to rush to her. He was right, this was his country, she was a guest and everyone who she could trust to keep her safe (if she was capable of such a thing) were in this palace. However, that didn’t stop him from having to follow her.

Hearing she was going the wrong way woke her up, at least a bit to how idiotic she must have looked to him so she stopped in her tracks, thankful that her face hid her embarrassed blush. She was angry because he treated her like a child but here she was stomping away because she no longer wanted to talk to him. It wasn’t that she thought she was in the wrong, she wasn’t but she didn’t want to give him an excuse to look down on her (though it didn’t appear that he’d need one.)

This time, instead of talking to her like a child who had a tantrum, he was talking to her like a child he needed to negotiate with. Somehow, that was even worse but she was aware that there were people who may hear their conversation so she swallowed her own pride. All she wanted was to go to her room, she needed to have her own space in this palace, a place that only belonged to her.

While she didn’t apologize, she quietly walked beside him, following him to her room, as though she was offering a silent agreement: I won’t say anything if you don’t. Yaena was a quiet person anyways, she should never have let him under her skin. She learned about him, but now he knew far too much about her. She was sure he took her “threat” to kill him figuratively, but it still was a bold move for someone like her to say that so brazenly.

By the time they got to her room, Nikolai was in front, giving a respectful but stoic nod to the both of them. Even though Nikolai was one of “her” people, she still felt the pressure to at least perform the act of a graceful princess so she looked up at Nikolai, her face wouldn’t be less emotional even if she were dead.

“Thank you, for showing me your family’s gardens,” She stated, but she couldn’t help but add this, “It was eyeopening to get to know you.” And with that, she walked into her new room, not planning on leaving it unless someone dragged her out.

 

[Average.]

A couple hours have passed, and as every hour neared closer to dinner time the more Briar felt the urge to just throw himself out through the damn window. He had the chance to calm down after his and the princess' previous conversation. Being in his room, cleaning the dust off his bookshelf and throwing himself onto his giant bed to read through a couple chapters of the latest adventure book he has been reading was enough to get him to blow off some steam. The rest of his room was always cleaned by servants every day of course, however he made himself clear to them that he wanted everything cleaned except for his precious bookshelf. He cleaned the bookshelf himself, as he hated it when someone misplaced something from the shelf by accident or placed it just a couple millimetres off to where it was placed before.

Either way, now he was finishing up with getting ready in front of the mirror. He preferred to get ready himself. He enjoyed his privacy, despite his mother constantly telling him that it was more proper for him to allow servants to help him with getting dressed.

He wore darker clothing for the evening. There was more black on them than gold or white this time. In fact there was no white at all. A black and gold suit, with the gold being fine golden thread embroidered into different elegant spiral-like patterns. He smelled of fresh lavender - a scent that he frequently enjoyed using.

He turned to stare at a black velvet box, waiting for him on his dresser. He picked it up and opened it, being greeted by the faint glimmer of yellow citrine and diamond jewels. The bracelet. He has forgotten to gift it to Yae- to the brat back at the gardens. He wouldn't forget this time, even if they would blow up into another argument with each other right in the middle of dinner - which would be a disaster by the way.

Briar was certain that his parents were not eavesdropping on them back at the gardens, as if they did, his free time until dinner wouldn't have been as peaceful as it has been. His mother would have probably still been here all these hours later scolding him for not being a gentleman.

With a deep breath, the prince left his room with great unwillingness, quietly saying goodbye to his books in his mind before heading downstairs down the staircase.

Soon, he heard the clicking, echoing closer and closer from down the opposite hallway. Shit.

He put on his best facade before reuniting with the princess at the top of the final staircase, which led downstairs to the bottom floor. From there, they would be escorted to the dining room, where dinner undoubtedly was already waiting for them.

"Hello. Brat." Briar grinned smugly, murmuring this to her while he was still certain that no one else would hear him except her. He pulled out the little black velvet box from his pocket, before casually opening it and taking out the bracelet. It's fine gems beautifully reflected the light emitting from the giant chandelier above them. He took Yaena's hand - a little less gently than the last time he held her hand - before clamping the bracelet around her wrist like a handcuff. "I figured this would suit you. Oh, how I do hope that it matches your taste." he spoke with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

In truth he just wanted to get rid of this damn bracelet before his parents would question him whether he gifted it to her or not.

In complete silence, the two tensely walked down the steps and met with their escort. They have not uttered a word to each other all the way up to the dining room, and rightfully so. There were others now, able to listen in on their conversations. Briar honestly preferred to remain silent to ensure that he wouldn't utter something that he would end up deeply regretting.

Briar soon was able to catch a whiff of delicious aroma of freshly cooked food. He felt his mouth water, and his stomach began to complain just now as if just realised that maybe it was a good idea to demand for food now. He hasn't eaten in what felt like forever.

Upon entering, the King and Queen were already seated at the table. The table was massive, yet the amount of food on it was... minuscule. Compared to what Human feasts were like at least, this was nothing. It almost begged the question what was even the point of such a massive table if there was so little food being served. Of course, there was more than enough food on the table for the four of them, however Human feasts always had that extra more.

There was no meat being served at all - not even fish. There was a variety of different salads, fruits, pastries, soups - but that was mostly it. Along with drinks of course, such as an assortment of fine wines and champagne. No vodka, or ale, mead.. not even beer.

Briar remembered of course to put on a good show for his parents, and he proceeded to pull a chair out from under the table for his future wife, before taking a seat beside her where he was meant to. He was expected to sit beside her. Unfortunately.

"So, isal? How was your walk in the garden with Princess Yaena?" the Queen asked, raising a brow as she poured herself a glass of white wine.
Isal was a masculine Elven term that Elves called someone who they were affectionate with. The feminine term for it would have been something like sali.

Briar shot a glance at Yaena before forcing a smile at his mother. "It was lovely."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena's room was absolutely, ethereally, beautiful and she loathed it.

Like everything else in this palace, it was gold, a color she was starting to get sick of, her bed could probably fit four of her and the comforter was patterned with delicate flowers. By now, her room back in Zhicra was very specifically her room it had books, journals, rumored “cursed” objects that she obtained and medical drawings. As a princess she had a comfortable budget and her mother, despite her many, many faults never forced Yaena’s taste to change.

However, the most important part of her room was that she was alone, there was no elven prince in sight, and his room was at least far enough that she couldn’t hear him. Good, she had no desire to even be in the same country as him.

Thankfully, the servants had brought her boxes to her, most importantly they brought her “wine.” Her mother first served it to her when she was fourteen, and while it didn’t make her “drunk” it always made her feel better, giving her a renewed sense of strength. She didn’t have a taste for any other alcoholic beverage they all tasted the same to her, but according to her mother, the wine came from the Norvosian Islands (her distant homeland).

If anyone else saw her, it would have been hilariously undignified, she drank the wine straight from the bottle, not even into a chalice. Oh the rumors that people would form if they saw her, what was the drink for the strange human from the strange country? She knew she had to hide it, it would probably earn the disapproval of her in-laws (they were the currently the only royals in this palace whose opinion she cared about).

She had been so focused on relieving her tension that she didn’t notice the beautifully intricate gold gown on the bed. Of course, she was given a gown, she had dinner with the king, the queen…and the prince. Usually she was able to keep a chokehold on her emotions, but just thinking about Briar made her blood begin to boil.

Now, having dressed herself up, she followed the directions given to her by the servant only to see Briar and of course…her gowns were to coordinate with his suits now. She hadn’t even been able to bring much of her clothes, according to all her instructors, it was important that she fit in with the elven ladies and the easiest way to do that was by dressing like that.

Oh, he thought he was clever. After some debates, she decided the best way to deal with him was by treating him like the child he was. When she had a tantrum, her mother wouldn’t reason with her, she would simply ignore her until she decided to “talk like she was civilized.” She wouldn’t waste a second of time on Briar unless they were in public. If he wanted to see her lash out at him again, he would have to try harder.

Instead, she silently raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a cold judgment, as though he was beneath her and not the heir to the kingdom she was currently in.

Clamp.

For a split second, she worried that he was restraining her, she didn’t know the customs of all these people. At the moment, she would believe him if he tied her a door like she was a pregnant bitch. Looking down at her wrist, she admired the craftsmanship of the bracelet although she was more than tired of the color yellow.

“Thank you, I will look at it and think of you,” She revealed curtly and with that she put her arm out and walked down the steps with him.

What was the food in this kingdom like? The only reason she had any excitement about coming to the kingdom was that she loved reading and learning about the cultures of others. However, she wasn’t here as an independent adventurer, she was here as a prisoner (she used to hate referring herself like this, not wanting to compare marriage to actual prisoners, but that was what it felt like now.)

When they entered, her eyes went to the King and Queen, who looked as dignified as ever. She wondered what their relationship was like, if they had ever held as much animosity to each other as she and Briar so clearly did.

Wait, what was she supposed to say to them? She knew enough about etiquette that this required some form of special behavior but she was blanking. She had met heads of state before but they usually had come to Zhicra meaning that they were meeting a princess in her home country.

Briar pulled a chair out for her and she could assume she wasn’t expected to curtsy as she took the seat.

If she had any less restraint she would have laughed at the Queen’s question, instead she looked at Briar (making a note to remember any Elven terms she heard) wondering what he was going to say.

“May I just say,” She spoke up gently, hoping to God that she was stressing Briar out with what she was going to potentially say. However, she turned her head to look at Briar (his eyes were no less pretty when she was mad at him) before smiling, “He has shown me the utmost kindness,” She was surprised by how warm her voice sounded. Usually, she had trouble expressing her truthful emotions much less lying but pettiness did something to you.

 

[Average.]

May I just say...

All he could feel was a sheer wave of anxiety go through him when he heard her speak up. All he could do was pray to any God that was willing to listen, that the idiot wasn't going to utter anything about their argument. He held his breath. She smiled at him, yet that smile reminded him more of an adder than of a Human.

He has shown me the utmost kindness.

He loosened a breath of relief. He assumed that she would notice his stress, and she would be damn amused by it. Fine. Let her be amused. Not like he cared.
The petty side of him was being dominant in his mind, trying it's best to hide or justify any negative thought that passed through his mind. He bet that she felt so victorious over him right now. For now, he would let her have her little moment of triumph. These little gestures she started to make ever since their dispute... they were all subtle hints as if to let him know that despite what he might be thinking, it was her that had the power over him and not the other way around.

The sheer thought of that becoming a reality sickened him. It was like backing his pride into a corner and putting it under pressure till it screamed.
His pride. Because that is what it was all about. Pride.

"Well I'm glad that you've enjoyed yourselves." the Queen gave them both a warm smile before taking a sip from her wine glass. She has turned straight to the wine without even touching her food yet, unlike the King who first helped himself to some of the food. He didn't seem like much of a talker, yet he did acknowledge their presence at least with a small nod. Whenever he did look up from his food though, the King mostly shot glances at Briar. It was as if the King was trying to communicate telepathically with his son over the table, and oddly enough, Briar hardly seemed confused - like he understood. Or if he was, he was doing a damn good job at hiding it. He had to endure living with his parents since the day he was born. One would expect that he knew what they were like. What made them tick.

"Oh, it must be hard for you." the Queen remarked, her discerning stare always upon Yaena as if the princess was some poorly groomed puppy. It must feel strange for the King and Queen to see a Human wearing traditional attire of their people. Who knew what was going through the Queen's mind right now. Perhaps she was trying to conjure up ways in her mind of how to make Yaena look more like an Elf so that she would have an easier time looking at her future daughter in law. "Surrounded by complete strangers, in a strange country. But I guarantee that you will get used to it in no time." she smiled.

She has no choice, Briar felt like saying, however he stopped himself and remained silent for now. He tried to remain focused on reminding himself not to forget about basic table manners. He was tempted to just gobble up his entire plate and leave to retreat back into the privacy of his own room.
It was true, she did have no choice. And he too had no choice.
None of them had any choice.

The Queen soon turned to stare at her husband before suddenly elbowing him roughly. The King tried to choke, before clearing his throat. "Yes." he nodded slightly. "I'm sure you will make a fine addition to our family. You will be a good Queen to our nation. And a good wife to my son." he spoke as if he just wanted to get it out of the way, before returning back to his food.

Briar tried not to shudder at his father's words. They just felt so... wrong. He can stomach seeing her as a Queen to his nation, as his wife even... but never as an addition to his family. All that remained of his family were his parents, and nobody else. The one other person that he saw as family was no longer here with them. Nobody could just replace that. Nobody could annihilate that grief. It was impossible.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

He was right she was amused, and it showed, she had the most genuine smile she showed all day. To unknowing eyes, it would have looked like she was fondly reminiscing of the afternoon she had spent with her husband. If he wanted to call her a brat again once they were out of the dining room, go ahead, insults from someone like him could only be so hurtful.

However, Briar was not getting most of her attention, his mother was. The king didn’t seem to have an interest in talking to her, if he spoke to her, she would treat him with all the respect he deserved but she was not going to go out of her way and risk potentially offending him. Besides, in her experience, it was usually mothers who took an interest in the spouses of their sons.

She glanced at her food, there was no meat on her plate and she noticed that. It wasn’t that she disliked anything on the plate, she liked fruits, vegetables, and bread, but she ate meat with nearly every meal at home. It filled a void that was two deep and aching to truly be called hunger. However, while she could handle offending Briar on her first night here, if she slighted the queen she would kill herself so delicately ate a roasted carrot.

While she was more subdued now, she was by no means delicate so when she felt the queen’s stare, she looked back. She could understand her judgments, she was not an elf, and it was not like anything the queen learned would have given her a particularly appealing image of her. But, in the end, she was here because of the king and queen, if they did not want a human daughter-in-law they should have thought about that before they agreed to a marriage pact. She couldn’t change her humanity, nor would she attempt to.

Her time was certainly hard for her, but at the moment it was because of the man next to her. He was the only Elf she had the chance to meet, perhaps their disagreements were a sign of things to come and all her interactions with the people of her new country would loathe her too, but she still had no hard evidence on whether or not Elvish culture agreed with her.

Is she testing me? Maybe Yaena was paranoid and she assumed all mothers were like her own, but she wondered if the Queen wanted to see if she was strong enough to handle this. Or if she was going to weep in her room about how unfair her life was. As long as she was in this foreign land, she would not show weakness to anyone, she decided at this moment that she would be stronger than any person in this room.

“It is quite alright,” She sipped at her water rather than wine, only drinking alcohol when it was asked of her, “I look forward to growing accustomed to everything.” She smiled.

It wasn’t necessarily optimism, it was more like she thought she could beat any of the potential problems in her way.

She looked at Briar from the corner of her eye, he has been remarkably quiet, she was hoping he would be the one doing most of the talking considering she was the guest, but he kept staring at his father. Yaena would not even pretend that she understood the relationship between fathers and sons, especially kings and heirs. Tristan and her father never got along, the line of succession made them closer to coworkers than family.

When the Queen…jumpstarted her husband, she snorted delicately into her glass. Her father and The King could not be any more different. Aemon Narayan was like the sun, in any room he was the center of attention, he was handsome even in his later years and he loved drinking, laughing, and fighting. However, that little interaction was something she had seen her own parents do many times and it comforted her in a way to see any similarities.

..But then the father’s words took any comfort away. It shouldn’t be surprising, the reason marriage pacts existed was because it made two warring families one. When Briar became king, Tristan, the leader of once his country’s primary enemy would be his brother in law. If she and Briar had children (a future that seemed impossible), the child would have both human and elf blood.

Briar could attest to how good of a wife she was being, but she spoke up anyway, “Thank you, you honor me," She told the king, and it was genuine as there were worst things he could have told her. She loved her father and missed him, but he probably would have made a joke that would have made all of them uncomfortable. "And I promise I will do all I can on both fronts.” However, she had a feeling that they all knew that it would be easier and more likely that Yaena would turn into an elf herself than that she would be accepted by them.

 

[Average.]

The King and Queen merely gave the princess a small smile in return before choosing to focus on their meals for now. The smiles could easily be interpreted as awkward, yet at least there was no disdain within them. The princess has passed their little tests with ease - by sticking to very safe answers. The King and Queen were not fools; they could see through that. Yet all they could do was sit back and let time tell whether or not the princess would perform her duties to a satisfactory standard.

The rest of dinner has flew by in mostly silence. Occasionally one of them made the effort to say something, however it was only small talk. It honestly ruined what was left of Briar's appetite, and he probably wouldn't have even finished his food if he wasn't so genuinely hungry. He never felt like falling asleep more than he felt so now.

Until suddenly the doors opened.

Briar almost jumped, feeling a slight surge of excitement. The majority of this dinner was so mundane that even the most insignificant of events awakened some feeling of interest within the prince. However, when he realised who came in through the door, the excitement from his face faded right away.

An Elven woman, tall and lean, with sun-kissed skin. Her hair was brown, tied up into a bun, and she wore an elegant gold and black dress. People outside of the royal family generally were not supposed to try and match with the royal family like this - it could be argued that the woman's dress even matched Briar's suit better than Yaena's dress did.

A servant girl quickly rushed in after the noble lady, frantically whispering something into her ear as if trying to warn her that it was improper to interrupt a family dinner like this without permission.
However, the King and Queen didn't seem to have taken offence to such bold display, in fact the Queen seemed rather delighted to see the woman. "Ah! Reina, how wonderful to see you." the Queen gave her a warm and welcoming smile, seeming slightly relieved that the silence that loomed over them was finally broken.

"Likewise, Your Majesty." the lady returned the smile before shifting her attention towards Yaena. Her eyes were blue like ice, and her stare could put the coldest of winters to shame. She stared her down and clicked her tongue, as if she was a child in need of some serious discipline. "So she's the one, hm?" she rose a brow.

"Yes. She's wonderful, isn't she?" the Queen giggled, seeming more cheerful about speaking to Reina rather than speaking about Yaena. She turned to the princess. "Yaena, this is Lady Reina. She will be teaching you about our culture. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from her. Maybe a bit of our language too."

"Indeed." Reina gave a slight nod. "I look forward to working with you, princess. You would make a fine queen, I'm sure. However, a bit of extra knowledge about the land you are going to rule never hurts, right?" she titled her head, her stare fixated on Yaena as if she was trying to dissect every bit of her with her eyes.

Meanwhile, Briar had the most smug smile plastered over his face. He almost appeared triumphant, and he gave Yaena a look as if to show that he pitied her. He has seen his fair share of this insufferable woman, and now Yaena had the privilege to be working with her. Oh, he could already picture it. If Yaena thought that her life was already unfair and miserable; she had another thing coming. Lady Reina was like a slimy leech, except when she latched on to a host she didn't drain them of their blood, no. She drained them of their sheer fucking will to live. Now in a way he would have preferred if Yaena's room was closer to his so that he could experience the joy of seeing her miserable face every evening after she returned from having to endure lessons from Lady Reina.

The noble woman continued to converse with the King and Queen - mostly the Queen though - about some more nonsense that Briar didn't feel like listening to anymore. He instead leaned in closer to Yaena as if wanting to whisper something into her ear. "Hey. Brat." he whispered, yet even while whispering one could easily tell the amusement in his voice. "I feel sorry for you. Good luck dealing with that unbearable psycho shrew."

Soon, the noble woman left, with the servant girl still continuing to fuss over her lady even on their way out.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Seeing the doors open caused Yaena to lean forward in excitement too, looking to see a break in the pattern. This was a royal, family dinner so she assumed that anyone who interrupted it must either be extremely important or have an extremely important reason.

An Elvish woman walked in and her excitement rose, even more, she didn't know enough about etiquette to even register her gown, but the woman actually looked a lot like her, them both having brown skin and darker hair. It wasn't that Yaena was a narcissist who only sought to be around those who resembled her, but she could feel how much she stuck out in this family. When she was sitting next to Briar it looked like someone drained the prince of all his color and put it into her. While she was still enough of an independent thinker (or brat) to not want to be like everyone else, she didn't want to feel like a zoo exhibit.

"So she's the one, hm?"

And just like that, her brief excitement was shattered like glass. Reina stared through her, was this how people felt when she stared at them? Hardly not, she knew she wasn't the easiest person around but she was curious, not judgemental she could feel that the noblewoman was comparing her to every one of her standards and somehow, Yaena was failing. She hadn't even been doing anything, her own etiquette instructors at home would be over the moon with how she acted at her first royal dinner. Yaena met her cold eyes and smiled, though it was probably more like a smirk because this place activated all of her defensive instincts.

As the Queen and Reina spoke, she was reminded of her childhood. Viria, her sister had friends like Reina, nobles used to send their daughters to the palace so that they could befriend the princess and beguile the prince. Occasionally her sister's friends would treat her kindly; once they spent the entire day with her helping her with her embroidering, but Viria never truly liked her (though Yaena did think she loved her) so they never did either. Yaena never judged Viria for her life choices, but her sister never offered her the same kindness. No, Yaena's life choices reflected negatively on her family and of course her.

She was actually relieved that Reina would teach her about culture, it was better that she thought of her than Briar, right? Yaena thought she looked ridiculous in the gown, it called attention to her humanity even more so than her own clothes would. Yaena would never look like an elf, but she could learn their culture, and she loved learning languages as well, she might not be good at being a lady but she was an excellent student.

Being stared at by both Reina and the Queen lessened the sting in a way, she would either prove them wrong or prove them right and she didn't care about either outcome. "Of course, when will lessons begin?"

Reina shared a look with the Queen, an inside joke between them before answering, "Tomorrow at noon, I look forward to teaching such an excited student."

When she left, Yaena believed she done enough socializing that she would be allowed to just stare at her lackluster dinner plate all night when Briar leaned in, causing her to grip her knife tighter.

It was childish, but anything that made Briar happy made Yaena nervous, what was the worst that a teacher could do to her? She wasn't necessarily excited about her upcoming lessons, but it didn't seem like anything she couldn't handle. Although Briar may disagree, Yaena wasn't inherently a disrespectful person, she didn't want to disrespect the culture that now surrounded her.

Maybe Briar was just trying to scare her, and because of that, she continued to ignore him, in fact, she turned her head away so that she was no longer looking at him. She was sure that if someone asked Briar to describe her to someone the words unbearable, psycho, and shrew may all come up. Perhaps Reina was truly as unbearable as he said, but she would not let him tarnish her view of him. Just because you're too weak to handle something doesn't mean that I am, was the response on her lips but if she said it, she would be providing his statement with far more dignity than it observed. Besides, she had a feeling she was getting under Briar's skin just fine.

"If it is a respite away from you, she could be a dragon for all I care," Oops, well, there goes her 'silent treatment.'

-----

When they were out of the hearing range of the royal family, Reina let her mask slip and she turned to her serving woman, "Did you see her, she looked like a child, in fact, I have seen more from actual children." The benefits of having a serving woman was that you could speak your honest opinion of the world to them, as what was she going to do? Scurry of and tattle to the little human about this?

And the serving woman would have heard her true opinions countless times since the betrothal was announced. She was at the banquet where peace was declared and it seemed ridiculous, like a slap in the face not just to her, but to every elf in this nation that they would be expected to accept a foreign queen. And despite the human's words, she could tell that the princess viewed the lessons as a chore. She knew that type, probably someone who thought this was beneath her, who thought that rules of etiquette and culture didn't apply to her because she was just so intelligent and unique. Reina had no idea how the woman acted as a wife, perhaps Briar was already smitten with her because she made him look like a giant, but she already knew how she'd act as a queen.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Who would have thought a necklace would have caused such discord?

Her amulet has been a staple of her outfits since she was thirteen, she only took it off when she was bathing, she even slept with it around her neck. Her mother told her it was the reason why her powers were so formidable and that it protected her from magic and Yaena believed her. When she wore it, she was not trying to make any form of a statement, she was simply wearing an item that was important to her and given to her by her mother, the most important person in the world to her.

But Reina hated it, the first hour of the lesson went as well as one could hope, Yaena had a good memory and was good enough at languages that learning about the different great families of the country was not difficult for her. But then, Reina asked about her amulet and Yaena had told her instructor that it was a gift from her mother.

Take it off now, you will be presented with fine, Elvish jewelry either from your betrothed, the royal jeweler himself, or a guest.

Reina was strong-willed, but Briar knew how stubborn she should be and their argument ended with Yaena telling the woman that if she wanted the necklace off of her, she would have to cut it off. Thankfully, Yaena didn't threaten to kill her as well, because unlike Briar, Yaena had a feeling that Reina would put her words into action.

Now that lessons were over, and Reina had stormed off, Yaena couldn't bear to be in her room a moment longer so she began on her mission to explore the palace. If there was a door, she listened in, if there was a window she would try to see what was on the other side of it. Perhaps Briar didn't appreciate her curiosity but all that did was make that trait even stronger.

Eventually, she found the library, and it was like heaven, she adored reading, she brought as many books as she could fit from her home country but she had already read all of them. Growing up...Yaena was more...fragile than her siblings meaning she couldn't play the same games that they did or go to the same places. However, when she was reading, she wasn't faced with such restrictions. People used to joke that her mother must have swallowed ink when she was pregnant with her daughter because the child always seemed to have her nose in something. First, she read everything her instructors gave to her, but then, as her powers truly started to develop she read everything her instructors kept from her.

When she walked in, she could smell the ink, and it was the safest she felt since she arrived. Libraries were the same in every culture as every culture had people who knew and wanted to teach and people who were curious and wanted to learn. However, her face fell when she saw Briar, and given that she didn't see anyone else, she did not even greet him and simply walked to the bookshelf, looking for something to read until.

How do you think your husband would feel seeing you wearing something like that?

"What's your opinion on this amulet?" It was the first thing she said to him since dinner, and she was now holding up the necklace so he could see. It was almost the opposite of this kingdom, everything that surrounded her was white and gold, her amulet was made of heavy silver and the deep amethyst was formed to look like a beating heart.

 

[Average.]

Briar jumped slightly at the sound of her steps, echoing closer and closer to him from behind. The library was huge and quiet most of the time, so even the slightest noise could come off as loud. His shoulders tensed upon recognising who the intruder was. Since they were alone, he would not hide that he wasn't happy to see her. His brows furrowed with annoyance, and he gripped the spine of his book tighter. He was sitting on the grand chair near the bookshelf Yaena was currently looking through. He wore a black and gold royal mantle, lined with white fur, over his shoulders. He enjoyed wearing it here, as the library was one of the colder rooms in the palace.

Of course, she had to strut in here right when he was trying to have some alone time.

He took in a breath, paying a disinterested glance at her amulet before focusing back on his book - or at least trying to. He was mostly pretending that he was still reading, however with her presence it was difficult for him to be able to just shut her out and ignore her. ".. Am I supposed to have an opinion on it?" he shrugged, eyes still glued to the book. "If you want my honest opinion - it matches your eyes, however not your dress. But if you like it.. continue wearing it. I don't really care."

That was when it struck him. Ah, she must have just recently finished her first lesson with Lady Reina then. Was that where the sudden question came from? He doubted that she would have asked him such a question if no one pointed anything out about her amulet. He wouldn't feel surprised if Reina told her to lose it. True, it did not scream Elvish fashion, however Yaena would never be an Elf, now would she. He didn't expect her to be one. All he expected from her was to respect his boundaries - which to him she failed to do during the garden incident. He referred to it as that now.

He folded the corner the page down and closed his book, his attention now fully on her. He gave up trying to pretend that he didn't care about her presence here. He did care. And it was annoying. "Why do you care anyway? You know that Reina's words aren't law, right? She might make them sound like they are.. but in truth she is beneath you. All she can do is give you suggestions. It is up to you whether you want to take them into account or not." he said, his tone holding the same calm as the first time he ever properly spoke to her, back in that stuffy little carriage. "And her suggestions aren't only taking into account what I might like better. She wants you to learn how to fit in more. With the people that you are going to rule over one day."

His movements were a little more casual now, and he reached for the cup of coffee that was on the small table next to his chair. In truth, the prince looked like he hardly slept last night. He always had some sort of dark cycles under his eyes, however this afternoon they seemed especially more noticeable.

He decided to shift his focus over to what books she was showing interest towards. It was easier than staring into her violet eyes the entire time while waiting for an answer from her. He watched carefully which books her hand stopped to hover over. Most of the books that she seemed to show interest in he has already read, or was planning to read. It was no surprise to him that she enjoyed reading - or at least he assumed she did. His parents enjoyed reading too, and so did his brother, even if out of all of them he read the least. No, his brother was more focused on bettering himself physically. He was more keen with training than with picking up a book. But he did read too, and he enjoyed the same kind of books as Briar does.

Briar pushed away those thoughts from his mind for now. He didn't want to accidentally show her that he was thinking about something.. or she once again might ask and get angry with him when he refuses to tell her.

He couldn't help but smile to himself a little when she pulled out one of his favourite books from the bookshelf. At least they seemed to share a similar interest in books, from what he could tell. Somehow, by just witnessing her do that, he was able to shut out all negative thoughts about her from his mind for now. His eyes, they brightened when he spoke to her again. "You planning on reading that one? I recommend it, it's pretty good." he said. There was no smile on his face, yet he didn't need to smile for one to be able to tell that he was excited talking about the book. "That one in particular is in Elvish, but I can find you a copy that's translated into your tongue."

It was as if he has forgotten entirely about their argument and was eager to speak to her about a topic that they never actually had a chance to explore very much. It made him realise how little they actually knew about each other still.

Suddenly, a servant rushed in to the library. Thankfully it was not the servant that literally followed Reina like her own shadow would, however it was a servant that Briar was also familiar with. There were so many servants in the palace, they all came and went. He couldn't possibly know them all, however there were a selection of servants of which he has seen their faces a couple times before and came to know them. They seemed out of breath and covered in... feathers. Their hair was messy like a literal hawk's nest.

Briar blinked. "Darfin? What happened?"
"Your hippogriff happened, Your Royal Highness." the servant apparently known as Darfin answered. There was a hint of humour in his tone, yet the poor Elf sounded out of breath and devoid of all hope. "I am terribly sorry to bother you and Her Royal Highness Yaena, however... she escaped." he got out. Panic started to settle in when he was getting no response from Briar. "I-It was an accident." he stuttered. "I-I tried to prevent her from flying out but-"

"It's alright." Briar cut in. He let out a soft sigh before getting up from his chair and turning to the princess. "Yaena, I need to head up to the stables. If you want you can come along?" he offered. He didn't expect for her to agree, however making the offer at least didn't hurt.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

No, he was not supposed to have an opinion on it, the only opinion who mattered on matters of this sorts were hers. However, his answer of not really caring was the closest he could come to a correct answer because why would he care about what jewelry she chose to wear? She would rather be reading a book than having this conversation too, it was stupid of her to even ask her. If he had for some reason given a strong opinion on it they would probably again be in argument but this time Yaena would be the one who felt like her boundaries were being disrespected.

Why do you care anyway?

She had thought he had given his complete answer and given the fact that he seemed to be ignoring her, she looked at the bookshelf, not wanting to look like she cared more about his opinion than him of hers. Now it was her turn to try to ignore him, act as though his opinion went through her ears like the wind..despite the fact that she was the one to have asked him. So far, he hasn’t called her brat yet, though she was wondering if that question affirmed it for him. After all, they had just met and she was already asking him to give his opinion on her clothing tstes.

But he surprised her because why did she care? Even if she wasn’t planning on using him to escape this dreadful place, she had never been someone to care about such matters. Growing up, there were plenty of times when her instructors asked her to wear her hair in a different style or wear a different color dress and she simply refused. The embarrassing truth was…she did care what people thought about her, it was horrible and she was ashamed of the fact, but it was true. At least, in Zhicra even if someone didn’t like her they usually respected her intelligence or strength but in Eurus she had none of that. She was just…the human and since she thought it was unlikely that she would get the respect on her traits she valued it made a part of her want to bend to their rules.

She didn’t like thinking of people as beneath her, it was not her way, but technically speaking, she was going to be Reina’s queen one day, she was here to assist her, not to mold her. Briar was talking to her in such a formal tone that she had no choice but to respond back, “I still feel ignorant about much of your ways, that I wanted a second opinion.”

Now that they were talking, she could really look at him, the poor soul seemed absolutely exhausted but she couldn’t imagine why…No, she could. It was easy to pretend that she was the only person whose life was going to be impacted by the marriage and she still believed she was in a worse spot than he was as she had to go to his country. However, he was also forced to marry a strange foreigner who knew very little about his culture and who already seemed to not like him. She wanted to inquire, but she had no way to phrase it that didn’t make it sound like she cared (imagine the scandal if it came out that she…was curious about the wellbeing of her future husband!)

Instead, she looked back up at the books, looking at the titles that she could understand. The two the were most appealing to her was a history of magic (there were no such books on magic in the Naryan’s royal library) and book about how the various territories were decided. Eventually, she decided on the first one, feeling like Reina would teach her about the latter.


You planning on reading that one?

She assumed that he was mocking her at first, and she turned around, prepared to ask him to show her a book that he would find more suitable. However, the second she saw his eyes, she realized he was genuine and just on that alone, this was now the best interaction they’ve had. Unlike the carriage, they were talking about an interest they both had in common.

“Really?” She asked, “You would do that for me?” Her tone wasn’t suspicious, in fact, she looked almost like a child, albeit, a very guarded one. Her big violet eyes were curious, because well, she wouldn’t be Abel to read the Elvish edition of the book unless it was a book about nice weather, directions, and asking people how they were. “Thank you.”

She wanted to ask him if he had any other books he recommended, or if he could tell her what book he was reading. Truthfully, Yaena shouldn’t be trying to bond with him, she remembered what her mother said about the elves, about their cruelty. But humans were social creatures, and unfortunately, Yaena was human and occasionally she desired connection.

At the servant rushing, she grew quiet, only greeting them with a respectful nod as she tried to guess what would have possibly gotten him in such a state.

She escaped.

Who was she? Considering that they were telling Briar, she assumed that it must have been a person important to him. A sister? In her readings about the royal family no sister was mentioned, not even a bastard half sister…did he have a daughter that nobody told her about? She realized now that she never thought about whether or not Briar would…honor his vows. Because she thought she wouldn’t care, she wasn’t expecting romance, or even friendship but the idea of him visiting brothels or entertaining noble ladies bothered her more than she would admit.

Flying out.

Her face dawned in realization and she blinked…this was about an animal. Yaena had never been able to have pets as animals were more respectful of her powers than humans were and none of the animals in the royal palace were animals that could escape.

Oh..it was a hippogriff, and for a second fear appeared on her face, because she remained scared of hippogriffs. Something that might be amusing to just Briar, but nearly every royal elf who appeared to be so comfortable with them. Both because she wanted to see if she and Briar could have a functional conversation and because she didn’t want him to think she was scared she surprised the both of them and nodded.


“Oh, uh sure,” She nodded in what was the most frazzled she’d ever seen.